The Newton Recreation Center.
Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
NEWTON TWP. — The Newton Township Board of Supervisors recently held a special meeting for the public to express concerns or ask questions about the strategic plan to sell the Newton Recreation Center. Chairman Douglas Pallman recapped that the township took ownership of the rec center in 1996. He said that the sale ran between the supervisors and the Abington Heights School District.
“(The rec board at that time) made it clearly known that in order for the township to move forward with this that there will be a volunteer-based board for leading the rec center through donations and fundraising,” he said. “The center was run specifically from that volunteer board. Everything from handling the bills, the mail and the fundraisers were all taken care of by the volunteer board. The supervisors were there for larger activities. They handled all of the financing. That’s how it (rec center) ran for a while but over the years right from the get-go, they struggled with having a strong board.”
Pallman acknowledged that a volunteer board used to hold dances, car shows and soup sales at the center but dissipated throughout the years after volunteers left the board. He said that the supervisors hired paid staff members since then. He recalled putting two millage into the rec center, which is equivalent to $45,000 a year.
“In 2010, the township had earmarked over $473,000 for the rec center,” he said.
Pallman mentioned that the supervisors cut down to one millage in 2019 and 2020 and then no millage in 2021 and 2022 in hopes that the center will break even. But it wasn’t the case because the center lost $15,000 based off of $67,000 in revenue versus $82,000 in expenses. The revenues were made from tenants such as Daydreamers Child Care and A Steppin’ Time Dance Company as well as rentals of the gym and field.
Newton resident Terrie Purcell, who was in the original board, told the supervisors that she would like to step up as chairperson of an active board.
“I think that we have a community that would support it,” she said. “They just need some organization. COVID did us all in. We’re coming out of COVID. Let’s come out of this together.”
Purcell said that 30% of Newton residents are under the age of 18 and are in need of a recreation center.
Newton resident Colin Sheridan, whose wife Amber owns Daydreamers Child Care, said that he is for the sale of the building. He said that he and Amber put a lot of hours into the rec center. He mentioned that he and his father-in-law upkeep the maintenance.
“We put a lot of time and effort into the building,” he said. “We do everything to make it what it is.”
Amber added that she spent a lot of money and hours of keeping Daydreamers Child Care safe inside the rec center for 15 years. She expressed her desire to provide the best for the kids and families, who are customers of Daydreamers. She mentioned that the supervisors and township residents have tried to find volunteers and a committee to oversee the building.
“The time has come that someone take the reins, give the historic building a new life,” she said. “Daydreamers is fully invested. We give the rec center the love that it deserves from the family that’s been in it day in and day out for the last 15 years providing the best childcare services. Daydreamers would then have the chance to continue the building’s legacy of education and learning for Newton Township and the Abingtons.”
Amber asked for the sale of the building and to renegotiate the lease for another year no matter who wins the bid.
Pallman thanked Sheridan for speaking on behalf of Daydreamers Child Care.
“It doesn’t go unnoticed,” he said. “We understand what’s been done throughout the years. To be where you’re at now and having a waiting list says a lot about the type of business you run and the employees you have. So many families have utilized up including supervisors in the past.”
Newton resident Ann Williams, who owns Gryphon Winds LLC Instrument Repair at the Red Barn Village, said that she was a student when the rec center was an elementary school. She said that she loves the fact that Daydreamers Child Care and A Steppin’ Time Dance Company are both still in the rec center.
“If there’s any way, (if) there’s a compromise or something that can be done to keep it so it’s still a community-based environment with the educational focus that the daycare and the dance studio gives, we both would be waiting to volunteer,” she said.
Ann’s husband, Jason Williams, commented that the rec center is a ‘beautiful building’ and shouldn’t have major issues because of its structure. He expressed interest in getting space into the building for their business.
“I think it should be kept in public hands,” he said. “It sounds like we have a great deal of volunteers that can really make use of it going forward.”
Kerry Gregory, owner of A Steppin’ Time Dance Company, told the supervisors that her lease will end on June 30.
The supervisors later sent lease proposals, which are both good for one year, to both Daydreamers and A Steppin’ Time Dance Company. Sheridan and Gregory both renewed their leases.
