Upgrades are being discussed for a rarely-used recreational facility in Franklin Township

Board Chairman Nick Storm explained the current state of Bunker Hill ball field at 190 Franklin Road.

“Bunker Hill ball field is a township-owned property,” Storm said. “We mow it, we maintain it, and we don’t use it.”

Storm said typically every year, a softball league requests to use the field, and the township grants the use.

“There is a need for some extra baseball fields, and since the township’s already footing the bill to maintain that field as it is, with a little bit of input it should be able to be used for multiple different levels of the (Franklin Township) Athletic Association’s program,” Storm said. “There’s a new league that they’re starting for the younger kids coming from Little League, instead of going straight to the 60-90 field (60-foot pitcher’s mound, 90-foot bases), there’s a smaller intermediate field, it’s a little bit shorter pitcher’s mound, little bit shorter bases, helps with the 13- and 14-year-old kids who maybe aren’t quite as developed and can’t make the long throws.

“We could, with a small amount of work cater to that field, which would add another league to our program. It could be used by Little League; it could be used by softball, and it could be used by the older kids. It would just be a little bit smaller,” he said. “That was something that was brought up as a concern that we don’t currently have a field to facilitate that league, which means for fall now, they’re entire season is being played away.

“So not only are they playing away, I think they have 12 games, six of their games are away. They still are paying the umpire fees; they’re still paying everything they have to pay if it was home, and they’re traveling to Parkland area to play.”

Supervisor Fred Kemmerer Jr. asked if there’s a possibility that the township could put it in a portion of the field, and then have the rest of the area for other uses.

“My thought is if we’re going to use it for baseball, maybe there’s another area that we use for other stuff,” Kemmerer said.

Storm said 100%.

Resident Jill Renfrew added, “I think our community has kids who don’t play baseball and would appreciate other (things) as well. We have a lot of individuals who don’t have children. There are a lot of senior citizens in our area as well.”

“I guess part of this discussion on the Bunker Hill area has raised my concern on the fact that we don’t have a real viable recreation committee. We have a Lions Club person, a Little League person, a member of the board of supervisors,” Renfrew said.

Storm said he believes that when that committee was formed, they took a representative from each of the community’s groups and made a committee.

“Not that it would be opposed for there to be other individuals in,” Storm said. “But I think when it was formed, they just took the prominent associations and grabbed a member and brought them together.”

Renfrew said, “In considering what to do with Bunker Hill, it would be great to think beyond just setting up Little League. As Fred mentioned, it’s 8 acres.”

Storm said he agreed, adding, “I wouldn’t say that there’d be any reason why you couldn’t fit a soccer field at the back.

“There is booster club soccer programs that are already facilitated elsewhere in Lehighton. I don’t know if there’s a need for them, with extra fields; it could be talked about, no doubt.”

Renfrew discussed bicycling and wondering about putting a pump track somewhere in the Franklin Township area for kids who like to ride bikes.

“It usually is a circuitous route that kids can ride; it’s got like jumps that they can do,” Renfrew said. “Just again to make sure that we are considering that there are other individuals within our township who like to get out and do things and not turning everything over to ...”

Storm told Renfrew to keep it mind that it already is a baseball field.

Renfrew agreed and said “but it certainly doesn’t take up the 8 acres.

“And if we’re going to put money into it, I think it would be wise to consider whether we’re putting a lot of our funds into one type of recreation and thus leaving out a lot of other individuals,” she added.

Kemmerer said he believes the field has possibilities.

“I think that it’s a really good thing if we do something with it that is Franklin Township,” Kemmerer said. “Even if it’s a Little League field or a portion of it’s a Little League field and they maintain it, that’s less that we have to do as a municipality as well.”

Storm agreed, adding that a track around the field could be considered.