Walters Park Expansion Plan Proposed

By Joseph Cress, Sentinel Reporter, October 12, 2006

Picture a new sports complex of four softball fields arranged in a circle around a concession building.  Include a fenced-in dog park, a sledding hill, three playgrounds and a basketball court.  A “spray garden” of water park features could provide a welcome relief from the heat. 
Rising above it all is a 33-foot-tower serving as an icon for a proposed expansion to Paul Walters Memorial Park.

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Silver Spring Township supervisors reviewed a conceptual site plan Wednesday for 37 acres donated by Charter Homes & Neighborhoods, developer of Walden. Design drawings show the overall plan for the expansion of Paul Walters Memorial Park.

The company broke ground last month on a 656-unit neighborhood along Woods Drive just south of the township municipal campus and the current park. As conditions to plan approval, Charter Homes agreed to provide land, preliminary design work and $400,000 towards the expansion, said Jamie Brubaker, vice president for land development.

Based on revisions made Wednesday by the supervisors, rough cost estimates put the work at $4 million divided into two phases, but the price tag is preliminary and subject to change, Brubaker said.

Access to the expansion will be through the current park with a 203-space parking lot included in phase one. A second parking lot of 103 spaces is planned for phase two with an entrance from Walden village.

Estimated at $3.1 million, phase one will include the main feature of the expansion — four softball diamonds arranged in a circle with a combination restroom and concession building in the center.  Each field will cost about $240,000 and includes backstops and stadium seating, said Todd Richards, landscape architect with DTJ Design, which drew up the concept plan.

The supervisors decided to eliminate an area for vending machines and pay phones out of concern this would attract vandals looking for money in an age where cell phones are in wide use.  The supervisors also agreed to cut from the project $700,000 earmarked for irrigation included in the design as a way to prevent damage to the fields from heavy use during drought.

Bruce Befort, president of Cumberland Valley Softball Association, said including irrigation in the project budget would hurt efforts by volunteers to raise money for the new fields.  He added cutting irrigation from the project would have no impact on tournaments because grass which turns brown during dry spells comes back after a good rain.  Most fields in the region are not irrigated, Befort said.

Three acres set aside for a detention pond will be fenced in at a cost of between $17,000 to $18,000 for use also as a dog park, Richards said. The dog park will be divided into three areas:  one for large dogs, one for small dogs and one as an area to rotate the grass.

Phase one could also include a play area with some equipment for older and younger children and the “spray garden” estimated at $120,000.  The tower, estimated at $180,000, could be included in phase two strictly as an ornamental feature. Brubaker said it would not be designed for people to climb.  While the supervisors liked the idea of an icon, they ordered the design team to reduce the costs of the tower.