Local Girl Scout Sophia Greene, left, presents her proposal for a gaga ball pit at SEBCO Park during a Jefferson Township board of supervisors meeting Monday, Sept. 9. At right is Supervisor Braden Beblo. William Pitts/Butler Eagle

SEBCO Park’s pool may be closed for the year, but the park is getting a new addition soon, courtesy of Sophia Greene and her Girl Scout Gold Award project.

At their meeting on Monday, Sept. 9, the Jefferson Township supervisors gave the green light to Sophia’s proposal for a gaga ball pit for the park. If all goes according to plan, the project will earn her the Girl Scouts’ highest honor, equivalent to the Boy Scouts’ Eagle Scout award.

Gaga ball is a variant of dodge ball that is played in an octagon-shaped enclosure called a “pit.” The game is arguably more popular now than ever in the United States, having spread to school physical education classes and summer camps.

This is the second month that Sophia, from Girl Scout Troop 26087, brought her proposal before the board of supervisors. She first presented her proposal, along with a large packet for each board member and several members of the audience, at the Aug. 12 board meeting. The board voted to table the proposal while they researched the matter further.

One of the concerns the supervisors had at the time regarded the potential need for a “fall surface” to protect from injury. However, when Supervisor John Cypher toured a similar gaga pit at North Boundary Park in Cranberry Township, he noticed there was no fall surface there.

“There is no requirement, according to Lance (Welliver, parks and recreation director for Butler County), for a fall-safe surface,” Cypher said. “If it’s not used, the grass grows. If it’s used, it turns to dirt. If you fall down, you’re going to fall down in the dirt.”

According to Cypher, any liability for injuries suffered in the gaga pit would be covered by the park’s existing insurance policy.

One of the only remaining concerns the supervisors had was the placement of the pit. Cypher said the suggested location, between the ladies’ pavilion and the concession stand, was unsuitable due to nearby water and electric systems.

“There are water wells in there. The electricity from the transformer behind the ladies’ pavilion goes directly through there to the concession stand,” Cypher said. “So you have buried electric and water lines, and a water well and possibly sewer lines near there.”

Township recreation chairman Brian Patten suggested an alternate location behind the ladies’ pavilion.