HANOVER TOWNSHIP, NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Pa. – First Responders Park in Hanover Township has been awarded a more than half a million dollar grant to upgrade its temporary amenities to permanent ones.
State Rep. Steve Samuelson and State Sen. Nick Miller obtained the $570,467 grant from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority.
The expansive 24.78-acre park is currently equipped with a playground, designated soccer and lacrosse fields, in addition to 160 parking spaces. However, the portable bathrooms and storage trailers located on each field make having large-group sporting events difficult as space is limited.
“It was an absolute, delightful surprise. We thought it was going to take a lot longer to get close to the total we will need for this project.”Susan Lawless
Hanover Township supervisors chairwoman Susan Lawless announced the grant Tuesday night at a supervisors meeting.
“It was an absolute, delightful surprise. We thought it was going to take a lot longer to get close to the total we will need for this project,” said Lawless. “It’s a very large park, and it would be great for hosting tournaments and things like that, but it has no field house."
Township supervisors intend to change that with a plan to construct a permanent field house, complete with restrooms with disability access, storage facilities for equipment used by the township and organizations that use the park, and a concession area.
“The township has been looking for ways to fund the construction of a fieldhouse for concessions,” said Lawless, “and more importantly, bathrooms, so the park can be more useful not only to the township but the Lehigh Valley. Recreational tourism is a big thing now in the Lehigh Valley.
“This was not expected as a 2025 project because we thought we had the first grant, enough to start engineering and planning. Now, we can really look at what it would cost.”Susan Lawless
“We have a public works department that is just second to none, and they do take a tremendous amount of pride in their work. They’re very excited.”
Samuelson and Miller also obtained a $100,704 CFA grant last year to be used toward the project.
Lawless said the township hasn’t even started bids on the project yet. Prices post-COVID made it difficult to solidify the plans.
“You think a project is going to be X and it’s X times two,” said Lawless. “So it’s possible the township will have to put some funds toward it, but we knew that."
The supervisors also approved publishing their 2025 budget at the meeting Tuesday, not including the grant.
“This was not expected as a 2025 project because we thought we had the first grant, enough to start engineering and planning. Now, we can really look at what it would cost.”
