Parks and Recreation (Culture- Recreation) Budget Narrative

The Parks and Recreation Department is responsible for maintaining 27 parks and over 375 acres of open space throughout Abington Township. Additionally, the Department provides various community recreational opportunities including walking / hiking trails, campgrounds, picnic shelters, outdoor swimming pools, ball fields, playgrounds, summer camps, and special events.

Goal: Update swimming pool facilities. (Focus Areas: Inclusive Community (IC), Vibrant Public Spaces (VPS), Sustainable Infrastructure (SI))

Strategy #1: Provide safe up-to-date accessible swimming facilities. (IC 5, VPS 1, 2, 4, SI 1, 2)

• • Method #1: Enroll Parks personnel in swimming pool certification courses and workshops.
  • Method #2: Continue relationships with aquatic facilities and vendors to gather best aquatic practices and procedures.

• Alverthorpe Park
  • Renovated Control Room Office
  • Replaced electrical lines for fountain aerators
  • Continued to remove dangerous trees in the park
• Crestmont Pool
  • Hired a full staff of thirty (30) lifeguards and fifteen (15) front desk and maintenance workers
  • Painted large and intermediate pools
  • Landscape improvements
• Ethel Jordan Park
  • Repaired and color-coated basketball court
• Penbryn Pool
  • Hired a full staff of thirty (30) lifeguards and fifteen (15) front desk and maintenance workers
  • Painted large, intermediate, and wading pools
  • Landscape improvements
• Roslyn Park
  • Installed new playground equipment
  • Sandblasted Skatepark
  • Renovations made to the baseball field
• Rubicam Park
  • Installed new playground equipment
• Recreation Programming
  • Offered forty-three (43) different types of programs with over one hundred and sixty (160) session opportunities
  • Summer Playground Program at Penbryn & Crestmont Parks filled to capacity
  • Expanded pickleball programs
  • Offered full lifeguarding and recertification courses
  • Increased S.T.E.M. programming
  • Partnered with the Library on programming
  • Partnered with the Police, Fire and Emergency Services, and Public Works Departments as special guests at Summer Playground Program
  • Partnered with local sports organizations for fertilizing treatments on playing fields
• Safety improvements to fall zone safety surfacing at all playgrounds including safety mats at slide exits and under swings
• Safety improvements to playground borders at all playgrounds
• Continued with staff certifications (Aquatic Facility Operator and Pesticide)
• Automatic External Defibrillators (AED's) added to Maintenance Foreman's vehicles

RENTAL FACILITIES

The Parks Department provides various rental facilities to Township residents. These facilities provide residents with outdoor options when looking to hold a function or special event. These areas also provide the Department with locations to hold recreational programs.

PROGRAMMING AND SPECIAL EVENTS

The Parks Department provides recreational programs year-round to Abington Township residents. Our goal is to provide essential parks and recreation services that will enhance the quality of life of those who live in Abington Township.

SWIMMING FACILITIES

The Parks Department is responsible for three (3) swimming pool facilities. Crestmont and Penbryn pools each have a wading pool for children five (5) years old and under, an intermediate pool, and a lap pool with a diving well and water slide. Each facility offers a swim team. Alverthorpe Park offers a wading pool for children five (5) years old and under.

Briar Bush Nature Center (BBNC) is Abington’s environmental education facility. The center provides programs and nature information to the Abington community and beyond. Few communities have such a wonderful resource and refuge for nature and people.

Many visitors return repeatedly to see favorite animals, walk to the pond, watch wildlife, or play at the Nature Playscape. Environmental educators and volunteers lead on-site programs and visit schools, day care centers, senior living facilities and other locales. Children and families participate through summer camp, campfires, festivals, birthday programs, and more. The cycle continues: folks that grew up at Briar Bush bring their children and grandchildren because of long-term relevance to their lives.

Friends of Briar Bush (FOBB) is a non-profit charitable organization, incorporated in 1974 by citizens who had previously convinced the Township to purchase and protect the Briar Bush property. Through special events, fund drives, and grants, FOBB stretches the value of taxpayer dollars. Significant contributions include:

• Funding over 60% of BBNC staff salaries and wages in 2024
• Donating use of an additional building and property for Briar Bush staff, storage and programs
• Securing grants to fund capital improvements, program enhancements, and scholarship programs

This longstanding public-private partnership is a win-win for Abington: it increases the Township’s capacity to provide an excellent quality of life at a much-reduced cost.

Volunteers also expand the reach of every dollar of funding at BBNC. Students, scouts, schools, businesses, special needs groups, and community service workers regularly choose BBNC as a place to perform service work. College internships provide in-depth learning and work experience. In a typical year, BBNC volunteers donate over 8,000 hours of volunteer work.

Goal: Continue to improve access to BBNC programs for those in financial need. (Focus Area: Inclusive Community (IC))

• Objective: Through nonprofit partner, FOBB, expand scholarship program. (IC 1, 4, 5)
  • Strategy: Create fundraising and spending goals for financial aid. 
  • Strategy: Solicit scholarship specific donations and grants via FOBB.

Goal: Improve facilities and grounds for public safety, access, and enjoyment. (Focus Area: Inclusive Community (IC))

• Objective: Make BBNC a safer place for visitors, employees, and wildlife. (IC 1, 4, 5)
  • Strategy: Install security camera system for viewing and recording key areas and features.

• Facility Improvements: Thanks to funding partners FOBB and PA DCNR, Abington construction workers installed several major improvements at Briar Bush Nature Center. The project focused on safety, access, and visitor experience, and biodiversity, and included elements from a public reviewed Master Plan completed 2015-2017. Abington Craftsman built a new deck, play surface, ADA parking, and a new butterfly house. They also transformed an old garage into a beautiful pavilion and installed ADA accessible routes to the new butterfly house, Dede Long Nature Museum, Pavilion, and Griscom Bird Observatory cabin. 

• Scholarship Funding: Through grants and private donations, FOBB has been able to give more than $10,000 in scholarship funding. These funds allow families to send children to summer camp, provide programming for special needs students, and enrich free preschool classes in Head Start and Pre-K counts.  

• Volunteers: Successfully implemented a new volunteer management database. 

• 2024 Program Statistics:
  • Public Programs: From January - June, there were more than 1,200 registrants, including over 500 summer camp registrations.
  • Abington School District: Thanks to PTO/PTA support, returned and expanded curriculum-based, interactive lessons back into all Abington elementary schools.
  • Group Programs: As of June 2024, reached over 15,000 people through group programs.
  • Fall Public Programs: Capacity for over 1,500 additional registrations through December.

EXHIBITIONS AND FACILITIES

All amenities are free to Township residents. BBNC encompasses twelve 12 acres and includes a Nature Museum, seasonal Butterfly House, pond, nature playscape, outdoor raptor enclosures, about a mile of trails, and the Griscom Bird Observatory cabin, landscaped with native plants, water feature, and feeder area.

PUBLIC PROGRAMS

CURRICULA-BASED PROGRAMS

BBNC has worked with the Abington School District for over five decades, providing enriched learning supplements based on curriculum. We have recently expanded to several nearby districts and private schools and introduced a public homeschool program. In particular, Hatboro-Horsham has contracted our educators to write and teach outdoor lessons for grades 1-7 at their Jarrett Nature Center natural area. We also provide age-appropriate lessons to pre-schools throughout the region.

Classes and homeschool groups also visit BBNC for guided seasonal walks, animal programs and other lessons.

TECHNICAL SERVICES

BBNC answers nature FAQ’s for residents, media, and Township officials. In addition, BBNC is proactive in disseminating information through informative newsletter articles, social media and video posts, exhibits, in person at fairs and festivals, and occasionally on the Abington cable channel.

BBNC staff are responsive to resident comments, suggestions, and concerns. Like the Public Library, BBNC responds to daily questions, though related to nature rather than books: What do I do if there are bees in my yard? What do I do about a bird that fell out of a nest? Where can I take an injured animal? What can go into my recycling? Do you have a volunteer opportunity for my child? and many, many more.

Table of Contents

Budget Message

General Fund (01)

General Government Overview

Culture-Recreation Overview