Uniontown to open playgrounds for summer
Uniontown’s parks and the recreation program will begin Monday, but activities will take place at fewer parks and playgrounds than last year because of financial constraints.
Only three parks and playgrounds will be program sites this year, but ongoing renovation work at Bailey Park should be far enough along to restart the city’s youth baseball league next year, said Councilman Francis “Joby” Palumbo, director of parks and public property.
Bailey Park and Grant Street Park and the playground at Chestnut Ridge Christian Academy will be the only facilities used for the program this summer. Coal Lick Run Park and the playgrounds at Ben Franklin and Lafayette schools will not be used this year. The summer lunch program is not being offered this year.
Traditionally, the Uniontown Area School District has hired the summer playground directors, but spending cuts in the proposed district budget eliminates those jobs.
City Council hired eight directors, which is fewer than the district hired in the past.
Council also hired Eric Sampson of Uniontown as the recreation director. The city normally hires the director.
Like last summer, basketball will be the main attraction.
A basketball tournament will be begin in July and playoffs will be begin in August. Information about basketball registration will be announced at a later date.
Palumbo said he wants to make the championship game part of the annual “Fun Day,” which is the last day of the recreation program for the year, sometime in August. The date hasn’t been set yet. A fireworks display will be part of the Fun Day activities, Palumbo said.
Last year’s basketball tournament had to be cut short because the courts in Bailey Park were resurfaced. Palumbo said he is looking forward to a full tournament this summer.
“I’m excited about basketball,” Palumbo said.
He said Sampson, a physical education teacher in the Albert Gallatin Area School District, is enthusiastic and knows the game well.
Sampson said he participated in the parks program as a boy, worked as a playground director and grew up hearing stories from his parents about how Bailey Park used to be a hub of activity for the city’s youth.
“We want to bring that back,” Sampson said. “I want to give back to the parks and create a safe place to play.”
Bailey Park will once again become the place where children want to be after the three-year renovation project is finished, Palumbo said.
Work planned for this year includes renovating the larger ball field, installing new fencing to enlarge the field, relocating the light standards, refurbishing the lights and relocating the bleachers to accommodate the larger field.
The Uniontown Redevelopment Authority recently awarded contracts to install the fencing, and refurbish and move the lights.
When the work is done, a batter would have to hit a baseball 375 feet to clear the center field fence and 325 feet to clear the left field and right field fences. The distances are intended to meet WPIAL regulations, and the city hopes the Uniontown Area High School baseball team will make Bailey Park its home field.
After the fencing and lighting work is done, the outfield will be planted with new grass or sod and the infield will get a new surface of dirt or clay intended to provide better drainage, Palumbo said.
The city dug up the field over the winter to replace a 24-inch sewer line and cleared the hillside adjacent to the field. Palumbo said clearing the hillside created the space needed to enlarge the field and improved public safety.
Work planned for next year and the year after that includes constructing below-grade dugouts, removing the tennis courts and replacing them with youth soccer fields, paving a walking trail that would connect to the Sheepskin Trail and building a concession stand, restrooms and press box.