U. Pottsgrove Sewer Sale Hinges on Monday Vote

The green-shaded area indicates the Upper Pottsgrove parcels served by the township's sewer collection system.

After more than a year of discussion, and four online question and answer sessions, the drive to sell the township's sewer collection system comes down to a single vote Monday night.

Although the sale, if approved Monday by the commissioners, must still be approved by the Public Utility Commission, the township's final say on the matter will be Monday's vote.

On March 20, Pennsylvania American Water, which provides services to 19 percent of Pennsylvania's population, submitted the highest bid for the purchase of the system — $13,750,000.

Ben Kapenstein, who works for PFM Financial Advisors LLC, said bid is "on the high end" of what the township was anticipating being offered. The other company to offer a bid was Aqua PA.

Informational Meetings

Prior to Monday's pending voting, the commissioners staged four online question and answer sessions on April 6, April 8, April 14 and April 16. Participation ranged from 40 to as many as 70 people at each one.

Each session included an hour-long presentation on how the township got to this point, and the benefits of the sale of the system which serves about 1,600 households. By way of comparison, Pennsylvania American has 74,000 wastewater customers among the various systems it owns.

The company most recently purchased the Exeter Township wastewater system for $93.5 million and is in the process of purchasing Royersford Borough's system.



As The Mercury reported April 8, the presentation forecasts that sewer rates would drop by about 9.6 percent if the township commissioners vote to sell the system to Pennsylvania American Water.

However, the decrease — from the current $71.87 per month to $65 per month — would be short-lived, according to Bernie Grundusky, senior director for business development for the water company.

A chart he shared as part of the online meeting showed rates would return to the current rate in three

This slide from the presentation shows the difference in sewer rates.

or four years after the sale, and then increase annually by an average of 4.5 to 5.2 percent.

By comparison, the township's sewer rates, which have increased in a more haphazard fashion, average out to between 4.6 to 6 percent a year, according to the presentation.

If the sale goes through, the average homeowner would have saved $1,260 between the time rates were dropped to when they return to their current level, according to the presentation.

In addition to the lowered rates, the benefits touted in the presentation included:

• The retirement of all township debt, including unfunded pension obligations;
• A transfer of the inherent risk of running the system to a third, expert, party;
• The ability to spend up to $4 million on infrastructure projects like a new or upgraded police station without borrowing;
• The elimination of the $5,447 "tap-in fee," currently charged by the township for new connections to the system.

Why the Rush?

Many of the residents who participated had questions — ranging from how the sale would affect their property and proposed sewer expansion projects and what some perceived as a "rush" to vote on the matter.

"Why does the vote need to happen on April 20?" resident Stephanie Rowe asked during the final meeting Thursday.

"We're in the middle of a pandemic. We're doing meetings on line and we're all dealing with a new normal," she said.

"I think we can do this," Commissioners Chairman Trace Slinkerd replied. "We've done enough due diligence. We need to get this moving through the PUC process," he said in reference to the sale still needing to be approved by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission process.

"I live on a cul de sac and there are six families there, three of them have first responders who could not be at this meeting and the other three had no idea this was happening," Rowe said.

"We still have nine to 12 months of more exploration until everything is closed," said Commissioner Cathy Paretti in apparent reference to the PUC approval timeline.

"We'll still be looking at information," Paretti said. "It's not like the vote Monday is the end of it."

But it is the end of it as far as decisions by the commissioners are concerned argued Commissioner Martin Schreiber, who has repeatedly expressed frustration at the idea of holding the public meetings online and what he has described as his difficulty getting answers.

He said after two queries, he still had not been told when the bids expire and it will be too late for the township to act. "We have 22 staff people, I don't understand why I can't get answers," he fumed.

The answer was then supplied by Township Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr., who said the Pennsylvania American bid expires on June 30.

Who Pays? Who Benefits?

Other pointed questions revolved around the fact that not all residents have paid into the system system, but all residents will benefit.

According to the presentation, Upper Pottsgrove has about $8.4 million in debt, but only $4.7 million is sewer debt, which would be paid out of the proceeds of the sale of the system.

The remaining debt is $2.1 million in the open space fund; about $208,000 in the general fund and $241,000 in the road fund.

Elwood Taylor, highlighted at the top right, had

a long list of questions during the online meeting.

About 65 percent of the township's parcels are served by the system so the sale of the asset sewer customers have paid to build and maintain will benefit those who have never paid into the system, argued former commissioner Elwood Taylor.

"Much of this would make sense if the $8 million in debt where all general fund debt, but you're putting the burden of paying off township-wide debt on sewer users," Taylor said.

He also pointed out that using the proceeds from the sewer sale to pay off the debt in the township open space fund will not result in savings to the general fund.

The open space fund debt is paid through an additional earned income tax approved by voters in 2006. The money raised by that tax can only be spent to purchase new open space, or maintain the township's current open space, Garner confirmed.

Taylor also argued that when residents have an issue with their sewer bill, or how the system is run, they can take those complaints to their elected officials and even work toward throwing them out of office if they don't like the results.

After selling to Pennsylvania American, Upper Pottsgrove customers would have the same standing as the other 74,000 customers in the state and, if they don't get satisfaction from the company in a dispute, would only be able to take it to the Public Utility Commission, Taylor said.

Avoiding Risk

Others supported the sale.

Don Read, who served on the Pottstown Borough Authority and is currently on the township's sewer committee, said "it looks like it makes sense to sell it."

Read said he sees the primary benefit of the sale as "mitigating risk."

A screenshot from the April 16 informational meeting.

He explained that in addition to capital costs Upper Pottsgrove's collection system may incur, it is also responsible for its portion of capital projects at the wastewater treatment plant on Industrial Highway in Pottstown, which receives and treats Upper Pottsgrove's waste.

That plant is operated by the Pottstown Borough Authority and the township has no say in what gets done at that plant, or how much it costs, said Read.

Last year the authority completed a $5 million sludge dryer replacement project which Upper Pottsgrove, and the other surrounding townships who send sewage to the plant, helped to fund under the terms of the agreement with the borough authority.

"The borough authority can throw anything at us they want," said Read.

In fact, that agreement is something Pennsylvania America will have to resolve if the commissioners vote Monday to sell them the system. The authority can agree to transfer the existing agreement to the new owners, or require a new one, according to Township Manager Michelle Reddick.

But Marc Feller, an attorney with the firm Philadelphia law firm of Dilworth Paxson — hired by the township as special counsel to the sewer sale — pointed out that "the Pottstown plant needs the waste as much as the township needs a place to dispose of it."

Conflict of Interest?

In addition to the law firm, Upper Pottsgrove hired PFM Financial Advisors LLC, also known as Public Finance Management, to assess the feasibility of selling the system. It is the same firm that handled the sale of the Royersford sewer system to Pennsylvania American Water for $13 million.

According to an answer Reddick posted on the township website, PFM will be paid a fee of $7,500 for the "limited scope valuation" it undertook to explore the question of whether selling the system would be beneficial.

A second agreement for the work it has done since then, which Slinkerd previously described as being $50,000 plus 1.5 percent of sale price, indicates that PFM will be paid the major portion of their fee only if the commissioners agree to the sale.

As a result, PFM will receive about $250,750 if the township agrees to sell, and only $7,500 if the commissioners vote against the sale, which raises the question of whether PFM is motivated to convince the commissioners to sell in considering the information it presents to them.

In her posted response, Reddick did address the part of the question which read "Any conflict of interest concerns the taxpayers should be aware of?"

No downsides to selling the system were identified in any part of the presentation, which was prepared by PFM and which became more detailed over the course of the four online meetings as questions from residents provoked fine tuning.

A Mercury email to Reddick asking if any negatives to selling the system had been identified in the year-long exploration of the issues, had elicited no reply as of Friday evening.

Thursday night, Slinkerd, who restricted public involvement in the four meetings to questions from residents, thus prohibiting a Mercury reporter from being be called upon to ask questions, said the commissioners will entertain opinions and comments on the proposed sale during Monday's meeting.

Those comments will be limited to three minutes.

"Commissioners will then debate this and hash it all out," said Slinkerd.

To date, Schreiber, who has been on the board for several years, has been the only commissioner to ask questions publicly about the proposed sale.

Two other commissioners, Paretti and Dave Waldt took office four months ago, although they were in regular attendance at commissioner meetings prior to that.

Renee Spaide is the fifth township commissioner who has a vote Monday.

$60K Gift Will Buy Chromebooks for Pottstown Kids

Photo by Evan Brandt

A sign for paper school work packets at Lincoln Elementary School last week may become less needed thanks to a $60,000 donation to help buy Chromebook computers for Pottstown students.

Blogger's Note: The following was submitted by the Foundation for Pottstown Education.

The educational playing field for the Pottstown School District just became a little more level, thanks to a donation received by the Foundation for Pottstown Education.

The Foundation recently received a $60,000 gift from an anonymous donor in support of purchasing Chromebooks for the Pottstown School District. The Chromebooks would enable students in families who do not currently have access to the devices, the opportunity to work on school enrichment activities online.

After reading an article in the Pottstown Mercury written by Evan Brandt, the donor contacted the Foundation to work out the details for this gift. 

According to the donor:

I recently read the article in the Pottstown Mercury about school districts having to pivot to on-line learning which would leave Pottstown behind. For years, Pottstown has held the dubious title of being one of the most underfunded districts in the state and, as a result, the playing field has always been uneven for students.

At some point, Harrisburg needs to fix our very broken school funding system so that zip code does not determine the level of educational resources for children.

But it struck me that if Pottstown couldn’t find computers for each household now, the students in Pottstown would not be on an uneven playing field — they wouldn’t be on the playing field at all. It is my hope that this donation will help the district’s efforts to get a computer into every home so that Pottstown can implement distance learning through the current crisis.

Joe Rusiewicz, Executive Director of the Foundation has been in contact with District Superintendent, Stephen Rodriguez and Acting Technology Director, Gail Kennedy regarding this generous donation. 

In response to receiving word of this donation, Rodriguez replied: "This crisis has been tough on students, parents, and teachers, but Pottstown Students are getting a 'double whammy' because we are underfunded and don't have the same technology other districts do. But thanks to this generous donation, in combination with other efforts, we are on our way to filling the gap.”

There are approximately 20-25 percent of the students who are in need of these devices. The district is working hard to bridge that gap and be able to provide the Chromebooks to the families in need. 

Rusiewicz reported “we have received many kind contributions which are providing financial assistance to purchase food for our students during this pandemic, and we are extremely thankful. Now, with the closure of all the schools in Pennsylvania for the remainder of the year, another urgent need arises, the need for Chromebooks. Thanks to this donor, a portion of this need is being met, but the need still exists.” 

Anyone who is able to and interested in supporting this drive can send a tax deductible contribution to the Foundation 230 Beech Street Pottstown, PA 19464 or through the Foundation’s website https://foundationpottstowned.org/. 

“Help us continue to level the educational playing field for the Pottstown School District.” Rusiewicz requested.

About FPE: The mission of the Foundation for Pottstown Education is to raise funds for and support life-changing educational opportunities for the students and teachers in the Pottstown School District promoting the enhancement of our community.

Visit www.foundationpottstowned.org for more information about the Foundation for Pottstown Education. You can also follow FPE on Facebook and Twitter.

OJR Grad's Website Lets you Buy Meals for Pottstown Hospital Workers from Local Restaurants

An Owen J. Roberts High School graduate has figured out a way we can support local restaurants AND support front-line medical workers at the same time.

His name is Simon Crew, and he is a 2018 graduate who is attending West Chester University Honors College where he is double majoring in marketing and economics; and double minoring in community and civic leadership.

And, not surprisingly, his idea checks off all those boxes.

His idea is a website called "Meals for Medics" and it pairs up people who want to help local businesses and hospital workers with participating restaurants.

Here's the website https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090e4eabae29a7ff2-meals

Simon Crew during a visit to Ringing Rocks Park.

The idea is pretty simple, which is what makes it so brilliant.

"Our mission is to provide Pottstown Hospital Employees, who are working through this pandemic, with meals during their shifts. There are roughly 15 people per shift," so you go to the website and sign up to provide a meal for one shift from one of the participating restaurants.

There are currently eight: Sly Fox, Grumpy's, The Pourhouse, Bucktown Grille, Coventry Parlor at Laurel Locks, Giovanni's 724, Sal's Pizza and Tony Joe's House of Great Eats.

Crew contacted the restaurants to see if they would be interested in participating. He said his email is on the website in case other restaurants in the area want to hop on board.

The site has links to the restaurant websites, as well as what meal packages they offer and whether or not they can deliver.

"This way you can support local businesses and get meals to the hospital workers," Crew said.

When you sign-up to provide a meal for a shift, the site lists your name and what shift you've chosen,

This screengrab shows how you can pick a hospital shift to feed.

so people have the option of picking the day, the shift and the restaurant.

The idea was spurred by his desire to help after his university closed and he came home to share his house with mother, father and three younger siblings.

"I was trying to think of a way to help and my mom suggested I buy a meal for someone on the staff at Pottstown Hospital. but my dad said one meal is not very effective and I should see if I could find a better way," said Crew. 

"There are other sites called Meals for Medics, but this is the only one I know of that works this way," he said.

He said a classmate at West Chester liked his idea and has already reached out and is hoping to establish a similar site in the Erie area.

Crew also realized quickly that buying a meal for 15 people could cost from $100 to $130, so his site also has a GoFundMe link so that people can contribute what they can afford, and he pools the money to buy meals for shifts for which no one has signed up to provide meals.

"I know a lot of people are out of work now, and may not be able to cover the cost of a full meal for 15 people," said Crew. "This way, they can give what they can afford."

You can have the restaurant deliver the meals, or do it yourself, although if you want to add the personal touch, there is a protocol to follow that is detailed on the website.

Since March 7, the site has provided meals for 21 shifts at the hospital, which works out to 315 meals provided free to workers who are risking their lives battling the coronavirus pandemic.

Crew knows the hospital staff appreciates the effort because he was told so when he stopped by to drop off (what else?), some Girl Scout cookies.

"I spoke to the lady at the front desk and she told me she has been getting meals and distributing them in the hospital and she said it works very smoothly and people really like getting them, it's a big relief."

Crew said current plans call for providing the meals through May 5, "but I would extend it if more people sign up."

Ahem. That's our cue folks. 

Hobart's Run Offers Second Round of Grants for Pottstown Businesses and Non-Profits

Blogger's Note: The following was submitted by Hobart's Run.

Hobart's Run has announced a second round of Covid-19 Emergency Response grants.

The grants are made possible in part by contributions offered by a second member of the Hobart's Run Board of Directors (also a Hill School graduate and Hill Trustee, who wishes to give anonymously), in addition to gifts made by Hill faculty, staff, parents, and friends.

Online applications will be received from April 15 – 24. Awards will be announced on April 27 and funds disbursed on May 1.

The program will award five $1,000 small business grants and two additional $500 non-profit grants for a total of $6,000 in new grants. 

This round of business grants will be directed to established businesses in the Borough of Pottstown, with an emphasis on those businesses with a record of giving back to our community.

Here are the application links to the second round of Hobart's Run grants:

Small Business - https://forms.gle/oohyToDYbYszY4e27

Eligibility: Applicant must be an established (before 2018), community-minded, small business (12 employees or less) operating in the Borough of Pottstown and experiencing significant financial distress due to temporary closure as a result of the COVID-19 shutdown. 

The application must be submitted by an executive or designated employee with authorization to apply on behalf of the small business. The applicant must demonstrate how the business gives back to the Pottstown community and adequately describe the company's current financial need. Grantor reserves the right to request additional information that may aid in selecting recipients.

Award amount: $1,000 one-time.

Purpose: To defray revenue losses incurred by the COVID-19 temporary shutdown.

Nonprofit - https://forms.gle/jAV9f975KbRn1G5K9

Eligibility: Designated 501(c)3 nonprofits operating in the Borough of Pottstown that are experiencing significant financial distress due to events cancellation, membership loss, or program suspension. 

Applicants must be the executive director or senior administrator of the organization and must adequately demonstrate how their nonprofit impacts the Pottstown community as well as their current financial need. Grantor reserves the right to request additional information that may aid in selecting recipients.

Award amount: $500 one-time.

Purpose: To defray revenue losses incurred by the COVID-19 temporary shutdown.

Hobart's Run will award five $1,000 small biz grants and two $500 non-profit grants.

In late March, the first round of grants provided 10 non-profits grants with $500 Community Impact Grants, and five recently opened small businesses with $1,000 grants.

First Responders Salute Pottstown Hospital Staff

Sirens blasting, 25 emergency vehicles paraded down East High Street to Pottstown Hospital Monday night to offer their full-throated support of the front-line medical workers battling coronavirus.

Photos and video by Evan Brandt

Emergency responders line up in front of Pottstown Hospital 

to salute the front-line medial workers there putting 

their lives on the line to fight coronavirus.

The idea was the brainchild of state Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-146th Dist.

"My sister is an RN in New York and she sent us a video of all the churches ringing their bells in support of the medical workers, and then the next day, all the fire trucks came by with their sirens sounding and I thought 'that's pretty cool. We should do something like that here,'" Ciresi said Monday evening.

The Pottstown Fire Department and EMS worker picked up the idea and ran with it.

Their participation was organized by Chad Quinter, chief of the Phillies Fire Company.

Medical workers in the window looking out on the parking lot 

at Pottstown Hospital wave back at the emergency responders 

applauding them Monday as part of an organized salute.

Pottstown Fire Chief Frank Hand said the 25 vehicles that participated got together at the Goodwill Fire Station on High Street.

They then made their way down High Street to the hospital, sirens blaring and lights flashing.

"Limerick was supposed to be here too, but they had a fire," said Hand, as a Goodwill Ambulance took off from the hospital parking lot. "They have a call too," Hand said.

"We're so impressed with how the hospital staff is bearing up under this threat," said Hand. "It really shows the strength and backbone of this community."

A mask-wearing Rich Newell, CEO of Pottstown Hospital couldn't agree more.

Hospital staff gather at the entrance to Pottstown Hospital

to watch the emergency vehicle parade in their honor, all 

while maintaining social distancing from them, naturally.

"The staff has been so dedicated through all of this. We haven't seen a large number of call-outs or no-shows," said Newell.

"And the show of appreciation from the community has been absolutely tremendous," he said.

Newell said the show of support by the first responders means a lot to the staff.

"I haven't seen anything like this before, except on the Fourth of July," he joked.

First responders from the Pottstown area applaud the staff

at Pottstown Hospital Monday evening.

"This just takes my breath away, said Skye Tulio, marketing coordinator for the hospital who was out taking pictures and shooting video.

"I know it must have made their night," she said of the employees. "We're so grateful for the support from the community. This is incredible. We all really appreciate this."

"You know, outside of Philadelphia, Montgomery County is being hit about the hardest in all of Pennsylvania," said Ciresi.

Emergency vehicles lined up in front of Pottstown Hospital.

Just hours before the first responders gathered to being their parade, Montgomery County Commissioners Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh reported 25 more people died in the county over the weekend from COVID-19, bringing the county’s death toll to 91.

Officials also reported 208 new positive cases of the virus in the county since Saturday, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 2,023 since March 7.
For Ciresi, who lost his brother several months ago to cancer, this show of support is personal.

"I talk to my sister every night, and she'll tell me about the people they lost that day. I'm worried about her. Her boyfriend has terminal cancer, so he can't stay with her and she comes home every night and she's alone," Ciresi said.

This sign has been erected outside Pottstown Hospital.

"It's taking its toll on her mentally and emotionally, I can tell."

"And my niece is a nurse's assistant in Port Jefferson and she is on the front line too," Ciresi said. "Now she has a cough now and a fever."

"Everyone needs to know these people put their lives on the line every time they walk into that hospital," Ciresi said.

"As well as the police officers and EMS workers. They never know what they're going to find when they answer a call," Ciresi said.

"And even the kids working in the grocery stores are at risk. They don't know who is walking in there," Ciresi said.

Upper Pottsgrove Adds More Info on Sewer Sale

The green areas on this official map show the areas of Upper Pottsgrove Township which have sewer service.

Upper Pottsgrove Township Commissioners voted last week to advertise an ordinance allowing the sale of its sewer system to Pennsylvania American Water for $13,750,000.

Commissioner Martin Schreiber cast the only vote against advertising the ordinance.

The vote came Wednesday night after the second of a series of four on-line public meetings to provide information and answer questions about the proposed sale. The next two meetings are Tuesday, April 14 and Thursday, April 16.

(Click here for details on how to attend the next online meeting.)

The vote to advertise the ordinance will make it possible for the commissioners to vote April 20 on whether or not to sell the system.

The April 6 meeting occurred at the same time as the Pottstown Borough Council meeting, so I only caught the tail end of the Upper Pottsgrove meeting.

I am not sure how much new information was provided, but one piece identified by attendees as missing during the first meeting was provided in the second.

Newly provided was what the history of the township's rate hikes over the past few decades looks like.

The chart shows that Upper Pottsgrove's sewer rates have not moved steadily. From 1978 to about 1988, there was little change. Then there was a doubling of the rate in about 1992 and another decade of no change.

In 2007, they jumped another 71 percent when the state forced the township to take over and replacing the failing pump station in the Regal Oaks subdivision.

The township calculated, as the chart shows, that the average rate since 1978 is about 6 percent and the annual growth rate works out to 4.64 percent.

Information about the forecast rate increase under Pennsylvania American was also made more specific.

Those projections show rates would drop initially by about 9.6 percent under the current proposal, and then begin to climb again about two years after the purchase is completed.

It also shows the projected rate increase are comparable to the township's history of rate increases.

The township also provided two new slides in its presentation to show:

A) How the sale would benefit homeowners and save them money;

B) How the sale of the system would lower township expenses;

Another piece of the puzzle was added by John Bealer, a former commissioner who is now chairman of the township's sewer committee.

He said the system needs about $5 million in expansion to meet the township's master plan for the system, known as the 537 plan. The properties added to the system will generate $731,500 in revenue, he said.

The remaining cost would "have a great impact on rates going forward," said Bealer.

If Pennsylvania American does buy the system, those same costs would incurred, but they would instead be spread among the company's 700,000 customers and not just shouldered by Upper Pottsgrove users of the system.

On Saturday, Scheiber posted his views on the Facebook page he runs: "Commissioner Schreiber's Upper Pottsgrove News."

There, he criticized the informational letter issued by the township and questioned the wisdom of selling the system.

In part, he wrote:

By now most residents have gotten a letter about selling the sewer. This letter pictures the rosiest picture possible. Does the township have debt? Yes, it does, but only $4.7m is sewer debt. This debt is paid for by sewer customers only.

The idea to sell the sewer could sound great, and it does have its pluses. When new EPA/DEP regulations come into place it is no longer the township's problem. When a pump station goes down it is not the township's problem. Upgrades that need to be made, again, are not the township's problem.

But, why would sewer customers need to pay off all of the township’s debt? Why would sewer customers be the only ones paying for new or improvements to the township buildings?

He added:

Selling the sewer, after closing costs, would see about $13m. $4.7M or $5M would pay off the sewer debt. This leaves $8M to pay off the open space that would be paid off too (remember the township voted to tax themselves via Earned Income Tax at 0.25%). This $2M+ would then make members of the community that have no earned income that have sewer pay for this open space.

This is what the online meetings look like on your computer.

$200,000+ is owed in the state fund, the money to pay this comes from liquid fuel money from the state from when you gas up. Yes, we can use that money for other items if this is paid, off but do we need to? The general fund has very little debt, maybe around $30,000 a year for a few more years.

When I was seated on the board, the township was in debt for about $12.5M. 6 years later that number has gone way down and the number keeps going down. PFM, the group that is managing the sale, stated they believe that the sewer rates would stay steady if the township keeps the sewer. They also stated that it would cost households about $190 a year in tax increase to borrow $4m for 20 years for new or repairs to the buildings. 

Scheiber concluded:

There are plans approved for about 140 age restricted homes in our community. This same company would like a total of about 400 homes. If these homes are built the system could sell for another $2M. Should we wait?

If you look up the company that is the highest bidder on the Better Business Bureau they have a D- rating. If you are not happy with your sewer now, you can come to a township meeting and talk it out with the township. You can also vote out the individuals who don't seem to hear your concerns. Who are you going to talk to if it is sold?

To sell the sewer now without having true public meetings would be wrong, it could be perceived as lack of transparency would not be in the best interest of our township.

Saving Local News in the Time of Coronavirus

Many local newspapers, including The Mercury, have been reduced

to a skeleton staff.

It should come as no surprise to any regular readers of this blog that, like other local businesses, local news is struggling to make it during this pandemic.

When you consider how many businesses have had to shut their doors, take the next step and ask yourself how many of them are advertising in the local paper?

Add to this, the fact that The Mercury and other papers in this chain have done the right thing and made our coverage of coronavirus free of charge.

That doesn't mean the print edition is free.

It means you can read about the information that may help save your life, or your flagging spirits, on our website without having to subscribe.

Needless to say, the combination of decreased advertising and "free-of-charge" is not having a positive effect on our bottom line.

It has accelerated an existing and increasingly desperate trend.

Just ask Ken Doctor. He is the "Newsonomics" columnist for Harvard's Neiman Journalism Lab and his predictions about the state of the local newspaper industry have been spot-on for the past two years. And his diagnosis is not good.

His March 31 column did not offer much hope for recovery.

Newspaper executives are "finding themselves careening right now into a future they’d thought was still several years away."

Ask an American newspaper exec a few weeks ago what they thought 2025 would look like, and they’d tell it you it would be much more digital, far less print, and more dependent on reader revenue than advertising. Some of them would have told you they think they had a plan to get there. Others, if they were being candid, would have said they didn’t see the route yet, but they hoped to find one in time.

The COVID-19 crisis has clearly accelerated that timeline — and may have ripped it to shreds altogether, depending on how long the shutdown lasts and how deep the resulting recession gets.

Make no mistake, though: Many of the decisions being made right now and in the next few weeks will be permanent ones. No newspaper that drops print days of publication will ever add them back. Humpty Dumpty won’t put the 20th-century newspaper back together again. There can be no return to status quo ante; the ante was already vanishing.

Can you guess what comes next?

You guessed right, lay-offs.

By serendipity and good negotiating, those of us who work at the papers in Alden Global Capital's Philadelphia Cluster that are lucky enough to be in The Newspaper Guild, signed a two-year labor contract in February that limits lay-offs in the contract's first year. That includes The Mercury.

That did not stop the company from asking for "voluntary separations," or from laying-off workers at non-union papers.

The latest reports indicate 19 lay-offs at The Reading Eagle, which Alden bought last spring, and ten of those are in the newsroom. That is on top of the 81 lay-offs that occurred right after the purchase.

My heart goes out to those staffers. I hate to see any local journalist lose their job at a time when we need them more than ever.

That the economic situation is exacerbating the peril facing local news is an inescapable fact.

But, as I wrote about in November, an already crumbling business model is being eroded at hyper speed due to the wealth-extracting business practices of private equity, better known as hedge funds.

Alden Global Capital, the company that owns The Mercury, is one of those hedge funds. Here is a primer on the company, put together by investigative reporter Julie Reynolds, who works for The Newspaper Guild's parent union, Communication Workers of America, and has plumbed the depths of this company like no other.

Having already strip-mined the local papers it owns of their assets, like the real estate, earning double digit profits and re-investing none of it back into the business that generated it, Alden left its papers particularly vulnerable to this latest economic shock.

Small wonder that its attempt to gain control of Tribune Company, which runs some of the nation's most revered papers like The Chicago Tribune and, more locally, The Morning Call in Allentown, has sent waves of fear through its newsrooms. So much so that in January, two Chicago Tribune reporters wrote an Op-Ed in The New York Times, pleading for a local buyer to take control.

Me visiting Heath Freeman's Montauk manse
before the security fence was installed.

True to form, Alden has responded to this reduction in revenue in the same way it sought to increase its revenue, lay-offs across the country, in California, Denver, and Boston, not just in Reading.

Perhaps most galling is the March 27 letter Alden CEO Heath Freeman -- who has since put up a security fence around his $4.8 million, five-bedroom, five-bath summer house overlooking Lake Montauk at the tip of Long Island since I dropped by unannounced two years ago to chat -- sent a letter March 27 to Illinois senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin.

In it, he claimed that rather than pillaging newspapers, he is saving them. This is hogwash, as Vanity Fair reported in February.

(You can read his full leaked confidential letter here.)

In part, Freeman wrote:

Too often, MNG is the buyer rescuing newspapers like The Reading Eagle, The Greeley Tribune, The Boston Herald or The Orange County Register from bankruptcy or liquidation or perilously close to that fate. Indeed, failing to equip local newspapers so they can adapt to the economic realities of the newspaper business in the 21st century would most certainly lead to more newspapers going out of business in your state and across the country.

I wonder if the 19 Reading Eagle employees laid off this week feel "rescued."

He goes on to note, accurately, that:

Heath Freeman

The digital transformation of the U.S. newspaper industry is in its early stages. And if local newspapers do not reset to these economic challenges they may cease to exist.

As you may be aware, a 2018 study from the University of North Carolina found that the U.S. has lost nearly 1,800 local newspapers since 2004, or approximately one in five. Clearly, if local newspapers fail to adapt to the economic realities they will continue to close.

We could not agree more. What Freeman's letter fails to indicate, because he can't, is what Alden has done with the profits it reaped from local papers to reinvest and adapt to those economic realities.

The answer, of course, is nothing.

My work laptop runs on Windows 7, which Microsoft stopped supporting on Jan. 14. The plan for upgrades, or new equipment? There isn't one.

That's because Freeman and his corporate cronies took the profits we were making and invested them in unrelated businesses like Fred's Pharmacy and Payless Shoes, both of which are now in bankruptcy putting more people out of work.

Perhaps most egregious of the letter's passages is when Freeman writes: "MNG’s goal is to operate newspapers in a sustainable and responsible way (emphasis mine) so that they will continue to exist successfully for the benefit of their local communities and shareholders over the long term."

This is more hogwash. There is no plan for sustainability. None.

There is only a plan for profitability, for as long as it lasts.

Freeman wrote to those senators at a time when many of them are not only questioning the questionable role hedge funds play in undermining local news, but also considering making the support of local papers part of the next stimulus to combat the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, right, visited the YWCA Tri-County Area

in Pottstown last year. With him at Montgomery County

Commissioners Chair Val Arkoosh, left, and YWCA's

Executive Director Stacey Woodland.

Pennsylvania's senior senator, Democrat Bob Casey, is among them, joining 19 others in signing a letter to other senators urging support for the move.

"The current public health crisis has made the already vital role of local news even more critical," the senators wrote in the letter. "Some of the most important guidance for families and businesses during this crisis has been highly localized.

"Local journalism has been providing communities answers to critical questions, including information on where to get locally tested, hospital capacity, road closures, essential business hours of operation and shelter-in-place orders," the letter says.

The senators said any future stimulus package must contain funding to support this important industry at such a critical time. They suggested the legislation include a provision that is tailored to benefit aid recipients who make a long-term commitment to high quality local news.

There are other suggestions for the legislation as well, coming from those of us who know the business well, and know how sudden influxes of cash can sometimes find their way into the wrong wallets if further protections are not put in place.

On Thursday, NewsGuild President Jon Schleuss wrote a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

He had some pretty relevant suggestions:

News Guild President Jon Schleuss helped guide

the fledgling chapter at the Los Angeles Times

to its first-ever union contract.

• A publicly financed fund to support newsrooms and media workers to prevent layoffs furloughs and pay cuts;
• Requirements that news outlets receiving aid remain independent from partisan influence, demonstrate a need for the assistance, report on how funds have been spent and be prohibited from engaging in mergers and acquisitions resulting in job losses, leveraged buyouts and anti-union activity, and from using funds for executive bonuses, stock buybacks or dividends (emphasis mine);
• A prohibition on job cuts by participating companies;
• Requirements that recipient companies provide ongoing information on staff diversity;
• Ensuring that one-quarter of seats on boards of directors be held by non-management employees at recipient publications;
• A separate mechanism to establish a Small Business Administration program of no-interest loans for the creation of news start-ups, including nonprofits and employee-owned co-ops;
• Tax deductibility for the cost of subscriptions to any news product;
• Incentives for local ownership to encourage chains to sell to local owners and community interests;
• A nationwide federal advertising program to promote public health, participation in the federal census and other topics of national interest.

"Continuing news coverage through this pandemic must be a priority in the next stimulus package. Many publications have lowered digital paywalls to provide COVID-19 coverage for free," Schleuss wrote.

"At the same time, the news industry is seeing plummeting ad revenue created by business closures. At this moment when Americans need reliable, community-focused coverage, we risk losing it all," he wrote. "More Americans will die if they cannot access this critical information."

There's also something you can do, and it doesn't even cost any money.

Sure, you can subscribe to The Mercury or the local paper near you. I can guarantee you its struggling.

But you can also lend your John Hancock to a petition supporting Schleuss's suggestions.

Click here to sign the petition, urging Congress to help save local news at a time its needed most. 

I guarantee it will make you feel good inside. And it might just save your life or the life of someone you love.