East Penn Township is seeking grants for a new trail, while some supervisors question if other projects should take priority.

The township supervisors agreed Monday night to seek a grant to acquire land along the “Golden Trail,” connecting the township building and Riverview Park. They did not approve a second grant application, to pave the trail with gravel.

Each grant application carries engineering fees. Supervisors Keith House and John Strockoz questioned spending about $11,000 for an engineer to prepare applications for grants which the township might not get.

“Is there any reason why we need to continue investing in the parks rather than investing in debt reduction?”

House said that the money for the grant applications, and required matching funds, could be used to pay down the township’s existing loans - taken out to pay for equipment and the East Penn Community Center. He said the outstanding debt is $546,435.

Strockoz said that the grant applications were previously denied by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. He questioned whether it was worth applying again.

Supervisor William Schwab, who also sits on the township parks commission, defended the grant applications, saying that DCNR gave the township instructions to make their grant applications better.

He said that the grants do require matching funds from the township, but the township would use in-kind services and other property it owns as its match, so the grants wouldn’t require any additional township funds.

Schwab said that the price of property along the trail will increase in future years, so the grant for land acquisition is the most important. He agreed that the grant to pave the trail could wait.

House also questioned why the township wasn’t applying for a grant to help the Ashfield Playground replace its aging bathroom facilities. Schwab said it was too late to prepare a DCNR grant application for 2022, but the supervisors agreed to have the township engineer look at the bathrooms at the playground for future grants.

Loretta Smith, representing the Ashfield Playground, said that the bathroom facilities are in dire need of replacement.

“It’s getting to the point where you can’t fix it anymore,” she said.

The supervisors also agreed to apply for a local share account grant for renovations to the East Penn Community Center.