County urged to keep recreation funding

Recreation advocates urged county commissioners to keep funding Moon Lake Park and the Forty Fort recreation complex during Thursday’s work session.

The county’s 2010 budget eliminates funding for both county facilities, and employees have been informed that Jan. 28 will be their last day of county employment. Commissioners say the decision, though painful, is necessary because they are raising taxes at least 10 percent and can’t justify funding non-mandated services.

Pennsylvania Environmental Council representative Julie McMonagle told commissioners Thursday that a countywide recreation plan has been in the works for 10 years establishing a network of trails and recreation hubs, and the Forty Fort and Moon Lake properties are “key destinations in this system.”

“We’re advocating for the county to continue funding these systems so they do not fall into disrepair,” McMonagle said. “These county facilities and services have provided economic, quality of life and health benefits to all Luzerne County residents.”

Ken Powley, of the Whitewater Cup Soccer Tournament and Mountain Top Youth Soccer organization, said closure of the facilities will hurt the local economy.

The Forty Fort complex hosts three regional weekend youth soccer tournaments annually that attract more than 420 teams from the United States East Coast and Canada, he said.

These 6,500 families – an estimated 15,000 people – spend an estimated $2.5 million in this area each year on lodging, food, shopping and entertainment, he said.

“That’s just one example from one county facility for three weekends,” Powley said. “It’s a quantifiable community benefit.”

Commissioner Chairwoman Maryanne Petrilla told the group that the funding cut was “one of the toughest decisions” facing commissioners.

She said the county has been “proactive” by trying to seek proposals from entities interested in operating Moon Lake Park, which is located in Plymouth Township. The proposals are due Thursday, though park advocates don’t expect any interest because commissioners don’t want to provide any funding to the outside entity.

Petrilla said county officials have been setting up meetings in coming weeks with recreational groups that use the Forty Fort complex to see if these organizations could keep the parks open.

“We understand the importance to the residents. We understand the health factors and just what it means to our community, and as a result, we’re trying everything we can to get someone to maintain those areas until once again we can fund them ourselves,” Petrilla said.

Moon Lake Park Director Clif Madrack and Recreation Director Andy Gegaris, who are among those slated to be laid off Jan. 29, attended the work session but did not speak.

In other business, county Budget/Finance Chief Tom Pribula provided a final report on last year’s budget.

The county budgeted $129.2 million in revenue and received $130.5 million – $1.3 million more than projected.

The county spent $116.5 million – $12.7 million less than the $129.2 million budgeted. Reductions in juvenile placements saved about $2.8 million and new prison Warden Joseph Piazza controlled expenses to save about $1.3 million, Pribula said.

Petrilla said the report sounds “wonderful” and asked Pribula to explain why the county has a budget crisis this year.

Pribula said last year’s budget relied on about $30 million in new borrowing and debt restructuring, while the 2010 budget ends the county’s reliance on these one-time fixes.

The county’s debt repayment also doubles this year to about $22 million, and the county must dish out about $25 million annually through 2027 to pay off debt, he said.