Delco plans to make some improvements to Deshong Park
Delaware County Council has agreed to infuse $282,532.82 into Chester’s Deshong Park in the form of property maintenance, repair work and a museum building evaluation, but officials stressed they are not taking it over.
“I want to be clear — what we are doing is addressing maintenance needs to keep the property safe,” Delaware County Councilwoman Christine Reuther said. “Certainly nothing’s come before council that suggests that we have the intention of taking over operation of the property. We’re going to maintain it because that’s what we need to do.”
The Deshong Park was home to a mansion built by Alfred Deshong in 1850 but it had since been demolished. In 1986, the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas issued a decision for the Delaware County Industrial Development Authority to hold the property in trust and for the county to develop rateables on it.
Last week, council unanimously approved recouping expenses for the Industrial Development Authority.
The need for the maintenance and repair work came at the concern of the insurance carrier, Laura Goodrich Cairns of the Delaware County Commerce Center said.
It would include $20,580 for regular mowing throughout the season to maintain grass and brush, including spring and fall clean-ups for debris, trash and trimming.
Another $221,074 would be used to repair exterior items on the property such as cracked sidewalks, paving, downed trees and museum items on the ground level like the railing that extends the front of the museum building and the handrail in the back. This includes the repair of a concrete path connecting Ninth Street to 12th Street used frequently by residents.
Cairns explained that trees and branches had fallen in late fall storms and that trash needed to be removed to reduce potential hazards.
She said the authority also asked for $4,000 to remove the clock tower.
“It’s not functional,” Cairns explained. “The three-faced tower is only correct six times a day. The IDA felt this does not represent well on county-controlled ground.”
She also noted that the assessor voiced a concern about the type of metal used in this construction as it has a tendency to erode over time with exposure. As a result, they requested $7,200 included in this funding to evaluate the museum’s exterior and interior.
Chester City Councilman Stefan Roots expressed gratitude.
“All I can say is thank you,” he said to county council. “As you know for many, many, many years, even decades, that space has gone pretty much untouched, untamed. Last year, you helped us out by cutting grass. This year, you’re really making a commitment that I’m personally very excited about.”
He said he’d like to see
STEFAN ROOTS
fencing banner like that by the Philadelphia Union stadium at Deshong that would welcome people to Chester.
“I’m really looking forward to putting Deshong back on the map, right there at the gateway as you go into the city of Chester so I can’t thank you guys enough for using today, now to make that happen,” Roots said.
Cairns said the Industrial Development Authority wants to work with the city of Chester, including its planner, in particular to work with a 2015 overlay that was enacted by city officials to preserve 60 percent of the 22 acres to remain open space.
She said the authority has not forgotten their
charge to develop rateables for the property.
“With that knowledge, the IDA decided to move forward with an RFP process, however, with this emergent need, that has been backburnered until we could address the property as a potential liability first,” she said of the maintenance needs identified by the insurance carrier.
She said they also want to discuss with city officials what the needs are in the immediate and general area.
“Our intent is not to sit on this,” Cairns said. “Our intent is to not have this be a burden on the county. We want to work in conjunction with the city of Chester to be able to move forward with the RFP process.”
The Deshong Park was home to a mansion built by Alfred Deshong in 1850 but it had since been demolished. In
1986, the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas issued a decision for the Delaware County Industrial Development Authority to hold the property in trust and for the county to develop rateables on it.