Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Joint Meeting Highlights Pottstown Progress


Pottstown Borough and School District highlighted working together by meeting together Monday night.

First, the school board had to hold their first meeting of the year, but even with a closed-door executive session, that only took about 30 minutes.

Then it was on to the joint meeting which, unlike most previous meetings, had most members of most boards there.

The nine-member school board was only missing two, and the seven-member borough council was only missing one.

The agenda included the long-discussed but never adopted borough sustainability plan -- three years in the making. In fact, they've been working on it so long, it even has its own logo.

But guess what folks, last night, it got adopted! By both boards! Progess!

The school board adopted it unanimously but borough council had two no votes, one from Dennis Arms and one from Rita Paez.

Arms said he worries about the grant-funded projects the plan envisions which then must be sustained, costing more tax money. Paez did not give a reason.

Then the group heard about a plan conceived of by former school board member Tom Hylton and taken up by the Pottstown Rotary Club, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

To do so, the group, which has 100 members, plans on planting 100 trees and they are going to do it in a tree nursery that will be established behind Pottstown High School.

After five years in the ground, they can be used in parks, as street trees or on school properties.

Interim Borough Manager Justin Keller outlined the borough's new land bank ordinance and made a pitch for the school board to sign an intermunicipal agreement through which school taxes and liens will be forgiven on properties going into the land bank.

The school board seemed inclined to agree, although the details still need to be worked out and a vote taken.

There was also an update from Keller about the Walk/Bike Pottstown project, expected to wrap up this spring.

And now, without further ado, here are the Tweets:


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