PECO Green Grants Support Local Park Projects

Inspiration for the design of the planned Steel River Station

in Pottstown's Memorial Park

Revitalization projects in Pottstown and Limerick are among those that will benefit from a PECO Energy grant program.

A total of $150,000 in grant funding from PECO's Green Region program, the company’s municipal open space and environmental grant program, will benefit a total of 20 communities.

Through PECO Green Region, PECO has awarded more than $2 million to nearly 300 projects since the program’s inception in 2004. The program is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to support environmental initiatives across southeastern Pennsylvania, including open space preservation, improvements to parks and recreation resources, and environmental conservation, according to a press release.

In Pottstown, a grant of $7,500 will provide part of the 20 percent match for a $200,000 grant being sought by the Colebrookdale Railroad to improve connections with the new "Steel River Station" it is building in Memorial Park.

“This project will connect the visitor- and trail-user-oriented recreation amenities of the new Steel River Station to Pottstown's Memorial Park -- one of the region's largest and most asset-rich downtown parks -- and to the regional trail network," according to Kirsten​ Werner, senior director of communications for Natural Lands, which helped PECO assess applications.

"This connection brings critically-needed hospitality and visitor functions to the park and the trail system. This connection also enables the station to function as a hub for what the borough would like to market as a district of attractions in and around the park. Funds are sought for an ADA-accessible pathway, a small but critical component of the roughly $2 million Steel River Station project,” Werner wrote.

Monday night, Pottstown Borough Council authorized the full grant application to be made to Montgomery County's "2040 Fund," which was set up to support initiatives aligned with the county's Comprehensive Plan, adopted in early 2015.

In Limerick, a grant of $10,000 will help to pay for an update to the township's open space plan.

"Limerick Township adopted an open space plan in 1996 to guide the township's future decisions on developing parks and preserving open space. The last update to the open space plan was 2006," Werner wrote. "Limerick Township will undertake a second update to set a new strategy toward the preservation of open space and the natural resources of the Limerick community."

Here are a few of the other grant recipients:

• Chester County: East Bradford Township, East Fallowfield Township, South Coatesville Borough, and Tredyffrin Township 
• Montgomery County: Borough of Jenkintown and Upper Merion Township
• Delaware County: Borough of Prospect Park, Marcus Hook Borough, Marple Township, and Rutledge Borough

“The municipalities and nonprofits receiving grants are putting their energy into the environment, and we’re proud to support these initiatives as PECO remains committed to increasing the environmental sustainability of the communities we serve across southeastern Pennsylvania,” Mike Innocenzo, PECO president and CEO said in a press release from the company. 

“Each of these projects will positively impact the region as they create new green spaces, revitalize vacant lots, beautify trails, and much more.”

A Phoenix Rises on Beech Street in Pottstown

Photos by Evan Brandt

VIPs gather Wednesday afternoon for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Beech Street Factory.

A major thing happened in the neighborhood in Pottstown Wednesday where major things don't happen too often.

A veritable crowd of people want to live in the former

Fecera's warehouse, despite a recent shooting near there.

After more than a decade of sitting empty and slowly deteriorating, the 105-year-old brick building built as a shirt factory began its new life as an art center.

Once a symbol of the work that was once easy to find in Pottstown, it will now stand as a symbol of what determination can accomplish in a much more complicated world.

That building will be home to 43 apartments and ArtFusion 19464, and stand as an example of what it means not to give up on Pottstown, particularly in the neighborhood all too many feel is beyond help.

Judy Memberg with lobby furniture donated

by Fecera's Furniture, which once owned

the warehouse.

It's already working.

Judy Memberg, the steadfast hand on the tiller of Genesis Housing Corp., said the property behind the former Fecera's Furniture warehouse at the corner of Beech and North Evans streets has already been rehabilitated.

And a long-vacant home adjacent to the new parking lot has been purchased for rehab.

It didn't happen overnight, and it didn't happen in a vacuum.

It took a lot of people with their own agendas (and kingdoms) giving up a little territory and control and believing in something other than "what's in it for me?," or to be more Pottstown-specific -- "I'm not doing anything to help (fill in the blank)."

Erika Hornberg-Cooper, in green dress, 

welcomes visitors even as work on the space

continued Wednesday.

I guess $13 million can do that.

Congratulations to all and to ArtFusion 19464 for successfully pivoting from its long-held property on High Street into this space, located even closer to the population director Erika Hornberg-Cooper is focusing on helping.

Here are some Tweets from the ribbon-cutting Wednesday. Look for full-coverage in an upcoming edition of The Mercury.

Batdorf Leaving Pottstown for West Vincent

Erica Batdorf

It looks like Pottstown is going to have to find a new assistant borough manager.

The crack investigative team at The Digital Notebook has confirmed that Erica Batdorf, who first took the job as Erica Weekely, is moving on to greener pastures.

How do we know?

She told us when we asked. Sometimes things work out that way.

Batdorf is taking the job of Township Manager in Chester County's West Vincent Township.

And the borough is not wasting any time. The advertisement to find her replacement is already in circulation.

Batdorf first took the past in January of 2013 after the borough had gone several years without any assistant borough manager at all.

And like her predecessor Dave Forest, her primary responsibilities had to do with transportation, overseeing operations at Pottstown Municipal Airport as well as the PART bus system.

She also spearheaded efforts to get the free bike share program, Bike Pottstown, in place and racks put on PART buses so the bikes can be carried along the route.

Batdorf, who got married last year, also helped the borough and Pottstown School District obtain state grants for the Safe Routes to School program that will create more bike lanes in town, as well as the "walking school bus" system now being used by Rupert Elementary School.

That expertise in transportation recently had her tapped to become a board member of Communities in Motion, a Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association Foundation.

Good luck Erica, we'll miss you.

Special Yard Waste Collection March 9 in Pottstown

Pottstown collects yard waste in brown leaf bags, a separate can with the lid off, or bundled with twine.

Due, no doubt, to the wet and windy season we're undergoing, the Borough of Pottstown has announced it will hold a special yard waste collection day on Wednesday, March 9.

The normal collection schedule will resume the first Wednesday of April, and will continue weekly each Wednesday, April 6 through Dec. 21. 

Remember, yard material does not go in a red or blue tote. 

A pile of branches like this will NOT be picked up by the borough.

It must be put in brown paper leaf bags, a separate can with the lid off, or be bundled with twine or rope (no metal) approximately 3-4 feet in length. 

Tree limbs must be no bigger than 5 inches in diameter. 

Yard material put out in plastic bags will not be taken. 

No grass clippings will be picked up. 

Place all yard material at the same location you place your trash and recycle containers for pick-up.

Pottstown CARES Clean-Up Set for Friday

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Hill School Community Relations Professional Cathy Skitko.

Hundreds of volunteers from the Borough of Pottstown, The Hill School, the Pottstown School District, Montgomery County Community College, and other organizations will again combine forces to demonstrate their commitment to our hometown during the third annual CARES clean-up event to be held on Friday, Oct. 23, from 8:30 a.m. until noon. Rain date will be Monday, October 26.

The CARES day volunteers will assemble at 8:30 a.m. under Hill’s former hockey rink roof near the Center For The Arts parking lot at 860 Beech Street, where they will receive instructions and participate in a group photo before stepping off. Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele and Montgomery County Sheriff Russell Bono will be on hand to welcome and thank the massive crew of volunteers.

The clean-up will occur in a targeted area of Pottstown, from High Street north to Beech Street, and Manatawny Street east to Edgewood Street. The CARES project has received the International Coastal Cleanup designation that is granted to endeavors that clean up an area’s watershed; removing litter prevents contaminants from entering waterways via storm drains.

All 502 Hill School students as well as Hill faculty and staff; at least 50 Pottstown High School students and numerous faculty members; volunteers from Montgomery County Community College, and many Borough workers and officials will be dispersed to weed, pick up trash, and complete other “spruce up” tasks in public spaces in the core downtown area. In addition, individuals who have come forward from other community businesses and organizations will join the workers on clean-up teams.

This year the Pottstown area MOMS Club has volunteered to join the CARES effort. CARES planners also are making an extra effort to ask downtown business owners and employees to join in the activities. Interested businesses should contact Kourtney High at khigh@pottstown.org or 610-970-6512.

Also new this year will be a property maintenance merit program in which about 100 owners and residents will be recognized for keeping their properties clean and attractive by receiving a certificate of appreciation and a window “cling” bearing the Pottstown CARES logo.

The CARES organizers ask that Pottstown area residents further show they care about our community by stopping by the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities at 57 North Franklin Street and donating nonperishable food, laundry detergent, toiletries, warm clothing, and other items for distribution to area families in need.

Numerous organizations have contributed funding, tools, supplies, or other support to the CARES endeavor. The planners wish to give special thanks to Lowes for their exceptional generosity in providing tools and other supplies at cost; the United Way and the Fairmount Park Conservancy for loaning tools to the endeavor; Home Depot for providing 600 trash bags and a discount for supplies; and JP Mascaro for supplying dumpsters. In addition, Hill’s food service provider, Sodexo, is donating snacks and the post clean-up buffet picnic lunch for all volunteers.

Organizations that wish to donate time, tools, gloves, trash or recycling bags, or funding toward CARES should contact Katie Scanlan, High Meadows Foundation Sustainability Chair at The Hill School, at kscanlan@thehill.org or 610-705-7277. Donations of work gloves, trash and leaf bags, and tools also will be accepted at Borough Hall at 100 E. High Street. Citizens may email PottstownCARES@pottstown.org with suggestions or questions.

To help identify the unified CARES crew, all volunteers are asked to wear blue – a “school color” shared by The Hill, the Pottstown School District, and the Borough.

The initial, joint CARES (Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability) endeavor was conceived in the spring of 2013 during conversations between Borough Manager Mark Flanders, Pottstown School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Sparagana, and Hill School Headmaster Zachary Lehman. The three leaders envisioned a collaborative project that would help to “spruce up” a designated area in the core of Pottstown while boosting community pride. The CARES team hopes these annual events will indeed motivate Pottstown residents to engage in ongoing clean-ups of their own in their immediate neighborhoods.

CARES project organizers wish to give special thanks to the Pottstown Police Department and Emergency Services organizations and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department for their support.

Street Sweeping to Begin Aug. 31 in Pottstown

The borough will commence with its annual street sweeping over the course of the next few weeks starting on Monday, Aug. 31.

The make the sweeping more effective, the borough has been divided into seven zones and each zone will be swept sequentially.

Maps provided by the borough indicate which streets are in which zone.

Sweeping in each zone on the will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will occur over two days.

No sweeping will be done on the weekends or on Labor Day and the schedule may be adjusted as the result of weather conditions.

Notification signs will be posted along roadways in each zone two days before street sweeping is schedule, identifying the day of the week sweeping will take place in each neighborhood.

Also, The Mercury will publish the zone map in the newspaper and on-line the day before sweeping is to begin in each zone.

Vehicles must be removed from the roadways in preparation for sweeping and vehicles that have not been moved will be subject to fines and towing.

The initial street sweeping schedule is as follows:

• ZONE 1: Monday, Aug. 31 and Tuesday, Sept. 1;
• ZONE 2: Wednesday, Sept. 2 and Thursday, Sept. 3;
• ZONE 3: Friday, Sept. 4 and Tuesday, Sept. 8;
• ZONE 4: Wednesday, Sept. 9 and Thursday, Sept. 10;
• ZONE 5: Friday, Sept. 11 and Monday, Sept. 14;
• ZONE 6: Tuesday, Sept. 15 and Wednesday, Sept. 16;
• ZONE 7: Thursday, Sept. 17 and Friday, Sept. 18.

In addition to signs and maps in the newspaper; the borough will also notify residents of the schedule and any changes to the schedule through its on its website — www.pottstown.org — as well as Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Residents can also sign up for phone or text message alerts for more information through “Swiftreach,” a reverse 911 system. You can sign up for the alerts on the borough web site under the “How Do I?” tab.

The borough is also asking residents to remove weeks and debris from the gutters along the curbs prior to sweeping as the sweeper will remove grit and small debris from the roadway, but not weeds or leaves.

Street sweeping removes metal particles, debris and trash as well as chemical waste products left by passing vehicles.

This helps to keep the storms drains clear and presents those materials from teaching Manatawny Creek and the Schuylkill River.

Questions can be addressed to the public works department at 610-970-6528.

Changing the Borough's Rental Rules

Photo by Evan Brandt

Say what you want about Pottstown, but the folks who take care of the landscaping around borough hall are doing one hell of a job. This was my view as I walked to the meeting and I have to say it was very pleasant.

About a dozen landlords attending a meeting held Wednesday night in Pottstown Borough Hall to brief them about the changes underway in the borough's rental ordinances.

Chief among these is the switch to a new inspection schedule of every two years for rental properties.

But it will take 30 months for the borough to shift to this system, so until 2018, the borough will also (within reason, depending on the last inspection) conduct inspections when tenants change, as is currently done.

The landlords had a lot of questions, but generally seemed pleased at the effort by Licensing and Inspections Director Keith Place to reach out and explain the changes, and listen to their concerns.

Here are the Tweets from last night's meeting.

Land Bank and Blight Summit Wednesday

A "Blight Summit," perhaps the first ever of such, will be held Wednesday at Connections on High on Wednesday, April 22, from 9 a.m. until noon.

Connections on High is located at 238 E. High St., Pottstown.

Officially called the "Montgomery County Land Bank and Blight Summit," it is sponsored by the the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, in coordination with the Borough of Pottstown and Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County.

(You can learn more about it and register for the summit by clicking here.)

Organizers say it is an opportunity to share information and begin a preliminary discussion about land bank and code enforcement issues and related issues in Pottstown and elsewhere.

Agenda Highlights include:

• Land Banks and Land Banking 
• Presentations by John Kromer, Fels Center for Government, University of Pennsylvania and Winnie Branton, Branton Strategies LLC 
• An update te on land banks in Pennsylvania – where they’ve been established, how they are operating, and what lies ahead 
• How a land bank might benefit nonprofit and private developers in Montgomery County 
• Start-up and initial operating costs. 
• Strategic Property Maintenance Code Enforcement with Eric D. Weiss, former director, Bureau of Code Enforcement and Rehabilitation City of Allentown 
• Innovative and effective code enforcement practices that may be suitable for replication in Montgomery County

Clean-Up and Mural Planned by Pottstown CARES

Blogger's Note: The following was provided in a press release.

The Hill School, the Borough of Pottstown, the Pottstown School District, and Montgomery County Community College will partner to complete two Pottstown CARES events this spring: a clean-up event on Friday, April 10, and a special mural painting project scheduled to take place in late May through mid-June.

On Friday, April 10, participants will pick up trash and recycling and participate in other “spruce up” efforts ranging from raking to painting picnic benches. Activities will occur from about 8:45 a.m. to noon at Riverfront Park, Memorial Park, the Ricketts Center, and downtown streets, parks, and playgrounds. Work crews will include Borough employees and all fourth form (10th grade) students and faculty from The Hill School, about 30 Pottstown High School students, and Montgomery County Community College volunteers. A group of Hill students also will work to create new garden spaces and compost bins on Hill’s campus. All participants will meet under the former hockey rink on The Hill campus at 8:45 a.m.

The Riverfront and Memorial Park activities have been registered as Great American Cleanup events, which will allow the CARES groups to utilize bags, gloves, and safety vests provided by PennDOT in Norristown. The Hill School will provide lunch to all volunteers following the clean-up.

The mural project will occur adjacent to the MOSAIC Community Garden at 423 Chestnut Street.

Pottstown CARES and MOSAIC Community Land Trust are thrilled to announce that – after two years of planning -- a mural designed by Pottstown-based artist Carrie Kingsbury will be created on the wall bordering the MOSAIC garden space at 427 Chestnut St. The careful process has included obtaining permission of the building property owner as well as a required conditional use permit and local support. The conditional use process requires a public hearing before Pottstown Borough Council which is planned for May 8.

Ellen Nelson, arts department chairperson at The Hill School, has been working with CARES on the mural concept. During the inaugural CARES clean-up in the fall of 2013, she and several arts students surveyed area residents about what they’d like to see represented in a neighborhood mural.

Finding Kingsbury was “synchronicity,” Nelson says. “I didn’t know of one, or where to look. Several weeks after starting to help plan the project, Carrie spontaneously sent an email to me out of the blue – and she lives right here in Pottstown. Angels work in wondrous ways!” she exclaims.

Kingsbury submitted sketches to MOSAIC in January 2015. While the concepts were being reviewed by MOSAIC and neighborhood residents, work also was taking place to obtain paint donations from the local Sherwin Williams store and provision of scaffolding and other supplies from The Hill School.

CARES also gratefully acknowledges the donation of labor from Reinhart Painting which has offered to do all of the wall preparation at the site.

Funds for the artist’s work, various permits, and supplies will come from a donation from MOSAIC as well as The Hill’s arts department and a generous contribution from The Hill School’s Pottstown community service-related 3758 Fund, established by Rodney D. Day III ’58 in honor of his father, Rodney D. Day, Jr. ’37. In addition, MOSAIC and The Hill School sold magnets bearing a message of support for the community gardens and the mural; funds from that fall sale also are supporting the mural project.

On May 18, following site preparation by the artist, Nelson will join Kingsbury in beginning to paint the mural. Nelson is hopeful that students from The Hill and the advanced art classes of Pottstown High School will assist with painting on Sunday, May 24, while she and Kingsbury continue painting during the following weeks, with a June 13 conclusion target.

The initial, joint CARES (Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability) endeavor was conceived in the spring of 2013 during conversations between Borough Manager Mark Flanders, Pottstown School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Sparagana, and Hill School Headmaster Zachary Lehman. The three leaders envisioned a collaborative project that would help to “spruce up” a designated area in the core of Pottstown while boosting community pride. In 2014, Montgomery County Community College’s West Campus joined the CARES planning team. The CARES organization hopes these events will motivate Pottstown residents to engage in ongoing clean-ups of their own in their immediate neighborhoods.

Think Globally, Award Locally

Photo by Evan Brandt

Andy Pitz, executive director of the French and Pickering

Creek Conservation Trust, addresses the problems
of climate change.

Friday morning found this reporter sitting in the meeting room of the Connections-on-High Cafe in the old New York Store building for a meeting of the Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape event and meeting.

If you want to know more about the speakers who tied local actions to global results, pick up a copy of Mondays paper for my story on the subject (unless, you know, there's a car crash or something Sunday.)

For the story on the impacts of tourism in Pennsylvania and the region, check out The Mercury's business (or news) pages in the next couple of days.

If you want to know what it was like being there in the moment, live Tweeting, then read on fearless reader.

The Grass is Always Greener

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Pottstown Borough.

The Borough of Pottstown is pleased to announce the grand opening of Manatawny Green, Pottstown’s own miniature golf course, located at 71 West High Street, on Friday, June 13.

Manatawny Green offers 18 holes and is ADA accessible.

The facility will be open seasonally, Tuesday through Sunday from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Check out our concession stand for snacks and beverages, featuring Nelson’s Ice Cream and Berks Hot Dogs. 

Plenty of parking is available on both King and West and High Streets.

Manatawny Green has transformed a formerly vacant industrial property into a green gateway, providing a vital link between multiple recreation and cultural amenities in the Borough of Pottstown.

Situated along the banks of the Manatawny Creek, Manatawny Green is a pedestrian and bicycle-friendly destination. 

Visitors can bike the Schuylkill River Trail north to Manatawny Green, play a round of mini golf, and enjoy the nearby Pottsgrove Manor, Memorial Park, and downtown Pottstown.

Michael Lenhart, Director of Parks and Recreation, describes Manatawny Green as a “fun-filled family friendly experience offering a unique recreational opportunity showcasing the best that Pottstown has to offer.”

Borough Manager Mark Flanders said “this has been a long journey from concept to reality,” and added that he is “excited that the efforts of many have come together.” 

“Manatawny Green has finally come to fruition,” he said.

The project was made possible through the generous support of Montgomery County’s Open Space Program, the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, and the PECO Green Region Program.

A Comprehensive Look

Pottstown's first Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1960.

Since then, the borough has seen more changes than a chameleon at a laser Pink Floyd show and few of them good.

Primary among those changes was the draining away of Pottstown's industrial foundation; the engine on which Pottstown was built.

Think of the many problems we have today -- crime, low-paying jobs and unemployment, a crumbling tax base, a high number of rental properties -- and recognize that most of them go away with living-wage employment.

Pottstown had that with industry, but does not any more.

So what to do?

Plan for the future is all we can do and that's what's going on right now, with the

The draft plan considers downtown Pottstown an "opportunity site."

help of the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

For more than a year, the draft of the new comprehensive plan has been underway and it is now available for public review.

I have posted the draft on Document Cloud and you can read it by clicking here.

(If you like things more official, you cal also read it on the borough web site here.)

Understand that its a draft and it is being put out there for you to look and and offer comment about ways to improve it, flaws you may see or things you like about it.

Last month, county planner Meredith Curran Trego, who works with the Pottstown Planing Commission, gave borough council an overview of the draft.

Try not to be too surprised when I tell you there was little if any discussion about it. (Not sure if we want to suggest that the level of discussion may have reflected the level of understanding, but let's not go there.)

Meredith was kind enough to provide me with a copy of the presentation as well, which I have also uploaded to Document Cloud and you can read by clicking here.

It includes the basics, a public profile for example, that includes things like:

• Population: (22,377, a 12% decrease since the last plan in 1985); 
• Employment: (10,812 with 11,508 by 2040, a 6.4% increase in the next 26 years)
• Median income: ($46,066, nearly 40% lower than Montgomery County's median of $76,381)
• Median owner-occupied housing value: ($136,700, 46% below Montgomery County's median of $255,000)

It is on facts like these, and how our land is currently used -- 38.1% residential; 11.1% commercial; 8.8% open space and 28.3% industrial or institutional -- that a plan for the future must be built.

The overview identified several "opportunity sites" near the airport, along the riverfront and in the downtown among the 156 acres of undeveloped land in the borough.

The overview identifies several broad goals for the borough, including "grow business and employment (duh); "expand heritage tourism infrastructure and attractions;" "build on existing arts and culture activities and an economic development tool to bring more visitors into the town," and so on.

It also calls for improving and expanding the airport; capitalizing on existing rail infrastructure; and improving access and awareness to public parking, among other transportation-related goals.

Housing goals include "encourage the development of properly located multi-

family apartment complexes, attached townhouses and adaptive reuse of quality older structures for dwellings;" "support the transition of rental housing units into owner-occupied housing where appropriate;" "look to promote downtown housing by encouraging the renovation of the second- and third-floor stories above downtown retail spaces.

In terms of the borough's historic and cultural aspects, the draft will "preserve the historical as well as the architectural qualities of Pottstown's built environment through the creation of a comprehensive preservation program;" "work with the owners of historic properties to education them as to the value of their properties. Ensure that owners of historic properties receive appropriate technical assistance and financial incentives information from government sources;" "develop marketing and outreach for coordinated promotion for Pottstown's historic resources and offerings."

In addition to goals for maintaining and improving school buildings and water and sewer infrastructure, the comprehensive draft also calls for expanding and upgrading the existing library facilities and to "consider relocation to a site nearer to the downtown.

Obviously there is much more to the plan, and this merely scratches the surface, but its the kind of thing which will become the official plan without any public input.

So if you have the time, take a look through the plan and avail yourself of the opportunity being offered -- to have a say in the future of your community. 

Pottstown CARES Events set for Oct. 19, Oct. 25

The former Hill School hockey rink will host a Community Education and Activities Day Saturday, Oct. 19, the first of two community events planned by Pottstown CARES.

Blogger's Note: The following is the official full and complete press release issued for the Pottstown CARES series of events on Oct. 19 and Oct. 25.

Volunteers from the Borough of Pottstown, The Hill School, and the Pottstown School District will combine forces to demonstrate their care for our hometown in several tangible ways in a two-part, two-day event, with separate components planned for Saturday, Oct. 19 and Friday, Oct. 25.

This joint CARES (Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability) endeavor was conceived last spring during conversations between Borough Manager Mark Flanders, Pottstown School Superintendent Jeff Sparagana, and Hill School Headmaster Zachary Lehman. The three leaders envisioned a collaborative project that would help to “spruce up” a designated area in the core of Pottstown while also boosting community pride and awareness about Pottstown resources.

A small committee of representatives from these three key Pottstown entities began meeting late last spring; they sought feedback at a community forum held at the Ricketts Center in late June; and they have been meeting regularly since that time to manage myriad details for the project.

The first part of the CARES project will be a community education and activities day on Saturday, October 19. (Please read below about the second CARES event on Friday, October 25.) 

Zachary Lehman

This free information fair on Oct. 19 will occur rain or shine from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The Hill School, under the former outdoor hockey rink located off Beech Street near Hill’s Center For The Arts. Attendees may park in the Center For The Arts parking lot. The GPS address for this location is 860 Beech St.

This October 19 community day will allow nonprofits and other Pottstown-focused, helpful organizations -- ranging from arts and recreational organizations to the Bloodmobile, Reduxtech e-waste recyclers, and other service providers -- to share free materials about their programs and talk with Pottstown residents.

A variety of free children’s activities will be available through the YMCA and other organizations, and the Masons will be doing child identification fingerprinting.

Numerous local food vendors will be on hand selling various refreshments, from French fries to vegetarian foods. Free, gently used office supplies also will be available at a “Get Organized Pottstown” station.

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities will be accepting donations of food, clothing, and other essentials near the Center For The Arts parking lot in Hill’s old rink. Greatly needed items include: Canned soups and stews; canned prepared pasta; canned fruit; oatmeal; personal hygiene items; small bottles of laundry detergent; cleaning supplies; socks; underwear; and coats.

In addition, the Chester County Pet Food Pantry will be accepting donations of pet foods, and Forgotten Cats will be represented.

An e-waste collector will be on hand to accept any old items that had electricity running through them. The e-waste collection truck will be located in the Center For The Arts parking lot.

Pottstown Animal Control will also be offering information.

The Miller-Keystone Blood Center Bloodmobile will take walk-in blood donations. Registration for walk-in donations will be located in the lobby of Hill’s Center For The Arts. People who would like to sign up in advance to donate blood on Oct. 19 at The Hill may contact Jason Coady, a Hill teacher who is coordinating this effort, by emailing him at jcoady@thehill.org. Also, CVS will provide a flu shot clinic from 12 to 2 p.m.; people interested in getting a flu shot should bring their insurance card if they have one.

A voter registration table will be set up and individuals will be there to help people with this process.

As part of the day’s activities, The Hill will provide two free screenings of an inspirational, multiple award-winning film about “the power of one” demonstrated by nine individuals on six continents, all of whom are working to make their communities a better place. The film “Opening Our Eyes” (PG-13, www.openingoureyes.net) will be shown in The Hill School Center For The Arts at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Green Room, located off the CFTA lobby.

Also, The Hill invites individuals to take a free, self-guided “Art Walk” architectural tour of Hill’s

Mark Flanders

historic campus. Interested guests should look for the Art Walk registration table under the rink roof, where they will be provided with a brochure and map of the tour sites as well as an Art Walk visitor badge. All tours must begin by 3 p.m.

Additional organizations that have registered so far (as of Oct. 10) to participate in the CARES information-sharing event include: Community Connections; Community First Development Corp., Inc; Children and Youth Services; the Colebrookdale Railroad; Genesis Housing Corporation; the Greater Pottstown Tennis Association; Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County; the Montgomery County Health Department; the Pottstown Borough, including the Codes Department; Pottstown Carousel; the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority; the Pottstown Fourth of July Committee; the Pottstown High School Key Club; Pottsgrove Manor; Pottstown Memorial Medical Center; Pottstown MOSAIC; the Pottstown Office of Family Services of Montgomery County; Richard J. Ricketts Community Center/Olivet Boys and Girls Club; Sunnybrook Foundation; the United Way; the World War II Dance Committee; and the YMCA and YWCA.

Participating organizations are asked to complete registration and set up between 10 and 11 a.m. on Oct. 19. They should enter the site from the Center For The Arts parking lot off Beech Street.

Pottstown CARES: Part Two

The second part of the CARES project will be a clean-up day on Friday, Oct. 25 in a targeted area of Pottstown, from High Street north to Beech Street, and Hanover Street east to Edgewood Street.  

Jeff Sparagana

(Raindate will be Monday, Oct. 28.) All 505 Hill School students as well as Hill faculty and staff; 50 Pottstown High School students and numerous faculty members; and many Borough workers and officials will be dispersed to weed, pick up trash, and complete other “spruce up” tasks in public spaces in the core downtown area during this day of service that precedes National Make a Difference Day (Oct. 26). A team of volunteers also will work to beautify Edgewood Cemetery.

The CARES organizers estimate that a total of 700 students and adults will be contributing to the clean-up during the morning of Oct. 25.

Last summer Borough residents were encouraged through a Mercury article and the Borough website to shares suggestions and requests for specific homeowner projects that might be tackled by the volunteers, in addition to general street and sidewalk clean-up.

The massive volunteer crew will assemble under Hill’s former hockey rink roof at 8:30 a.m. to receive instructions. Pre-organized teams then will disperse to their designated project areas until about 12:30 p.m., when they will return to Hill for a picnic lunch prepared by Sodexo, Hill’s food service provider. Sodexo is generously donating the meals for all school district and borough volunteers as well as Hill students and personnel.

After lunch, a celebratory group photo of all participants will be taken on Hill’s campus.

In addition, as part of the Oct. 25 clean-up day, the Pottstown School District is running a blood drive from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the high school. Individuals interested in making a donation at the Pottstown High School on Oct. 25 may send an email to Pottstown faculty member Mark Agnew at magnew@pottstownsd.org or call him at 610-970-6707.

Hill’s fine woodworking class students are painting new planks for a park bench to donate for one of the MOSAIC community gardens. A team of volunteers is expected to help build new compost bins for the garden at 423 Chestnut St. 

Also, Hill School art students and faculty will be canvassing neighbors to ask for input on the design of a public, downtown Pottstown mural they would like to create in partnership with Pottstown High School art students.

Numerous organizations have contributed funding, tools, supplies, or other support to the CARES project. In addition to equipment being shared by each of the three entities involved – from rakes to a public address system – the United Way has generously donated $1,000 toward tool procurement in addition to loaning tools through their tool share program. Home Depot made a greatly appreciated cash donation to the project as well. CARES project organizers wish to give special thanks to the Pottstown Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department for their support.

Individuals who would like to donate work gloves, trash or leaf bags, or tools for this and future projects may take their items to Borough Hall at 100 E. High St.

Borough Manager Mark Flanders emphasized that Pottstown CARES is not intended to be a once and done affair, but a starting point that builds momentum for additional efforts that increase residents’ pride in Pottstown.

“It is my hope that this is the beginning of something bigger, and that, as time goes on, Pottstown CARES is a way of life for the residents of Pottstown – rather than a scheduled event,” Flanders noted.

Hill Headmaster Zack Lehman arranged for all 505 Hill students as well as faculty and staff to participate in the Oct. 25 clean-up day. He said he is excited about the synergy occurring between Hill, the Pottstown School District, and the Borough – and he is passionate about Hill’s involvement in the community.

“Hill was happy to provide the space for the community education event and to serve as the rallying point for the clean-up project,” Lehman said. “I see these CARES initiatives as the first of many cooperative projects. Hill contributes to Pottstown in many ways, from our existing, highly engaged student community service program, to enthusiastic support of local businesses. We are eager to demonstrate our commitment to the town that has been Hill’s home for 163 years, and very happy to do so with our CARES partners.”

“Pottstown CARES provides community stakeholders with the opportunity to send the clear and inspirational message that, when working together, we are more effective in our actions,” said Dr. Jeff Sparagana, Pottstown superintendent.

“Together, we are Pottstown,” Sparagana said.

You're Invited

Blogger's Note: The folks organizing the Oct. 25 clean-up in the borough's CORE district had decided to host a "Community Education Day" in advance of that event and they're inviting any and all local non-profit organizations to participate.

Here is the invitation provided by Cathy Skitko of The Hill School:

Would your nonprofit organization or community group like the opportunity to share information about your mission and activities with Pottstown residents? 

 If so, you are invited to participate in the Pottstown CARES community education day on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the former outdoor hockey rink off Beech Street at The Hill School from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. 

 This CARES (Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability) event is being organized based on input received at a forum held at the Ricketts Center in late June. The CARES project is being organized by volunteers from the Borough, The Pottstown School District, and The Hill School.

The community day on Oct. 19 will allow nonprofits and other Pottstown-focused organizations -- ranging from arts and historical organizations to the Bloodmobile, e-waste recyclers, and other service providers -- to share literature and talk with Pottstown residents. While quite a few organizations, as well as food vendors, already have expressed an interest in participating, planners would like to invite other representatives to contact them if they would like to be represented.

The old Hill School hockey rink where
Community Education Day is planned.

Interested persons should send an email to kscanlan@thehill.org as soon as possible so organizers can reserve space and a table. 

Please note that this is not an event where vendors (other than those providing refreshments) will be selling merchandise. It is very much a free, information-sharing opportunity.

The second part of the CARES project will be a clean-up day on Friday, Oct. 25 in a targeted area of Pottstown, from High Street north to Beech Street, and Hanover Street east to Edgewood Street.  

All Hill students and faculty as well as a large number of Pottstown High School students and Borough workers will be dispersed to weed, pick up trash, and complete other “spruce up” tasks in Pottstown’s core redevelopment area.

Very soon the planners will provide The Mercury with a more complete list of organizations that will be present for the Saturday, Oct. 19 community day. 

 In the meantime, if you want to spread the word about the good work your organization is doing in Pottstown, please contact planners via kscanlan@thehill.org -- and residents who want to learn more about community engagement opportunities as well as services in Pottstown should plan to attend this fun event with their families and friends.

The Help Desk is Now Open

As planning for the Pottstown CARES clean-up event moves ahead, those hoping to help spruce up Pottstown's core neighborhood and generate some activism there are soliciting residents for projects they might undertake.

The CARES project, standing for Community, Awareness, Responsibility, Empowerment, and Sustainability, has the three entities working on a community cleanup day scheduled for Oct. 25.

"We are trying to build a list of “doable” spruce- up projects,  and the best way for us to do this is to generate a list of residents and their specific concerns/requests," according to Cathy Skitko, communications director at The Hill School which is partnering with Pottstown borough and school district on the project.

Requests can be e-mailed to PottstownCARES@pottstown.org, or you can follow the link on the borough's web page to make requests or register concerns.

The cleanup is scheduled to take place in the CORE redevelopment area, which includes High Street north to Beech Street, and Hanover Street east to Edgewood Street. Teams of personnel and students will gather to volunteer on the chosen day.

"Examples of requests could range from 'I’m a senior citizen and sure would love for someone to touch up the paint on my fence' to 'please address the debris in the alley behind my home,' to 'there are a lot of big weeds growing on the corner at X and Y,'" Skitko wrote in an e-mail to The Mercury.

"Also, this is a great way for residents to report pot holes and other, more major issues," Skitko wrote.

"Please note that depending on the scope of the requests, we cannot guarantee that all projects can be completed on October 25  by the volunteers from The Hill School students, faculty, and staff, the Pottstown School District,  or the Borough staff, but this will be a great starting point for what we hope will be the first of many endeavors," Skitko wrote.

The first public planning meeting for Pottstown CARES, was held

in the Ricketts Community Center.

"By coming forward with requests, residents will also let the borough and the volunteers know that they have permission to come onto the property on Oct. 25 to do the work.  Property owners will be asked to sign an appropriate waiver," according to Skitko.

On July 1, Mercury intern Cat Coyle wrote about the first public input meeting of Pottstown CARES, which was held, a meeting which was previewed in this space on June 22, which was also featured here on June 26.

Diverging from the “normal” cleanup day idea, organizers of the CARES movement want to focus on educational, proactive measures to continue the cleanup in these areas past the one day.

“We don’t want this to be just another cleanup day. We want this to be an educational experience,” Hill School Headmaster Zach Lehman said during the meeting.

Lehman suggested a workshop for residents of the blocks involved to learn about home improvement. Workshop suggestions included gardening, recycling and sustainability, and proper pet safety.

“We want to empower the citizens and we want to engage them,” said Assistant Borough Manager Erica Weekley. “We need to encourage them to do this on their own.”

Meeting participants also liked the idea of a large gathering at the end of the day to provide more services for residents. The gathering could be held at the Ricketts Center and include services like a blood drive, health screenings, a rabies clinic, and voter registration assistance.