Peters Township council accepts $650K grant for baseball field improvements
Peterswood Park’s baseball fields are due for major renovations after council accepted a $650,000 grant Monday.
State Rep. Natalie Mihalek was on hand at council’s meeting to present the grant, which comes from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). The township will match the funding.
“The governor in his last days in office wanted to open up the RACPs and dispense of some of the funds, and if we can bring the funds home I’m always happy to advocate for that,” Mihalek said.
The grant will allow for a host of improvements to baseball fields one and two, including new dugouts, press boxes, lighting and a synthetic turf infield. Design work will be done next year, and construction is planned to begin in 2024.
John Snyder, president of the Peters Township Baseball Association, spoke of how the upgraded fields will give Peters players more opportunities to play and practice baseball.
“For years we played on dirt fields, and when it rains, baseball is shut down,” Snyder said. “To have something like that that can make a nice field with lights, be able to turf it and be able to play baseball year round, it’s just amazing.”
Township Manager Paul Lauer praised Mihalek for her work in securing the grant funding.
“Over the years that I’ve worked here we’ve had some state representatives who have represented us well, but nobody has represented us as well as Natalie Mihalek,” said Lauer.
In other business, council voted unanimously to adopt the the township’s 2023 budget. Taxes will remain steady at 1.7 mills. The budget anticipates the township spending more than $27.5 million, while bringing in $23.2 million.
“The difference is in large part the monies from the American Rescue Plan, as well as we’ll be spending down some of the bond money. Even with that occurring … it would reduce our fund balance somewhat,” Lauer explained. “But the reality is we budget revenues very conservatively, and the same on the expenditure side. What I would anticipate is by the end of the year, this will all balance if not have a slight surplus.”