Matthew Schmidt of Hampton Technical Associates makes a presentation on behalf of the Cashdollar project during the Forward Township planning commission meeting on Tuesday, April 30. William Pitts/Butler Eagle
FORWARD TWP — The township’s planning commission granted final approval on Tuesday evening, April 30, to a sports complex proposed by the Cashdollar family which could be built along Watters Station Road in Forward Township.
The nine-member planning commission granted approval unanimously, but that approval is contingent upon the developers meeting the conditions laid out in a letter from township engineers Gannett Fleming. These include obtaining permits for both sewage and water, as well as a stormwater operations and maintenance agreement.
“Their site will have catch basins and storm sewer pipes that go to a detention pond,” said township manager Tom Hartwig. “The pond will need sediment and vegetation periodically removed.”
After the planning commission’s approval, the proposal now goes to township supervisors. They will decide on final approval for the project at their meeting on May 14.
“At this point, it won't bounce back to us,” said Steve Longwell, planning commission chairman. “They have the option to approve it with the contingencies, or they have the option to table it and wait for them to finish the conditions.”
The planning commission granted Cashdollar preliminary approval at its monthly meeting in late February, and the supervisors followed at their meeting in March. The most recent plans for the complex call for an outdoor soccer field along with three enclosed buildings, which would feature an indoor soccer field, four pickleball courts and two pole vaulting tracks.
“It's the same as it was when it was granted preliminary approval,” Longwell said.
The sports complex would be built on land the family once used to grow and sell Christmas trees.
Since the plans for the sports complex were first made public in October 2023, residents have expressed concerns about several potential issues. These include how the complex would affect traffic on Watters Station Road, as well as its ability to handle stormwater in the event of a downpour.
Unlike previous meetings in Forward Township concerning the sports complex, few people were in attendance for the planning commission meeting, and most of them were there on behalf of Cashdollar. These included Matthew Schmidt of Hampton Technical Associates, who presented the Cashdollar project’s progress to the planning commission on Tuesday evening.
Township solicitor Rebecca Black and township engineer Tom Thompson deliberate during the Forward Township planning commission meeting on Tuesday night, April 30. William Pitts/Butler Eagle
