Hello All,
The Johnston
Estate was the former country home of the first Mayor of Bethlehem and
former Bethlehem Steel President, Archibald Johnston, and
his descendants. This beautiful urban park contains not only a 23 room
Mansion, but pathways connecting the nine different ecosystems and the
Monocacy Creek. The Friends of Johnston have been providing free
education for over 1000 students and environmental restoration with help
from our friends in the community. After years of effort to protect the
land from development, it is now on the verge of conservation! We need
your help to secure the funding from Northampton County Council for
acquisition of the Leckonby and Central Moravian Church lands to
complete this iconic park for the benefit of our community.
WHO IS INVOLVED?
Natural
Lands Trust, a highly skilled land conservation organization will own
and manage the additional Leckonby and Central Moravian acreages. NLT
has applied to Northampton County Open Space Committee for funding for
acquisition costs.
The
Friends of Johnston is a group of citizens that have committed
themselves to the preservation, restoration and sustainable reuse of
this property for the good of all our community.
WHAT IS THE VISION? The
vision for the estate is that all of the parcels will function as one
larger park even though they are under different ownership. That through
collaboration with government agencies, businesses, schools and the
community we will provide educational programming, stewardship, and
fresh produce to the poor.
WHERE IS THE JOHNSTON ESTATE? The
Johnston Estate is approximately 138 acres comprised of the 33 acre
Archibald Johnston Conservation Area, the 55 acre Janet Johnston
Housenick and William D. Housenick Memorial Park, the 26 acre Central
Moravian Church Spiritual Center and the 18 acre Leckonby Farm. located
between Christian Spring Road,Rte 191, Santee Mill, and Township line
roads in Bethlehem.
WHY DOES THIS PARK BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY? The additional acreage will complete the park area, and provide
buffer to the park for recreation and peace of mind
greater area for wildlife and recreational trails,
community garden space
storm water management
eliminate the risk of development on the parcel
Education- for all ages from preschool through college
Programming- bird walks, history walks, gardening native plant walks
HOW WILL WE PAY FOR THE LAND? Northampton
County Open Space is dedicated to preserving environmentally sensitive
lands. The NorCo Open Space Committee has approved the funding of the
projects at $520,000.00. Understanding that the land owners have been
offered much more for their properties by developers, Natural Lands
Trust has made offers above the current guidelines. Therefore the County
Council will have to approve a resolution in the Open Space Ordinance
for this project. to increase the allocation to a total of $657,500.00 There is enough in the 2013 budget for this year to fund these projects.
WHEN: NORTHAMPTON COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING
6:00 pm, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013
NORTHAMPTON COUNTY COURT HOUSE
EASTON, PA
HOW MUCH WILL THE PARK COST AFTER IT IS ACQUIRED? There
will be no additional cost to the tax payers. Natural Lands Trust
Preserves are free and open to the public and the Friends are committed
to working diligently to raising funds
WE NEED YOUR HELP:
1) Get the word out- pass this email along
2) Write emails or call your council members and include the wording:
"I support the use of $657,500.00 of the Northampton County Open Space Funding for the
acquisition of the Central Moravian Church and Leckonby Estate properties on the former
Johnston Estate and request that the amendment to the Open Space Ordinance be passed at the
December 5, 2013 Northampton County Council Meeting."
3) Come to the December 5, 2013 NorCo Council Meeting
4) COME OUT TO THE PARK!
4) Join the Friends of Johnston- share your time, talents or resources to help this worthy project!
I attended the NorCo budget hearings yesterday and the
council is attempting to cut the Open Space funding for 2014 by
approximately $750,000.00 given that the county now receives Act 319
Marcellus Shale monies. The Council does not understand that DCNR monies
are being cut and that the matching grants will not be available for
acquisitions, nor do they understand that the environmental impacts of
fracking effect the entire commonwealth.
