Benner Hall Playground

The Benner Hall Park project was awarded to the lowest bidder, Wolverine Constructors of Quakertown, this Monday August 8th. As you may see if you drive by, the existing park has been largely razed already and we expect construction to begin before the end of the month.

We will be announcing a build date for the community playground build in the coming days. If you are a skilled worker and would like to volunteer to be a group leader, please let us know!

Here is a color coded picture of the park to come.

Hello! Our project is getting ready to be built and I'm trying to find last minute options. We are working on a playground build and I was curious is anyone has advice on finding someone to be a supervisor for the project. I have a state contract supervisor who will do the job for about $2000 for a weekend, but our budget is already pretty strained. Has anyone had success with finding a more affordable option with a certified overseer?

This is one of the top proposals on the table at this time.

As you all know, we have a funding gap left to be made up to match our grants. We're working hard to bridge that space, so we have lots of events coming up to help the fund!

April 16, 9-2 : Flea Market
April 23, 7:00pm: WWWA comes to Benner Hall
May 1, 12-4 : Ladies Day Out
May 21, 7pm : Oldies Dance

We are also selling copies of the new Richland Township/Richlandtown Borough history book from Acadia Publishing. Pick up your copy at one of our events!

"Like" us on Facebook to stay up to date with all of our plans and events. Look for Benner Hall, Richlandtown PA or follow us @RTBPlayground on Twitter

We are working on our final plans to submit to Bucks County and DCNR. Our plans are due to be finalized in April and go to bid over the summer. If all goes according to plan, construction of the park will begin in August/September and be completed over the Fall. We've got some changes happening to the plan to help us come in somewhere close to our current budget, but we also have items that we are in danger of losing if we don't get additional funds. The basketball court, pavilion, and maintenance shed are on the list of "optional" items if our funding does not come in full. Take a moment to look through our sponsorship ideas and consider a donation to help us keep these critical park elements! Thanks!

We are having an informational session about the park on Wed Feb 2nd at 6:30pm. Our engineer will be on hand to answer questions and we will be taking concerns into consideration during the final planning process. We are also looking for volunteers! Sign up to work an upcoming fundraising event, be a part of our playground design committee, or be a part of our playground build. Cancellations for weather will be announced on our website www.bennerhall.com

I'm happy to announce to all of you that the official awards from PA DCNR have been listed today and Richlandtown Borough is on that list! This is a huge jump in our secured funds and we are extremely excited at the prospect of what this means to the Borough. The park project will be a reality, with upgrades including a walking trail through the acres and new playground, among other improvements. We look forward to continuing to raise funds which will be used to further upgrade the park beyond the scope of what the grants will cover. We hope to see many of you out and about at events in the coming months and be sure to say congrats to a Parks and Rec volunteer when you see them! See the official Grant Announcements here: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/grants/2010C2P2GrantAwards.pdf

The Parks and Rec Board are happy to announce that we have secured a grant from PA DCNR! The announcements just happened today and we are thrilled that this means our project has taken a huge leap forward in completion. We will keep you updated as the project continues to progress and want to thank everyone for their ongoing support! See the Grant Announcements Here http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/grants/2010C2P2GrantAwards.pdf

We are hosting a playdate at Benner Hall on September 18th as part of our annual community day. RSVP today and join us for a fun-filled day. http://playday.kaboom.org/projects/143-benner-hall-playgrou We are also in the running for a new portable playground system. We need more fans and more review of our site! Have some pictures to upload? Come help us stay in the top 50 parks! http://playspacefinder.kaboom.org/playspaces/93373-benner-memorial-hall-and-recreation-fields

Last night, we attended a meeting with Bucks County to promote out project and request that the borough's funding be allocated towards it. I'm happy to say that we received a unanimous vote of approval for the funding! That means that our funding has taken a major step forward, as $210,000 will now we available for use on this project. We're also had contact with the PA Horticultural Society who will most likely be able to help us with our shade tree costs, which could potentially cut the cost of each tree from $400 to $35. This could account for about a $11,000 savings in our costs. (This isn't counted in our total raised yet, since Treevitalize relies heavily on funding that, although very likely will be, hasn't yet been allocated yet for 2011).

The Board submitted a grant proposal to the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) in April requesting about $350,000 towards the project. Following that, we've submitted another proposal with the Bucks Municipal Open Space Program requesting that the $210,000 set aside for Richlandtown Borough would benefit the playground. The two grants would compliment one another should we qualify for both and would provide much of the funding for the project. Given the lack of guarantees with applying for grants, we've been tirelessly fundraising for the cause. The Oldies Dance on June 5th was a nice little fundraiser for us and we have more activities coming up in the Fall. We are also pursuing corporate grants and donations from local businesses. So far, the Board has raised about $9,000 in cash through our Fall and Spring events and are contributing an in-kind service of about $15,000 by having a community build program for the playground. Thanks for your help and be sure to check our "files" above for your opportunity to contribute to this effort.

We've added a few new ways to keep in touch with the goings on. You can now reach us on twitter @RTBplayground and find us on Facebook listed as Benner Hall Playground.

There are a few events to benefit the fund in the coming months. Friendly's Fun-Raising Night on March 17th- from 5-8PM come out to Friendly's in Quakertown to have dinner with community members and show your support for the Fund! The Oldies Dance on June 5th www.bennerhall.com/oldies.html is a big one. DJ Ron Funk will spin classic tunes while you enjoy dinner and dance the night away. Craft Show on November 6th www.bennerhall.com/craft.html is now accepting applications. Tell any crafting friends to apply while spaces remain and save the date to check out a great show. Lots more events to come!

Welcome to our new Kaboom website for the Benner Hall Playground Fund! This is a forum for interested parties to keep track of what is happening with the Playground and plans. Please join our group today and become a part of the big changes happening in our little Borough!