North Hellertown Needs Better Access to Parks: Councilman

A recent survey/analysis of borough-owned properties led a Hellertown councilman to opine that access to recreational facilities in the borough is somewhat lopsided, with the south end of town enjoying better access than the north side.

Hellertown councilman Joe Pampanin said at a meeting Aug. 17 that there is a “large investment” in parks on the south side of town–including Dimmick Park, Water Street Park, Borough Authority Park and Tumminello Park, which is still under development.

“There’s a lot of that missing” on Hellertown’s north side, he said.

He added that he hopes the recreational opportunities will be expanded northward when the Saucon Rail Trail is eventually connected to the South Bethlehem Greenway.

In the meantime, Pampanin said additional trailheads could be added along the trail closer to the north side of town to help improve access for northerly residents.

“I think we have to look beyond the core of Hellertown now that we’ve reinvigorated Dimmick Park,” Pampanin said.

A trailhead will effectively be created at Tumminello Park when a bridge is constructed across the Saucon Creek there to connect with the Saucon Rail Trail.

The Tumminello property is located along S. Main Street, near McDonald’s.

Some of the other issues that were identified by the borough properties survey, which were discussed by council members, included:

• Accessibility issues at the Hellertown Pool, where it was noted there was a “slip-and-fall” type accident in the bathhouse earlier this summer.
• The cramped police department headquarters on the first floor of Hellertown Borough Hall. Pampanin commented that the current layout of the police department is “like a maze.” He added that “a lot of the buildings and facilities we have just seem chopped up, and it makes the usability of our buildings…less than what they should be.”
• Excessive storage of surplus materials, which councilman Mike McKenna likened to “hoarding.” He said the borough needs to have “a total big spring cleaning; a spring cleaning that’s going to throw all the stuff that we don’t need or use out.” Councilman Richard Staffieri disagreed with McKenna’s recommendation, and said the decision about whether to store excess materials and how much should be left up to department heads.
• Broken windows at borough-owned properties. Council President Tom Rieger said he observed a couple broken windows during the tour. Anything like that should be repaired promptly, he said. If a resident-homeowner’s window were broken, “we wouldn’t want that out there long,” he noted.
• Aged park pathways and steps at Dimmick Park, which Rieger said are in “deporable” condition.
• Disposal of historic records that are no longer needed. Rieger said tax records dating back to 1923 were found recently in the Borough Hall attic. “I don’t think we need those,” he said. “I don’t think we need 40 boxes of them.”

Although some of the issues identified are no doubt of importance to both residents and community leaders, borough engineer Bryan Smith–when asked to comment about the observations that were made–said Hellertown’s facility-related problems are comparatively smaller than those faced by many other communities.

Some, for example, don’t even have playgrounds to worry about maintaining, he said.

Borough manager Cathy Hartranft said the survey will be helpful to her in compiling a list of capital projects to prioritize in the next annual budget.

The next Hellertown Borough Council meeting will be held Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. in Borough Hall, 685 Main St., Hellertown.