West Deer has received a $291,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to rehabilitate and develop Bairdford Park.
The grant is a part of a $70 million pool helping to fund more than 300 recreation and conservation projects across the state.
West Deer was among three of the projects chosen in the Alle-Kiski Valley. Springdale and East Deer were the other two.
The township anticipates beginning its Bairdford Park project this spring or summer with completion by autumn if everything goes as planned, Township Manager Daniel Mator said.
The project plans to construct a pavilion; courts for tennis, pickleball and basketball; a dek hockey rink; accessible parking areas and walkways; and new bleacher seats and fencing.
The project will make the facility accessible for people with physical challenges and will include landscaping, new signs and other site improvements.
Mator said the project is a continuation of the Park Master Plan for both West Deer’s Nike Site Park and Bairdford Park funded in part through multiple grants from the DCNR and the Gaming Economic Development Tourism Fund (GEDTF).
The first portion of the project planned for this year was estimated to cost $863,550.
The township requested a matching grant to cover half the cost ($431,775) and was awarded $291,000.
“West Deer Township is ecstatic to receive this award and is grateful for the consideration of the commonwealth,” Mator said.
