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Work begins at Strawberry Hills on proposed recreation complex

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Excavation equipment stands idle at Strawberry Hills. The land is now being transformed into a soccer/recreational complex.

More than seven years after a master plan was created for the 100-acre Strawberry Hills tract west of Juniata, work began last week on a proposed soccer/recreational complex for the site.

The initial task is the grading of an area where Logan Township intends to create a pair of soccer fields, a pavilion, a playground, a walking path, a parking area, an access drive, fencing, signage, landscaping, stormwater controls and utilities.

In the fall or perhaps next year, when grading is complete, workers will do the rest, according to township Planning Director Cassandra Schmick.

RT Contracting of Duncansville is doing the grading for $535,000, while W.G. Land Co. of Acme will do the remainder of the work — the “site work” — for $892,000.

The project is being funded by an $850,000 grant from the Local Share-Statewide program; a $655,800 grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and a $150,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Greg Baker (left) of Sitetech in Bridgeville and John Lafferty of CML Contracting of Buffalo Mills wrap up a GPS base station at the edge of Strawberry Hills.

On Thursday, a pair of workers from RT subcontractors were using an electronic instrument mounted on a tripod.

Their firms are responsible for removing trees, stripping the topsoil and rearranging between 50,000 and 60,000 cubic yards of material, according to John Lafferty of CML Contracting of Buffalo Mills and Greg Baker of Sitetech in Bridgeville.

That amounts to about 3,660 triaxle dump truck loads, according to information from Lafferty.

The recent rains have led to frequent interruptions of the grading, due to problems with compaction when the soil is too wet, Lafferty said.

Testing to determine whether it’s suitable for bulldozer operations is being done by a vehicle that carries a nuclear density gauge, which uses radioactive materials to measure soil density.

A hard rain puts an end to grading for a couple of days, Lafferty said.

An unfavorable forecast can also lead to postponement of grading work, he said.

One of the bulldozers on site is equipped with Trimble machine control, according to Baker.

That system uses an electronic picture of the target contours to guide the operator on what to cut and what to fill, Baker said.

When the profile of the ground is within 8 inches of the desired contours the system can automatically do the rest, Baker said.

The system eliminates cut and fill stakes and string lines, Baker said.

The system is not a substitute for a competent operator, however, and operators should start the grading process with a clear idea of what needs to be done to reach the desired contour, Baker said.

Such modern tools help workers operate more efficiently, and thus more profitably, he said.

If the weather were no obstacle, the grading could be finished by early to mid-

September, according to Lafferty.

The trees on the ground don’t appear to be of timber quality, Lafferty said, and they will probably end up as mulch.

Land was failed development project

The idea for the overall project came from concerns expressed by local soccer clubs, which are always looking for more places to play besides Greenwood and Leopold parks, Valley View and a field along Loop Road near Frankstown Elementary.

The 100-acre Strawberry Hills tract is bounded on the east by North Ninth Avenue, on the west by North 19th Avenue, on the south by North Sixth Street and on the north by North 13th Street.

It is the site of a failed residential development project.

Victor Ruggery, a principal in RSJ Land Development, started that project in the late 1990s, hoping to build 37 homes.

At one point, RSJ had clearance to build from the township.

There was early controversy, however, because the tract was the site of a landfill that had been heavily used by the Penn­syl­vania Railroad.

In the early 2000s, RSJ went bankrupt.

In 2005, the Lancaster Redevelopment Corp., which had acquired the property, began working with a bankruptcy court trustee to build 75 homes, potentially on the way to constructing up to 600.

But the company never could follow through, and abandoned the property in 2007 due to problems that included trouble obtaining two access routes.

The bankruptcy trust donated the property to the township in 2015.

A planning consultant hired by the township created a master plan for the tract in 2018, with the help of recommendations from the public.

The plan envisioned several miles of looping trails through woods and fields, three multi-purpose athletic fields, a playground, two picnic pavilions, a picnic grove, a lawn for casual play, a municipal complex comprising of a fire-training tower, indoor shooting range and maintenance shed, four strategically placed parking areas and the extension of a street through the development from Juniata to the Grandview neighborhood.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.

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