The Salisbury Township Recreation Advisory Committee met via Zoom May 17 with Recreation Director Genny Baillie, Chair Mark Wilson, Vice Chair Patrick Jacoby and Secretary Kimberly Ringhoffer in attendance. Members Francis J. McCullough and Trisha Dickert were not in attendance.

In advisory reports, Jacoby said both Lindberg Park and Green Acres Park looked cleaned up and ready for the season.

Wilson said he has driven by the parks. Lindberg Park is up and running. He said there is a full parking lot in general. People are using the park and utilizing it.

“Reservations for the month of May are completely booked,” Baillie said. She said they are booked very well into June as well.

“It’s awesome,” Wilson said.

In Baillie’s staff report, she said Jim Levernier, acting director of public works, took over for John Andreas. He has a crew working at Laubach Park to “spruce things up a little bit.” They are in the process of installing electricity into the bathrooms and perhaps the pavilion. Also included are new toilets and sinks and maybe some paint until the master plan is approved.

Baillie said the board has decided they need to have a water study done at Laubach Park. The board is looking to get water remediation done which is the first step toward the master plan. She said things are starting to move forward in that direction.

Baillie said the swings are now ordered for Lindberg Park. They were part of the master plan but were not installed when they had to shift the accessible playground. Public works staff will install the swings when they are received; however, there is a backlog.

Baillie talked about canceling the playground program. She shared an email sent to residents questioning the decision.

“While guidelines/restrictions have relaxed for vaccinated adults the restrictions for children have not. Children are still required to wear masks, social distance, be grouped in cohorts, not share supplies, etc. Surfaces, equipment, supplies, all have to be sanitized regularly after each use.

“All of this makes our program impossible to run. Even if the restrictions were to change in the coming weeks the hiring process takes time as all candidates must be interviewed and then those to be employed must apply for PA State Criminal Checks, PA Child Abuse Clearances and FBI clearances. These clearances must be received before an employee can begin working with children. It is not possible to start up quickly.

“Canceling the summer playground program is disappointing for the children of the township, for the staff who love their work and who depend on the summer employment and for myself. I thoroughly enjoy putting this program together for the children to play and socialize under the supervision of our counselors. We have been asked to ‘pivot’ many times throughout this pandemic as we must put safety first. While we can’t run our playground program, I am working on some fun, safe events for our township families to enjoy this summer.”

First, Baillie said she is researching holding two family movie nights.

She is looking for inflatable movie screens and a projector. Baillie said they are costly but money is in the budget since the township has not held the playground program for two years. The location will be determined but the committee is considering Franko Park.

A 20-foot inflatable screen for 2 ½ hours, projector, audio system, movie night host and microphone will be $749.

A 30-foot screen is $1,299.

The cost for movie rights will be between $500-600 from Swank.

The new animated Disney movie, “Raya The Last Dragon” has a release date of July 12.

Children will need to be accompanied by parents since there is no staff to watch the children.

Ringhoffer will pursue other vendors for pricing.

Baillie said they may spray paint the grass to show required distancing.

Ringhoffer also suggested an IronPigs night for Salisbury Township. She will pursue pricing. She said the IronPigs are not fully open and there are still restrictions including mask wearing.

Jacoby suggested a Salisbury night at PuttU miniature golf in Center Valley.

The committee does not know if they are partnering with the police department for National Night Out. There has been no decision yet from the police if this will be held.

The next meeting will be held 7:30 p.m. July 19 via Zoom.