Major renovation planned for Souderton park
Pocket park dedicated in memory of former Mayor Charles Allebach
SOUDERTON >> Souderton Community Park is already the largest and most active of the borough’s parks.
Over the next half-dozen years, several additions and changes are planned that will give even more reasons for people to come to the park, organizers say.
“The park renovations will add many new functional and aesthetic features including restrooms, a kitchen facility, paved parking, new
lampposts, pathway lighting, ADA landing areas along paths, sculpture gardens, playground and fitness equipment, and the refurbishment of many existing, much-loved park features,” according to information in a brochure and on the soudertonpark.org website.
“Mayor, we’ve just officially broke ground on the park renovations,” Leon Moyer, Souderton-Telford Rotary Club past president and chair of the Park Project, told Mayor John Reynolds at the June 23 ground breaking. The comment was applauded by Rotary members and borough representatives taking part.
Moments before, the pocket park area at the town clock was dedicated in memory of former Souderton Mayor Charles H. Allebach, Jr., who was lauded as a dedicated community servant.
Allebach, who died in 2017, was mayor for 37 years, from 1970 to 2007, and prior to that served on Souderton Borough Council. He was also a 48 year Rotarian.
“This is something that’s really special because he was really into Concert Sundaes and the clock was one of his pet projects,” Louise Aiken, Allebach’s daughter said.
Concert Sundaes, now in its 32nd season, are held in the Maurice W. Foulke Bandshell in Souderton Community Park.
The bandshell, which Souderton-Telford Rotary sponsored, was the last major renovation to the park and was built 32 years ago, Reynolds said, speaking from the bandshell with members of the Rotary, borough council, the Allebach family and Penn Valley Church in Telford joining him during intermission at the June 23 Concert Sundaes.
“Since then, the park has been doing a wonderful job of entertaining us,” Reynolds said.
Activities at the park include Concert Sundaes, art festivals, pick up volleyball games, ecumenical services and band concerts, he said.
“We even have dancing and yoga on Saturday mornings here in the park,” he said.
Over the past few years, the borough has been talking about upgrading the park and has received suggestions, including from Penn Valley Church, which said it was interested in supporting an adult fitness center there, Reynolds said.
“There are many, many more things that this park can be used for and it has been used extensively already,” Moyer said.
“Our role in this project will be to promote the vision and raise money from the public, from you as individuals and businesses in the community to continue to beautify what we’ve been enjoying here tonight,” he said.
Other local projects the Rotary has been involved in include the Souderton pool, Indian Valley Public Library and the Boys & Girls Club, he said.
Information about sponsorships and naming rights for the park project are available with a map drawing of the planned additions and changes at the soudertonpark.org website.