Learn more about Peters Township park plans
Peters Township residents who are curious about what the municipality’s side of the former Rolling Hills Country Club property might look like in the future are invited to learn more.
Township council will conduct a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 to present the proposed master plan for Rolling Hills Park, to be located on 90.7 acres on the eastern half of the property. Peters Township School District plans to build a new high school on the other half.
The master plan, developed by township staff members and Mackin Engineering of Findlay Township, calls for numerous amenities for all ages, including a 10-acre aquatics facility. Lancaster-based independent consulting and development firm Wallover Aquatics has been working on designs for an outdoor swimming pool and other water features.
The township increased real estate taxes by one-tenth of a mill for 2018, in part to pay for increased debt service toward the purchase of the Rolling Hills property. Some council members, though, have expressed concerns about financial implications as the park project moves forward.
“We’ve gone through an extensive program of looking at the potential development that we might ultimately see for Rolling Hills Park, and I think we need to speak out and propose that there has to be a distinct caution in how that evolves,” Councilman Robert Lewis said during a discussion about the 2018 budget at the Dec. 11 meeting. “Over 20 years, we might find ourselves approaching something that is reasonably complete, based on the wish list now. But there will be those people who come up and see this master plan and say, ‘I want it now.'”
Frank Arcuri, council chairman, pointed out at the same meeting that substantial improvements to access and infrastructure are necessary before work can begin on the park, itself.
Among the special features called for in the park’s master plan are:
• Adventure Play area, just off the park’s proposed entrance at East McMurray Road, with shade pavilions and play apparatus such as a climbing wall, zip-line and rope course.
• Dog park, with separate areas for small and large dogs, and assorted canine play apparatus.
• Court games area, including facilities for playing basketball, sand volleyball, dek hockey, pickleball, bocce, and outdoor, indoor and platform tennis.
• Nature Play area, with amenities including a rope course and tree house in existing trees, an outdoor classroom and Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant fishing platform.
Further recreational opportunities include mountain bike trails, a bike agility course and an internal system of trails.
For more information, visit www.peterstownship.com.