For several years now, most people have viewed the antics being conducted within Ridgebury Township as just a small step below the cauldron of bad press that is Windham Township.
In fact, Ridgebury Township has been stuck in neutral for the past several years when it comes to moving forward with any specific projects that may bring a benefit to the members of the local community.
That all changed earlier this month when the Ridgebury Township Board of Supervisors finally gave the go-ahead for a new community park to be completed by the end of this year.
Plans for the park, which will be adjacent to the Little League field off the Berwick Turnpike, have been in the works since 2002, when a committee was formed to pursue funding for such a project, and after the North Penn Telephone Co. donated two acres of land next to the Little League field to the township.
Following the donation of that land the committee applied for a $40,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation of Natural Resources, which was awarded in 2004.
Due to some legal wrangling over access to adjacent properties, construction on the park was unable to begin within the grant’s three-year expiration period. In 2007 the supervisors applied for a one-year extension, which was granted.
Ridgebury Township now has until December 31, 2008 for the yet-to-be-named park to be fully finished.
And while there are always naysayers in every crowd, the majority of residents who have spoken on this project have had nothing but positive things to say about this endeavor.
In fact, the creation of this park will give children and their parents in the area a place to go to have fun and enjoy themselves. The township can also count this new park as a positive feature that can be used to attract new residents to the municipality.
This new park will be a substantial benefit to a township that has seen its share of strife over the past few years — and we believe that this endeavor will prove to be quite a positive boon for the municipality and its residents.