Parking Spaces

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Waynesboro Borough Council on Wednesday rezoned more property for Waynesboro Hospital after rezoning several houses last month to allow for hospital expansion. The rezoning request unanimously approved Wednesday converts six acres of the former East Junior High School site from medium-density residential to hospital/office. Although the hospital revealed plans for $13.5 million to $15.5 million worth of expansion in November, there are no plans for the land most recently rezoned, attorney Bill Dick said on behalf of the hospital.

The issue: Berkeley County recreation leaders must attempt to keep up with the needs of a growing community with little support from outside sources. What's new: Quad/Graphics, Berkeley County's largest private employer, has donated $500,000 toward expansion of the Berkeley 2000 Recreation Center. What's next: Recreation officials must obtain money for 175 parking spaces, a second entrance and equipment for the building before turning their full attention to development of an aquatic center and regional facilities in the north and south ends of the county.

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - Quad/Graphics, Berkeley County's largest private employer, has donated $500,000 to help the Martinsburg-Berkeley County Parks & Recreation Board more than double the size of the Berkeley 2000 Recreation Center in Martinsburg. "We can't thank you enough for this contribution today," Parks & Recreation Board executive director R. Stephen Catlett told Martinsburg plant manager Pam Rostagno and about 35 employees who joined her Wednesday at a press conference for the official announcement.

HANCOCK - In an effort to encourage ridesharing and mass transit usage, the Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is doubling the number of parking spaces at the park-and-ride facility along westbound Md. 144 near Center Street in Hancock. As a result of the expansion, the park-and-ride will have 100 parking spaces. SHA began construction of the $109,000 project on Oct. 2 and work is expected to be complete by the end of November, weather permitting. In addition to the 50 new parking spaces, SHA will resurface the lot, install reflective markings and add new stop signs.

WAYNESBORO, Pa. - The Waynesboro Borough Council gave a Maryland man the silent treatment Wednesday night by allowing a motion to die without a word. Craig Mahrle appeared on the agenda again Wednesday night to have his request for 20 parking spaces behind his West Main Street building revisited. Mahrle, owner of the old Beck & Benedict Hardware building, said he plans to convert a portion of the building into residential housing. Borough ordinances require Mahrle to provide off-street parking for his residences.

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The subdivision plan for Progress Village, a 443-unit housing complex in Chambersburg's South End, is expected to be approved by the Borough Council later this month. Phases two through seven, submitted by DELM Developers, was one of several projects reviewed Monday night by the borough council and will be placed on the consent agenda for the council's June 26 meeting. The subdivision plan for the first phase, 24 duplex units along Mill Road, was approved last month, said Phil Wolgemuth, the borough's planning director.

andrews@herald-mail.com WASHINGTON COUNTY - First, there was work. Then came play. With her right arm curled around a snowboard and the end of a dog leash in her left hand, 14-year-old Schuyler Feiser was headed for Funkstown's "Suicide Hill. " This was her way to enjoy the region's first substantial snowfall this season, which plopped more than 5 inches on Hagerstown, according to weather observer Greg Keefer's Web site. All around, people shoveled, bundled, trudged and sighed on Friday as they regrouped and recharged after the overnight storm.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - A house on Raleigh Street purchased by the Berkeley County Commission will be used for offices, while the land around it will be used to add an entrance to an existing parking lot and to create an access road for trucks making deliveries. The Berkeley County Commission signed a contract Thursday morning to buy the house for $169,000. Adding additional parking spaces also is possible, Commissioner Howard Strauss said. The two-story home is at the intersection of Raleigh and Stephen streets across from the Dunn Building, which houses several county offices as well as The Community & Technical College of Shepherd.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Area School District will have to seek a zoning ordinance variance to off-street parking requirements in the borough for a renovated and somewhat larger Trojan Stadium. The Buildings and Grounds Committee Wednesday met with borough attorney Thomas Finucane to discuss the parking situation for Chambersburg Area Senior High School and other district-owned properties in its vicinity. To comply with the current off-street requirements, the district was told it would need as many as 2,600 parking spaces to accommodate game crowds, said Richard Bender, director of buildings and grounds.

Summit Avenue will close for a short time this morning so a large platform can be removed from The Herald-Mail. Mark Kelly, the newspaper's operations director, said the road briefly will close around 6:30 a.m. Before and after that time, a crane will block part of the road, but traffic will be able to pass because certain parking spaces will become no-parking areas, Kelly said. On Aug. 16, The Herald-Mail used the platform to install an addition to the press, which will allow the newspaper to increase its production of color pages.