New courts, playgrounds, pavilion coming to three parks
New courts, playgrounds and a pavilion are coming to three parks in Bethel Park, and improvements will be made to the community center, too.
Council on Monday accepted a $450,000 grant from the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County for the park improvements.
The money will be used for a new multipurpose sports court at Millennium Park, two playgrounds and a new pavilion at Village Green, and two pickle ball courts at Simmons, said Ashley Moore, municipal planner for Bethel Park.
The deck hockey court will be removed at Simmons to make way for the pickle ball courts, Ms. Moore said. She said the deck hockey area was not regularly used.
The work is expected to begin in September and be finished by the end of November, she said.
Council awarded a contract to Plavchak Construction of Clairton for $249,507 for work on the sports court, pickle ball courts and playgrounds. Ms. Moore said the remainder of the grant will be used for the pavilion and to purchase equipment for the parks. The grant is from the county redevelopment authority’s Gaming Economic Development Fund and Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund.
Council also awarded a contract to Swede Construction Corp. of Elizabeth for $531,050 to renovate the floor in the community center. Money for that project will come from the general fund budget. Work will begin early next month and is expected to take about 60 days.
Bethel Park engineer Jean Statler said the work will include replacing most of the floor in the center, which was built in 1999.
“The floor started heaving,” Ms. Statler said. The municipality has been conducting soil tests since last fall in the area.
The floor from the kitchen area to the lobby and in the children's’ area will be removed and the soil underneath it will be replaced before a new floor is constructed.
Council also voted to increase sewer rates, starting Oct. 1, from $8.25 per 1,000 gallons to $8.60 per 1,000 gallons. The monthly service fee also will increase from $13 to $15.