Fairfield area news-briefs

Danielle Ryan

(3/24) Carroll Valley reorganizes Borough Council

The Carroll Valley Borough Council re-organized during the March 21 meeting, electing a new President and Vice President. Prior Vice President Sarah Skoczen was voted to take the role as President and Tyler Pyles was voted for Vice President. Both individuals were unanimously voted into their new positions by fellow Council members. Both Pyles and Skoczen are also the youngest members currently residing on the Council.

Hamiltonban Park Phase 1 moves forward

The Community Park in Hamiltonban Township continues to move forward. The equipment was delivered at the end of February and awaits installation. An additional grant application has been approved and submitted for Adams County Community Foundation. A possible focus for this particular grant application is the funding of interpretive signage for the park or possibly the purchase and installation of a swing suitable for handicapped children. The Board also approved an additional DCNR grant application.

Adams County Police receive $149,998 grant

On March 8, the Adams County Police Department received a $149,998 grant from the PA Commission of Crime and Delinquency Byrne Justice Assistance Program for IT equipment for the entire county department. Carroll Valley Police Chief Richard Hileman, who was inherently responsible for the work behind the grant, mentioned that the grant would serve all of Adams County, encompassing all the area Police Departments, the Sherriff’s Office and county detectives.

The grant is specifically being used for an update to the county’s citation set-up within the patrol vehicles. The new system will allow officers to scan drivers’ license and vehicle information, print the citation and electronically send the citation through the system. It will be beneficial for data entry and information sharing within the county, because before, all data entry and sharing was manually done by each officer. This update will allow the county’s entire police department to share data between them as well as directly with the District Attorneys office.

Carroll Valley Path System

The Parks and Recreation Committee will be submitting several grants this year in hopes of receiving funding for the proposed Carroll Valley Path System. This trail system was introduced summer of 2016, but at the time, the Committee was only able to apply for one grant, which was not approved. This year, the Committee will be applying for the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Community Conservation Partnership Program (C2P2) grant, and the PA Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program (GTRP) grant. A third grant, the Adams County Parks, Recreation and Green Space grant is not currently open, but the Borough may wish to apply for this grant when it opens up.

Amy Kauffman of GMS Solutions noted that she received a call from DCNR stating their desire to do a project in Adams County, so Kauffman believes that the project will be viewed favorably.

Funding for phase one of this project is approximately $126,000, and the plan is to apply for half of that amount from GTRP and half from C2P2 so they can match each other. Phase one will consist of the construction of a trail from Fairfield School to Ski Liberty, but in its entirety, the project will encompass connections in and around Ranch Park with the Fairfield schools. In addition, the trail will connect to existing trails around the lakes in Carroll Valley and to the trails around Ski Liberty.