State Grant Will Help With Pollock Park Clean-Up

Pollock Park has been closed since contamination was discovered in the soil there in 2017.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the office of State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-146th Dist.

State Rep. Joe Ciresi has announced that the Department of Community and Economic Development has approved $56,704 in new funding through a Industrial Sites Reuse Program grant to perform an environmental assessment and remediation plan for Pollock Park on the former Mayer Pollock Steel Company site in Pottstown. 

The borough plans to remediate the site, which has been closed since 2017, and return it to recreational use.

Two-acre Pollock Park, shown here as the green square, is located
between Cross and South Streets in the southern portion of Pottstown.

“With the commonwealth’s help, we will restore this recreational space in Pottstown and make it safe once again,” Ciresi said. 

“With this new funding, we come a step closer to properly cleaning and reopening Pollock Park, which will lead to years of enjoyment of this outdoor space for our residents. I’d like to thank the DCED and Governor Wolf for their support of public health and outdoor recreation with this funding,” Ciresi said in a prepared release.

Pollock Park is located on the 800 block of Cross Street and serves a residential neighborhood on Pottstown's south side. It is also a designated trail head park for the Schuylkill River Trail. 

Heavy metals and Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) have been identified in the soil throughout the property. It is believed that contamination originates from the previous use of the site as a scrap yard. 

When Pollock Park was closed in November, 2017 due to soil
contamination, a health warning was posted there by authorities.

The grant will provide $56,704 to perform the comprehensive scope of work which includes soil tests, installing and monitoring ground water wells, data validation, reporting of results and drafting of a DEP-approved remediation plan.

“Pollock Park is a very important park to the surrounding residential neighborhood and to Pottstown at large, and it has real potential as a destination park with appeal to the wider community,” said Pottstown Parks and Recreation Director Michael Lenhart. 

“This DCED grant, supported by the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority, is crucial support for the effort to restore a key Pottstown recreation space to public use. The Borough offers its sincere thanks to PA DCED and Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority for their support of the Borough’s Parks and Recreation system.”

“This investment will provide the neighborhood with a recreational space that will promote a sense of

Before being stalled by the discovery of contamination, a 

new master plan for the park's revitalization was created.

community while ensuring the preservation of public health and safety,” said DCED Secretary Dennis Davin. “The Borough’s leadership in remediating this space will serve as a benefit to the residents of Pottstown both now and in the future.”

The Industrial Sites Reuse Program provides loans and grants for environmental assessments and remediation carried out by eligible applicants who did not cause or contribute to the contamination. 

The program is designed to foster the cleanup of environmental contamination at industrial sites, thereby bringing blighted land into productive reuse.

For more information about the Industrial Sites Reuse program or DCED, visit www.dced.pa.gov.

Honoring 44 Years of Service (And MUCH More)

Photos by Evan Brandt

Pottstown Police Corporal Charles McClincy, in blue, is presented with awards and thanks for his remarkable 44 years of service to the department during a ceremony Wednesday night.

When Rick Drumheller started on the police force 28 years ago, the man who showed him the ropes was Charlie W. McClincy Jr., by then already a 16-year veteran of the force.

Corporal McClincly receives his retirement badge and a

congratulatory handshake from Chief Rick Drumheller.

When Drumheller, now the chief, faced borough council Wednesday night on the occasion of McClincy's retirement, he cracked a joke about how much gas cost per gallon in 1973 when McClincy first started.

But when Drumheller faced the man he had spent his entire career beside, it was his voice that
cracked and his composure that trembled as he faced McClincy and presented him with his retirement badge.

For the first time I've ever seen at a retirement ceremony, the Pottstown Police Honor Guard were on hand to show McClincy the respect that 44 years of service earns. He is the longest-serving tenured employee in the entire department.

A man of few words, McClincy approached the ceremony he had hoped to avoid with a mere salute and "Corporal McClincy reporting sir."

And when he took to the microphone, he said merely that "it has been my honor to serve my community."

McClincy receives a clock from the police union

presented by Officer Chris Zahorchak.

Mayor Sharon Thomas presented McClincy with a "Trailblazer's Award," accommodated to citizens "who have made significant strides or firsts."

As you might expect, 44 years of service provided the opportunity for McClincy to wear a lot of hats. For 26 years he was chairman of the Police Pension Board and for 15 years, the head of the negotiating committee for the Pottstown Police Officers Association for 15 years.

"We applaud his constancy and dedication as a man of family and community," said Thomas.

He also received a commendation and honorable discharge from the police department as well "for 44 years of honest and faithful service."

And the thanks and congratulations just kept coming ans Officer Chris Zahorchak then came to the front of the room to present McClincy with a commemorative mantle clock as thanks from the Pottstown Police Officers Association.

* * *

So that would be blog post enough for most of us (the author included), but Wednesday night was a busy night.

We learned, for example, that when the sewer pumping station was put into Memorial Park in 1990, it violated a deed restriction going back to the 1960s when the park was created with federal funds. It has just taken the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources until now to notice.

Further, the construction of a stop for the Colebrookdale Railroad was also deemed by DCNR to be a transportation use and thus a further loss of recreation land. Failure to resolve the situation could result in a ban on Pottstown receiving any more state grant money for Memorial Park, or any other borough parks.

And given that earlier in the evening, Regional Recreation Coordinator Michael Lane had outlined

Existing conditions at Pollock Park.

improvements for the splash park area that depend on such a grant, it could present a real problem.

But as Assistant Borough Manager Justin Keller explained, Memorial Park's loss is Pollock Park's potential gain. The government allows the dedication of new recreation space to be offered up as a make-good on the intrusion on Memorial Park's recreational potential.

Currently, the borough is in the process of meeting with residents about improvements being planned for Pollock Park and so an offer from the BASF Corporation for a parcel at 860 Cross St., right across from Pollock Park, was particularly timely.

Keller said in the course of the Pollock Park planning they learned the basketball courts there are always in use and more are needed. The property across Cross Street, a formal industrial site where an environmental analysis and recommendation for impermeable cover, is just the right size for two more courts and some parking.

There are still some T's to cross and some I's to dot, but officials are hopeful.

* * *

There was also a lively discussion about eliminating the political wards in Pottstown.

The matter was first raised last month by Councilman Dennis Arms, who generously credited a 2015 post in the The Digital Notebook for the idea.

Borough Manager Mark Flanders asked for direction and, after some back and forth, council agreed that Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. should look into the legality of the matter.

He will find out how (and if) wards can be eliminated, what role, if any, the voters should play in the process and also if, as suggested by Councilman Joseph Kirkland, two at-large council members could be added, bringing council's size to nine.

* * *

Satisfied yet?

Don't be, because there's more.

Remember those plans for park improvements I mentioned above? Well they also include plans for a trail along Manatawny Creek that starts in Memorial Park and, significantly, would follow the creek and make its way under the Route 100 bridge over the creek.

Scene of the accident that killed Donald Purnell.

"Trails are nice, but why is this significant?" you ask. Well, dear reader, it could provide for an alternative, and safer pedestrian crossing of Route 100.

As you may recall, it was just last month that 24-year-old Donald Purnell was killed in a hit-and-run accident while crossing Route 100 while trying to get to his job at Wendy's.

PennDOT and the borough have already made some temporary improvements at the intersection and more are planned, but the trail could provide a safe alternative for those pedestrians who don't want to stake their lives on drivers' obeying traffic signals.

* * *

"Please! No more!" you say?

Well, suck it up because there's still more and it's more trail news to boot.

Keller reports that construction will soon begin on a Schuylkill River Trail extension from Armand Hammer Boulevard to Riverfront Park along Industrial Highway.

For those who don't know, the trail will cross the Schuylkill from Chester County back to Pottstown on the new Route 422 bridge now under construction. And, for the first time, it will allow trail users to head downstream from Pottstown.

Currently, the trail extends upstream toward Reading from Riverfront Park, but there was no way to head toward Philadelphia.

* * *

Nope, still more.

Lenhart also took the opportunity of last night's meeting to brief borough council on efforts to market Pottstown's TREC district, which stands for Tourism and Recreation.

This includes Memorial Park, the Carousel at Pottstown, the Colebrookdale Railroad, Manatawny Green mini-golf, Pottsgrove Manor, the afore-mentioned Schuylkill River Trail and the River of Revolutions exhibit at the Greenway building in Memorial Park as well as the art galleries at Montogmery County Community college's North Hall.

A brochure that highlights these attraction has been produced.

He also pointed to the establishment of a new community activity calendar, "Pottstown Familes," hosted and operated by the Pottstown School District aimed at ensuring people know about all the opportunities in the region.

It includes not only Pottstown, but six of the eight surrounding municipalities that are part of the regional planning group.

* * *

OK, I'm done, I swear.

Those not yet exhausted can check out the Tweets and videos below.

Genesis Reports Success of Pottstown Neighborhood Partnership's Third Year

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Genesis Housing Corp.

Genesis Housing Corporation is pleased to report the success of the third year of our Pottstown Neighborhood Partnership Program to help with the revitalization of the Washington Street neighborhood in Pottstown.

The Pottstown Neighborhood Partnership projects completed this year include:

• Created a new Community Garden at 301 Walnut Street (Walnut and Charlotte Streets). In partnership with the Mosaic Community Land Trust, a new sustainable and edible landscape garden was created on this long term vacant lot. Using permaculture techniques, layers of fresh soil and mulch were applied to the site along with biochar, a carbon product that helps rejuvenate the soil. Over 150 native and edible plants were planted. Designed by Feed the Burbs and Melissa Miles of the Permanent Future Institute, the garden emphasizes low-maintenance permaculture techniques. Over 70 volunteers joined with the professional landscapers to create the garden. Volunteers were from Pottstown High School, Owen J. Roberts High School, Pottstown Rehabilitation & Training Center, Creative Health, Mosaic garden families along with adults and children from the neighborhood. Throughout the summer, the plants provided a community green space along with edibles like blueberries and pumpkins. 
• A new Security Camera Program was created in cooperation with the Pottstown Police Department. Grants were provided to residents and organizations in selected locations to cover all the costs of installing high quality camera systems. The systems were installed on the 400 and 500 blocks of King Street, the 300 and 400 blocks of Walnut Street and the 600 block of Chestnut Street. In the first few weeks after the cameras were installed, the photos provided critical information to the Police that assisted in the arrest of an individual suspected in a serious crime. 
• Sponsored community events including National Night Out at the Chestnut Street Park (Chestnut & Washington Streets). This event provided an opportunity for neighbors to get together and to learn about local resources. Highlights from the National Night Out included Pottstown Police Officers playing Frisbee with the neighborhood children, great weather, music and dancing. Another community event was the free Movie Night. It provided a fun night for local children with a movie, music and a magician at no cost to their parents. 
• Provided free Housing Counseling classes on credit and credit scores, money management and home buyer basics at the Victory Christian Life Center in Pottstown. Additional financial management classes were provided to the residents of the Salvation Army shelter. 
• Funded Property Renovations including rehab for an owner occupied property and site work for a long term vacant property. The funds filled important gaps in the projects that were not available with other funding sources. 
• Assisted with the funding for restroom renovations at the Salvation Army to provide safe and efficient restrooms for shelter families.
• Completed planning studies including for the development of garden at 301 Walnut Street and partial funding for a new Strategic Business Plan for Genesis Housing Corporation. 

The Pottstown Neighborhood Program is funded by National Penn Bank through the PA Department of Community and Economic and Development (DCED) Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit Program. 

An Advisory Board helps guide Genesis Housing Corporation in designing projects that meet the program requirements and would help the local community. 

The members the Advisory Board include from Genesis Housing Corporation – Judith Memberg, from Borough Council - Ryan Procsal, from National Penn Bank - Sharon McMichael, Thomas Spann and Daniel Sansary. Community Representatives include Rev. Reggie Brooks, Anna Johnson and Sue Repko. Also providing input for the Advisory Board were Laura Washington, Marie Traylor and Police Chief Drumheller.

Since 1994, Genesis Housing Corporation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has served Montgomery County as a community housing development organization (CHDO) and is dedicated to the development of affordable housing and to the education of consumers on housing and financial issues. Our activities include monthly classes and individual counseling to provide financial education, prevent foreclosures, and the rehabilitation and new construction of homes to improve and stabilize neighborhoods.

For more information about Genesis Housing Corporation and our programs, please visit our website at www.genesishousing.org and on Facebook. Genesis Housing Corporation can also be contacted by email at info@genesishousing.org, or call 610-275-4357.

Old Money

Photo by Evan Brandt

Seems to me this building in the 200 block of High Street would be a perfect candidate for the program mentioned below.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the office of State Rep. Mark Painter (D-146th Dist.)

Individuals and businesses are encouraged to apply for a new state program that offers tax credits to restore historic structures and transform them into income-producing properties, according to state Rep. Mark Painter.

"Preserving historic sites, while also ensuring that they have a continued role to play in our communities, is a noble pursuit that I support, and I am hoping our communities will as well," said Painter, D-Montgomery.

The Pennsylvania Historic Preservation Tax Credit Program, which will be funded through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, is open to any individual, corporation, business trust, limited liability company, limited liability partnership or any other form of legal business entity.

The total tax credit awarded to any qualified taxpayer will not exceed $500,000 in any fiscal year, and the total amount the commonwealth will issue will not exceed $3 million.

"Anyone who thinks they may be eligible is encouraged to apply for this program. I know that these remnants from our past can still serve us well as we head into the future," Painter said.

Painter's office staff is available to help with submitting applications. Beginning May 1, interested parties also can submit applications through the DCED website at www.newpa.com/hptc.