Hats Off to 102-Year-Old William Hurter and More

Photos by Evan Brandt

Pottstown Mayor Stephanie Henrick, right, congratulates resident William C. Hurter who was recognized by borough council Wednesday night on his 102nd birthday

Everyone once in a while you get something a little out of the ordinary when covering a borough council meeting.

Last night was one of those nights.

Stepping outside the increasingly frightful torrent of world and national news; the juggling act of trying to cover more than 90 municipal and school board primary elections; the hailstorm that is  social media, something sometimes comes along that just makes you stop and smile.

That something, or someone, was William C. Hurter.

A packed council room joined council and Mayor Stephanie Henrick in a proclamation celebrating his 102nd birthday Wednesday night.

The entire room sang "Happy Birthday" to him, after which the mayor presented him with some "Pottstown swag" gifts.

"There is a fringe benefits to getting to 102 I guess," he joked.

Here is the video:



During World War II, he served on the U.S.S. Franklin. He and his wife of 79 years, Dorothy, raised four daughters: Gail, Bonnie, Lynne and Karen.

They in turn gave him six grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and two step-great-grandchildren.

In 1952, he started his own business, Hurter's Meats and Provisions on Washington Street, which still exists today as Hurter's Food Distributors at 398 Circle of Progress.

Congratulations Mr. Hurter on a life well-lived.

Pottstown Police Officer of the Year

Mayor Stephanie Henrick, right, and
Police Chief Michael Markovich, left, congratulate Andrew Licwinko
for being named Pottstown's Police Officer of the Year.

That was not the only celebration that occurred last night.

May 8 was the date chosen to honor the Pottstown Police Officer of the Year. This year, the officer
chosen was Andrew Licwinko.

Again, Mayor Stephanie Henrick acted as Master of Ceremonies, noting that "he's a team player and always willing to drop what he's doing and assist others."

He is particularly effective in dealing with drug crimes, due to his knowledge of drug suspects in the borough and their associates, she said; adding that he also interacts with residents in a positive way, particularly playing and joking with children.



Afterward, Henirck offered a personal annecdote, that Licwinko was the police officer who responded when she was in a serious car accident several years ago.

"You held my hand while they cut me out of the car and you had the dubious honor of cleaning out my car and you may have thought I was moving" there was so much stuff in there.

Congratulations to Officer Licwinko.

New Bus Routes

Council also heard a report from A.J. Knee, a consultant with Michael Baker International, which

New routes are being proposed for the PART bus system.

was hired to update them on the Transit Development Plan.

He reviewed the procedure the firm went through, riding all the Pottstown Area Rapid Transit bus routes, talking with drivers, riders and seeking input on changes or improvements sought.

The result is a proposed change in routes, including one that will run up to the Boyertown area.

Knee said the changes would not increase the bus system's budget

I'll have more on that once I get my hands on the presentation he gave. It was a little hard to read from my seat.

Keim Street Bridge Meeting

Borough Manager Justin Keller announced that the engineering consultants for the Keim Street bridge replacement project will hold a public workshop on Wednesday, May 22 at 4:30 p.m. for public officials.

From 6 to 8 p.m., there will be an open house for the general public, where you can get your questions answered.

It all happens at the Montgomery County Community College West Campus in Pottstown at 101 College Dr.

That New Parking Scheme

I will be writing a more extensive explanation for the new parking system being implemented in downtown Pottstown.

However, Keller offered a brief overview and video explaining how the new system will work.

In essence, High Street still has a three-hour parking limit, but they have changed how you pay for it. Instead of feeding a meter or paying at a kiosk (which you can still do at the public lots) you pay through your smart phone.

The ap is called ParkMobile and he said it takes a few minutes to download and register.

The first hour of parking on High Street is still free, but must also be registered through ParkMobile.

He also said observations that three hours is not long enough for people to see a show at Steel River Playhouse and have a nice dinner, so the three-hour limit will be lifted after 5 or 6 p.m.

Here's video of his presentation:




And with that, I think I'll call it a night.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting, look for more extensive coverage in future editions of The Mercury.

Aging Gracefully, New Bus Routes and Officer of the Year

A Manager Decision Delayed, 18% Tax Hike Looms

It was presentation-central at Pottstown Borough Council last night and I don't mind telling you that after being up until 3 a.m. putting election returns together, it was NOT appreciated.

In addition to staff awards, and a terminally boring presentation about cyber parking (see below), we also endured a presentation about next year's bike race as well as a project by the Greater Pottstown Tennis and Learning organization that will get refurbished tennis courts at Maple Street Park.

Don't get me wrong, all worthy causes, but my level of personal endurance was worn pretty thin by the time they were all done.

But enough about me.

The two important things that happened last night were updates.

Apparently, council is going to agree to appoint an interim borough manager after Mark Flanders retires next month to allow for a full-fledged search.

(I hope you're ready Justin Keller.)

The other is that pesky budget which in September had a deficit big enough to drive a 23 percent tax hike. At the time, nine of the borough's funds were not balanced.

Last night Flanders reported all but the general fund and fire fund are now in balance.

But those combined deficits still add up to to a gap of $1,417,049 said Flanders.

To close it with taxes would require a tax hike of 18.39 percent, or a millage increase of 1.902 mills.

For median property assessment in the borough -- $85,000 which covers about 80 percent of the property in town -- that works out to an annual tax hike of $161.67

The alternative is to cut costs. The budget could be balanced by firing 13 police officers, Flanders said.

That idea wasn't flying with Ryan Procsal, the recently reelected councilman from the First Ward. He said crime is down for the third straight year due to police efforts and it would not be "clean savings" to balance the budget and see an increase in crime.

Vice President Sheryl Miller also opposed it, and said she continues to insist that savings can be achieved by making the borough more efficient, before talking about cuts to services and personnel.

Council President Dan Weand, himself just reelected, said he had given other council members a week to come up with suggestions. Presumably we will hear some Monday.

"It is not my place to decide which services to cut. Give me the direction and I will figure it out," Flanders told council.
Here are the Tweets from the meeting