West Pottsgrove Commissioners OK 20% Tax Hike

While the U.S. House of Representatives was voting for only the third time to impeach a U.S. president, Wednesday night, local government was at work raising taxes.

With Commissioner Thomas Palladino casting the only "nay" vote, the West Pottsgrove Township Commissioners adopted a $2.8 million budget that will raise property taxes by 20 percent.

The millage rate was raised from 2.5 to 3 mills.

Township Manager Craig Lloyd said the tax hike will generate another $93,000 in revenues.

For a home assessed at $100,000, the township's median, the increased millage will translate into another $40 a year, Lloyd estimated.

It's the first tax increase in six years. It was 2013 the last time the township raised taxes and just like this time, the increase was .5 mills.

During 2012, the township had to pull $1.8 million from its reserve fund and the 2013 budget drew another $1.9 million out of reserves in order to balance the budget.
That reserve fund, proceeds from the tipping fees Waste Management Inc. paid during the time the

Pottstown Landfill was operating.

It closed in 2009 and since then the township has been drawing down on its reserve fund, which once stood at $40 million.

When it was adopted last year, the 2019 budget pulled about $1.3 million from that fund to close the budget gap and avoid a tax hike.

It is now closer to $15 million and Commissioners Chairman Steve Miller said Wednesday night that auditors had told officials that "if we keep going the way we're going, we're going to be in trouble in seven years."

Ironically, the $2,785,792 spending plan for 2020 is less than both last year's $3,067,434 2019 budget total; and even smaller still than the $3.4 million budget in 2013 that raised taxes by 33 percent.

That said, here is a link to the Tweets from last night's travels.

W. Pottsgrove Tree Lighting on Dec. 5, Sign Snafu

Photos by Evan Brandt

This tree, planted earlier this month, will be lit Dec. 5.

Having decided against holding community day in the fall this year, West Pottsgrove Township officials are hoping to start another tradition.

On Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m., all are invited to a holiday tree lighting at the township building at 980 Grosstown Road.

Free hot chocolate and cookies will be provided and the Pottsgrove High School Chorus will be on hand to sing carols.

The tree is located on Grosstown Road out in front of the building near the sign on which announcements are made.

Speaking of that sign, remember when the township was going to get a new, fancy electronic sign to replace the one that's there now?

Mmmm, maybe not.

Back in April, Malvern-based Catalyst Outdoor proposed to erect an electronic billboard on the property that was formerly the Stanley Flagg Brass plant.

As I reported in April:

West Pottsgrove's billboard ordinance would not have allowed the sign, according to Township Manager Craig Lloyd. With the possibility of a lawsuit looming over the ordinance, the township instead chose to negotiate a settlement with Catalyst.

That settlement essentially means a new programmable sign outside the municipal building on Grosstown Road — free of charge. Lloyd said the township will also be permitted to post emergency alerts and event information on the billboard along Route 422.

Lloyd said the township can also sell advertising space on the billboard and earn additional revenue.

And the groundwork has already been laid -- literally.

The old township sign stands amid signs of a new installation.

A quick look last night indicated the ground has been cleared and wires and a base are ready for the new sign.

But it's not there.

According to the minutes of the Oct. 6 workshop meeting, Township Solicitor Jamie Ottaviano asked to speak to the township commissioners about the matter in closed-door executive session.

Last night, Ottaviano said the man from Catalyst he needs to speak with lives in Florida, wants to meet face-to-face, and arrangements are being made for them to meet.

Catalyst's billboard along Route 422 has been up since April.

Asked after last night's meeting, which ended when the commissioners again went into executive
session, Ottaviano would say only "there is a discrepancy in how both sides interpret the contract."

He refused to say more.

Upshot? In order to avoid having their billboard ordinance challenged in court, the commissioners took a deal with a company that now has its billboard, but they don't have their sign. And lawyers are involved anyway.

And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting, such as they are, given that it only lasted 17 minutes.

Township Tree Lighting Set for Dec. 5

West Pottsgrove Pool's Fate Looms Large in 2019

It's the middle of winter, so obviously, it's time to talk about the township's swimming pool.

As the township commissioners met for the first time in 2019, Commissioners Chairman Steve Miller announced it's time for some kind of resolution regarding the township's pool.

It's been three years since the pool was open for a full season. Previous attempts to hire an outside agency or company to run the pool, located on Anthony Wayne Drive, have resulted either in the pool being closed halfway through the season, or the pool not opening at all.

"We can't have it just sitting there, or we're going to have mechanical problems eventually," Miller said.

He appointed Commissioners Pete LaRosa and Mark Green to head up a committee to make a final determination on the facility, formerly the private Colonial Pool, which the township purchased in 2010 after the club could not pay its property tax bill.

"I agree 100 percent," said LaRosa, who has championed the pool's cause since the township bought it and brought in at least one vendor who operated it for half a season.

"We've got to find someone to open it, or do something else with it," LaRosa said.

Miller said an invitation for the public to offer suggestions should be posted on the township's website.

Commissioner Charles Valentine said perhaps the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation should be approached about playing a role as well.

Operated since 1968 as a private, nonprofit community pool, the Colonial fell behind on its tax payments and finally fell victim to a combination of age, a slow economy and more homes with their own pools in their backyards.

The township paid $71,000 in back taxes and unpaid bills to take over the pool in 2010.

The township also put as least $250,000 into refurbishing the pool facility by the time it re-opened in August, 2011.

New Solicitor, Same Manager

In other township business, the commissioners made a number of appointments, including Jamie Ottaviano of Yergey,m Daylor, Allebach, Scheffey and Picardi as its new solicitor, replacing Charles Bresnan, who had served in the post since 2016.

No reason was given for the change.

One thing that remained the same is the township manager, Craig Lloyd, who was given a new two-year contract by a unanimous vote last night.

There is no pay increase in the contract's terms. Lloyd, who said he is a township resident and wants to keep costs down, will continue to be paid $97,000 a year.

And with that, here are the Tweets from last night's 25-minute meeting.

West Pottsgrove Pool's Fate Looms in 2019

$3 West Pottsgrove Budget Won't Hike Taxes, Balances Using $1.3M from Landfill Reserve Fund

West Pottsgrove commissioners, from left, Thomas Palladino, Charles Valentine, Township Manager Craig Lloyd, Secretary Joanne Herb, Chairman Steve Miller, Solicitor Charles Bresnan, and commissioners Matt Green and Pete LaRosa during Wednesday night's meeting.

Township commissioners unanimously adopted a $3 million 2019 budget Wednesday night at the last meeting of the year.

The budget -- actual spending is $3,067,434 -- requires no tax hike. The tax rate will remain at 2.5 mills, where .

More than 43 percent of the budget is covered by drawing out of the reserve account the township has from years of collecting tipping fees at the Pottstown Landfill, which closed in 2007.

Township Manager Craig Lloyd said the budget uses $1,322,473 of reserve funds to be balanced and keep taxes steady.

He said the 2018 budget used $1.5 million of the reserve fund, which once had as much as $40
million, and still has about $15 million left, the same amount it has held at least since at least 2013.

That was also the last year the township raised taxes.

Some projects budgeted for 2018 were pushed off to 2019, which is why less was needed from the reserve fund, Lloyd explained.

The primary project in that category is the replacement of the township's street lights with LED lights, a project that will cost West Pottsgrove about $45,000.

However, the change will save the township abut $15,000 a year, meaning it will break even in only three years, and enjoy the savings in the following years, he said.

Other budget related plans for 2019 include storm sewer work on School Lane, for which the township has a grant, and sanitary sewer work on Sylvan Drive, which will be undertaken by the township's sewer authority and for which a Community Development Block Grant will help to pay.

Other factors affecting the budget are a 3 percent contracted salary increase for the township's police officers. 2019 will be the third year of a three-year contract and negotiations on a new contract will begin around March, Lloyd said.

Other Police News

It was announced that Police Chief Matthew Stofflet has been invited to attend the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va.

After an executive session to discuss personnel, the township commissioners voted unanimously to put Corporal Brian Cass in charge of the department for the 10 weeks Stofflet will be at Quantico.

Also, two of the department's part-time officers have been offered full time jobs and will be leaving. The commissioners also voted unanimously to give Stofflet permission to hire two part-time officers to replace them.

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

No Tax Hike, Chief Headed to FBI Academy

W. Pottsgrove Moving on Murgia Park Improvements

Most of the news from Wednesday night's 20-minute commissioners meeting had to do with Murgia Park, the slowly developing piece of paradise along Manatawny Creek.

Township Manager Craig Lloyd said the Stowe Lions Club recently planted 20 trees along the bank of the stream. The trees were provided by Montgomery County and more will be planted in the spring, he said.

The township is also pursuing a grant to help pay to put a pavilion at the park.

Regional Recreation Coordinator Michael Lane said he is nearly finished with the application and said by pairing the grant application with the park's connection to the trail planned to run along the Manatawny from Pottstown's Memorial Park and up into Upper Pottsgrove will help its chances.

Lloyd said the township crew will excavate the site and pour the concrete to cut the costs.

Murgia Park in West Pottsgrove.

Lane said the township won't find out about the grant until January at the earliest, so it will be some months before the project can get underway.

This spring, a $168,658 improvement project was completed. The most visible feature of the improvement is a new bridge over Goose Run, which separates the two halves of the park, which lies along Manatawny Creek.

According to Lloyd, in addition to supplying and installing the bridge, the contractor extended the paved trail from the existing trail to the bridge and installed a paved landing area on the other side of the bridge and installed an ADA-compliant concrete pad for a picnic table and an ADA-compliant section of paving streamside.

The improvements also include an accessible pathway and a fishing platform.
In other news, Lloyd reported that a two-phase sewer project on School Lane, between Race and Vine streets, will get underway soon. The first phase will be mostly storm sewer and drainage, while the second phase will also add a sanitary sewer pipe element.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting, few as they are:

Gazebo Planned for Murgia Park

West Pottsgrove Gets Free Trees, Fire Co Open House

Folks, there's not much to say.

Normally I sum up what happened at the meetings I cover to put the Tweets in context.

But last night's West Pottsgrove Commissioners meeting was only 25 minutes and, frankly, I did a pretty damn good job at Tweeting the meeting.

So rather than waste your time and mine, here are the Tweets from last night's workshop session:

Another snoozer

Building, Tearing Down Bridges in W. Pottsgrove

Photo by Evan Brandt

West Pottsgrove Township Manager Craig Lloyd, right, explains to township commissioners Charles Valentine, left, and Pete LaRosa, center, how the Grosstown Road interchange on Route 422 will be changed during the eight months it is closed for construction.

As is so often the case, Wednesday night's West Pottsgrove township Commissioners' meeting was short.

But it was not over too soon to allow West Pottsgrove Police Chief Matt Stofflet a chance to provide a sweet summer tale.

Tuesday night for about two hours, volunteer township police officers drive around West Pottsgrove to give away free water ice.

"It was so much fun and so many people came out to talk," said Stofflet.

Photo from West Pottsgrove Police Facebook page
West Pottsgrove Police officers delivered free water ice
to the community Tuesday

"We had people from age 6 to people aged 60," he said.

It's the second year the department has connected with the community in this way, and it was even more successful than last year.

"We only got to about half the township, because so many people came out," Stofflet said.

He asked for, and quickly received, permission from the township commissioners to do it again in August to visit the half of the town police did not get to Tuesday.

The truck comes from a vendor named Kona, out of Oaks not only was the water ice donated, so too was the officers' time, who undertook the task unpaid.

"We had a couple of people ask us if we were pulling over the water ice truck to give him a ticket," Stofflet said with a chuckle. "But it's a way to bridge the gap with the community, part of our community outreach," Stofflet said.

Speaking of bridges, the Old Reading Pike bridge over the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks has been removed, Craig reported.

But if you thought driving on Old Reading Pike is going to get any easier any time soon, think again.

Township Manager Craig Lloyd said starting today (Thursday) the road will be closed for several months near the Pottstown water treatment plant while PennDOT replaces a structurally deficient bridge that crosses an unnamed stream there.

"So you won't be able to get into Berks County on Old Reading Pike for a couple of months," he said.

And without further ado, here are the Tweets from the meeting.

Water Ice and Road Closures

The Key is the Highway in West Pottsgrove

The shaded area on this map between High Street and the Schuylkill River shows the area which could be developed under the guidelines Pottstown Borough and West Pottsgrove Township are being asked to agree to and work toward.

West Pottsgrove Township Commissioners Wednesday voted 4-1 to move ahead with a plan to work together with Pottstown Borough to try to develop, or in some cases re-develop, the 255 acres along the Schuylkill River south of High Street.

Commissioners Chairman Steve Miller cast the dissenting vote after repeatedly asking the representatives from the Montgomery County Planning Commission and PAID whether the 13 owners of the properties in question had made any commitment to contributing to what could amount to an improvement to their properties.

The primary issue is the extension of Keystone Boulevard, which currently connects to College Drive in the borough and was always intended to continue through West Pottsgrove and the former Flagg Brass site to reach Grosstown Road.

Now that PennDOT is re-aligning Route 422 and creating a new, more user-friendly Grosstown Road interchange, the connection significantly increases the attractiveness of the acreage there, said John Cover, chief of community planning for the Montgomery County Planning Commission.

They key question, if you'll allow me the pun, is who will pay to extend the road?

"It looks to me like you guys want West Pottsgrove to do the heavy lifting while these guys get the benefit," Miller said, who three times asked why none of the property owners had ever appeared before the township board to explain their support and their willingness to contribute.

Peggy Lee-Clark, executive director of Pottstown Area Industrial Development, said many of the owners have agreed to make a contribution, adding "I just can't give you a dollar figure right now because we don't have all the costs."

The vote the commissioners took authorizes the formation of a permanent committee, with representatives from both West Pottsgrove and the borough, and makes them part of a memorandum of understanding that will allow for two things -- an engineering study and a request seeking out interested developers.

For the developers, said Cover, the road will be a central question. It is up to the

This conceptual design from a presentation made in
February 

shows "high-end" residential
developments along 

Route 100 in Pottstown.

elected officials to decide whether to build it first to attract developers, or wait to see if any developers or property owners volunteer to help with the costs.

"The big obstacle," Cover said, "is the road and expecting a developer to do that may be a bridge too far. Otherwise the properties may remain the way they are."

"Building the road first requires a leap of faith, but sometimes development requires that," said Cover.

The concept calls for a mix of development including residential, described as “high-end apartments,” and non-residential uses, which include industrial, office and research and development.

Because so much of the design work has already been done, Michael Narcowich, a principal planner with the Montgomery County Planning Commission, said the defined plan can supercede zoning “and allow a developer to proceed directly to final plan approval,” during a presentation to Pottstown Borough Council in February.

Allowing a developer who follows the plan to proceed to the final planning step “is a powerful tool” to attract developers and gives the municipalities more direct control over what gets built, said Community Planning Chief John Cover.

West Pottsgrove Commissioner Mark Green noted that most of the $10 million tax benefit goes to Pottstown. "That's because their tax millage rate is much higher," Cover replied.

According to the planning commission’s analysis, a build out of the plan would provide an additional $65.2 million in increased property value for the residential portion in the borough; and $47.2 million for West Pottsgrove.

On the non-residential side of the equation, a build out would result in another $51.8 million in non-residential property assessment for Pottstown, and another $37.5 million for West Pottsgrove.

All together, that a total of $201.8 million added to the tax base of the two towns.

In Pottstown, that would add an additional $1.2 million annually to the borough budget and another $4.6 million in tax revenues to the school budget.

In West Pottsgrove, the township would see an additional $211,819 in annual tax revenues and the Pottsgrove School District would see $3,208,039 more in taxes every year.

That's revenue the township might want to consider given that later in the meeting, Township Manager Craig Lloyd said Montgomery County recently informed him the total assessed value of property in West Pottsgrove is now $179,529,641, down from $200 million the previous year.

Green also remarked that before Pottstown looks to partner with West Pottsgrove, "they should get their downtown in shape first. Pottstown is going down the tubes."

Lee-Clark said she "takes issue" with that view, pointing to at least a half-dozen success stories going on in downtown Pottstown right now, including a microbrewery, a new restaurant and an engineering firm that will soon employ 50 people.

Cover agreed, saying "there is increased interest in Pottstown and they are on the verge. It's a good time to be a developer in Pottstown right now."

That being said, Lee-Clark said there is not as much vacant commercial space in the borough as some may believe, and there is a market to develop the property along the river.

"I get calls every day about space in Pottstown, and the calls are increasing," said Lee-Clark, adding "and there is a need to space and expansion out there."

Of course, being along the river, much of that property is already in the flood plain, and so anyone who wants to develop it will need lots of fill to raise it above the flood plain level.

We don't say this too often, but "PennDOT to the rescue!"

Cover said the ongoing project to rebuild Route 422, including the Grosstown Road interchange and two new bridges is generating a lot of fill, which is usually expensive to transport.

But thanks to an agreement by the owners of the 80-acre former Flagg Brass property, that fill is being stored there free of charge and will be available free to help raise the developments and the Keystone Boulevard extension above the flood plain level.

In Other News

There are two other things worth reporting out of last night's meeting.

The first is confirmation of what most had already guessed at. Township Manager Craig Lloyd said with the purchase of the YMCA building in Pottstown by a private developer, the organization has indicated it has no interest in running the pool program at the township pool this summer.

As a result, the pool will remain closed.

Also, Miller announced the remaining community day committee planning meetings are July 10, Aug. 7, Aug. 21 and Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in the township meeting room. The event is planned for Oct. 13, with a rain date of Oct. 14.

And with that, here are the Tweets:

The Key is the Highway

Will YMCA Take Over West Pottsgrove Pool? Maybe

It's been more than a year since anyone swam in the West Pottsgrove Community Pool.

It's that time of the year when the perennial West Pottsgrove question -- "will anyone run the township's community pool?" -- is asked.

And, as usual, the answer is: "maybe."

In attempt to make something good out of something bad, Permanent Pool Promoter (and township commissioner) Pete LaRosa, saw something good coming out of the pending closure of the Pottstown YMCA next month.

Although there are many in the community not ready to give up that ghost, LaRosa realized the YMCA could burnish its image by offering up a pool experience given that the two pools inside the North Adams building will soon be closed up inside.

But the deal is not done yet.

Township Manager Craig Lloyd told the commissioners last night that folks from the YMCA visited the pool this week and want some time to consider taking over its operation during the summer season.

Chairman Steve Miller hoped to force the issue a bit by asking for a decision by the end of the month, but the other commissioners said there is no point in rushing it since, in the past, the pool has opened late and could again.

On a technical note, this month we say goodbye to the extraordinarily useful program, Storify, which I used to gather the Tweets from meetings, as well as links to stories and videos.

Unwilling to give up and deprive you, dear reader, of the invaluable experience of reading a bunch of Tweets in order, I slaved through the night, working feverishly until figured out a way to create something similar -- and something I can embed here in the blog -- on Twitter itself.

It's a function called "Twitter Moments" (not that you care.)

But after some weeping and gnashing of teeth, I think I have the swing of things now, and the mighty Digital Notebook blog can continue rolling along as before without a single's day's loss of service.

All of which is by way of long-winded introduction to be able to once again say -- "here are the Tweets from the meeting:"


West Pottsgrove Commissioners Meeting

$1.3M From Reserves Balances W. Pottsgrove Budget

Photo by Evan Brandt

From left, West Pottsgrove Police officer Robert Radswallas, Det. Tim Roeder and Chief Matthew Stofflet.

Two West Pottsgrove Police officers and their chief were recognized Wednesday night by the Montgomery County Crisis Team for the role they played as part of the Western Montgomery SWAT team that dealt with a five-hour stand-off with an armed subject in Limerick in January in which no one was hurt.

Officers from each municipality involved in the SWAT team have been recognized at their respective municipal meetings throughout the year.

Police were recognized in another way Wednesday night, when the reading of the proposed $3,069,414 budget for 2018 included an $105,842 increase in the police budget, which now stands at $1,455,531, according to Township Manager Craig Lloyd.

An 18 percent increase in heath insurance costs for the coming year means a hike of $57,000, $36,000 of which is attributable to the police department.

Other costs, which Police Chief Matthew Stofflet chalked up to one new police cruiser and "the increasing cost of operations," includes a 2.5 percent raise for police personnel.

That comes on top of a 2.5 percent increase least year and a 3.5 percent coming in 2019, according to Lloyd.

With only $450,000 coming in from real estate taxes and another $448,000 from other taxes, balancing the budget without a tax increase will require pulling $1,367,079 from the reserves built up from host fees paid over years from the operation of the Pottstown Landfill which, despite the name, was never located in Pottstown proper.

This year's withdrawal is $80,000 than the $1.4 million required last year to balance the 2017 budget.

It must be nice to have a huge bank account created by imposing environmental risks on your neighbors.

One of these days, West Pottsgrove may have to learn to live within its means.

Here are the Tweets from last night's meeting.

Will Tropical Treat Again Be Used to Sell Used Cars?

Photo by Evan Brandt

The former Tropical Treat, former used car dealership, former pawn shop, future car dealership on High Street in Stowe.

What was once a car hop, then a car shiop, then a pawn shop, may soon become a car shop again.

The West Pottsgrove Township Commissioners voted Wednesday to send to the zoning board an application by the owner of the property everyone who has lived here at least 20 years calls The Tropical Treat to once again be a used car lot.

For a short time, the immediately recognized site had gone from being a long-time used car dealer to a short-lived pawn shop.

But that all came to an end in January when state police raided the property for selling stolen property and the pawn shop quickly went out of business.

Because the use of the property had changed, Township Manager Craig Lloyd explained, the owner must apply for a special exception from the zoning hearing board, for it to return to a used car dealership.

"If that use had continued, this would not be necessary," said Commissioners Chairman Steve Miller.

In its heyday, the Tropical Treat was one end of the famous and infamous Pottstown "cruising" circuit. The other end was The Hilltop burger joint in Sanatoga, with classic and not-so-classic cars cruising along High Street between the two.

The board also voted to send a new billboard ordinance to the planning commission for comment and made further announcement about plans for the Community Day set for Oct. 14.

But you can read all about it in the Tweets below...

Township Seeks Community Day Volunteers

If you blinked during last night's West Pottsgrove Commissioners meeting, you might have missed it.

However, one message came through loud and clear.

The commissioners definitely want to get more community involvement in -- what else? -- Community Day.

The proposed date for the event is Oct. 14, or Oct. 15, depending on when the community band is available.

The place is the park at the township building.

Now what it needs is the people, the ideas and the will to make it happen.

If that sounds like something you would like to be part of, the next Community Day Committee meeting is May 2 at 7 p.m. at the township building.

Subsequent meetings are June 6, June 20, July 18, Aug. 8, Aug. 22 and Sept. 12.

If you would like to get involved or would like more information, call Township Manager Craig Lloyd at. 610-323-7717. 

And here are the Tweets, such as they are.

West Pottsgrove OKs $200K Sewer Settlement

How much township business can you conduct in 40 minutes?

As it turns out, a fair amount if you are the West Pottsgrove Township Commissioners.

Perhaps the most fruitful thing to occur in that short period of time was an agreement to settle with Rettew Assoc. engineers for the under-engineering of the Grosstown Road sewer pump station.

The Grosstown Road pump station is located adjacent to

the parking lot at the township building which is, obviously,

on Grosstown Road.

The board agreed to a settlement amount of $212,500 with the firm that designed upgrades to the sewer pump station that were, evidently, inadequate to the flow of sewage.

At least three years of problems, including sewer back-ups into the basements of two or three unfortunate households, led to the litigation.

During heavy flows, and heavy rains, the township has to bring in auxiliary equipment to push the sewage through the system to the treatment plant in Pottstown at a fast enough rate to avoid those back-ups.

The fix to the station is estimated to cost $168,000 and the difference between the two figures would cover legal and engineering fees for the fix. But no mention was made of covering the cost of bringing in extra pumping equipment.

In other business, the commissioners voted to extend for three months the five-year-old trash collection contract with Waste Management Inc. to allow for more time to prepare bids for the next contract.

The board also voted to double the rental fee for the pavilion at the township building from $25 to $50 to help defray the costs of clean-up incurred by township staff.

Also, a new Community Day Committee was formed and community members and businesses are being asked to join to help improve the annual celebration. Those interested should contact the township manager's office at 610-323-7717.

And here are the Tweets.

No Pool for 2017 in West Pottsgrove, But Commissioners OK With Marijuana Growing Facility

I will say this for the West Pottsgrove Commissioners, when called upon, they certainly know how to pack a whole lot of news into a short period of time.

In a 40-minute long meeting, they announced the township pool will not be opening for 2017; that they have no opposition to a 100,000-square foot medical marijuana growing and processing facility being built on the property of the former Stanley Flagg Brass site; that they are reducing Dek Hockey hours at the West Pottsgrove Elementary program run by the Pottstown Police Athletic League and that they were withholding payments to the West End Fire Company for reasons that were not entirely clear to me.

That's a lot of stuff.

The reason some thing were not clear to me, quite frankly, is due to technical problems. I always struggle to get a signal in the township meeting room and only managed to Tweet out after I hit upon the idea of using my iPhone as a "hot spot" for my iPad -- all very frustrating I assure you.

The West Pottsgrove Pool will not even be filled this year.

But several things were quite clear.

First among them that the township pool will not open for the summer this year, largely because any company that has been approached about managing the pool wants a guaranteed return, something Commissioner Pete LaRosa said the township is not prepared to provide.

He and commissioners Charles Valentine and Dominic Gentile agreed to serve on a committee to find a way to open the pool for the summer of 2018 "with no cost to the township," LaRosa said.

The bigger story, perhaps, was the commissioners' unanimous decision to sign a letter saying, in essence, they have no objection to a medical marijuana growing facility being erected on the site of the former Stanley Flagg Brass plant.

Keith A. Morgan, a partner in the Holistic Farms operation, said the growing and processing facility will all be under-roof; in fact in a concrete building with no windows that is so secure, it has been described as a "Fort Knox."

Not only is the proposed 100,000 square-foot replete with cameras, the lock if so

An indoor medical marijuana growing facility in Maryland.

complex it costs $4,000, he said by way of example.

Once up and running at full size, it could provide as many as 150 jobs, according to information he provided at a previous township meeting.

But this is by no means a done deal.

Morgan explained that Pennsylvania, the 28th state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, will issue only 12 permits statewide.

The state has been divided up into six regions for this purpose and Morgan's company will be competing with others for one of only two permits to be issued in the 11 counties which comprise the Southeast Pennsylvania region.

He said his company is hedging its bets by also pursuing a license for another site in New Castle, Lawrence County in the Northwest region.

To apply, Morgan said his company must pay $10,000 application fee, as well as a $200,000 cost if the license is approved. The license is good for one year costs $30,000 to renew every year.

The cost to build the facility is estimated at $10 million but the potential returns are significant given that this is anticipated to be a $1 billion a year business in Pennsylvania in five years.

In the meantime, if approved, the West Pottsgrove facility would slowly amp up, starting in a temporary growing building, particularly given that there may be as few as 3,000 citizens enrolled statewide in the first year.

By the third year however, given that 17 different ailments are certified to receive marijuana prescriptions, the number of enrollees may rise as high as 50,000, said Morgan.

The proposed facility in West Pottsgrove -- which would still need to go through the land development process to be built -- would grow the plants, remove the THC and CBD, the chemicals of medical use.

The chemicals would be processed at the site into pills, lotions or ointments, said Morgan.

The state is scheduled to make a decision on which companies get the license in June, but Morgan said most believe an Aug. 15 date is more likely.

Residents at Wednesday night's meeting offered observations that ranged from endorsement, to caution.

Tina Himes said the facility would be good for jobs and for the tax base, while Gladys Frain wondered if the road construction project of Route 422 or the fact that the site is in the 100-year flood plain would post any problem.

Morgan said no.

Another resident worried about potential crime, but Morgan and Police Chief Matthew Stofflet said the facility will be extremely secure, if built.

In other business, Stofflet said he had met with the board of Pottstown PAL about residents complaints about the Dek Hockey program run at West Pottsgrove Elementary School on Grosstown Road.

He said PAL agreed that there will be no more Friday games, and that blocks of time will be blocked off from play. They include: April 10 to April 16 for Easter; May 26 through May 29 for Memorial Day; May 14 for Mother's Day; June 18 for Father's Day as well as no Sunday games after 6 p.m.

Additionally, a smoking ban will be instituted and parking will only be allowed on the school grounds.

And with that, here are the limited Tweets I was able to get out from the meeting:

West Pottsgrove May Form its Own Authority

The most interesting thing on the agenda of the West Pottsgrove Commissioners meeting Wednesday was no where to be found on the agenda.

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Thomas Palladino proposed that the township form its own sewer and water authority.

The township gets both its water and sewer disposal services through plans owned and run by the Pottstown Borough Authority.

But, to the continued frustration of the commissioners in West, Lower and Upper Pottsgrove townships, they do not have a seat on the authority board that makes all the decisions.

The borough has repeatedly rebuffed those requests and so Palladino thinks West Pottsgrove needs to strengthen its hand.

Lower Pottsgrove already has a sewer authority and Upper Pottsgrove is considering one, he said.

There were a few other items of interest as well, which you will find in the Tweets below.