Centre Region authority accepts compromise bike path plan

By Mike Joseph

STATE COLLEGE — A regional government authority Thursday approved a State College school board proposal for Welch pool that will curve a controversial bike path around trees on authority-leased land behind the South Sparks Street home of Ginny Suhey.

“We don’t want to hold anything up,” said Chris Hurley, Patton Township’s member of the Centre Regional Rereation Authority.

The 5-0 decision came after the same five authority members very nearly acted on a motion to “keep the plan as we had it” — and also came amid predictions that the regional pool on Westerly Parkway probably won’t open at all next summer.

“It’s too far behind schedule,” said Sue Mascolo, authority chairman.

At issue is the new location for a short section of the Orchard Park bike path, which courses through the 3.32 acres of land the authority has leased from the State College Area School District.

The authority originally proposed to relocate the bike path closer to the edge of its leased land to free up as much pool area as possible for pool users.

The school board proposal — drawn up on a plan circulated by school board president Rick Madore — keeps the path a few feet closer to the pool for its entire length and about 10 feet closer at the bend behind the Suhey property.

But the school board plan also proposes to expand the fenced-in area up the side of a levee on leased-land that the authority did not incorporate into its original plan.

Madore said that will add 6,00 square feet to the pool area and he called his plan a “win-win-win” proposal.

Pool architect Alan Popovich of Boalsburg told the authority that construction probably won’t start until Oct. 12 at the earliest and won’t be completed until sometime in the first two weeks of September.

“There’s a very good chance that we’re going to miss the summer,” he said.

For more details, see tomorrow's Centre Daily Times.