The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – Property tax rates in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township will remain unchanged for 2010 if the municipality’s $5.43 million budget, which was tentatively approved last night (Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009) by the township Board of Commissioners, is adopted in final form next month.

To avoid a tax hike, commissioners indicated they planned to withdraw almost $761,000 from township savings – called its fund balance – and apply it to close the gap between $4.67 million in revenue Lower Pottsgrove thinks it will bring in next year, and the actual cost of its operations.

The township base tax rate in the current year is 1.958 mills, or about $1.96 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. It also charges .34 mills (34 cents per $1,000) as a dedicated real estate tax for fire services. On a home in Lower Pottsgrove assessed at $200,000, its owners by year-end will have paid about $460 in township property taxes.

Neither the tentative budget or its accompanying tax rates can be considered finished until their final adoption. That board vote is scheduled for Dec. 17 (2009).

Commissioners’ Vice President Jonathan Spadt acknowledged the amount being withdrawn from the fund balance was substantial, but noted “we saved money for a rainy day, and in terms of what’s happening with the economy it’s raining pretty hard right now.” The board is committed, he said, to rebuild the fund balance in coming years.

When the 2009 budget was being debated last December, township Manager Rodney Hawthorne estimated the fund balance then at about $1.4 million. Money withdrawn to balance the 2009 budget, and later supplemental payments made to the Pottstown Regional Public Library and other local non-profits, lowered that amount. Even with the contemplated transfer for 2010, the fund balance should still contain several hundred thousand dollars during the next 12 months.

Anticipated 2010 revenues show declines from the current year in almost every category, reflecting the state of the local economy.

Real estate isn’t selling well, so real estate transfer taxes are expected to total $100,000 in 2010, less than half the amount budgeted this year. Fewer people have jobs, and others are earning less at the jobs they have, so earned income taxes collected from wages paid to employees are expected to be 15 percent lower than budgeted this year.

Overall general operating expenses have risen slightly, about $49,000 or less than 1 percent.

Related:

• Lower Pottsgrove Introduces Budget Tonight

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Pottsgrove High School, Kauffman Road, as seen from the north.

POTTSTOWN PA – The following students at Pottsgrove High School were named Wednesday (Nov. 18, 2009) with “distinguished honors” to its honor roll for the 2009-2010 school year’s just-ended first quarter:

SANATOGA PA – The public gets its first look tonight (Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009) at the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township tentative budget for 2010, during the township Board of Commissioners meeting that begins at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Township staff members and various commissioners’ committees have been at work on the annual spending plan over the last four months, and most intently during the past two. Although all five commissioners pretty much know its content by heart, the budget document itself was officially distributed for their private review during the Nov. 5 (2009) board meeting.

The key question in this, and every budget, is whether Lower Pottsgrove property owners face a tax increase next year.

The township has lost some revenues on which it once counted as a result of the local and national economic downturn, and some of its costs have risen. On the other hand, commissioners and Manager Rodney Hawthorne have occasionally boasted this year of their continued cost-cutting measures. The township also still has hundreds of thousands of dollars available in its savings accounts, known as a fund balance, to supplement revenues and offset the need for a tax hike.

As part of the process, commissioners tonight likely will approve motions to advertise a December meeting regarding budget and tax-enabling resolutions.

Also tonight, commissioners:

• Will consider changing rules that affect the township Civil Service Commission;
• Plan to approve a schedule of township meetings for the coming year; and
• Have announced their intent to conduct an executive session to privately discuss an unidentified personnel matter.

A copy of the board’s agenda is available now for download from the township website.

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SANATOGA PA – Weekend activities for western Montgomery County residents (and anyone else!), Nov. 20-22, 2009:

• These events have been added to The Post calendar.

‘Tis the season for Christmas bazaars, craft fairs, shows and meals. Find a list of them here.

Friday, Nov. 20

Find a bargain Friday and Saturday at the Pottstown library.

A used book sale conducted by the Friends of the Pottstown Regional Public Library will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the library, 500 High St., Pottstown PA. A book bag sale is planned Saturday for Noon to 2 p.m.

Up for a challenge? The Amity Chess Club meets from 7-10 p.m. at St. Paul’s UCC Church, 1312 Old Swede Rd., Douglassville PA, for chess matches and lessons at all ages and skill levels. For more information, call 610-385-6324. Note: club members will not meet the Friday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 27 (2009).

It's the last weekend for this drama.

“The Diary of Anne Frank,” the play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, will be presented Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday in a 3 p.m. matinee, in Krempels Theater at Valley Forge Christian College, 1401 Charlestown Road, Phoenixville PA. Tickets cost $10 for general admission, and $5 for students, seniors and children. For more information, call 610-935-0450.

A disc jockey will play recorded hits from the 1960s through the ’80s during an adult dance and mixer scheduled from 7-11 p.m. in Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Sanatoga PA. A happy hour event will be held from 7-8 p.m. A $5 admission fee will be charged at the door.

The Ursinus College Dance Company will present its fall dance concert Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Kaleidoscope Lenfest Theater on the Collegeville campus. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $2 for students and senior citizens.  For more information and reservations, please call 610-409-3795.

Montgomery County Community College’s Theatre Arts Program and Drama Club will present “Love’s Fire,” an evening of one-act plays, Friday and Saturday (Nov. 20 and 21, 2009) at 8 p.m.; and Sunday (Nov. 22, 2009) in a 2 p.m. matinee, in the college’s new Black Box Theater on the lower level of its Science Center at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell PA. Tickets cost $8 for general admission and $5 for students and senior citizens. To reserve tickets, call 215-641-6522.

“1776,” the award-winning musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, will be staged Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Forge Theatre, 241 First Ave., Phoenixville PA. Tickets cost $15 for adults; $12 for students age 18 and younger, and will be available at the door or by reservations. For more information or reservations, call 610-935-1920.

Saturday, Nov. 21

Joanna Furnace, a historic remnant of Berks County’s thriving early iron industry, will be open for visitors from 7 to 11 a.m. for its monthly Furnace Operation Day. The furnace, three miles north of Morgantown PA on Route 10, was purposely sited in an area rich with iron ore, abundant woodland for charcoal, limestone, and waterways to provide power. A kid’s breakfast and flea market will be held. For more information, call 610-286-0388.

Sunday, Nov. 22

The 16th annual winter concert of the Montgomery County (PA) Concert Band will be held Sunday at 3 p.m. in the auditorium of the new Souderton High School, 625 Lower Rd., Souderton PA, 18-1/2 miles northeast of Sanatoga village. The concert is free and open to the public, although free will offerings to defray concert expenses will gladly be accepted. For more information, call (215)-855-4199.

For holiday buyers and diners

The holiday craft fair of the Sanatoga Fire Company, 2222 E. High St., Pottstown PA, will be held Saturday (Nov. 21, 2009) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the fire house. Handcrafted items, baked goods, and cookies will be sold. Lunch also will be served.

A holiday open house featuring appetizers and gourmet coffee, model rooms filled with holiday decorating ideas, and gifts for holiday shopping will be held Nov. 22 (2009; Sunday) from 2-5 p.m. during an open house at Sanatoga Court Assisted Living, 227 Evergreen Rd., Pottstown PA. Vendors include Longaberger, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Tastefully Simple, Stampin’ Up, Uppercase Living, Purse Connections, Silpada, Avon, Java Joint and others. Children can be occupied while their parents shop with gingerbread cookie decorating.

A holiday bazaar filled with baked goods, soups, the return of ham salad, crafts, books and a white elephant sale will be held Saturday (Nov. 21, 2009) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church, U.S. Route 422 East, Douglassville PA. A raffle and a chili cook-off also are scheduled.

The Pottsgrove High School Music League annual Holiday and Craft Show will be held Saturday (Nov. 21, 2009) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pottsgrove High School, 1345 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA. This year’s event will coincide with a separate but additional show at Ringing Rocks Elementary School, ensuring extra shopping traffic. For more information, call 610-323-0808.

Hope United Methodist Church will host its annual Christmas craft show Saturday (Nov. 21, 2009) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the church, 117 N. Monocacy Creek Rd., Douglassville PA. Door prizes will be given during every hour. For more information, call 610-385-7141.

St. Basil The Great Church, Kimberton Road, Kimberton PA, will conduct its Christmas craft bazaar Saturday (Nov. 21, 2009) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the church. It features Crafts home-made by area residents and church members, wreaths, jewelry, Christmas ornaments, country wood items, pillows, crochted and knitted items, and baked good. Lunch will be sold from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The holiday bazaar of Parkhouse Providence Pointe, formerly known as the Montgomery County Geriatric and Rehabilitation Center, will be held Friday and Saturday (Nov. 20 and 21, 2009) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at the facility, 1600 Black Rock Rd., Royersford PA. Residents’ crafts and ceramics products will be offered for sale, as well as those of outside crafters and baked goods. Lunch also will be sold.

A holiday bazaar and bake sale sponsored by the Calvary United Church of Christ will be held Saturday (Nov. 21, 2009) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church, 1231 Route 100, Barto PA, four miles north of Boyertown and Route 100. Items from local crafters, as well as flea market goods, baked goods and lunch will be offered.

The annual Christmas bazaar of Boyertown Mennonite Church will be held Saturday (Nov. 21, 2009) from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the church, 275 Mill St., Boyertown PA. Plants, canned goods, a selection of books, baked goods, baskets, crafts, and a white elephant sale all will be available. A pancake breakfast will be sold from 7-10 a.m.; lunch, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. A silent auction will be conducted from 7-11 a.m.

More than 70 tables of craft items will be available for the 20th annual “Season’s Best Craft Festival” scheduled for Friday (Nov. 20, 2009) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday (Nov. 21, 2009) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Gilbertsville Social Hall, 1456 E. Philadelphia St., Gilbertsville PA.

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A birds-eye view of Limerick Nuclear, in a 2007 photo from Google Maps.

LIMERICK PA – A week-long federal government test, conducted every two years to determine how well the state of Pennsylvania is prepared to deal with an emergency at Exelon Corp.’s Limerick Generating Station, is now under way at and around the nuclear power facility on the corner of Linfield and Evergreen roads, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

FEMA’s Biennial Emergency Preparedness Exercise began Monday (Nov. 16, 2009). Its drills are intended to “evaluate state and local emergency response capabilities within the 10-mile emergency-planning zone” surrounding the plant, the agency announced.

Preliminary findings on the exercise’s success are expected to be released Friday (Nov. 20, 2009) during a public briefing at 11 a.m. in the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, 150 Park Rd., Reading PA. Scheduled speakers include representatives from FEMA, the state, and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Within 90 days following the briefing, FEMA will send its formal evaluation to the NRC for that agency’s use in future licensing decisions. A final report will be available to the public sometime in March 2010, about 120 days after the exercise.

An NRC 2009 testing schedule shows the Limerick exercise is the second-to-last FEMA will conduct this year. FEMA is a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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POTTSTOWN PA – Unionized employees at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, who already voted to go on strike next month if they cannot agree with the hospital on terms of a new labor contract, say they’ll gather Thursday afternoon (Nov. 19, 2009) for a candlelight vigil in a Pottstown church to heighten public awareness of their cause.

Officials of Chapter 1199-P of Service Employees International Union claim hospital representatives failed to show up at three of four recently scheduled bargaining sessions. In an effort to create public pressure for action, they sent out a call Tuesday via e-mail for the vigil to be held tomorrow beginning at 4 p.m. in St. John’s United Church of Christ, 11 S. Price St., Pottstown PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The event is meant to demonstrate how union members “are taking a stand for our patients, our community, and our future,” the SEIU announcement said. “We believe it is absolutely essential that our employer, Community Health Systems (CHS), come to the table to bargain with us in good faith,” it added.

More than 250 union members are employed by PMMC as licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants, technical professionals, and maintenance and service workers. Their last labor agreement with CHS, a for-profit health care corporation that bought the formerly non-profit hospital in 2003, expired in August (2009). A second and latest contract extension expired last week (Nov. 10, 2009).

At issue in the negotiations, according to the union, are hospital proposals to increase health care insurance premiums, and change a pension fund. The next bargain session between the parties, the union said, are scheduled for Nov. 24 (2009; Tuesday) and Nov. 30 (2009; Monday), both at the Best Western Inn on Industrial Highway in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township.

For its part, Tennessee-based CHS has neither acknowledged that bargaining sessions were scheduled or that its representatives failed to meet with the union as planned. In addition, hospital Chief Executive Officer John Kirby has not made himself available for press interviews on the subject, opting instead to rely on written statements issued by the hospital public relations office.

In response to union members’ Nov. 13 (2009) vote to conduct a three-day work stoppage from Dec. 2-4, hospital spokeswoman Debra Bennis delivered a printed message that said PMMC was “disappointed the union has chosen this tactic, especially while negotiations are continuing.” The hospital would be prepared, she added, “to ensure uninterrupted patient care and the continuation of normal … operations should a strike occur.”

The continued silence of hospital management seems to have rattled the union.

• Watch a 03m:40s video, hosted at the YouTube account of user PaProgressive, of union members discussing their contract concerns with member of the PMMC board of directors during its Oct. 26 (2009) meeting at the hospital. Press the “play” button, above.

PMMC figuratively shrugged when SEIU held earlier rallies to decry what it said was a lack of progress in contract talks. Members of the hospital board of directors listened politely but impassively Oct. 26 (2009) when employees descended on a public meeting to seek board support. CHS offered no formal reply when the union said it would file federal unfair labor practice charges against the employer for an alleged failure to bargain in good faith.

The union’s Tuesday e-mail reflected some of its exasperation. In publicizing the vigil, it noted, “Obviously we are on a short time frame here, but we never expected the employer to not show up to the last negotiations.”

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Vacant land on East High Street next to Rite Aid in Sanatoga, seen in the background, is the future home (owners hope) of Bella Italia Pizza.

SANATOGA PA – A proposal to build a plaza consisting of a pizzeria with an outdoor patio and two small office spaces, just west of the Rite-Aid Pharmacy on East High Street in Sanatoga village, was approved with conditions Monday (Nov. 16, 2009) by the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Planning Commission and forwarded to the township Zoning Hearing Board for review.

Representatives of Bella Italia Pizza presented a sketch plan to commissioners, for a second time in two months, of their desire to build a 2,500-square-foot restaurant at 2209 E. High St., Pottstown PA. It would be accompanied by an adjacent 480-square-foot patio, complete with an Italian style courtyard water fountain, and two 1,000-square-foot offices.

However, the sketch shown to planners during their November monthly meeting at the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, differed significantly from one introduced a month earlier: the building’s configuration was flipped, from back to front, at the recommendation of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Property frontage on High Street, looking west.

PennDOT, which supervises access to state-owned highways like East High Street, expressed concern to Bella Italia developers about the plaza’s entrance and exit routes. Its south side would front East High close to the busy left-turn lane into the Sanatoga Plaza shopping center, where a K-Mart department store and Thriftway Supermarket are located. The configuration change better suited PennDOT’s needs, planners were told.

Both the state agency and the commission liked Bella Italia’s proposal to pave and use an existing alley from the northwest corner of property, which exits on to Sunnyside Avenue, as an exit route for the plaza. Neighboring property owners have already agreed to that part of the proposal.

All involved also liked the developer’s plan to solve storm water drainage problems on the sloping site by collecting water at a central point on the lot’s north end and piping it into a storm water sewer on Sunnyside.

Bursich Associates, Lower Pottsgrove’s engineering firm, had already reviewed and given tentative approval to the plan presented in October. It lacked sufficient time, though, to examine whether PennDOT’s suggestion to flip the building posed any new or unforeseen complications for the township.

Planning commissioners decided to send the plan to the Zoning Hearing Board with their recommendation for approval, but only as it regards six specific variances – for items like front yard parking, setbacks and landscaping – discussed during October. If, after Bursich’s re-examination, “the engineer or the township finds a problem or a need beyond those, you’re on your own,” commission Chairman Geoffrey Dailey warned.

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Judges named Pottsgrove as the most improved marching band.

HERSHEY PA – Pottsgrove High School marching band members returned from the Cavalcade of Bands Association‘s state championships Sunday (Nov. 15, 2009) in Hershey PA with a respected third-place overall finish in its Independence Division, and the judges’ award for “Most Improved” band in the competition.

Biggest winners at Hershey? The Spring-Ford Rams' marchers.

However, the biggest surprise resulting from the two-day contest at HersheyPark Stadium was a dominating performance in the Yankee Division by neighboring Spring-Ford High School. Its marching band took first place with the highest score of the division, as well as judges’ honors for highest visual score, highest musical score, highest overall effect, and best auxiliary.

• Download the final score sheet from the championships here.

Despite his obvious pride in the Pottsgrove Falcons’ effort, long-time bands watcher and Pottsgrove School District school board member Fred Remelius praised the Spring-Ford Rams’ performance as “absolutely phenomenal.”

Among 13 Independence competitors (the divisions are classified by band size), Pottsgrove ranked third, with 92.80 points, behind winner Pittston, 96.85, and second-place Plymouth Whitemarsh, 95.10. Pittston won four additional honors: highest division score, highest visual, highest musical, and highest overall effect. Plymouth Whitemarsh also earned best auxiliary and best percussion honors.

Boyertown's band was singled out for founding member recognition.

Of five Yankee contestants, Spring-Ford’s winning score was 96.15. Also competing in the Yankee Division was Boyertown Area Senior High School, which ended with 91.60 points and fourth place.

Boyertown was singled out for special recognition. Both the Bears’ marching band and the cavalcade itself observe 50th anniversaries during 2009, and Boyertown was among the association’s founding members.

Photos by Fred Remelius

Editor’s Note: The Post thanks Fred Remelius for e-mailing the photos used in this article. The Post welcomes reader contributions! Got news for us? E-mail The Post.

POTTSTOWN PA – Monthly workshops designed to raise awareness of domestic violence issues, funded by a grant from the Verizon Foundation, will be held in Pottstown beginning next month thanks to a partnership between Laurel House, the Women’s Center of Montgomery County, and Montgomery County Community College.

Workshops will be held from 12:15-1:30 p.m. in Room 220 of South Hall at the college’s West Campus, 101 College Drive, Pottstown PA. The sessions are free of charge and open to the public. The discussions will be augmented by on-campus support groups.

Scheduled topics and their dates are:

• Impact of Domestic Violence on Children, Dec. 2 (2009);
• Domestic Violence in the Health Care Setting, Feb. 17 (2010);
• Domestic Violence and Law Enforcement, March 3 (2010); and
• Dating Violence Awareness and Internet Dating Safety, April 7 (2010).

For more information, contact Nancy Mellon, director of the college’s New Choices Program, at 215-619-7390 or e-mail her.

• These events have been added to The Post calendar.

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POTTSTOWN PA – A sketch plan for development of the land on which Ringing Rocks Elementary School would be expanded was unanimously endorsed last night (Monday, Nov. 16, 2009) by the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Planning Commission, but only after engineers employed by the Pottsgrove School District wrestled with what they claimed was a last-minute curve.

Ringing Rocks Elementary School.

Representatives of Landmark Engineering in Wayne PA, on the district’s behalf, said they were surprised earlier in the day by a letter from the township informing them of the need to ensure the finished school building was situated a little more than 30 feet away from Kauffman Road, rather than the 25 feet called for in engineering drawings.

The district must receive variances from the township Zoning Hearing Board to accommodate that and other demands. The zoning board’s next meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8 (2009; Tuesday); the district said it intends to apply today to be on its agenda.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

An appearance before the zoners had been anticipated anyway. Besides asking for permission to improve the school building, which extends an institutional use in an R-2 residential zone, the district must also obtain variances to build a retaining wall, limit some landscaping, and eliminate publication of local impact statements.

Those five-plus extra feet, however, were the cause of protracted conversation during the Planning Commission meeting.

The township’s 1992 comprehensive plan identifies Kauffman Road, where the school is located, as a “secondary feeder street,” according to township Assistant Manager Alyson Elliott. It specifies that any construction there must provide the state with enough right-of-way to expand or alter the road if traffic conditions make it necessary. The difference between the space required, and the space Landmark engineers allotted, is 66 inches … or 5-1/2 feet.

Lower Pottsgrove’s letter to Landmark made it clear the reduced right-of-way presented a problem. Complying with it probably would require new drawings and delay construction, according to the firm.

Whether the engineers should have known about comprehensive plan requirements months earlier briefly was the subject of casual and polite disagreement. On the other hand, almost all involved agreed it was unlikely Kauffman Road will ever be widened as a secondary feeder street. Planning commissioners said they believed the right-of-way issue represented a hardship to the district that merited a zoning variance.

The plan presented to commissioners did not show drawings of the school building itself or its layout, only how the 19,000-square-foot addition to the existing 57,000-square-foot school would be located on the 64-acre property at 1401 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA. The district must return to the commission, possibly several more times, for other approvals regarding the project.

The school district has determined Ringing Rocks must be expanded and upgraded to adequately support current and future enrollment. It will hold a public hearing Dec. 3 on the project’s estimated $17.84 million cost.

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