Soup's On at The Gallery on High

Get soup and a bowl and help a good cause.

Blogger's Note: The following is shamelessly stolen from fellow Town Square blogger Sue Repko over at Positively Pottstown.

I have a vague recollection of getting this release from my friends over at the Gallery a while ago, but I seem to have lost track of it.

(Anyone who has been my desk or how many e-mails I get in a day will not be surprised by this admission).

But this seems like a pretty cool event.

You get a cool, one-of-a-kind hand-made soup bowl, some delicious homemade soup, and help out an artists venue that needs as much support as the Pottstown area can give it.

Soup Bowl Fundraiser Saturday, February 18 from 12-3pm All you can eat!

Join us for a delicious, beat-the-winter-chill event! You will be able to choose a handcrafted ceramic bowl and then fill it with your choice of homemade soup. Bread, beverages and homemade desserts will round off your lunch. We will have a nice variety of soups to sample, made by our members and volunteers, and donated by local restaurants. (Vegetarian soups will be included in the selection.) Have fun sampling every option, or fill up on your favorite! Vegetarian * Italian potato * black bean * chili * stew * tomato * French onion * broccoli cheese * and many more! Tickets are only $15 and all proceeds benefit the non-profit Gallery School of Pottstown. There will be a limited number of tickets available for sale at the door, so be sure to buy your ticket today! Tickets can be purchased online (or through the orange PayPal button below.) When you finish your soup, be sure to take some time to see our Winter Member Show: “Baby, it’s cold outside!”. This fun show is all about contrasts: warm and cold, tropical paradise and winter wonderland. The Gallery School of Pottstown @ Gallery on High 254 E.High St. Pottstown, PA 19464 610-326-2506 www.galleryonhigh.org Buy Your Ticket Today through PayPal

The Envelope Please ...

It's award season and as the Grammys, People's Choice and Oscar awards fill the screen, some other more local selections are being made as well.

Several citizens were tapped to serve Monday

Certainly less glamorous, but arguably much more important, empty slots on a variety of borough boards and committees were filled Monday by unanimous votes of borough council.

On the Planning Commission, council accepted the resignation of member Chris Huff and appointed Jim Derr, who also serves as the chairman of the Environmental Advisory Commission, to finish Huff's term.

Borough Manager Jason Bobst said Derr was the only person to apply for the post. The term will expire on Feb. 1, 2014.

Council also re-appointed Borough Council President Stephen Toroney to another four-year term on the planning commission, a post he will hold until Feb. 1, 2016.

Sue Repko

Sue Repko, recently named as the executive director of Pottstown's Mosaic Community Land Trust, was unanimously appointed to a five-year term on the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority.

Repko, who also writes the Positively Pottstown blog, hosted on The Mercury's Town Square blog site on the web, will serve until Jan. 1, 2017.

Two of three empty slots on the Historic Architecture Review Board were filled by council as well.

A seat which expires on April 1, 2015, was filled by code enforcement officer Bill Sharon, who was re-appointed.

A second seat, which expires on April 1 of this year, has been filled by Patricia Derr.

That seat had been held by former HARB Chairman Joseph Fay, who resigned in December in the wake of council's decision to removed HARB jurisdiction from the downtown area.

A third seat, which must be held by a real estate professional and whose term expires on April 1, 2015, has yet to be filled, although Borough Councilman Joseph Kirkland said he believes he has identified a candidate.

That seat was vacated by Stephanie Stranick, who was the board's Realtor and who also resigned over dissatisfaction with council's decision about HARb jurisdiction downtown.

Left unfilled is the council appointment to the board of directors of the Pottstown Regional Public Library. Councilman Jody Rhoads, who had held the post, submitted his resignation, telling council "it's just not going to work out.,"

Toroney has been unable to convince any other members of council to volunteer for the appointment.

If you would like to volunteer for a borough board or committee, contact Bobst and your name can be put on a list. He can be reached at 610-970-6511 or via e-mail at jbost@pottstown.org.

Or, you can write him an old-fashioned letter at 100 E. High St., Pottstown, PA 19464.

Land Trust Names Repko as New Director

Blogger's Note: The following is a press release from the MOSAIC Community Land Trust of Pottstown.

Sue Repko

The MOSAIC CommunityLand Trust of Pottstown has hired its first Executive Director. Pottstown native Sue Repko began her duties on Feb.1.

“We’re very excited to have Sue leading us during this early phase of the land trust. She brings a wealth of experience in the nonprofit world and in the development of affordable housing,” said David Jackson, president of MOSAIC.

Ms. Repko was a founding member of the Community Land Trust (CLT) in 2010, along with Mr. Jackson, Dave Garner, and Chris Huff. 

The mission of the CLT is to acquire properties and buildings in Pottstown, rehabilitate them, and sell or lease them at affordable rates using the community land trust model. Under this model, the CLT will retain ownership of the land beneath any properties that it sells, lowering the cost for the homeowners, who are automatically members of the CLT. 

This ongoing relationship allows the CLT to provide support in the areas of maintenance or financial counseling, if needed, all of which can act as a stabilizing influence in a neighborhood.

The CLT plans to do more than housing, though. Its first project is a community garden to be built at 423 Chestnut St. this spring with a $30,000 grant from the Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation. 

Other donations have already been received from Genesis Housing/Susquehanna Bank, Lowes, Davey Tree Experts, Andrew Monastra, Esq., the Borough of Pottstown, and many other individuals and volunteers. The property was donated by the Pottstown School District.

“The support from the community has been amazing,” said Mr. Jackson. “When we received word of the grant for the garden, we knew it was time to hire someone. Through her blog, PositivelyPottstown, and other activities over the past two years, Sue has brought people together to make connections and get things done. That’s the spirit of the CLT as well. It’s a good fit.”

Ms. Repko holds a masters’ degree in urban planning from Rutgers University, and she is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. While living in New Jersey, she worked for the Section 8 federal housing program, municipal and state government, and in a private planning firm. She also served on a local planning board and the boards of a Montessori pre-school and an autism non-profit.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with such a great group of people at MOSAIC, who are creative and passionate about making things better,” she said. “Plus, I got my start in affordable housing and community development, and I’m glad to be doing this work in my hometown.”

While the Executive Director position is part-time to start, the organization hopes to expand it to a full-time position within two years. In addition to the community garden, MOSAIC runs an art gallery at its office at 10 S. Hanover Street and is in negotiations for its first residential rehabilitation project in Pottstown.

A series of outreach meetings will be held in February to inform residents about the community garden and the process for becoming a member. For further information about MOSAIC or the community garden, visit their website at www.mosaiccommunitylandtrust.org,