NL Community Center in search of donors to help fund project

The proposed Northern Lehigh Community Center is in search of donors to help fund the project.

Discussion on the center was brought forth by resident Ron Bauer Jr. at borough council’s workshop session on Thursday.

Bauer suggested that since he knows of people who are both for, and against, the center, that council should try to get it on the ballot in 2020.

However, Councilwoman Patrice Hunsicker, who serves as president of the recreation authority, told Bauer that won’t be necessary.

“Everybody’s already committed to do it,” Hunsicker said. “We are moving ahead.”

Hunsicker previously said that both Slatington and Washington Township were on board.

“Right now we’re networking; we’re putting our plan together to network to fund the project,” she said. “We’re networking for donors.”

Bauer noted that the Northern Lehigh Recreation Authority has a new executive director.

Lindsay Taylor took over the position in April after former executive director Mike Kukitz resigned to become incoming recreation director for the Blue Mountain Recreation Commission in Orwigsburg.

“I just want to make sure it’s not a waste of money,” Bauer said.

Hunsicker assured Bauer it most definitely is not.

“It’s absolutely not a waste of money,” she said. “She’s very, very knowledgeable, and she has really brought a lot of revenue in.”

Hunsicker then touted Taylor’s vast experience (over 30 years), and added that she came to the borough after serving as director of parks and recreation for the City of Allentown.

“She has opened up avenues for money to come in,” she said. “She’s very well-versed in parks and recreation, and she’s familiar with networking.”

Council President William Turk then questioned how long the building has sat dormant.

“How long has that building been vacant? Turk asked. “Why did it take so long for them to do something (at present)?”

Hunsicker noted that a feasibility study has been completed.

“We have other grants coming in,” she said. “It’s just a matter of bringing in the rest.”

Mayor Wayne Weidner added his take on the situation.

“In four years it will be built, and hopefully you’ll see improvement,” Weidner said.

The community center is estimated to cost $4.2 million.

In July, council approved a resolution for the agreement for the community center.

That came after council on a 6-1 vote in April agreed to pledge its financial support toward the community center after it approved Option 1 of the business plan.

That option calls for the borough’s contribution to the Northern Lehigh Recreation Authority to be $15,525 in 2020, $25,875 in 2025, and results in a median contribution of $21,563.

Slatington’s contributions would be $31,740 in 2020 and $52,900 in 2025, for a median contribution of $44,083. Washington Township’s would be $49,999 in 2020, and $83,325 in 2025, for a median contribution of $69,439.

The option also calls for keeping the Northern Lehigh Recreation as is, with a multimunicipal partnership among the three municipalities, and includes the construction and operation of the new community center facility.

This option also includes hiring a part-time bookkeeper in 2020, and a part-time recreation supervisor once the center is in operation in 2023.

At that time, Hunsicker noted that all grants the borough has received are still in place, and that the recreation authority still has many events going on for which it is always looking for volunteers.

In February, the final in a series of feasibility study meetings for the 16,000-square-foot community center at 545 W. Church St. in Slatington was held.

The community center has been in the works for about 20 years.

In August 2018, the Northern Lehigh Recreation Authority engaged Kimmel Bogrette Architecture + Site (KBA+S), and their consultant, Ballard*King (B*K), to complete a feasibility study for a new center.

The site currently contains about a 9,600-square-foot building shell that was completed in 2010. No other work has been completed to date at the 3.1-acre site.

From the late 1990s through the early 2000s, a group of volunteers raised more than $600,000 to purchase land and garner support, which allowed them to construct the shell of the community center facility in 2012.

Since then, the group of volunteers has turned to the local municipalities for assistance.

The Northern Lehigh Recreation Authority was formed in 2016 and consists of Slatington, Walnutport and Washington Township, with a mission to complete the facility.

For more information on the community center, visit www.nlcommunitycenter.com.