Oaks Sports Facility Owner Hopes To Build New Complex in Limerick Township

The Board of Supervisors heard preliminary plans at Tuesday night's meeting for a new soccer and lacrosse facility located on Airport Road.

Gabe Betancourt, owner of The Far Post in Oaks, owns a property near the Limerick Airport and is in the beginning stages of planning for three outdoor fields and a building with two indoor fields at the location.

Betancourt and Nick Feola, representing Bursich Associates, presented the preliminary plan to the board and told the supervisors there would be several zoning relief requests as the plan is developed.

The board was generally positive toward the project, suggesting that Betancourt work with the owner of Limerick Airport to develop the edges of the property along Peters Road.

The board also discussed the and the road projects that will be included.

The Public Works department gave the township its equipment requests and road repair plans earlier this year, but due to budget constraints the equipment requests have been scaled down and several roads will be treated with oil and chips instead of being milled and repaved.

The township settled on finishing milling and paving on Metka Road, William Penn Road, Industrial Parkway and Sandtrap Drive. Those projects will total just over $345,000, which is less than the budgeted $358,884.

Collins Lane, Dunleavy Circle, Long Meadow Road, and Azalea, Laurel, Annette, and Eileen Lanes will get the oil-and-chip treatment this year which will extend the life of the current road surface for three years.

Public Works director Bill Bradford also cut all but two requests for new equipment from the budget, and the township will be budgeting for new computer servers and a storage shed for the police department.

Supervisor Joe St. Pedro pointed out that the board has reduced the original budgeted amount from about $607,000 to $130,000.

Supervisors Tom Neafcy and Elaine DeWan both expressed appreciation that all of the township department heads have worked with the board on the budget for this year.

The preliminary budget will be presented at the Nov. 15 board meeting.

Neafcy said during the supervisor comment part of the meeting that he is looking into why the Department of Environmental Protection and Pennsylvania American Water are helping residents in another township with their well issues but are not assisting Limerick Township residents.

According to an article in the Pottstown Mercury, residents of Camp Council Road in East Pikeland township received assistance with connecting to public water after their wells were contaminated.

Neafcy said that the township has tried to contact the DEP, but township manager Dan Kerr said the DEP hasn't responded to requests for a meeting.

Neafcy also said he was contacting Representatve Tom Quigley to talk to him about the issue, too.

"I'm not giving up on this," he said.