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Contact: Kathleen Sandt, 570 426-2429 Office
BUSHKILL PA: Superintendent John J. Donahue confirmed today that there is a plan in place to keep Milford Beach open for 2013.Just when the closure looked unavoidable, Kinder Morgan, the parent company of Tennessee Gas, raced in with a proposal to donate the full $41,000 needed to pay for operations at Milford Beach this summer."This is a great example of good citizenship being demonstrated by a corporation that intends to be a good neighbor for many decades to come," said Donahue."It also shows how cooler heads can prevail by working together for a solution instead of searching for someone to blame."Governor Corbett's Northeast Regional Office coordinated efforts between the company, Congressman Marino's office, the Pike County Commissioners, and concerned citizens to find a workable solution."We are extremely grateful for the assistance of the Governor's office in this matter," said the superintendent.A meeting attended by those mentioned above was held on April 19. "In thes difficult economic time, Kinder Morgan wanted to help ensure local residents had continued access to a valuable receration aea," said Allen Fore, Director of Public Affairs for Kinder Morgan. "We are pleased to make this significant donation to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and continue our commitment to a community partnership with Pike County and all of our asset areas." The NPS will provide funding for lifeguards and fee collectors and the donation will cover the many maintenance and operational costs to keep the site open.The fees collected at Milford Beach are supplemented by fees collected at other sites in the park and are used to pay for the cost of lifeguards."If we don't collect fees this year there will be no money for lifeguards next year," noted the superintendent.All parties involved agree that he most important thing is that the site will be open for the visiting public."In today's world, solutions require cooperation and creativity and that is why I put the information about closures out there as soon as possible, so that a solution might be found," said Donahue."Governor Corbett is committed to working together on cooperative efforts between government and private industry and this effort is a great model for the future," added Forbes. This is a win-win situation because Kinder Morgan was willing to step up to the plate and help our community and the many visitors who come to visit the National Recreation Area. The NPS received approval to accept the donation and open Milford Beach from their Northeast Regional Office in Philadelphia and from the Washington, D.C. offices late Friday afternoon."Now that we have all of the necessary approvals, we can finally say that Milford Beach will be open this summer," stated Donahue. |
Last updated: April 14, 2015