Scranton, PA – Lackawanna County Commissioners Michael J. Washo, Corey D. O’Brien and A.J. Munchak today joined with Lackawanna County Parks and Recreation Director Bill Davis and state and local officials to announce the second phase of improvements at Covington Park, located in Covington Township and serving the North Pocono area.
The second phase includes construction of a multipurpose field, an office/pavilion, a practice baseball field, a Boundless Playground, basketball and volleyball courts, a lake trail, parking and access road. The project will also include site furnishings, signage, bleachers, dog stations and new dugouts for the existing field. The improvements are expected to be completed by early fall.
Construction on a new Little League field at the park, which began in 2010, is approximately 80 percent completed and should be done by late spring. Previously, the site contained only a Teener League field. The total investment at Covington Park for the two phases is $1.6 million.
The Boundless Playground will be the fifth developed since the current administration took office. Other Boundless Playgrounds are at the county-owned McDade Park, the Abington Area Community Park in South Abington Township and McHale Park in Dunmore. One is also being built at county-owned Aylesworth Park.
Boundless Playgrounds serve children of all abilities and needs. Wheelchair-bound youngsters are able to access the slides and swings are designed to accommodate children with physical disabilities, among other features. The playground program has won numerous state and local awards, including a 2011 award from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society. One additional playground at another site is also planned.
“Despite the hard economic times and a decrease in the overall parks and recreation budget, we are continuing to expand our facilities through creative use of funds like the state Growing Greener program and the county Landfill Trust. No county property tax dollars are being used,” Commissioners O’Brien and Washo said. “We have also increased the number of parks programs, creating more youth sports clinics and new women’s recreation programs.”
The Commissioners will announce additional recreational initiatives in the coming weeks.
982 total views, 2 views today