PPL plans to construct the base for soccer fields, baseball fields, an amphitheater and a group camping area as part of a new recreation complex on PPL land near the Montour Preserve.

Construction of the facilities is tentatively scheduled to begin in early 2005. PPL will make the regulation-size playing fields available to local youth athletic organizations, which will be permitted to install infields, backstops and other support structures.

"PPL has always worked to be part of the communities it serves. It’s fortunate that we have been able to work on a project that will complement the community’s ongoing efforts to create recreation opportunities," said Harry Spagnola, superintendent of PPL’s Montour power plant.

Since last October, PPL has been working with local community advisors to determine the type of recreational facilities that would be most beneficial to the area. PPL hired Yost, Strodosky and Mears, a landscape and recreation planning firm from York, Pa., to incorporate recommendations into a master development plan for the site.

The plan is on display at the Montour Preserve Visitor’s Center.

"This has been a comprehensive process with a very dynamic group," said Chris Young, Columbia County Commissioner. "We started with nothing more than an idea, and ended with a recreational plan that will benefit the Columbia/Montour area. PPL is to be commended for involving the community to find out what is best for the residents."

The recreation complex will be located on PPL land along the east branch of the Chillisquaque Creek near the intersection of Schoolhouse Road and Route 44, about four miles west of Jerseytown.

Future development plans include a winter use area for sledding, a wetland environmental education area and a picnic area that will include a handicap accessible fishing pond. The facilities will be connected by system of trails.

The project will use Stabil-Fill™ as a base material. Stabil-Fill™ is an environmentally safe product created from fly ash stabilized with hydrated lime. PPL has been using Stabil-Fill™ in a variety of construction applications since 1996, most recently in construction of an airport runway and soccer fields in Danville.

Madison Township already has two successful community projects that were built with PPL’s help. Stabil-fill™ was used in building a baseball field at the Jerseytown Community Center and in building a shooting backstop for the Little Fishing Creek Rod & Gun Club.

PPL has been converting fly ash from Montour into a stabilized product for beneficial use since 1996. The program has had great success in a number of applications, including little league baseball fields, soccer complexes, roadbeds, golf courses and airport runways.