Hatfield Township And Lansdale Borough Receive State Grants To Upgrade Community Parks

HATFIELD & LANSDALE, PA — These two Montgomery County communities were recently awarded state grant money to help spruce up a couple of local parks in their respective municipalities.

Hatfield Township was approved for a $250,000 grant to be used toward improvements to the John S. Clemens Memorial Park while Lansdale was given $122,800 for rehabilitation and development of Whites Road Park, according to the office of State Rep. Steve Malagari, D-53, which announced the grant awards last week.

"We have the benefit of decades of research detailing the positive effects that parks have on people and the connection between outdoor recreation and mental and physical wellness for people of all ages," Malagari said in a statement. "This project will allow for improvements at Clemens Memorial Park and Whites Road Park, both valuable resources for our community."

The grant money given to Hatfield will help fund construction of a comfort station, pedestrian walkways, parking area and stormwater management features, and will also help with the installation of children's playground equipment, safety surfacing, utilities, ADA access and landscaping, according to the representative's office.

The dollars awarded to Lansdale will also help with the building of a comfort station, pavilion and pedestrian walkway at its park, along with improved ADA access, landscaping and other improvements at that community's park.

In Hatfield, the township also partnered with Souderton-based Garden of Health for a "positive and unique opportunity, leasing space in the park to the nonprofit food bank to grow produce for low-income families in Montgomery and Bucks counties," Malagari said in his statement.

Lansdale's grant money comes from the Community Conservation Partnership, which awards state grants through the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, while Hatfield's share of the proceeds came through the Key Community program of the DCNR, according to Malagari's office.

The John S. Clemens Memorial Park is an 8-acre park located at 1950 School Road in Hatfield while the Whites Road Park is a community space located at 400 Whites Road in the Borough of Lansdale.