A bright red thermometer fundraising sign off North Railroad Avenue in New Holland serves as a reminder of how a community has come together to support a common good, but some residents’ temperatures are rising as the payoff continues to be delayed.

Marilyn Lang is one of those people. She has lived in New Holland for only two years, moving to the area from Connecticut, but was thrilled to learn about plans to create a community butterfly garden. It was one of the first causes Lang donated to in New Holland, helping that red temperature bar on the sign, measuring incoming contributions, inch closer to its $125,000 fundraising goal at the top of the thermometer. In spring 2023, the project reached that goal.

Approved by the borough park association in 2022, the butterfly garden is slated for 2 acres of land just north of town next to Groff Memorial Park. A walking trail is planned that will take visitors through an array of native flowers like milkweed, witch hazel and beeberry, which attract local pollinators.

Lang lives close to the garden site, now a pasture, and swings by about once a week to check on the progress, but she hasn’t seen any. The grass has just grown longer, she said.

“I’m discouraged that the town promised what I thought was a really wonderful thing and could be enjoyed by so many people, and they tried to include the whole community by being a part of it. … Now there’s nothing,” Lang said.

She isn’t alone in her frustration. Other residents have taken to a public New Holland community Facebook group to voice their displeasure, questioning why nothing has happened since people pitched in to raise the necessary funds.

“They got the money, let’s see the results!” one resident said.

The Watchdog attempted to contact several people in the Facebook group but was unsuccessful.

New Holland officials, who are largely leading the effort to create the garden (the eight-person butterfly garden fundraising committee includes the borough manager, mayor, a council member and the former chair of the local water authority), acknowledge the project has taken longer than expected, but they are confident the grand opening is just around the corner.

Mayor Tim Bender, who calls himself a proud donor to the project, said he expects the garden to open in the spring.

“I’m very excited and anxious as well. Planning anything can be a delicate thing for timing,” Bender said. “It feels like giant delays, but it’s really trying to match (the work) up with the optimal times to get the planting done.”

'Worth the wait'

Borough officials planned to open the garden in May 2023, shortly after the fundraising campaign was projected to end. While the funds were raised in time, the borough delayed the groundbreaking by a few months. The borough pushed off the project at least two more times, informing residents through newsletters.

Manager Dick Fulcher pointed to weather as the main reason for setbacks. Some months were too rainy to begin the necessary groundwork, while other months brought severe drought that could kill the plants.

Local excavating business Gerald G. Martin and Sons has agreed to donate its services for the project, so Fulcher said the borough also has delayed the garden to work around the company’s schedule. The hope, he said, is to begin leveling ground in late fall after the New Holland Fair in October.

“It’s kind of out of our control, but it’s also worth the wait,” Fulcher said. “Losing the year didn’t bother me; losing the spring did. So we’re not going to miss the fall.”

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The garden should open in late spring during the optimal planting season once water piping and light fixtures are installed. The garden also will include a “butterfly legacy wall” and a brick memorial section to highlight some of the top donors.

The total cost of the project is still being worked out, as Fulcher said Martin and Sons has not guaranteed how much of its work would be free. The hope is the current pool of donations will cover everything, he said, including an investment of $10,000 from Lancaster County’s American Rescue Plan Act funds. Several purchases, including a water tank, already have been made, Bender said.

While there are no plans to launch a second fundraising campaign, Fulcher said the parks association will continue to accept donations anytime. The borough expects to continue improving the garden once it opens, with plans to install educational kiosks using grant dollars.

Lang is still skeptical of the garden opening in less than a year, saying the borough’s plans sound too similar to what has been promised in the past. Officials are comfortable with the progress that has been made, though.

Earl Township supervisors gave the borough the green light for the project last year (the 2-acre plot is technically on township property). New Holland delivered an $18,381 letter of guarantee to the township that officials would follow through with the plans as promised.

Township board of supervisors Chairman Rick Kochel said he’d reach out to the borough for updates on the work but has no concerns about the project’s status.

“We’re involved in it just because it’s on our property, but the borough is taking care of everything,” Kochel said. “It’ll be beautiful when it’s there.”

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this article should have said Marilyn Lang is a resident of Earl Township, just outside of New Holland Borough.

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