Jun 16, 2022 3 min read

Oh, no! Is North Franklin going to try to build a park again? I sure hope the township naysayers don’t dust off the old “Stop the Park” signs and plant them in their yards again. They effectively stopped this plan from being executed 20 years ago and only phase one of the park was finished. It is the regional park that has two playgrounds, a pavilion and a walking trail behind the home of the Wild Things. Once this phase was completed, the next phase was to extend the park to Route 18 by Scotties behind Sylvan Drive. It was proposed and planned by the now defunct North Franklin Recreation and Business Authority. However, the backlash from the community stopped the park from being finished.

This same group of naysayers did their best to stop the development of the Washington Square complex as well, starting with the ball park. They vehemently complained about noise, traffic, tailgating, crime and did their best to compare a 2,500 seat stadium to Three Rivers Stadium in terms of the effects on the community.

They also tried to stop the LERTA (local economic tax revitalization assistance), which in essence allowed the authority to keep tax monies for 10 years from each parcel to further develop the area. The township supervisors at the time also were part of the team trying to stop the complex from development. Neighbors became enemies with those who supported the plan and the park and those who did not. It was an ugly time, and the “Stop the Park” signs were all over neighborhoods. An Observer-Reporter editorial joked these residents would be opposed to a monastery because of men walking around in brown robes and that annoying bell.

Fortunately, other than stopping the expansion of the regional park, the field and Washington Square complex were finished and now boast the stadium, the world headquarters of Pony League, Advanced Orthopaedics Hospital, Washington & Jefferson College fields, various doctors’ offices, businesses and my restaurant, Angelo’s. The LERTA long ago expired and all the tax revenues are distributed like any other North Franklin operation.

The point is that a good portion of the township residents opposed something that was and is good for the township and for community development. I remember most of my dad’s neighbors on Sylvan Drive had the signs in their yards. Somehow a walking trail in the woods 100 yards behind their houses seemed like a bad idea and not one that would foster a next generation of young families to move into this neighborhood as well as increase property values.

Let’s hope some things have changed and that residents are behind this development as a positive thing, and that health and well-being, recreation, outdoor activity and nature are not only good for the soul but good for the community.

Michael Passalacqua

Washington