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<p>DALLAS TWP. &#8212; Fourteen-year-old Jack Stout had a lot of ideas to share for a proposed skatepark within the confines of Dallas Township Park.</p><p>&#8220;What if we took out the baseball field and exchanged that for a 10- or 20-degree slope?&#8221; Stout asked designers from Barry Isett &amp; Associates this week.</p><p>The teen&#8217;s opinion was one of several voiced by residents and park users at a meeting to reveal three proposed plans for the 6-acre township park located off South Side Avenue and Lake Side Drive.</p><p>Bryan Smith, chief landscape architect at the Barry Isett firm, reviewed the ideas with an audience of nearly 25 at the township municipal building.</p><p>The first proposed plan would improve the Little League baseball field and playground area.</p><p>Additional features would include a skateboarding area, a band shell with shaded lawn seating, a horseshoe pit, pavilion, dog park, improved parking area, a stormwater education area, access to the stream, a picnic area, restrooms and a walking trail.</p><p>The second design would involve improving two existing basketball courts, plus a multi-purpose field instead of the baseball diamond. It would also include a dog park, community gardens, playground, pavilion parking, stormwater education area and walking trails.</p><p>The final concept eliminates the multi-purpose field, but keeps all the other amenities in design two. It would also add a splash pad, a pump track for BMX bikes and an outdoor classroom.</p><p>A $236,194 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development&#8217;s Local Share Account &#8212; derived from gambling revenue &#8212; would help fund the park renovation, Township Supervisor Elizabeth Martin said.</p><p>Several residents told architect Smith and supervisors to nix the baseball field entirely.</p><p>&#8220;That ballfield is not worth putting the money in,&#8221; said Rick Titus, who lives near the park. &#8220;There are so many nearby.&#8221;</p><p>Other residents liked the idea of the park offering different amenities such as skate and dog parks.</p><p>Resident Kevin Czekalski preferred the position of the proposed dog park on design one because it separated the dogs from the more active parts of the park.</p><p>Inline skaters, skateboarders and kids on bikes frequently use skateparks, Czekalski added.</p><p>Smith assured residents their feedback would be used to incorporate a final draft, which will be presented to the public in about 60 days. At this time, preliminary plans for Kunkle Park will be prepared and another meeting will be scheduled, he said.</p><p>If plans are approved, phase one of the Dallas Township Park renovation, involving the installation of new playground equipment, will start in 2018.</p><p>&#8220;The skatepark and other items will follow,&#8221; Smith said.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Eileen Godin</p><p>egodin@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Residents want skate and dog park amenities at Dallas Township Park