The entrance to the Buchert Ridge Community on the north side of Buchert Road in Lower Pottsgrove

SANATOGA PA – Solving differences over the interior renovation of a building that Sanatoga developer J. Wilmer “Wil” Hallman wants to use as an interim community center at the Buchert Ridge Community, 2011 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, needs to take on “a greater sense of urgency,” township Board of Commissioners’ President Jonathan Spadt declared Thursday (Nov. 17, 2011). So he proposed locking the negotiators up.

“We’re going to lock you into a room until you come out with an answer,” Spadt joked with Hallman, township Manager Rodney Hawthorne and others after hearing Buchert Ridge residents describe their frustrations with a lack of progress on the center’s repairs. “Can we make it a taproom?,” engineer John McMenamin of Hallman Retirement Communities pleaded with a grin. “No,” Spadt shot back, “then you’ll never come out.”

Their kidding aside, Spadt urged municipal and Hallman representatives to meet “fairly quickly” to find agreement on what the developer claimed were long-delayed renovations to the former Prizer house. He has already begun limited construction on a second phase of new retirement homes at Buchert Ridge, but the township has declined to issue a permit to allow renovation of the former single-family dwelling to create a community center.

The changed use of the building in the community’s still-evolving plans was the major stumbling block, Hallman said.

Buchert Ridge final plans call for a permanent community center to be located on the first floor of its proposed garden-style apartments at the west end of the complex. Construction on those plans has not yet started, however, and other buildings that previously were used as interim centers – five in all – have now been sold. The Prizer home would be the sixth.

Community residents Fred Serfass and Ben Walters told board members they couldn’t understand why the impasse persisted.

“It wouldn’t be the best community center. It’s only 900 square feet,” Serfass acknowledged. “But it’s better than nothing for an interim solution, and it can’t be completed without your authorization and the permits to proceed,” he told board members. “We can work through the township’s concerns over risks,” McMenamin added. “We just have to get moving on it.”

All accepted Spadt’s suggestion for a meeting to reach a solution. No specific date was announced.

Related (to Buchert Ridge Community):

• ‘Lock ‘Em Up’ Solution Proposed For Buchert Ridge
• Buchert Ridge Reps Expected At Township Meeting
• Planners Get Sneak Peek At Buchert Ridge Revisions
• Hallman Apartments At Buchert Ridge Get Zoning OK
• Buchert Ridge Added Sewer Capacity Gets Board OK
• PART Buses Play A Part In Buchert Ridge Building Plans
• Surprise: Height No Longer Zoning Issue At Buchert Ridge
• Over Objections, Commissioners Endorse Buchert Apartments
• Two Expansions Considered On Lower Pottsgrove Agenda
• Accusations Fly At Planners’ Meeting Over Buchert Ridge
• Applications Withdrawn; Township Cancels Zoning Hearings
• Lower Pottsgrove Hearings Set For Apartments, Lighting
• Walk Through These Rooms Without Moving
• Commissioners Warm To Energy-Saving Apartments
• Commissioners Get An Early Start Tonight
• Meeting Moved Up For Buchert Ridge Presentation
• Buchert Ridge Unveiling Final Phase

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Nov. 17 meeting):

• ‘Lock ‘Em Up’ Solution Proposed For Buchert Ridge
• October 2011 Lower Pottsgrove Warrants Now Online
• Township Tax Could Rise 12 Percent In Tentative Budget
• Township Says It Won’t Reconsider Rejected Trash Bids
• Buchert Ridge Reps Expected At Township Meeting