Phoenxville Tax Hike Drops from 13.8% to 1.5%

If you ever wanted to know why its important to have rising property values, look no further than last night in Phoenixville.

That's when the 2020 budget was adopted and before last night, it looked like it was going to come with a whopper of a tax hike.

When the meeting began, the millage borough council authorized advertising last month was 6.99, which would have meant a 13.8 percent hike in property taxes.

That wasn't sitting too well with some folks, who came to the meeting to voice their displeasure.

Irene Helley called it "obscene. You're going to have to get out your pencils and erasers. You cannot pass this thing as it is. You cannot pass it and you know it."

As it turns out they did, or at least Borough Manager E. Jean Krack did.

After public comment was completed, and a closed-door executive session to discuss collective bargaining and real estate, Krack informed council and the public that there had been a change since the millage had been advertised -- an $8 million change.

He said the final figures on Phoenixvilles total assessed property value were delivered by Chester County in mid-November and it was an $8 million increase.

(As opposed to Pottstown, where we're happy if the decrease is not too extreme.)

As a result, and premiums on health, liability and workers compensation insurance all coming in
lower than first estimated, the proposed tax increase dropped significantly.

Instead of a 13.8 percent tax hike, Phoenixville property owners will pay a paltry 1.47 percent hike. The millage will increase from the current 6.14 mills to 6.23 mills.

There is one significant increase, however.

From left: Phoenixville Borough Manager Jean Krack; Dan Spracklin,
CEO for SoMax Bioenergy; Phoenixville Mayor Peter Urscheler;
Chester County Commissioners Michelle Kichline, Kathi Cozzone
Terence Farrell at the announcement of the county grant in October.

The sewer fee will jump by 16 percent in 2020, from $5.60 to $6.50 per 1,000 gallons. 

The increase will help cover the cost of the $4 million project to completely change the way wastewater is treated, using a "heat and pressure" method to transform human and food waste into a form of clean coal, Krack said.

A $402,000 grant from Chester County is helping to fund the project.

When complete, it will be the first sewer plant in the nation to treat sewage in this fashion. It is too soon to say if the borough can use or sell the product as fuel, said Krack.

Photo by Evan Brandt

Outgoing Phoenixville Borough Council President James
Kovaleski with his big check for "his two cents."

The budget adopted, it was also an evening for goodbyes.

Council President James Kovaleski and Councilwoman Catherine Doherty are both leaving council, neither having run for another term.

Kovaleski, however, did run successfully to become a district judge.

Both thanked Krack for his help over the years and the other council members had a kind of parting shot for Kovaleski, who was known, when giving his opinion, to offer "my two cents."

Seeing as he had given it so often, said Councilman Jonathan Ewald, it only seemed appropriate that he should get it back. 

And he did, in the form a giant check, usually reserved for big grants, for exactly two cents.

And I would be remiss if I did not also include this video of the monthly report by Mayor Peter Urscheler:

And with that, here is a link to the Tweets from the meeting since Twitter still won't create an embed code for its Twitter moments ....

Vote adds 550 Units to Phoenixville Housing Boom

A rendering of the site plan for French Creek West, which was granted final approval last night by Phoenixville Borough Council after 10 years of discussion.

The 37-acre site between Bridge and High streets that was once part of the mighty Phoenix Iron and Steel plan that gave the borough its name will become the site of 550 housing units as the result of a 5-1 vote of borough council last night.

The Phoenix Iron and Steel Company once stood on the site.

Councilman Richard Kirkner, participating in the meeting by speaker phone, cast the only vote
against a plan called French Creek West.

According to documents posted on the borough website, the plan calls for 164 townhouses, 146 "stacked townhouses," and 240 apartments.

There will also be more than 1,480 parking spaces, according to the plans.

The final site plan approval won last night was first on the council agenda in August, but was tabled after some questions were raised, said Borough Manager E. Jean Krack.

The French Creek West plan seems to call for construction in phases.

The approval motion was made by East Ward Councilwoman Catherine Doherty and seconded by Middle Ward Councilwoman Beth Burckley.

Burckley said Phoenixville is so successful that "people are dying to move here." But she added that it's important to plan carefully to account for housing diversity, and, called this plan "responsible."

Krack said years ago, the site had been proposed for mixed use, the over time, that has evolved into strictly housing.

Burckley is not kidding about housing projects being hot in Phoenixville.

According to the borough website, there are a total of five other projects in various stages of planning in the borough in addition to French Creek West.

Taken together, they would add 1,283 housing units to the roughly four-square-mile borough.

Add in Barclay Gardens, approved last year by council for 125 senior apartments at the site of the former old borough hall at Church and Dean streets, and the number climbs to 1,408.

Add in last night's approval for French Creek West's 550 units and Phoenixville is looking at 1,908 new units of housing.

Here's a quick look at what's going on housing-wise:

Concept plan for Steelworks.

• Steeworks is a mixed use project of 336 apartments of one, two, three and a few four-bedrooms. It has received preliminary site plan approval and is located on 5.7 acres on Bridge Street.
• Hankin is the name of a developer planning 50 "affordable" senior apartments on .9 acres at Buchanan Place. It is still in the early planning stages, according to the website.
• Eland Place has received final approval and calls for 193 units on five acres of land off

  

  Concept plan for Barclay Gardens.

  Kimberton Road. 
• Barclay Gardens received final approval last year and will build 125 senior apartments at the corner of Church and Dean streets.
• Odessa is a complex planned on 14 acres near the intersection of Filmore and Township Line roads. It has received preliminary approval and calls for 500 units: 260 assistant living

  

  Concept plan for Luxor apartments.

  units and 240 apartments.
• Luxor is a plan for 204 units on four acres off Wheatland Street. It is still in the planning stages. 
• French Creek West, approved Tuesday night, calls for 550 units on 37 acres of the former Phoenix Steel site.

Smoking Pot in Public

The other noteworthy action taken by Phoenixville Borough Council last night was to adopt a local law changing the manner in which police deal with the public smoking of marijuana in a public place.

Previously, police who caught someone smoking marijuana in public arrested them, took them to the police station and put them through the court process.

"That takes officers off the street," said Borough Manager E. Jean Krack.

Smoking pot in public can get you a ticket in Phoenixville.

So instead, council changed it to a "non-traffic citation," according to Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr.

Those caught smoking in public with 30 grams of marijuana or eight grams of hashish can be fined $25 to $100 for the first offense, said Garner.

Councilman Edwin Soto conducted "a lot of the leg work" in researching this matter said Councilman Rrichard Kirkner before voting on the matter.

Krack said Phoenixville spent a year looking at 20 other municipalities in Pennsylvania with similar laws, including Philadelphia and State College.

"They're pretty consistent across the board," he said.

However, it is not clear how the new ordinance would affect those who take their THC, the psycho-active ingredient in marijuana, through vaping it in liquid form with an electronic device.

"We might have to revisit this and take a look at that," Krack said.

And with that, here are the Tweets from last night's meeting:

More Housing and More Highs

Phoenixville OKs $100K for Trail Over Bridge

Photos by Evan Brandt

Two riders who rode the Schuylkill River Trail from Royersford, cross the bridge over the Schuylkill River from Mont Clare into Phoenixville along a narrow stretch of sidewalk borough officials hope to widen.

This drawing shows the current traffic configuration on
the Mont Clare bridge, top, and the proposed changes.

In order to keep a project 20 years in the making on track, Phoenxiville Borough Council voted 7-1 Tuesday night to spend $100,000 toward the cost of a project to widen the Mont Clare bridge over the Schuylkill River into the borough.

The purpose of the $1.4 million project is to improve access to the Schuylkill River Trail.

Councilwoman Dana Dugan cast the vote against the move, saying she questioned why the borough should be fronting $100,000 with no pledges of funding from the other municipalities that will benefit -- Chester County, Montgomery County and Upper Providence Township.

But Board President James Kovaleski said he is willing to take that risk and seek contributions from the other three "on the back end," in order to keep the project moving forward.

This rendering shows what the crossing will look like complete.

The project calls for narrowing the travel lanes for vehicles on the bridge in order to widen the sidewalk that crosses on the bridge on the
north side to nine feet.

That will leave room for a concrete barrier between the vehicles and pedestrians and bicyclists.

When complete, the will provide a crucial link between where the Schuylkill River Trail, traveling upriver from Valley Forge to Mont Clare, crosses the river into Chester County, where a completed portion of the trail in Phoenixville has already been completed.

Eventually, the plan is for the Schuylkill River Trail to extend more than 100 miles from Philadelphia to the river's source near Schuylkill Haven in Schuylkill County.

With this link complete, the only unfinished portion of the trail from Philadelphia to Reading is a four-mile stretch between Park Ford, in East Coventry Township and Pottstown.

Two bikers make their way over the bridge from Mont Clare 

into Phoenixville Tuesday evening.

Last October, Chester County announced plans to complete that section of trail in 2020 and the crossing back over the river into the Pottstown area has already completed.

It was included as part of the new Route 422 bridge between Kenilworth in North Coventry and Armand Hammer boulevard in Lower Pottsgrove.

In April, officials cut the ribbon on a long-delayed crossing of Norfolk-Southern tracks in Pottstown along Industrial Highway which means that portion is officially open as well.

The story of the connection from Mont Clare to Phoenixville goes all the way back to 1999 when the borough received a $760,000 grant to get the project moving, Borough Manager E. Jean Krack told council Tuesday night prior to the vote.

This is what the pedestrian crossing
beneath the freight rail tracks looks
like currently.

In 2011, the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association used a $50,000 grant from the Delware Valley Regional Planning Commission to conduct a feasibility study of the plan.

In 2015, Phoenixville received a $481,900 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for the project and design began in 2016.

Further complicating the project is the fact that although no changes were planned to its bridge over Bridge Street, the trail crossing also must pass beneath the Norfolk Southern freight rail tracks on the Chester County side.

That meant involving the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, said Krack.

"If you see what we have to go through to get some of the little projects around here done, you can just imagine the red tape involved with Chester County, Montgomery County, Upper Providence Township, the borough, the state, Norfolk Southern and the Public Utility Commission involved," Krack told the council members by way of explaining why the project has taken so long.

This is what the crossing will look like
when the project is finished.

Last year, PennDOT and the PUC approved the plans for creating an eight-foot crossing beneath the railroad with bollards and a chain to protect walkers and riders.

PennDOT also approved additional funding, but even with that, when the lowest bid were opened earlier this month and came in at $1.4 million, the project was $300,000 short of the amount of money available.

Krack said PennDOT offered to cover $200,000 of that gap if Phoenixville could come up with the other $100,000.

Tuesday night they did.

Kovaleski said the fact that Phoenixville is "the destination" for most of those using the trail is reason enough to make sure the project gets started as soon as possible.

Councilman Edwin Soto said he is frequently asked by residents when this project will see the light of day.

Kovaleski also said getting the project done is a safety benefit as well. "It's quite a harrowing experience to go from the trail over the bridge as it stands now," he said.




One rider who does that all the time, a Royersford resident who identified himself only as Dom, said he crosses the bridge two or three times a week on his bike.

"It's not the best. We have the sidewalk, but there have been times when there are two or three people on the sidewalk when I have been forced to go onto the shoulder," he said.

"I mean it could be bigger. If this sidewalk took up this shoulder, it would be fine," he said.

High Street Traffic Study

Borough council also voted to request that mayor Peter Urscheler instruct the police department to conduct a traffic study of the 400 and 500 block of High Street.

Residents have been complaining about trucks using the street and alleys and that this has caused several accidents.

The traffic study will document how many accidents have occurred there, and will also look at the possibility of creating one way streets there to improve safety, according to the agenda.

Speaking of Mayor Urscheler, here's video of his monthly report to council:

Welcome West Pikeland

In addition to voting to hold a public hearing next month on the Phoenixville Regional Comprehensive Plan Update, council also agreed to allow the potential of another municipality to join the regional planning group.

You can check out the current comprehensive plan here.

Currently, the regional planning group consists of the borough of Phoenixville and the townships of Schuylkill, Charlestown, West Vincent and East Pikeland.

Tuesday night, council voted to allow the exploration of adding West Pikeland, which has asked to join the group. Krack said it will mean updating the just updated comprehensive plan and may also cost the borough more than $23,000, although it could be reduced to about $1,000 if grants being pursued by the Chester County Planning Commission are obtained.

And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting:

Happier Trails

Phoenixville Eyes Return of Rail Service, Belgian Block Paving and a New Community Center

Photos by Evan Brandt

Railroad consultant Thomas Frawley addresses Phoenixville Borough Council Tuesday while the man paying for Frawley's analysis, local developer Manny DeMutis, watches the reactions.

Phoenixville Borough Council Tuesday voted in support of the efforts of Mayor Peter Urscheler's task force to return passenger rail service to Phoenixville, even if just on a demonstration basis.

Railroad consultant Thomas Frawley outlined a study he undertook for the task force in July which concluded that a demonstration project to provide rail service to Phoenixville, Schuylkill Township and a stop near King of Prussia would be undertaken for about $15 million.

Frawley said the group has a meeting next week with Norfolk-Southern, which owns the rail lines a passenger line would have to share. He also said the project would begin with just three runs during the morning rush hour and three in he evening.

Further details  are unchanged since Digital First Media reported on the proposal last month.

"I wish you luck where others have failed before you, as I would dearly love to see train service return to Phoenixville," said Council President James Kovaleski.

(We interrupt this blog post to bring you video of Mayor Peter Urscheler's monthly report which, for reasons beyond our tehnical ability to understand, never made it into our Twitter Feed):

The agenda item which seems to have drawn a larger crowd is a proposal, ultimately approved by council after three years of discussion, to remove Belgian block pavers from Church Avenue, referred to by most in the audience as "Church Alley," and re-pave the street with regular pavement.

On the pro side are residents of the street who say the pavement on the street, which has a grade of about 12 percent, is difficult to deal with in winter and is a safety hazard.

Against the proposal were a number of residents who spoke Tuesday, saying the street should be preserved as part of Phoenixville's historical charm.

Borough Manager E. Jean Krack pointed out that the Belgian block pavers were already moved once in the 1930s, when the third of four Gay Street bridges were constructed. He also pointed out there are plans to use them at the intersection of Church and Main streets, or Church and Gay streets, both of which are flatter and would pose less of a safety risk and provide higher visibility.

(We again interrupt this blog post to post video of a resolution council passed honoring the inestimable contributions of Mary Foote, president and executive director of the Association for the colonial Theatre:)



Also of importance Tuesday night was a step forward for the Phoenixville Community Center, a project in the works since 2013 and involved a property swamp in which the developers of an approved senior housing facility received the property of the former borough hall on Church Street, and the borough received property adjacent to Friendship Field on which to build a community center.

In July, Council granted final site plan approval to the senior housing facility, called Barclay Gardens.

Last night, council approved issuing bids for the community center which, according to Krack, will be 38,000 square feet and will include a gymnasium, offices for the parks and recreation department, a kitchen, work-out room and classrooms, as well as room to house a fire truck and ambulance in case of emergencies.

Remarkably, there is no public document that includes a cost estimate for the project, Krack said, saying with the project going out to bid on Monday, he has no desire to reveal the maximum amount the borough is willing to pay.

However much it does finally cost, it will be $1.5 million cheaper thanks to a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program state grant Krack said the borough only got the details on Tuesday.

Without further ado, here are the Tweets from last night's meeting:

Trains, Belgian Block and Community Centers