About 20 people came out for the pop-up park planning meeting on Sunday evening at the Eldred Township Community Center.

Ann Velopolcek, the township secretary and a member of the Parks and Recreation Committee, said many of those who came to the meeting are members of the Parks Committee, the Eldred Township Historical Society and the ETCC.

The park slated for renovations sits between the community center and the municipal building. It consists of about 1.5 acres and includes the former baseball field.

“People brought new ideas, good ideas,” she said. “The designer was receptive to the ideas.”

One of the suggestions was to build a pickleball court, and a little girl suggested a splash pad to cool off under the water spray on a hot day.

“I actually think a splash pad would be nice,” Velopolcek said.

One thing all in attendance supported was to keep the existing equipment, just add more to it, Velopolcek said

Planning for the park was able to move along, because the township received a $2,500 grant from the Pennsylvania Recreation and Parks Society for design assistance. Velopolcek said the designer, Tonya Brown, was hired by the society to pull together the residents’ ideas and draft a preliminary plan. Brown is a retired parks and recreation director from the Mechanicsburg area.

Velopolcek said she doesn’t expect to receive the plan from Brown until November at the earliest. Once the township does receive them, they will be reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Committee. A meeting for the public will also be set.

Once the plan is reviewed, it has to go to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, for review. The township’s planning commission will also weigh in, and then it will go to the township’s supervisors for approval.

Velopolcek said she will apply for additional grants once the cost of the project is determined. She expects the project will be broken into phases with funding sought for each phase.

“I’m hoping to get funding next year,” she said. “It takes a long time.”

The township is also working on a park for the Village Center in the vicinity of the Stone Arch Bridge, but those plans are not being pursued at the moment due to pending repair working on the bridge. Currently, the township is also applying for grants to secure funding for the bridge repairs, which is anticipated to cost more than $1 million. Velopolcek she just submitted a grant application in September for that project. The repairs will preserve the bridge and will allow it to be open to pedestrian traffic. It will not be used for vehicle traffic.