Home Parks and Recreation 2023 Dover Borough & Dover Township

2023 Dover Borough & Dover Township

Joint Comprehensive Recreation, Park & Open Space Plan

 

 In 2023, Dover Borough and Dover Township completed a Joint Comprehensive Recreation, Park & Open Space Plan (Rec Plan).  We worked with YSM Landscape Architects and Recreation and Park Solutions on the project.  A committee worked for over a year as we analyzed recreation offerings in the Dover Area.  The Rec Plan provides a guide to be used over the next ten years.  The Rec Plan provides goals to help expand the role of recreation in the community.  Dover Rec will use the broad goals of the Rec Plan to create annual goals for the department.

Goals for 2024 include:

  1. Continue to invest in Eagle View Park through future phase development (1.2) –
    1. Phase 2 (baseball, main parking lot) continues to work through permitting. Once permitting is completed, then the project will be able to start the bid process.  Phase 2 includes a baseball field, scoreboard, main parking lot, park amenities (benches, etc.), and ADA accessible trails to connect the new parking lot to the baseball field and existing trails.
    2. We continue to seek grant funding for Phase 3 (playgrounds). We have received a $40,000 grant through the Marcellus Shale program and $40,000 from the Bob Hoffman Fund through the York County Community Foundation.  A grant application to DCNR (Department of Conservation and Natural Resources) in 2023 was unsuccessful.  We will reapply to DCNR in 2024.  We are still awaiting notice regarding a 2023 application to DCED (Department of Community and Economic Development).  We continue to seek out new funding opportunities to help the playgrounds.  We are collecting items for a silent auction to be held at Dover Days on October 5th.  Funds raised from the silent auction will be used as match money toward grant applications.  Most grants require a match of some sort.  Many funders require a 50/50 match – meaning that if you ask for $100,000, you have $100,000 available to match the requested funds.  The estimated cost of the playgrounds is $1,000,000.  Additional fundraising events will be investigated with the volunteer committee.
  2. Apply for a DCNR Peer-to-Peer grant to form Joint Parks & Recreation Services. Work through possible participation of other entities detailed in Goals 4.1-4.3 and 4.5 in coordination with results of the study
    1. The Peer-to-Peer Grant was applied for in January 2024. If chosen, we will get paired with a local professional to help us navigate through creating a joint recreation service for the Dover Area.  This process will take 12-18 months to complete.  Discussion will be had with Dover Borough, Dover Area School District, local youth sports programs, community groups and volunteers.
  3. Provide park and program accessibility information (2.2)
    1. We will be developing a chart that shows accessibility at each of our park facilities. This information will be helpful for people with mobility issues and other accessibility issues.
  4. Adopt a written inclusion statement (2.1)
    1. Dover Recreation goes above and beyond to include people with disabilities at our events. We are constantly evaluating our events to make sure that they are open to people from all walks of life.  Adopting an inclusion statement will allow us to show the community how we are working towards inclusion.
  5. Develop a recreation program revenue plan (3.3)
    1. Dover Rec needs to generate revenue to help offset rising costs.
  6. Master Plan Brookside Park (1.6)
    1. Brookside Park was founded in 1901 as one of four trolley parks in York County. Brookside is the only space that is still a park.  Improvements at the park were completed in 2023 (new exterior paint, basketball court resurfaced, new ADA ramp installed at the Dance Hall).  More improvements are coming in 2024 (new bathroom floor, interior paint, refinish Carousel floor, new roof on Dance Hall).  As we develop a Capital Improvements Plan, we needed a guide as to the future of Brookside Park.  We hired YSM to help us create a master plan for the park.  This plan held a public meeting in January to go over suggestions from the community.  Once the plan is final, it will be used for future work at Brookside.  The master plan includes updating the parking, paving the entry roads and clearly marking the vehicle travel plan through the park, replacing the volleyball courts with pickleball, installing ADA accessible trails throughout the park (including across the bridge, along the trolley trail, and connecting to the baseball field), updated playgrounds, a new plaza in the open space between the buildings, stormwater measures, stream access points, earthen trails along the stream, a decorative wall for photo opportunities, more seating, small pavilion near new pickleball courts, etc.  The Parks & Facilities Superintendent will use this Master Plan as he makes improvements within the park.