In a bid to save its residents' money, Bethlehem Township is switching up the schedule of improvements at its Janet Johnston Housenick & William D. Housenick Memorial Park.
Township commissioners on Monday approved work estimated at $270,000, set to start in August and finish up by year's end at the 55-acre park.
Commissioners agreed with township Manager Melissa Shafer on shuffling the order of the work that is planned. Grant money approved from the Northampton County Open Space Program and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is enough to cover Phases 3 and 4 in 2017, but not Phase 2, which is projected to be more costly.
Phases of work at the Janet Johnston Housenick & William D. Housenick Memorial Park owned by Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, are outlined on this map. Township officials agreed to do Phases 3 and 4 in 2017 ahead of Phase 2, due to funding. (Courtesy image | For lehighvalleylive.com)Phases 3 and 4 includes trails on the northern part of the property, adjacent to Natural Lands Trust acreage; repaving of existing driveways; and the creation of a viewing/sitting area where an old garage foundation is found -- now fenced off for safety -- near the 1920s Archibald Johnston Mansion that is a focal point of the park.
"It's right on the side of a cliff really," Shafer told commissioners.
Phase 1 included a new parking lot off Christian Springs Road and stormwater management, as well as park and trail signage.
For this year's work, the township will also look at widening existing roads to accommodate vehicles ahead of the potential reuse of the abandoned mansion. Commissioners in August approved moving ahead with a nearly $700,000 exterior stabilization at the home spanning about 6,000 square feet and 22 rooms.
The township has no money budgeted this year in its general fund for the Housenick park, Shafer said.
Phase 2, estimated at $427,222, is on hold, for now. The township had applied for $213,61 to be matched by the county money, but received $200,000, requiring additional funds for this second round of work, Shafer said.
"Just keeping the project moving forward," commissions' Chairman Michael Hudak said of the reshuffling.
The township will see how far the $400,000 in grant money that is in hand can take Phases 3 and 4, with additional work possible as funding allows, Shafer said. Bidding and construction consultant fees are estimated at $55,000 on top of the $255,000 for the new northern trails and $15,000 for the seating area.
Shafer needs to secure approval from the state DCNR to reprogram the funds in time for the August start. The timeline is specific to avoid the nesting of a bald eagle on site.
The mansion and land for the park were left to the township after Janet Johnston Housenick's death in an August 2005 fire in her nearby home on Santee Mill Road.
See inside the 1920s Johnston Mansion
Johnston Housenick was a granddaughter of Archibald Johnston, a vice president of the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. and the City of Bethlehem's first mayor. Completed in 1923, the mansion was built on land Johnston began acquiring in 1919.
Archibald Johnston died at the estate in 1948, and Johnston Housenick and her husband later took ownership of the mansion and surrounding 91-acre property. In 1986 the couple donated 36 acres to Northampton County for creation of the Archibald Johnston Conservation Area, and the remainder of the 55 acres was donated along with the mansion upon her death.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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