Cranberry Township forms committee for Powell Farm planning
CRANBERRY TWP — Township officials and residents will serve on an advisory committee for preserving the 71-acre Powell Farm on Goehring Road, following a vote to create the committee by the supervisors Thursday, Oct. 5.
Cranberry Township manager Dan Santoro said the township has already received letters of interest from people wanting to serve on the Powell Farm Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee.
“We had, previously, folks submit interest,” he said. “The resolution said it can have up to nine members.”
The township acquired the 150-year-old Denton Powell farm in March, following Powell’s death in 2021. Andy Hack, a lifelong friend of Powell’s, was executor of Powell’s will after his death, and gifted the 71-acre farm to the township at a board meeting March 2.
Also in March, Cranberry Township supervisors and other officials toured the farm alongside curious community members. They formulated plans for how the property could be a public asset in the future.
The supervisors voted to hire engineering firm Herbert, Rowland & Grubic to design a new feature for the Cranberry Township Community Waterpark, at a cost of $32,200.
The sand play area at the waterpark has reached its life expectancy, and township officials are looking to update the park by installing a splash pad, which will be aimed at children ages 2 to 5.
Because the sand play area’s equipment is difficult to replace and the sand itself poses “long-term maintenance problems,” the splash pad provides an ideal alternative, according to the township’s strategic planning officer Kyle Beidler.
As part of the project, the supervisors also passed a purchase agreement Thursday for equipment for the new feature from Vortex USA for nearly $85,500.
“We’re hoping to have it installed before next season, before the opening of the waterpark,” Santoro said.
