EASTON, Pa. — Easton Area School Board has agreed to pay $30,000 to help fix up the basketball courts at Vanderveer Park in an agreement with the city.
The agreement, approved by the school board Tuesday, will have the school district pay for materials and supplies.
The city will handle the costs of milling and paving the existing court surfaces, installing new baskets and providing line striping for the courts.
City Councilman Frank Pintabone originally suggested a partnership with the school district at a meeting in May, when then-city Public Works Director David Hopkins presented a report on potential improvements to Vanderveer and Centennial Parks.
“And if they can come up with $25,000, $30,000 to help with the basketball courts, we’ll take on the majority of the work."Frank Pintabone
Pintabone said he had been meeting with representatives from the school district to help alleviate some of the cost of the basketball courts.
“And if they can come up with $25,000, $30,000 to help with the basketball courts, we’ll take on the majority of the work," he said at the May council meeting.
"We rent… we lease Vanderveer — I get it. We’re putting in $300,000-plus there. The school district owns it. We lease Lachenour, the city owns it. We just put $31,622 into there.”
Pintabone said such partnerships could help the city with other such projects while increasing green space and community areas in the city.
The cash infusion from EASD was intended to help alleviate some of the expense of revamping the entire Vanderveer Park, which in May was estimated to cost upwards of $350,000.
Now, some officials are speculating the price may be even higher.
'A really nice aesthetic'
In May, Hopkins said Vanderveer, at 12th and Spring Garden streets, is set to have its entrances relocated, along with the installation of an ADA path, bike path and new playground equipment.
“We’re proposing all-new playground equipment for the center: a big swing set and a large climber, and over in the corner by 11th Street, we proposed a huge natural play area," he said.
"It has a lot of balance beams, tunnels, these are steppers for the kids — they’re like small pieces of cut wood. There are berms. It’s more like a runaround and run through and play."
Other features may include a new, larger pavilion, an open concrete pad for hopscotch, chalk art, and other activities and installing planting beds and sitting stones.
“So a lot of the same basic elements, just a different layout, and I think it will have a really nice aesthetic,” Hopkins said at the May meeting.
The $30,000 in funding came from the Foundation for Easton Schools, a privately funded charity that “seeks to develop, promote and finance innovative programs not supported by school tax dollars.”
A private donor contributed $30,000 to the foundation several years ago, followed by several additional contributions of $20,000 per year.
EASD Board President Meg Sayago said the board is grateful for the funds and the potential to help improve the courts for students and the community as a whole.
“I'm hoping that we can do a big press event where we recognize the donors who came forward from the foundation to help with this particular project,” Sayago said.
