New Advocacy Group Formed to Preserve Ewing Park, Oppose Planned Softball Field

A new advocacy group has been formed to preserve Ewing Park.

The Citizens for Ewing Park Preservation (CEPP) group was announced during Ellwood City Area School District’s Board of Directors Committee Meeting Monday evening.

Chairperson for the group, Karen Mancini, is a resident of Beatty Street, which faces the old Ewing Park School property where the district has proposed and plans to construct a girls softball field.

She made a statement on behalf of the group during the meeting, “We are organized and represented by legal counsel and stand ready to oppose any attempt to convert the subject property to a ball field and we hope that the School District will consider a less impactful use of the property that complies with the current zoning regulations.”

According to Mancini, CEPP is made up of about 25 community members. Some of the members of the group don’t live in Ewing Park, but they believe in preserving the green space at the proposed location of the softball field. CEPP is welcoming community members to join in their efforts to stand up against the proposed field.

Softball Field

“Our mission is to preserve the park and the entrance to the park,” Mancini said. “No matter who you talk to, they say that a softball field doesn’t belong there. It’s going to make Ewing Park look terrible. We want to preserve that green space.”

The plan to add the softball field was approved in July of 2023 by the ECASD Board of Directors and also includes renovations to the existing baseball field. At that time, it was announced that the $3,329,000 project will be funded via a local athletic capital campaign. The cost of the softball field will be $1,880,000 and the cost to renovate the baseball field will be $1,449,000.

Since that time, the Ewing Park residents and others in the community have faithfully attended monthly meetings of both the ECASD Board of Directors and Borough Council, regularly speaking out during public comment time.

The ECASD Board addressed the public once during a board meeting in November of 2023 when Kathy Galbreath, who was board president at that time, made a statement on behalf of the board.

“We remain steadfast in our support for this field,” she said in November.

Galbreath cited that the board’s unanimous vote to construct a field at the location of the old Ewing Park School is based on facts and information along with a commitment to district goals.

Mancini is one of many residents who continue to implore the school board to find an alternative location.

“It’s a residential area, and a softball field doesn’t belong here. Most of the people who have lived here have lived here for years and years. It’s simply not fair to the people who have lived here for 30 or 40 years. People do not want to have to move from the homes they’ve lived in for decades to avoid living on top of this softball field.”

Community members wishing to make a donation to CEPP or who want to get involved in advocating against the construction of a softball field at this location, can contact Karen Mancini at kmancini@zoominternet.net for more information.

Read other stories about the proposed field here.