2026-09-02 - Parks and Recreation Committee

[Roll Call: Chair Santos, Pungo, Binder] OKAY, COOL. HELLO, EVERYONE. WELCOME TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE. MYSELF AND MY COMMITTEE PEOPLE ARE HERE. COUNCIL PERSON, PONGO AND COUNCIL PERSON

BENDER. WE HAVE [15-8597 Bill 59 Amending the 2026 Equipment Fund Budget to provide for an increase of Forty-Eight Thousand Nine Hundred Eighty-Five Dollars ($48,985.00) for the purchase of 1 electric

passenger vehicle. The City was awarded $120,070 from the US Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program and $60,000 funded Pennsylvania Alternative Fuels

Incentive Grant (AFIG) program. The majority of this grant funding has been spent on 6 vehicles in 2025, but an additional $24,652.85 between both programs remain. The available funding allows the

City to purchase 1 additional electric vehicle with the remaining funds. ] TWO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT. BILL 59, PLEASE. JANICE'S BILL 59 AMENDS THE 2026 EQUIPMENT FUND BUDGET TO PROVIDE FOR AN

INCREASE OF $48,985 FOR THE PURCHASE OF ONE ELECTRIC PASSENGER VEHICLE. THE CITY WAS AWARDED 1000 $120,070 FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM,

AND $60,000 FUNDED BY PENNSYLVANIA ALTERNATIVE FUELS INCENTIVE GRANT PROGRAM. THE MAJORITY OF THIS GRANT FUNDING HAS BEEN SPENT ON SIX VEHICLES IN 2025, BUT AN ADDITIONAL $24,652.85 BETWEEN BOTH

PROGRAMS REMAIN. THE AVAILABLE FUNDING ALLOWS THE CITY TO PURCHASE ONE ADDITIONAL ELECTRIC VEHICLE WITH THE REMAINING FUNDS. THANK YOU. AND THEN WE HAVE MISS TULINO TO GIVE US SOME CONTEXT ON THAT.

GREAT. YES. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL. SO THIS IS AS GENESIS STATED, THE REMAINING GRANT FUNDS FROM THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE GRANT THAT WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR. SO IT ESSENTIALLY ALLOWS THE CITY TO

PURCHASE A VEHICLE FOR 50% OF THE THE PRICE. ALSO, WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF SIGNIFICANT TAX REBATES LAST YEAR. SO THAT WE JUST MENTIONED THAT KNOWING THAT THIS HAS BEEN A LONG PROCESS AND

WE'VE PURCHASED MOST OF THE VEHICLES, AND THIS IS THE ONLY ONE THAT WE WEREN'T ABLE TO PROCURE LAST YEAR. SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WORKED WITH PARKS, PUBLIC WORKS TO FIGURE OUT. AND IT'S GOING TO

BE BENEFICIAL TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION TEAM, MOSTLY THE REC TEAM, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A SAFE VEHICLE FOR US TO USE. RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE SOME SOME OLDER VEHICLES, AND THIS WILL BE ONE THAT IS FOR

RECREATION TEAM. SO WHEN THEY'RE OUT IN WORKING WITH COMMUNITY, IT'LL BE ELECTRIC CLEAN CAR AS WELL AS BRANDED FOR FOR PARKS AND REC IF WE'RE ABLE TO DO THAT AS WELL EVENTUALLY. SO THANK YOU. ANY

COMMENTS FROM MY COMMITTEE MEMBERS? ANYONE? THANK YOU, MISS SELENA. I GUESS MY QUESTION WAS, SO WE'RE REPLACING A VEHICLE IN THE FLEET. IS THAT VEHICLE STAYING IN THE FLEET OR I'M. SO THE FLEET IS

MANAGED BY PUBLIC WORKS AND THEY HAVE A FIVE YEAR PLAN AND THEY INSPECT THE VEHICLES AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON WHICH VEHICLES STAY IN THE FLEET AND WHICH ONES THEY THAT DON'T STAY IN THE FLEET.

RIGHT NOW WE HAVE A VEHICLE THAT'S FAIRLY OLD. IT'S AN EXPLORER, AND IT HAS MANY MILES ON IT. SO I'M ANTICIPATING THEY'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THAT ONE ONCE. IF IF THIS GOES THROUGH TO ANALYZE WHETHER OR

NOT THAT CONTINUES TO STAY ON THE FLEET. SO I WOULD THINK THAT THAT'S THE ONE THEY WOULD LOOK AT. BUT AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO SPEAK FOR FOR FLEET, BUT THAT'S TYPICALLY HOW THEY ANALYZE WHICH VEHICLES

STAY. SO THIS WOULD REPLACE ONE THAT THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE. OKAY. PERFECT. AND THEN THE, THE TRANSFER OF THE $48,000 IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 24 TO THE FULL AMOUNT OF THE VEHICLE, OR IS THAT

JUST THE TOTAL TRANSFER? THAT'S THE TOTAL TRANSFER. AND THEN THE 24 IS, IS THE GRANT. SO AS FAR IT WOULD BE, THAT'S THE TOTAL COST OF THE VEHICLE IS THE 48,000. SO IT'D BE ABOUT 24000 OF THE EQUIPMENT

FUND. YES, EXACTLY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? ANYONE FROM THE DAIS? YEAH, YEAH. DO WE HAVE CAPACITY TO CHARGE ALL THE VEHICLES? AND AT WHAT POINT WOULD WE NEED TO INCREASE

THAT CAPACITY? THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION. SO THE PREVIOUS VEHICLES THERE WAS A GRANT TO CREATE A CHARGER THAT COULD FACILITATE CHARGING THE ORIGINAL PURCHASE THAT WERE USED FOR SWEEP. SO THEY WERE ALL

PARKED AT THE PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING. AND THEY HAVE A CHARGER THAT CAN HOLD THE CAPACITY FOR ALL THOSE VEHICLES. THIS ONE IS GOING TO BE JUST A SINGLE VEHICLE, AND OUR ELECTRICIAN IS GOING TO BE ABLE

TO CREATE THE THE PLUG FOR THAT AT OUR OFFICE. SO IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ANYTHING REALLY HIGH TECH, SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO IN-HOUSE WITH A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS OF JUST MATERIALS. SO WE WILL HAVE THE

ABILITY TO CHARGE THIS VEHICLE RELATIVELY QUICKLY. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON THIS? YEAH. COME ON UP. ALLENTOWN AND POCONO SUMMIT. I KIND OF SORT OF

MOVED IN RELATION TO THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE IDEA. ONE OF THE IDEAS I HAD SOMETIME BACK, NOBODY EVER WORKED ON IT WAS TO INSTALL SOLAR PANELS AT THE PUBLIC WORKS BUILDING AND VARIOUS OTHER PLACES, ALONG

WITH A BATTERY BANK, SO THAT RENEWABLE ENERGY CAN BE USED TO CHARGE THESE ELECTRIC VEHICLES, AS WELL AS ELECTRIC CYCLES FOR THE POLICE OFFICERS. SO THAT WAY WHEN THEY RIDE UP THE HILL, THEY DON'T WEAR

OUT SO QUICK. JUST A THOUGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON BILL 59? SEEING NONE, CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD MOTION TO MOVE THIS FORWARD BY MR. PONGO? I'LL

SECOND. SECONDED BY MR. BENDER. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY I, I I. AND THIS WILL MOVE FORWARD TO FULL COUNCIL. BILL 60, PLEASE. BILL [15-8598 Bill 60 Amending the 2026 Capital Fund and General Fund

Operating Budgets to provide for a transfer of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000) from the 2026 Parks & Recreation Aquatics Operating Budget into the Ithaca Park Capital Budget for the purchase and

installation of a new pavilion at Ithaca Park.] 60 AMENDS THE 2026 CAPITAL FUND AND GENERAL FUND OPERATING BUDGETS TO PROVIDE FOR A TRANSFER OF $20,000 FROM THE 2026 PARKS AND REC AQUATICS OPERATING

BUDGET INTO THE ITHACA PARK CAPITAL BUDGET FOR THE PURCHASE AND INSTALLATION OF A NEW PAVILION AT ITHACA PARK. THANK YOU, MISS SELENA. SO WE WERE LUCKY ENOUGH TO RECEIVE A GRANT THROUGH THE

PARTNERSHIP, THE ALLENTOWN PARTNERSHIP. AND PART OF THAT GRANT WAS TO FUND A CAPITAL, A CAPITAL PROJECT, AS WELL AS RECREATION, PART OF OUR RECREATION PROGRAM. SO THEY WERE THEY FUNDED THE SAFETY

AROUND WATER, WHICH WAS A REALLY WONDERFUL PROGRAM. WE SERVED A LOT OF CHILDREN, AND THEY WENT TO THE POOLS. IT WAS THROUGH A SUMMER PLAYGROUND PROGRAM. AND WHEN WE INITIALLY RECEIVED THE GRANT, WE

THOUGHT WE WERE GOING TO NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR LIKE OUR TRAINERS FOR LIFEGUARD INSTRUCTORS. AND THE WHITE RIVER CROSSING YMCA WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE. SO WE HAD ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR

THAT ASPECT. SO WE WERE GOING TO APPLY THAT FUNDING AND MOVE IT INTO THE ITHACA PROJECT, WHICH WAS ALSO ONE THAT WAS SUPPORTED BY THE ALLENTOWN PARTNERSHIP. SO IT'S JUST MOVING THE MONEY FROM ONE

ACCOUNT TO THE OTHER, SEEMINGLY OUT OF A RECREATION PROGRAM. BUT IT'S REALLY BECAUSE WE WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH ADDITIONAL PARTNERS TO FILL THAT FUNDING GAP. THANK YOU. ANY COMMENTS FROM MY COMMITTEE

MEMBERS ON THIS? YEAH. SO A QUICK QUESTION. SO THE THE 20 THE 20 K THAT'S BEING MOVED FOR NEXT YEAR. SINCE I DAYS WERE POPULAR. WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? IF THIS MONEY IS MOVED OUT FROM THE STANDPOINT

OF BEING ABLE TO FULFILL THOSE THOSE NEEDS NEXT YEAR, SO THE MONEY THAT WE RECEIVED WAS INTENDED TO BE SPENT IN 1 IN 1 CALENDAR YEAR. SO IT'S NOT IF THE PARTNERSHIP HAS COMMITTED TO US THAT THEY WILL

SUPPORT OUR GOALS ANNUALLY. SO WHEN WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM LATER THIS YEAR, I'LL WE'LL DISCUSS WHAT THAT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. SO IS THAT SUPPORTING LEARN TO SWIM AGAIN? COULD THAT MEAN

SUPPORTING TRANSPORTATION, WHICH IS WHAT THEY SUPPORTED THIS YEAR? OR COULD IT MEAN SUPPORTING ANOTHER PIECE OF THAT PROGRAM, WHICH WOULD BE IT COULD BE WE TALKED ABOUT LIKE WHEN YOU HAVE GYM CLASS,

EVERYONE HAS THE SAME BATHING SUIT AND THINGS. SO THAT WAY THE KIDS, WHEN THEY GO TO THE POOL, SOME KIDS DON'T HAVE BATHING SUITS, SO MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING ELSE AS PART OF THAT PROGRAM. BUT THAT WAS A

REALLY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM. SO WE WANT TO KEEP IT GOING, AND I'M COMMITTED TO HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PARTNERSHIP, AND I KNOW THEY'RE DEFINITELY OPEN TO THAT AS WELL. SO OKAY. YEAH. THANK

YOU. BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW THAT THEY HAD TO BE SPENT THIS IN THIS IN THIS CYCLE. SO I APPRECIATE THAT. IT'S HELPFUL INFORMATION. THAT'S THE GOAL. I'M NOT 100%. WE'LL BE ABLE TO SPEND THIS BY THE END

OF THE CALENDAR YEAR. BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO TO DO. DO YOU KNOW IF WE DON'T DOES THAT DOES IT HAVE TO THEN GO BACK OR WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? THEY ARE FLEXIBLE WITH US ON ON THE DATE. IT'S

A LOT EASIER FOR US TO JUST THE WAY WE. IT'S STRUCTURED IN A CAPITAL ACCOUNT, IT'S EASIER FOR US TO HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME AS OPPOSED TO IN THE OPERATING BUDGET. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANYONE

ELSE FROM THE COMMITTEE OR DAIS? YEAH. JUST ONE QUICK QUESTION. WHEN YOU MENTIONED PURCHASE OF A PAVILION, IS THAT SIMILAR TO HOW WE HAVE PAVILIONS IN CEDAR BEACH? ARE THEY FOR RENTALS? AND IS THAT

WHAT YOU'RE ENVISIONING HERE? SO THIS ONE, I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT THE IT WON'T BE IT PROBABLY WON'T BE RENTED. IT'S GOING TO BE A LITTLE BIT SMALLER. IT'S MEANT TO SUPPORT THE SUMMER

PLAYGROUND PROGRAM. THEY'RE THERE NOW AND THEY DON'T. WE'RE GOING TO DO A SHADE STRUCTURE WHICH IS WOULD WORK. IT WOULD DO THE JOB. BUT A SMALLER PAVILION WITH A COUPLE TABLES UNDER IT WILL DO A MUCH

BETTER JOB FOR THE KIDS THAT WILL BE THERE. SO WE ARE LOOKING AT EACH OF THE SITES, AND IF THERE ARE PLACES WHERE THE KIDS DON'T HAVE COVER, THEN THOSE ARE THE AREAS WE'RE FOCUSING ON, TRYING TO MAKE

SURE THAT WE ADD A PAVILION OR SHADE STRUCTURE OR SOMETHING. SO IF IT GETS REALLY HOT OR IF IT RAINS, WE WANT A PLACE FOR THEM TO, TO BE UNDER COVER BECAUSE RIGHT NOW WE'RE USING E-Z UPS IN SOME

LOCATIONS LIKE THE TENTS, WHICH ISN'T IDEAL. SO THIS WILL BE A GREAT FIT FOR SUPPORTING THAT, THAT PROGRAM. AND WE DO HAVE A PRETTY LARGE NUMBER OF KIDS THAT ATTEND ITHACA. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FROM THE DAIS ON THIS MATTER? SEEING NONE. ANY COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON BILL 60? ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE CAN HAVE A I'M SORRY, A MOTION TO MOVE IT. YEAH. CAN I HAVE A MOTION TO

MOVE THIS FORWARD? MR. BENDER? MOTION. I'LL SECOND THAT MOTION, MR. PONGO SECONDED. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. AND THIS WILL MOVE FORWARD TO FULL COUNCIL. THEN YOU HAD A QUESTION, MR. BENDER. I

HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION. I GUESS THIS IS RELATED TO THE THE PROJECT BETWEEN TREXLER AND AND THE ROSE GARDEN, THE THE CONNECTION, THE CONNECTOR. SO I KNOW THAT ANNOUNCEMENT HAPPENED A COUPLE OF WEEKS

AGO. IT'S EXCITING. I JUST WANTED TO KNOW, DO YOU HAVE ANY DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE INFORMATION ABOUT IT OR A TIMELINE OR WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? I CAN PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION. TIMELINE WISE, WE HAVEN'T

RECEIVED THE GRANT CONTRACT OR ANYTHING YET, SO WE'RE REALLY IN THE EARLY STAGES. THAT WAS A REALLY EXCITING. I WAS VERY SURPRISED THAT WE NOT SURPRISED, BUT PLEASANTLY SURPRISED THAT WE RECEIVED THAT

FUNDING BECAUSE THAT'S SUCH A, IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME THAT PEOPLE WERE INTERESTED IN MAKING THAT CONNECTION BETWEEN CEDAR AND TREXLER, AND IT'S A SHORT RUN, BUT IT'S. YOU JUST CAN'T SAFELY MANEUVER IT.

SO I DON'T HAVE THE CONTRACT DOCUMENTS OR ANYTHING YET, BUT I'M ANTICIPATING THAT THE DESIGN WILL TAKE. THE DESIGN FOR TRAILS ALWAYS TAKES ABOUT 18 MONTHS. WHENEVER YOU'RE IN A FLOOD PLAIN, WHICH.

THAT IS THE COMPLICATING PART IS SOMEHOW GETTING THE TRAIL EITHER OUT OF THE FLOODPLAIN OR MANEUVERING AROUND THE GUARDRAIL THAT'S THERE ON PARKWAY BOULEVARD, SO IT'LL PROBABLY BE AN 18 MONTH DESIGN

AND THEN SIX MONTHS TO CONSTRUCT. SO ONCE WE GET THE CONTRACT, IT'LL PROBABLY BE ABOUT TWO YEARS OUT BEFORE IT'LL BE COMPLETED. OKAY. AND IS THE PLAN, DO YOU KNOW TO JUST IS IT GOING TO BE WALKING? DO

YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT LIKE THE OVERALL PLAN? I KNOW THE DESIGN IS 18 MONTHS, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS CONCEPTUALLY. YES. SO WE COMPLETED A CONCEPT PLAN TO FIGURE OUT THAT WE CAN DO IT. WE ARE ABLE TO

MAKE THE CONNECTION AND IT'LL BE A AN OFFSHOOT OF THE TRAIL FROM THE ONE THAT'S EXISTING. AND THEN THEY'LL HAVE TO BE LIKE A BOARDWALK OR RAMP READING LEADING UP TO WHERE THE GUARDRAIL CURRENTLY IS,

AND THEN IT'LL LEAD THE PEDESTRIANS UP TO THE EXISTING CROSSWALK. SO I SAW THERE WAS SOME COMMENTS ON LIKE GOING UNDER THE BRIDGE OR A PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE OVER CEDAR CREST. IT REALLY IS JUST MAKING THAT

CONNECTION FROM THE THE EXISTING TRAIL UP TO THAT ALREADY EXISTING SAFE PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALK. AND THEN ONCE YOU GET ON TO THE OTHER SIDE OF CEDAR CREST, THEN IT'LL BE A SHORT RUN AS WELL TO CONNECT

YOU SAFELY TO THE TRAILS IN TREXLER. SO IT'S A LITTLE, I THINK IT'S LIKE 0.7 MILE TRAIL, INCLUDING THE CROSSING OF THE ROAD, BUT WE WON'T BE MAKING ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO THAT ACTUAL CROSSWALK BECAUSE

THERE ARE PEDESTRIAN CROSSWALKS THERE NOW. YEAH, IT WAS GREAT TO SEE SENATOR MILLER AND REPRESENTATIVE SCHLOSSBERG WORK TOGETHER, WORK TO ADVOCATE FOR THAT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE A GREAT

CONNECTOR, AND I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THAT. SO, YES, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU, SENATOR MILLER, REPRESENTATIVE SCHLOSSBERG AND REPRESENTATIVE SQUIRE, THEY HAVE ALL BEEN REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF PARKS

PROJECTS. SO WE'RE ALWAYS GRATEFUL WHEN THEY'RE ABLE TO ADVOCATE ON BEHALF OF. I APOLOGIZE, I DIDN'T HAVE SQUIRE ON THE. I'M SORRY I DIDN'T SEE HIM ON THE PRESS RELEASE. I APOLOGIZE. I'LL JUST ADD ON

TO THAT REAL QUICK BEFORE WE ADJOURN. JUST A QUICK NOTE AND I'M SURE IT'LL GO THROUGH THE DESIGN PHASE, BUT I THINK THERE'S SOME VALUE INTO COORDINATING WITH PENNDOT. I KNOW CEDAR CREST BEING A LARGER

ROAD THAT SPANS SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS. THE CROSSWALKS MAY EXIST, BUT I THINK I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THAT LIGHT A COUPLE TIMES THAT IT'S PRETTY QUICK TO SWITCH. SO IF IT BECOMES A VERY POPULAR

THOROUGHFARE, IT MAY BE WORTHWHILE LOOKING AT SOME OF THOSE CROSSWALK TIMES AND DELAYS AND ALL THAT SORT OF STUFF. SO YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT POINT. EVEN WITH SIGNAGE LEADING UP TO IT ON CEDAR CREST OR

SOME THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S, IT'S SAFE BECAUSE IT IS A LONG, IT'S A RELATIVELY LONG DISTANCE TO CROSS THAT STREET. SO THAT'S A GOOD POINT TO NOT, NOT LEAVE THAT OUT OF THE PLANNING.

WE WOULDN'T DO THAT. BUT. SURE. SO BUT YES. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH. WITH * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.