Gerald Richards Park, as seen via Google Earth

SANATOGA PA – After six months of public meetings, preceded by months more of discussions among Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township staff members and commissioners, it’s approaching commit-and-quit time for the future planning of Gerald Richards and Pleasantview parks.

A group of volunteers that at times varied between 10 and 25 members has met almost monthly (they skipped a February 2011 get-together) since last November to review, critique, and ultimately favor one of three plans each for the future design and layout of Richards, the township’s busiest park property, and Pleasantview, its newest. Richards is located on Buchert Road; Pleasantview, on North Pleasant View Road at Bliem Road.

Simone Collins, a Norristown landscape architectural firm that has a long history of work in Lower Pottsgrove, used a similar consult and collaborate formula last year as it designed Snell and Norton parks on the township’s east side. In fact, grant money left over from that project paid for the most recent design work.

Now the volunteers are scheduled to gather for a final time, on April 26 (2011; Tuesday) at 6:30 p.m. in Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Pottstown PA, to put their official approval on recommendations for both Richards and Pleasantview and forward them to the Board of Commissioners. Their last session is open to the public – just as the others have been – to let people see what the parks might look like years from now.

Pleasantview is envisioned as a home mostly for baseball and softball, with a soccer game or special recreational activity, and a walking trail, thrown in for good measure. Richards is forecast primarily for soccer, with many of its current field drainage problems solved and baseball taking a back seat.

What remains up in the air is when the plans can be put to use as more than drawings displayed on an office wall. Although the group agrees on functions and designs for each park, finding money to make them happen falls to the commissioners.

Board members are encouraged, they’ve said, by what they see and hear from all involved in the process; Commissioner Michael McGroarty has been one of the volunteers, and reported regularly on the process to his colleagues. However, the cash needed for construction may not be available until the economy dramatically improves.

When it does, the plans should be there … waiting.

Related (to Pleasantview Park development):

• Township Park Volunteers Prepare For Final Meeting
• Parks Work Successful So Far; Feb. Meeting Canceled
• At Richards Park, Planning Foresees New Uses, Re-uses
• Crucial Meeting Ahead For Township’s Pleasantview Park
• Fledgling Park Gets A Name