PARK Request for gravel hauling turns into financial debate

Greenville has other priorities greater than the sports complex, a resident said.
By LAURI GALENTINE
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- A request by the Greenville Area Leisure Services Association turned into a discussion that will spill over into next month's work session.
The GALSA board voted last week to construct another parking lot -- it would be a gravel lot -- at the West Salem Township Sports Complex, and asked Greenville Borough Council to have a borough employee haul the gravel for the association.
The request came at the end of council's Tuesday meeting from Councilman David P. Henderson, who also is a GALSA board member.
Borough resident Ed Loreno questioned council's spending habits. He noted the state has placed the borough in distressed community status and just a few years ago it was facing a major financial crisis.
Only two years into the five-year plan structured by a state-hired coordinator to eliminate the Greenville's deficit, Loreno wondered why the borough was talking about spending more money on the sports complex and a proposed rails-to-trails project.
"There are many other things with higher priority," he said. "These people that are gung-ho to spend money that we don't have should think it over."
More questions
Other council members also questioned GALSA's request.
"I understood this [second parking lot] would be at no cost to the borough," said council president Pete Longiotti. "This would involve using borough employees."
Work needs to be done in Riverside Park, but council won't send borough employees to do it, he added.
He also noted that borough auditors recently cautioned council to "start looking at further cutting costs" if it intends to get Greenville out of the distressed-community status successfully at the end of the five years.
"It's the borough's park," Henderson said. "We're just trying to make it better, but we're not getting anywhere. We [GALSA] were handed a 42-acre complex that is incomplete. I'm looking for a dump truck to haul gravel for a parking lot that should have been there in the first place.
"If the borough doesn't want to loan us a dump truck, maybe Hempfield Township will," he added.
"That's a good idea," said Councilman Henry M. Mueller, adding that maybe GALSA could solicit help from West Salem Township.
At that point, Borough Manager Vance Oakes spoke up, telling council members that GALSA's request was a work session item. He plans to put it on the agenda for council's June 3 work session.
GALSA oversees Riverside Park, its recreation center, and the sports complex. Besides the borough, the association receives funding from Greenville Area School District and Greenville Area United Way.