Plymouth to Get New Police Vehicles, Park Plan

At Monday night’s regular meeting, the Plymouth Township Council approved the purchase of several large items and announced the recipient of a grant to design a master plan for the homestead area of the Harriet Wetherill Park.

The council decided to purchase three new vehicles for the police department at a cost of $99,100 and also voted to purchase a “leaf claw” and a plow for the township’s new trash truck for a total of $40,000.

Township manager Karen Weiss explained to Patch that the leaf claw will allow the township to clear and dispose of fallen leaves irrespective of weather conditions. The vacuum the township normally uses to pick up leaves only works when they’re dry.

The council also announced their selection of Land Concepts, a Blue Bell-based land planning firm, as the recipient of a grant that could amount to as much as $90,000 to design a master plan for the 15-acre homestead area of the Harriet Wetherill Park. $45,000 of the financing will come from the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, with up to $45,000 in a matching grant coming from the township.

Land Concepts will examine and propose potential uses for the 15-acre tract, which the township purchased in 2006 under the Montgomery County Open Space plan. Weiss said a nature center is a possibility for part of the land.

In other business, the council voted:

• To set new fees to use the NCAA baseball field at Community Center Park. The new pricing scheme is two tiered: a $120 rate for youth groups and schools in Plymouth and a $275 rate for adult groups, businesses, private schools, college teams, and others.
• To prohibit parking on a approximately 257-foot-long stretch of Northview Boulevard. There is a curve in the area that makes it hard to see parked cars, and so, effective in 31 days, parking will be banned there. Township manager Karen Weiss explained to Patch that there haven’t been accidents there, but the township is trying to be “proactive” in avoiding them.
• To create a new three month pass to the Plymouth Community Center. The pass, which is priced at $99, was created with the intent of allowing college students who spend most of the year away—and so find the $395 annual membership fee excessive—to take advantage of membership during summer months.