UPPER POTTSGROVE — Township commissioners voted 4-1 Monday to use eminent domain to take 1.4 acres of privately owned land to be used for a planned frisbee golf course at Hollenbach Park.

The land is part of property owned by Harry Stuart and his wife and negotiations to buy part of their property have been ongoing for more than two years, according to Stuart, who spoke to MediaNews Group after the vote. The vote occurred after the commissioners re-convened the public meeting after a closed-door executive session which lasted approximately 30 minutes..

Negotiations have been difficult, Stuart acknowledged, saying the township’s last offer was for $74,000 but he and his wife could not agree on a price.

Township Solicitor Eric Frey said the resolution approved by the board authorizes him to offer as much as $75,000 for the land as part of the negotiations that occur once eminent domain proceedings have been initiated by the township.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly defines eminent domain as “the power of the Commonwealth to take private property for public use in return for just compensation.” This power is also extended to municipalities.

However, Township Commissioner Don Read said using that power “is a hot button issue with me. I’m very apprehensive about it,” in explaining his casting of the sole “no” vote.

Read praised the efforts of Open Space and Recreation Board Chairman Greg Churach in trying to reach an amicable agreement for the property.

The land would be subdivided off the other two acres of the property, Stuart said. The 1.4-acre parcel being taken by the township “is wetlands. It’s undevelopable,” Stuart said.

However, it is apparently stable enough to house parts of five holes of the 18-hole disc golf course envisioned in the master plan for the 25-acre Hollenbach Park, located park across Hanover Street from Pottsgrove Middle School. The “annexation” of the Stuart property was specifically mentioned in the park master plan.

So too was a trail that will connect the park with the Coddington View development through the Pottsgrove Middle School property. Construction on that trail, called the Falcon Trail, was begun recently and “is funded entirely with a grant from DCNR through the Tri County Community Network, under the ‘Shared Schoolyards’ program,” according to a post on the Upper Pottsgrove Township Open Space and Recreation Facebook page.

The master plan calls for the park to be developed in phases, and the trail connection through the school is part of the first phase, which also includes a loop trail, 60 space-parking lot and 96-person pavilion at an estimated cost of $1.3 million. Much of the funding has been covered by grants secured by the township.

In the Facebook past, Churach wrote that it is hoped construction on phase one will begin in 2025.

The disc golf course is part of the second phase of the master plan, which estimates the cost at just over $219,000.

Frey said after Monday’s board meeting that the board has not yet decided if the money to purchase the property will come out of the open space fund or not. That decision, Frey said, will likely be made when an agreement of sale has been finalized.

Originally Published: July 16, 2024 at 12:16 p.m.