Eagle Scout Logan Harper is continuing his efforts for a project at Soldier’s Park.
The Tyrone teenager went to borough council earlier this year and had his request approved for the project. Harper also needed to receive approval from scouting officials.
Harper chose Soldier’s Park because of the veterans in his family. He said he wanted to do “something with concrete.” The project will consist of a bench and picnic table placed on concrete pads. He said the bench and table will be bolted so they can’t be tipped.
Harper said he began plans for the project at the beginning of this year. He said the project is estimated to cost about $1,800 and he will have to do fundraising for it. He said he has already started those efforts and plans to do more. Harper is scheduled to be at the Tyrone Area Labor Day Community Picnic selling baked goods to raise funds for the project as well.
Harper said he plans to start doing the work next year. He envisioned possibly starting the project in early spring and finishing it in the summer. Harper can be contacted at 684-2554 for more information about his fundraising efforts for the project.
Earlier this year, Councilman Don Boytim had also expressed concern to council over safety at Soldier’s Park. Boytim wanted to see what could be done about the condition of the sidewalk at Soldier’s Park and the highway department has already done some work to improve the area.
In May, Boytim told The Daily Herald he’d like to see a new sidewalk along Soldier’s Park. In April, Council was informed a project to replace the curbs on 14th Street and Lincoln Avenue, the eight-foot sidewalks and the five-foot asphalt sidewalks inside the park would cost about $90,000.
On April 10, Borough manager Sharon Dannaway advised council the project was “cost prohibitive.” She suggested the project could be done in stages and use borough employees. The borough’s consulting engineer Ray Myers advised council of a gas main under the sidewalk. He attributed some of the erosion to the gas main and advised the borough to contact the gas company before any renovations to the area. Council has taken no action on the issue since being made aware of its options in April.
In his comments to The Herald in May, Boytim said of Soldier’s Park, “I think it could be a very appealing park for people to use, which is in the center of our community.”
Yesterday, Dannaway said the plan is for the highway department to do some more of the work on the sidewalks this year. She said when the work would start is contingent on scheduling for it by the highway department.
