Five Years and Counting

When he started five years ago, John Farnen thought $75,000 would do the trick. He also thought the undertaking, in its entirety, would take far less than five years to complete. 

Farnen, Hatboro’s Elm Street president, set out to beautify , the neighborhood park that he grew up near. Since then, the park’s renovation price tag – unlike his funding coffers - has grown to more than $325,000.

“I was so naïve that I said, ‘let me go out and ask for some money for the park,’ ” Farnen said.

With help from the Kiwanis Club of Hatboro-Horsham, Farnen raised enough money to repave and repaint the basketball court, install new basketball nets, playground equipment and a walkway from Springdale Avenue to neighboring on Jefferson Avenue. Farnen said about 170 of the approximate 1,800 , another ongoing park fundraiser.

Yet, even with all that’s been achieved, Farnen envisions more that could be done through tree and shrub plantings, additional playground equipment, light fixtures, signage, benches, picnic tables, handicap accessible ramps and more.

And, five years later, Farnen is still asking for money.

On Monday, he addressed the Hatboro Borough Council, practically begging the governing body to transfer $60,000 from the Hatboro Borough Authority’s 2012 budget to its current budget. The authority oversees the  $5 million Hatboro received following the sale of its water company, Council President Marianne Reymer said.

Those funds, coupled with another $20,000 that Kiwanis raised, could largely cover playground equipment installation, Farnen said.

“We need the borough to partner with us to make this playground a reality,” Farnen said.

And while empathetic to Farnen’s cause, the council did not commit, in large part, because none of the elected officials seemed to know if the money had actually been earmarked.

“We’re not sure,” Reymer said after the meeting. “We thought we allocated money for 2011.”

She said the council would need to go back and review the budget before moving forward.

Richard Seeds, Hatboro Borough Authority chairman, said that with the exception of the ongoing Enterprise Fire Co. improvement project, the authority has no “active or pending” agenda items related to borough projects.

“There are no open items before the Board in regard to Tanner Park and the Authority has not received any proposals to consider funding a project for Tanner Park,” Seeds said in an e-mail Wednesday. “As we have neither agenda items nor proposals for a project at Tanner Park there have not been any funds set aside for a project at Tanner Park.”

Farnen, not wanting to place all his funding eggs in one basket, also reached out to state Rep. Tom Murt’s office to see about possible state grants to help cover some of the park improvement.

“I have to be comfortable,” Farnen said of seeking out other funding sources. “I don’t have anywhere else to go.”

Since grant deadlines have passed, Farnen told the council Monday that one of Murt’s staffers had put together a $44,500 state capital budget request that, if received, would cover the costs of a walking path, evergreen and deciduous trees, shrubs, perennials and mulching. 

The council suggested Farnen set the funding request a bit higher - possibly seeking the entire project amount, roughly $325,000.

“Is it worth only going for $44,000 bucks?” Councilman John Zygmont asked. “See what an acceptable offer would be.”

Zygmont also suggested that Farnen and the Kiwanis Club hold onto the $20,000 raised most recently in the event that a local match is necessary.

“I just get a little frustrated if people don’t see anything going into that park,” Farnen said. “Kiwanis is busting their back to raise funds. They want to see something going in for all the effort they have done.”

Farnen, who grew up on Lincoln Avenue from 1942 to 1959 and has always lived close to the park, said he’s asked regularly about why he works so hard on the Tanner Park improvement efforts.

“If it’s not me, then who?” Farnen said in addressing the council. “When I started these kids were 5 years old, now they’re 10 … If not now, when?”