First day of county park shelter rental always draws a crowd
The calendar may show Jan. 14 as falling in the dead of winter, but, as years past have proven, many will mush to the Courthouse Square office building to reserve a Washington County park shelter on the date of their choice.
“There will be a line,” predicted Lisa Cessna, executive director of the Washington County Planning Commission, which oversees county parks from the seventh floor of Courthouse Square. ” We put chairs out in the hallway the Friday before when we leave here.
“It’s first come, first served.”
County parks are Cross Creek in northern Washington County; Mingo Creek in Nottingham Township; and Ten Mile Creek in southeastern Washington County.
Many families prefer to hold their reunions in the same place on the same weekend every year. Add weddings and high school graduation parties, and you find folks vying for choice spots and days.
Washington County Parks and Recreation will begin accepting 2019 reservations Jan. 14, in person, or by mail with application from Jan. 14-31.
A phone-in option, with a required credit card payment, becomes available Feb. 1 by calling 724-228-6867.
Applications for shelter permits are available online at www.co.washington.pa.us. From the menu at the top of the page, those using the website should go to “departments,” scroll to Parks and Recreation. Under the heading, “available materials,” is a copy of a rental application to print. Those printing the pamphlet are asked to fill out both designated parts.
Permit applications are also available at Bentleyville and Fredericktown libraries; Burgettstown, Brownsville, California, Canonsburg, Donora and McDonald borough buildings; Cross Creek and Peters Township municipal buildings; Eighty Four Agway, Finleyville Giant Eagle and Ten Mile Junction stores; Washington County and Charleroi Chambers of Commerce; and the Monongahela City Hall.
The Washington County commissioners in November approved an increase in the cost of permits for nonresidents’ use of shelters in county parks beginning in 2019.
For example, nonresident fees for large shelters will be $70, up from $67. If the family or group renting the shelter plans to serve beer, the fee will be $95. Nonresident fees for small shelters have risen by $4.
Fees for Scout groups and nonprofit organizations will also change according to the season. During weekends in the off-season, the groups will pay $5 per shelter from Jan. 1 through April 30 and Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, but they will have to pay full price during the peak season from May 1 through Sept. 30.
“The parks are getting too busy for us to be able to” offer a reduced weekend rate, Cessna said. “During peak season it’s full price no matter what.”
The county does not differentiate resident from non-resident for nonprofit and scout groups, Cessna said.
After the January onslaught, a second wave of demand occurs in April when groups schedule “kids’ summer day camps,” Cessna said.
At their Dec. 6 meeting, the commissioners approved the $21,156 purchase of a wooden pavilion from Peter Jeffrey & Associates of Indianola to be be placed at Ten Mile Creek Park. The cost of the structure will be paid from oil and natural gas lease funds.
At Mingo Park, the county is not yet ready to rent the Henry House, a historic stone home that will be renovated for public use.
“It will have its own fee structure,” Cessna said. “We’re hoping it will be available in 2019. It would more than likely be pretty late in the season. I haven’t gotten a bid package together yet.”