Hempfield unveils decade-long vision for township park

Hempfield Park is set to undergo a series of improvements over the next decade under an updated master plan presented at the township supervisors meeting this week.

The plan focuses on enhancing the park environment, expanding recreation opportunities, fine-tuning operations, increasing accessibility, improving facilities and increasing staff, said Chris Sarson, a landscape designer for Herbert, Rowland and Grubic Inc. engineering firm.

The plan is set to go into effect unless additional questions or changes are suggested by township officials before the Nov. 15 supervisors meeting, said Parks and Recreation Director Marissa Haynes.

“I think it’s a great plan and a good tool for us to be moving forward with for the next couple of years at Hempfield Park,” Haynes said.

The future Weatherwood Community Park, slated for 14 acres of land along Route 30 near Mt. Pleasant Road, was not included in the plan, Sarson said. But the needs of the new park were considered when drafting the plan.

“As we increase the number of facilities with the upcoming Weatherwood Park, there’s going to be additional needs for staff,” Sarson said, citing an increase in staff and volunteers as one goal of the plan.

An updated plan for the Weatherwood Community Park will be presented at next month’s supervisors meeting, Haynes said.

Nine priority projects are identified in the Hempfield Park plan, Sarson said, including establishment of an outdoor nature education center with nature and construction of separate pickleball courts to reduce scheduling conflicts between tennis and pickleball players.

The engineering firm began working with the township to draft the plan — in concurrence with Hempfield’s comprehensive plan — in June 2022. The last master plan was established in 2014. Since most of the projects outlined in the document have been completed, the new plan was drafted to take “ongoing improvements into the next stage,” Sarson said.

A draft of the plan has been available for public comment since Oct. 6, she said.

The firm and the township gathered input from parks staff and primary users, community surveys and resident feedback during events.

The township’s Friends of the Park, an advisory group for Hempfield’s parks, also gave input for the plan. The group advised that the Hempfield Township Athletics Center — located on Forbes Trail Road — focus its efforts on athletics-related recreation since it is “a limited resource that has a lot of demand,” Sarson said.

“What one of the Friends of the Park said is that Hempfield Park is like a Swiss army knife,” Sarson said. “It does a lot of different things very well and it provides for the needs, right now, of more than 40,000 residents in the township, and that is something that is highly valued in the park.”