At the Sept. 9 meeting the Parks and Recreation Board discussed outreach to park user groups to support fundraising for the borough’s Master Park Plan. Board members said they had contacted user groups to ask whether they have experience with fundraising and whether they would be willing to partner on specific park‑plan components once the borough council prioritizes projects.

The chair said two user groups — the Girl Scouts and a guitar program identified as "Danny's guitar" in the record — were excluded from the outreach because they draw participants from a wider region and are not neighborhood‑specific. The board said it intends to cast a wide net to groups that can partner on fundraising for prioritized portions of the plan.

Board members discussed examples from nearby towns where multi‑year fundraising campaigns, corporate sponsorships and private donations were used to build major playground projects. "When Quingertown redid the playground portion of one of their largest parks, they got donations from corporate sponsor donations, private citizens, and then traditional fundraising," a board member said, describing a three‑year time frame from start to build.

The board emphasized that council must first prioritize which elements of the Master Park Plan to implement. "The timing for them to decide is to be determined," the chair said. The board identified its role as community advocate: members will continue outreach to user groups and encourage residents to push council to prioritize plan components. Board members said they will revisit the topic and report back after further outreach and once council begins feasibility and prioritization exercises.

(Ending) The board plans to follow up with user groups ahead of its November meeting and to coordinate with council’s prioritization timeline.