The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township‘s 2011 budget was unanimously approved Thursday night (Dec. 16, 2010) by the Board of Commissioners, but not without scoldings from two township residents.

Planning Commissioner William Wolfgang wasn’t happy with what he considered overly generous budgeted raises of 4.25 percent in police salaries and 3 percent in staff salaries. Former Township Commissioner Anthony Doyle again argued the board had pulled too much from fund balance savings, leaving it without sufficient spare cash for future needs.

Under the budget that takes effect Jan. 1:

• No general tax increase. The general fund tax rate levied on real estate within Lower Pottsgrove’s borders remains unchanged for another year. It stays at 1.958 mills, or about $1.96 for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed value.

• Fire services tax rises. Taxpayers’ total township bills will nonetheless go up slightly due to an increase in the fire protection tax collected for services rendered by the Sanatoga and Ringing Hill fire companies. That dedicated tax will rise 6 cents, to a total of .46 mills, or 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

• Separately, trash collection fees will go up too, by $12 to a total of $142 a year during 2011, due to an increase built into the township’s contract with hauler J.P. Mascaro And Sons of Norristown PA.

Altogether, on a home in Lower Pottsgrove assessed at $200,000, its owners by year-end 2011 will have paid about $484 in township property taxes, or about $12 more than they did this year.

“I think this is a stab in our backs. I’m really disappointed,” Wolfgang said of the raises, which he claimed should have been renegotiated with police and lowered for staff in light of the shaky economy.

“It’s a legitimate comment,” board President Jonathan Spadt acknowledged. Both the police labor contract and the trash collection contract are due to expire next year, he said, “and we’re trying to do the best we can.” Spadt defended township employees’ raises, however, noting that state regulations had increased their workload. “I don’t dispute they’re not worth it,” Wolfgang countered, “but everybody’s got more work to do.”

Of the cash reserves, Doyle speculated, “if you need another half-million dollars, I don’t know where you’ll come up with it.” Plenty of money remains, Commissioner James Phillips responded, saying he was satisfied that the fund balance had grown to $1.7 million for the start of next year from about $700,000 three years ago.

Related (to Lower Pottsgrove Township’s 2011 budget):

• Lower Pottsgrove Budget Approved, After Some Scolding
• Even With 2011 Transfer, Township Cash Cushion At $1.7M
• Municipal Budget Woes All Over The Local Map
• To Protect And Serve Cots Township $2.26M In 2011
• Five Years Of Lower Pottsgrove Budgets At A Glance
• Garbage Claims 7.5% Of Lower Pottsgrove’s Budget
• No Change In Town’s 2011 Base Tax Rate, But Bills To Rise Slightly
• State of Lower Pottsgrove’s Budget? Hurting, Not Wounded
• Pass The Excedrin. It’s Budget Time In Lower Pottsgrove

Related: (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Dec. 16):

• Lower Pottsgrove Budget Approved, After Some Scolding
• Final OK Expected Tonight on Lower Pottsgrove Budget

READY FOR BELL-RINING – The sheet music is already in place, and the Pottsgrove Middle School banner has been unfurled, in preparation for tonight’s (Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010) annual holiday choral concert. The show, featuring the talents of many young singers and musicians, opens at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the school, North Hanover Street, Pottstown PA. The concert is directed by Carole Bean, and is free to the public.

BRINGING THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO LIGHT – Holiday lights on dozens of homes in Sanatoga village – these three were neighbors on Creekside Drive – sparkled and twinkled Wednesday night (Dec. 15, 2010) in biting cold weather that seemed only to enhance the bulbs’ brilliance. One home owner used a large bay window (top) to showcase a Christmas tree; a second (middle) wrapped light strings around branches and the trunk of a front-yard tree to dazzling effect; and a third used lighted icicles to remind passers-by that the cold weather is upon us. As if we needed the hint …

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove’s 2011 budget is likely to be approved with little fanfare and about as much comment tonight (Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010), as the township Board of Commissioners meets for a final time during 2010 beginning at 7 p.m. in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA.

The budget calls for no general fund tax increase, but slightly raises taxes for fire protection on a schedule created several years ago. It also significantly increases the fees charged for garbage and waste collection. There have been relatively few public comments expressed to board members about the budget, and even those who offered criticisms also said they were happy the tax rate would remain unchanged.

The budget relies on more than $600,000 of township savings to balance its books in lieu of higher taxes.

Also tonight, the board has scheduled a public hearing during which it will discuss details of its planned acquisition of open space on Rupert Road. A resolution to approve that purchase also is scheduled.

And because this is the board’s close-out meeting, the one where loose ends get tied up and congratulations are offered all ’round for another 12 months of successful governance, commissioners will set their calendar and that for other township boards’ and commissions’ meetings in 2011.

A copy of the commissioners’ agenda is available for download from the township website, here.

SANATOGA PA – Traffic Planning and Design Inc. (TPD), the Sanatoga-headquartered consulting engineering firm that employs 135 people in five offices, ranked 8th among Pennsylvania’s top 50 best small- and medium-sized companies to work for during 2010, according to a survey conducted by the Best Companies Group on behalf of the state Department of Community and Economic Development and three other project partners.

TPD's offices on East High Street in Sanatoga.

Its ranking marked the eighth consecutive year that TPD, 2500 E. High St., Pottstown PA, landed among the first 15 best employers of 249 or fewer people in the state. The list was announced Dec. 1 (2010).

TPD had plenty of regional company, too. Business from the Tri-County (western Montgomery, northern Chester and eastern Berks) area who also made the list (presented here in relative proximity to Sanatoga) were Sealstrip Corp. of Gilbertsville (ranked 32nd); All4 Inc. of Kimberton (7th); Philadelphia Gear Corp. (1st) and Addis Group (49th), both in King of Prussia; Kinetic Physical Therapy of Chester Springs (18th); and Lacher & Associates of Souderton (20th).

Among “large employer” businesses with 250 or more workers, area winners included Shared Technologies Inc. of Norristown (10th); the Indian Creek Foundation (11th), Univest Corp. of Pennsylvania (16th), and Almac Clinical Technologies (49th), all of Souderton; and Zenith Insurance Co. of Blue Bell (5th).

Best Companies Group analysts determined the winners based on their assessments of profile information submitted by the employers involved, as well as on surveys taken of their employees.

Sen. John Rafferty, center, presides over a April (2010) state Senate joint hearing.

HARRISBURG PA – The efforts of Lower Pottsgrove‘s state senator John Rafferty, who in his role as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee hopes to expand partnerships for joint public-private ownership of roads, bridges and other municipal structures during 2011, are among the subjects of a special report titled “Capitol Projects” published Wednesday (Dec. 15, 2010) by The Pennsylvania Independent online news service.

Public-private partnerships, or P3s as they’re sometimes called, are seen as one solution to finance the high cost of re-building the state’s deteriorating infrastructure. They have been frequently mentioned as a method to pay for renovations and expansions of, and installing new transportation services along, the U.S. Route 422 corridor from King of Prussia west through Pottstown and on to Reading.

The latest installment of The Independent’s Capitol Projects series – three other stories have already been published – describes problems Pennsylvania faces in coping with everything from common roadway potholes to cracks in support columns on the state’s longest suspended highway, Interstate 95 through Philadelphia. Replacing I-95 alone could cost about $20 billion, reporter Eric Boehm wrote; the state’s entire budget for new highway construction during 2010 amounted to only $1.8 billion.

Under P3s, the state would own assets like highways and bridges, but lease them for long-term periods of 50 or more years to private companies. Those firms would be responsible for maintenance and upkeep, but also would be allowed to profit by collecting tolls or other fees from users of those assets.

• Read The Independent’s story, “Private Partnerships A Possible Transportation Solution,” here.

Photo from the PA State Senate

POTTSTOWN PA – Montgomery County officials confirmed Wednesday (Dec. 15, 2010) what Pottstown PA area drivers have expected since mid-October: the South Keim Street bridge that crosses the Schuylkill River between Pottstown and North Coventry “will remain closed for the foreseeable future.”

Pottstown's own 'Bridge To Nowhere:' the South Keim Street span across the Schuylkill River will be closed "for the foreseeable future."

The bridge was closed to all traffic two months ago after a consulting engineer for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation inspected it and determined its condition was unsafe. Drivers and pedestrians alike, who traveled the bridge before its closure, could attest to seeing rusted steel and crumbling concrete across the span.

To “reopen it safely to traffic would be both costly and take a considerable amount of time,” county Communications Director John Corcoran reported. It would cost $9.5 million and take 18 to 24 months to repair the bridge, he said, “and even then, PennDOT would restrict traffic to one lane going one-way for safety reasons.”

What drivers once hoped were only temporary detours will now become permanent. The primary alternative re-directs traffic west to Pottstown’s Hanover Street bridge, the closest river-crossing. Control signals at intersections along the detour route (from Keim Street in North Coventry, along Route 724 to Hanover Street, across the bridge, and along Industrial Highway to Keim Street in Pottstown) have been modified to accommodate the increased traffic.

In addition, as The Post first reported Dec. 9, a state-described “experimental” and temporary traffic signal is being installed at the intersection of Industrial Highway and Moser Road in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township to alleviate growing congestion there. That signal “should be operational by Christmas,” Corcoran said.

A Pottstown area traffic task force has been created in response to the Keim Street Bridge closing and other road improvement projects planned by PennDOT and the borough, Corcoran added. It is scheduled to meet monthly and consists of representatives from state Sen. John Rafferty’s office, Lower Pottsgrove, Pottstown, North Coventry, Chester and Montgomery counties, and the Greater Valley Forge Transportation Management Association.

As for the bridge’s future? It’s already on PennDOT’s schedule to be not just fixed but replaced entirely … by 2018.

Related:

• Now Official: Keim Bridge Closed For ‘Foreseeable Future’
• With Keim Bridge Out, Signal Coming In To Lower Pottsgrove
• Supervisor Prefers New, Re-Aligned Bridge At South Keim
• Keim Street Bridge To Be Closed At Least Eight Weeks

CREWS RESPOND TO BUCHERT ROAD ACCIDENT – Emergency and ambulance crews were called Wednesday (Dec. 15, 2010) at about 7:50 p.m. to the intersection of Buchert and Kepler roads in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township to rescue a young woman who witnesses say was traveling on Buchert when her car went off the north side of the road, over a guard rail, and down an embankment. The dazed driver was obviously hurt but able to exit the car, according to nearby residents; an ambulance took her to Pottstown Memorial Medical Center. The vehicle appeared heavily damaged. Sanatoga Fire Company fire police controlled traffic on both sides of the scene, which is at the bottom of twin hills near the entrance to the Walnut Ridge residential community. Lower Pottsgrove Police investigated.

Another case settled.

POTTSTOWN PA – Both Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township and the Pottsgrove School District have agreed to settle a tax assessment dispute lodged against them by Chestmont Properties LLC, which operates a cluster of self-storage units located on the south side of Industrial Highway in the township, between Armand Hammer Boulevard and Moser Road.

The agreement specifies the assessed value of the property during each of the last two years, and for the future until a reassessment occurs. It ends months of legal arguments over how much the units were worth for tax purposes.

An increasing number of businesses in recent years have considered it to their advantage to challenge the assessed value of properties they own on which town, county, and school district taxes are levied.

The district, which usually stands to lose more revenue than the township because its tax rates are significantly higher, occasionally employs special legal counsel for those challenges. The township is usually willing to accept settlements negotiated by the district and rarely hires special counsel, although Lower Pottsgrove Solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway has occasionally entered an appearance in such cases on the township’s behalf.

Under the settlement agreement, Lower Pottsgrove will refund $864 to Chestmont as a credit for payment of next year’s property tax bill. The settlement, recommended by Holloway, was unanimously approved by the Board of Commissioners during its Dec. 6 (2010) meeting.

The district Board of School Directors, unanimously and without discussion, during its Nov. 9 meeting authorized its attorneys, Fox Rothschild, to execute a similar agreement. The amount of any credit to Chestmont from the school district was not mentioned in its approved resolution.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Dec. 6):

• Township, School District Settle Assessment Dispute
• Township Settles Today On Newest Open Space Purchase
• Even With 2011 Transfer, Township Cash Cushion At $1.7M
• Slowing Down In Sanatoga Proposed As A ‘Groovy’ Idea
• With Keim Bridge Out, Signal Coming In To Lower Pottsgrove
• Township OKs New Fire Police Law, Approves Members
• Township, Moyer Estate Settle Late Treasurer’s Accounts
• Commissioners Meet Tonight, With A Busy Agenda

SANATOGA PA – Workers at a Sanatoga company helped engineer a holiday smile last week on the faces of dozens of children.

Employees of Bursich Associates Inc., the civil engineering and surveying firm located at 2129 E. High St., Pottstown PA, delivered two large bags filled with nearly 40 toys last Thursday (Dec. 9, 2010) to the annual toy drive of the Homebuilders Association of Bucks and Montgomery Counties in Conshohocken PA. This is the third consecutive year in which Bursich participated in the event.

It also made a financial contribution, company Director of Business Development Brian Fraley reported.

The gifts will benefit recipients in need, selected by the North Penn Boys and Girls Club in Montgomery County and the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Bucks County. Bursich, founded in 1972, operates offices in both counties, as well as in Berks County.

“The harsh reality is that there are many children in Bucks and Montgomery counties that will not receive a single present during the holidays. Supporting this toy drive is our way of helping to change that for as many … kids as possible,” Fraley said.

Photo from Clipart.com