If the public wants to see correspondence between the Salisbury Youth Association and the Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners and township officials, it will take a Right-To-Know Request.

Salisbury Township Manager Cathy Bonaskiewich announced at the March 11 board of commissioners meeting Salisbury Youth Association information back to Jan. 7 has been received by the township administration.

Commissioners met in the township municipal building meeting room. The public and media observed the proceedings via Zoom.

When asked by a reporter for The Press, writing in the chat portion of the Zoom platform, if the correspondence would be made available to the public, Bonaskiewich replied, via her microphone, “It won’t be posted on the [township] website, but it will be available to a Right-To-Know request.”

The Right-To-Know law is intended to provide access to public records of governmental bodies in Pennsylvania.

The Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Act, also known as the Sunshine Law, was passed by the state legislature, signed by then Gov. Ed Rendell and went into effect Jan. 1, 2009.

Use of township park athletic fields was discussed during the public comment portion of the Feb. 25 township meeting, for which as many as 13 participants were listed on the Zoom platform.

Daniel Soria, Salisbury Youth Association president, asked about an update to the SYA’s request for use of athletic fields in the parks and specifically an upgrade of the baseball field at Franko Farm Park.

“When can we have a resolution to what was presented?” Soria asked via Zoom.

“I don’t think there will be any action on it this year,” Bonaskiewich replied.

“We are trying alternatives. Perhaps the school district can partner with us. Maybe when we do the Master Plan for Laubach and Franko, we can,” Bonaskiewich said.

“I’m not too happy with the way things went,” Soria said.

“It just doesn’t seem that there’s any opportunity to discuss. I asked Hamilton Park twice and they shut us down,” Soria said.

“I’m looking at 12 teams that I’m trying to accommodate,” Soria continued.

“I just feel that the process for us has been an unfair process,” Soria said.

“I talked to Monica Deeb. It’s a no-go at the middle school,” Soria said.

“It’s a simple process at Franko. It can open up a whole lot for the youth,” Soria said.

“It was a discussion and decision that was made in-house,” Bonaskiewich said, noting, “John [Andreas, former Salisbury Township public works director] and Jim [Levernier, acting public works director] were part of the discussion.”

“There’s always two sides to every story,” Salisbury Township Board of Commissioners President Debra Brinton said.

“How many fields?” Brinton asked.

“Nine,” Bonaskiewich replied.

“SYA uses seven,” Bonaskiewich said.

“These are parks. These are parks for everyone,” Brinton said.

“We had the opportunity to use the high school field, just like we can this year,” Dennis Grejda said via Zoom.

“The game plan is that Legion and Connie Mack will use the high school field,” Grejda said.

“It’s the junior Connie Mack team that we’re saying could use Franko. But it needs changes,” Grejda said.

Bonaskiewich said she met with Monica Deeb, Salisbury Township School District athletic director.

“I think there should be some participation of the school district. It wasn’t a very productive meeting. I was planning on pursuing it further, even in tandem with the township,” Bonaskiewich said.

Soria, noting the SYA’s Jan. 27 proposal, said, “What we all need to do, including the board, is to go over the updated paper.

“We cannot use the middle school field. Number one, there are no amenities there,” Soria said.

“We’re back to our original proposal. It all boils down to that you will not add a mound at Franko,” Soria said.

“We offered to take financial responsibility for this,” Soria said.

“We’re trying to go out about it the right way,” Soria said.

“We have the kids. They can play at that level. They’re not professionals. They’re kids. This is still recreation. If somebody wants to sit down and talk about what we’re trying to do with these kids, I will do so,” Soria said.

“Our program takes over Laubach,” Soria said.

“The school district is a huge partner. They do a lot for us,” Soria said.

“The middle school has a huge object in the field,” Soria said.

“This is for the community. Maybe you should ask the community and they should have a say in this,” Soria said.

“Hamilton Park basically rejected Daniel’s request in that they see no benefit to SYA’s proposal,” Grejda said.

Levernier said the Franko field presents problems. “Even if the township agreed to do something with Franko field, it has a swale. We’d have to regrade the field.

“It wouldn’t happen for this season. There’s no way to get it ready for this season,” Levernier said.

“And that’s one thing that I discussed with you, Daniel,” Bonaskiewich said.

“I can appreciate that. Thank you for being the first person to explain that,” Soria said.

“Does that mean it will be considered for next year?” Soria asked.

“It really becomes: At what point do you want to lose the field?” Levernier asked.

“This last year was a great time to get work done at Laubach,” Levernier said.

“That’s something that we can work out,” Soria said.

“At this point, since we are doing a master plan for Franko, we don’t plan on redoing the fields,” Commissioner Heather Lipkin said.

“What is the timetable for a master plan?” Grejda asked, adding, “I don’t see it budgeted.”

“I don’t have a timetable,” Lipkin said.

“And that’s a financial problem,” Bonaskiewich said.

“Right now the township does not have a time frame established. There’s no time frame to complete the master plan,” Grejda said.

“Can they play all the games away?” Lipkin asked.

“That’s an emotional issue. We look like a second-rate township that we can’t play with a mound,” Soria said.

“We take pride that they come play us at home,” Soria said.

“My daughter played softball from when she was 5 or 6 until she graduated. I coached,” Brinton said.

“I just want you guys to understand, we got kids who want to play baseball,” Soria said.

“I’m going to go back to my membership,” Soria said.

“They’re welcome to come and talk to us,” Lipkin said.

“I didn’t know there was a swale. I don’t know anything about skinning a field,” Brinton said.

“Everybody has a valid point. If it’s something that we can’t do this year, I apologize,” Brinton said.

“We need to talk about a master plan. Because I am not going to wait 10 years for a bathroom to go up at Laubach,” Brinton said.

“All the people on the board agree. I’m sorry. OK. We’re done with that,” Brinton said and called for the meeting to adjourn, which happened at 8:04 p.m. Feb. 25.

The SYA discussion lasted approximately 25 minutes.

Commissioners met in executive session after the meeting.