COVINGTON TWP. - With the snip of a blue ribbon, the newest addition to Lackawanna County's park system officially opened Thursday.
Municipal officials from the North Pocono area joined Commissioners Corey O'Brien, Jim Wansacz and Patrick O'Malley at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for Covington Park, which is ready for public use after a $1.6 million construction and enhancement project.
"My message is a simple one - promise made, promise kept," Mr. O'Brien said.
The park's opening delivered on a better-late-than-never commitment county officials made in 2008 to provide more recreational opportunities for North Pocono residents. The county originally acquired the 400-acre site near Route 307 in 1972 with the intention of developing a park.
"We have been waiting for this for a long time, and it's finally here," Covington Twp. Supervisor John Brostoski said. "It will be utilized 100 percent."
The park's amenities include multiple athletic fields, basketball and volleyball courts, a disabled-accessible Boundless Playground and a picnic pavilion.
Bill Davis, the county Department of Parks and Recreation deputy director who oversaw the project, said not many people get the opportunity to develop an entirely new park.
The county plans more work, including a walking trail around the property's 10-acre Desandis Pond that should be completed later this year, Mr. Davis said.
"I look at this as just scratching the surface," he said. "This is just the first phase of many projects to come here."
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com