SHOHOLA — The construction of a new town park in the Town of Shohola will have to be delayed.

"The bids came in much too high," said town supervisor Steve Dellert. The lowest bid was $175,000. "We just can’t afford it," he said.

Last year the six-acre plot, which is on the Twin Lakes Road close to the town hall, was donated to the town for recreational use. The town plans on building a baseball field first and other recreational areas later.

"It’s a wooded area so the trees have to be taken down, the ground leveled and the field built," Dellert said.

"The park isn’t dead. We’ll just take it in sections and work piece by piece, asking help from residents and friends."

Dellert said there was an offer from a local fire company to donate fill for the ball field. "We’re hoping that others will come forward to offer their help and support to get this done," he said.

Dellert said the field will be ready for use by the summer of 2001.

In other town business, town emergency management coordinator Robert Meyer urged that residents agree to put house numbers clearly in a visible place so emergency crews can identify houses. Since the new Pike County Communications Center building has opened, the county now has Enhanced 911, called E911.

The town is offering to sell uniform signs to residents. Residents can purchase them by calling the town hall during business hours at 570/559-7394.

At the board meeting, developer Geoffrey Stoddard, who is developing the first phase of a commercial and residential venture called Symphony West, got permission from the town to install three aprons, or entrances, connected to the highway that will eventually become roads as his project moves forward.