Save Marple Greenspace Offer's Delco Council 'Counter' Press Release

MARPLE, PA — The group that has worked for about 10 years to protect open space in Marple Township has offered Delaware County a "counter" press release they say should be issued by officials as they face push back over a hotly controversial mental health plan.

For those unaware, the county a few years ago bought the former Don Guanella property in Marple Township from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia via eminent domain with the intent of establishing the first county park in 30 years.

Cut to early 2024, and the county has proposed using at least one existing structure on a portion of that property to house residential mental health services, which opponents say flies in the face of the county's initial plan and messaging about the land.

The proposal has led to packed meetings in both Marple Township and in Media during Delaware County Council's proceedings.

Marple has rezoned the spaces that make up the property to only open space, forcing Delaware County to take legal action in hopes of preserving its rights to use the once-institutional zoned structure for the proposed mental health services.

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Save Marple Greenspace, which has worked for more than a decade to preserve the beloved land, has offered up a suggested press release for the county.

The "release," Save Marple Greenspace said, is what the county should say to its residents and stakeholders.

Below is the suggested press release from Save Marple Greenspace:

While our recent support for locating a mental health facility at Don Guanella was rooted in genuine concern for our fellow county residents needing this type of care, we have decided to listen to our constituents and find another suitable location for this facility. We will pick up where we left off and move towards building the best elements of the preliminary park design. This is our promise to create something unique in our region.

While it is true that Don Guanella would have represented a good location for a mental health facility because of how conducive the Village's buildings are for such a purpose, it is best that these services be provided somewhere else. It has become clear to us that the same fervor that drove the movement to preserve the Don Guanella in the first place is also motivating the resistance to the mental health proposal. But another thing has come into focus, as well, and that's the economic value of a park hub.

Tourism provides an essential boost to our economy and it's not just Delaware County's attractions that financially benefit. Visitors stay at our hotels, eat in our restaurants, shop in our stores, and tell others about their trip. This creates and sustains jobs and increases tax revenue via our 3% county hotel/motel tax. This also creates an incentive to make Delaware County even more attractive to nonresidents. This is the entire point of our PR campaign, "Destination Delco." Certainly, our county has much to offer visitors, but it could offer more, like a world-class park hub at the gateway into 180 acres of forest. Such a place would undoubtedly increase the county's appeal to visitors.

Those opposed to the mental health facility should understand, however, that realizing the park hub will require money. Lots of money. Unfortunately, the estimated millions it will cost to demolish several buildings and then to build park infrastructure and amenities isn't just lying around somewhere. It is our sincerest hope that those who so vehemently opposed the mental health facility will support any and all funding mechanisms proposed on upcoming ballots. Without proper park funding, the only affordable alternative would be to use the existing buildings at Don Guanella for purposes like those recently proposed.

That was penned by Save Marple Greenspace co-founder Ken Hemphill.

Hemphill wrote one would assume after the backlash over the proposal, the council would relent.

"Sadly, that course correction hasn't happened," he wrote in a newsletter. "If this is because they see recreation taking a back seat to other needs, then perhaps the economic benefits that would derive from an attractive park at Don Guanella can change their thinking. After all, no one will visit Delaware County to see a mental health facility, but people will certainly make a trip from surrounding counties and beyond to see an award winning park. If they build it, people will come."

He went on to argue that by establishing only a park, revenue would likely increase via the county's three-percent hotel/motel tax.

"Visitors would come for this new attraction but stay for our restaurants, sleep in our hotels, shop in our stores, and then go home and tell others about their trip," he said. "Bringing in more tourists would also create a feedback loop, incentivizing us to make Delaware County more appealing still while generating additional revenue to achieve that. Some would no doubt be inspired to move here, buttressing property values and encouraging infill development."