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Norristown Rotaract seeks council permission to plan bat-box installations in borough parks
Summary
Norristown Rotaract requested preliminary council permission to begin planning and fundraising to install one to three bat boxes in borough parks, citing habitat loss and white-nose syndrome threats to bats.
A member of Norristown Rotaract asked council for permission Tuesday to begin planning and fundraising to install one to three bat boxes in Norristown parks.
Jane Peekle, speaking for Rotaract Norristown, said the volunteer group is a service club of local residents and proposed installing bat boxes — mounted on posts about 15 feet high and placed within a quarter-mile of water — to provide habitat and increase local bat populations. Peekle said bats consume large numbers of insects and that many U.S. bat species are in severe decline, partly from white-nose syndrome.
Peekle told council the group is not seeking municipal funding at this time and would pursue grants and professional assistance from conservation groups and a private firm in Carlisle, Pa. She asked public works to dig the required three-foot-deep post holes if the borough approves the project to move forward with planning and fundraising. Council members asked about maintenance; Peekle said some commercially available bat boxes are advertised as maintenance-free and Rotaract would select designs considering maintenance needs.
No formal council vote was recorded; Peekle asked for “preliminary permission” to start planning and fundraising. Council members thanked the presenter and had no further objections recorded in the transcript.
