The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – Monday night’s (Dec. 19, 2011) meeting of the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Planning Commission was canceled, according to an announcement on the township website that was posted after 3 p.m., only three-and-a-half hours before commissioners were scheduled to gather at the municipal building on Buchert Road.

A paper sign about the cancellation also was taped to the front door of the building (right).

No reason for the cancellation was offered. The board meeting of the previous month also was canceled.

Commissioners are next scheduled to meet Jan. 23 (2012; Monday) at 6:30 p.m.

Related:

• Township Planners’ Meeting Canceled; No Reason Given
• Planners Scheduled To Meet Tonight; No Agenda Yet
• Planners’ Meeting Canceled, But An Appointment Ahead

Lower Pottsgrove's municipal building

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove’s Planning Commission is scheduled to meet tonight (Monday, Dec. 19, 2011) at 6:30 p.m. in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, but as of 6 this morning what its members will talk about remains a bit of a mystery. No agenda for the forthcoming meeting is available.

The two-month-old agenda for the board’s October meeting is the only one online at the township’s webpage for the planners, here. Its November meeting was canceled. Because tonight’s meeting has not been announced as canceled, a new agenda for it likely will be found at the same location later today.

Two members of the current board will be among the returning faces to its meetings in 2012 and beyond. The Board of Commissioners last Thursday (Dec. 15) approved the re-appointments of Frank Cebular, Planning Commission chairman, and member Anthony Cherico.

It also approved the 2012 meeting dates for the planners as Jan. 23, Feb. 27, March 9, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 17, Oct. 15, Nov. 19, and Dec. 17.

SANATOGA PA – The November 2011 warrants of Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township – which provide details on where the municipality’s revenues came from during the 11th month of the year, and on what and with whom it spent money – are now available on the Resources Page of The Sanatoga Post.

The document was e-mailed Friday (Dec. 16) by township bookkeeper Michele Christman following the Board of Commissioners‘ meeting.

• Find all warrants archived by The Post as Adobe Acrobat documents, here. Most take about a minute or less to download over a high-speed (DSL, cable, or FIOS) Internet connection.

The November warrants were approved Thursday (Dec. 15) by the board during its second monthly meeting. Warrants are printed and can always be viewed for free at the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, during regular office hours Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Post supplies these materials exactly as received from the township, and makes no guarantee expressed or implied that they are complete, accurate, or faithful reproductions of the actual documents. The Post has had no hand in their creation or submission. Before taking any action based on the contents of any documents offered here, The Post strongly suggests you consult with appropriate professionals for advice.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Dec. 15 meeting):

• Township’s November Warrants Detail Month’s Spending
• Township Budget Final, Approved With Average $31 Hike
• Lower Pottsgrove Settles Police Matter; Looks Ahead to 2012 (Pottstown Patch)
• Last 2011 Commissioners Meeting, Budget Approval Tonight

MAKING HIS ROUNDS ON THE WEST SIDE – Volunteers of Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township’s Ringing Hill Fire Company took on the happy duty Sunday (Dec. 18, 2011) of accompanying Santa Claus on his annual visit to residential communities within its coverage area (above). Wearing sunglasses to reduce the glare of a bright morning, the jolly elf found families along Lynn Drive near Pottsgrove High School had arisen early to see him and say hello (below). They were rewarded for the effort with small gift bags filled with goodies.

A parade of Ringing Hill apparatus (above), featuring Santa at the center, made its way across portions of the township for several hours, bringing joy and good cheer.

SANATOGA PA – Real property taxes in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township will rise about 12 percent next year, or $31 on a tax bill for the average township home with an assessed value of $120,000, following the Board of Commissioners’ final approval Thursday (Dec. 15, 2011) of the general fund budget for 2012.

The budget totals $5.482 million, and depends on $537,392 from the township fund balance to help lower the tax hike.

For the majority of property owners who rely on the township for garbage collection, that hike is mitigated somewhat, Manager Rodney Hawthorne said, by a $17 annual decrease in separately billed trash fees. Lower Pottsgrove earlier this month awarded a 5-year trash hauling contract to J.P. Mascaro and Sons Inc. of Norristown, which lowered its charges a total of $814,000 paid by the township this year to $720,000 expected for next year.

The complete Mascaro contract is valued at $3.65 million.

Also rising separately from the general fund are township sewer fees, up $12 per year, primarily to cover the cost of improvements at the Pottstown borough sewage treatment plant that is used in part by the township; and the cost of street lighting charged only to those whose property is within 300 feet of a light. That annual expense now totals 37 cents per frontage foot distance from a light, or a maximum of $111.

Commissioners also approved the Act 112 or “nuisance” taxes that affect such occasional occurrences as real property transfers. They remain unchanged from 2011.

There was no public discussion of any of the budget items during the meeting.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove 2012 budget):

• Township Budget Final, Approved With Average $31 Hike
• Sewer fees, taxes up; trash down (The Mercury)
• Township Offers $5.48M Tentative Budget For Review
• Township Tax Could Rise 12 Percent In Tentative Budget
• Township Schedules Another Budget Meeting Oct. 27
• We’ll Gladly Pay You In 2012 For A Truck Ordered Now
• Open Budget Meetings, He Complains, Not That Open
• Township Committee Planning Two Budget Meetings
• Thanks To Survey Input, Township Preparing Trash Bids
• Pottstown Library Asks Township For Higher Funding

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Dec. 15 meeting):

• Township Budget Final, Approved With Average $31 Hike
• Lower Pottsgrove Settles Police Matter; Looks Ahead to 2012 (Pottstown Patch)
• Last 2011 Commissioners Meeting, Budget Approval Tonight

PHILADELPHIA PA – A Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township man who was employed as a highway construction worker during 2001 when he was injured by a passing motorist, leaving him a quadriplegic, has won a $3 million workers’ compensation settlement, The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper reported online Thursday (Dec. 15, 2011).

Joseph Tuski, of Evergreen Road, reached the settlement with Liberty Construction of Pottstown, his employer when the Jan. 17, 2001, incident occurred, and Erie Insurance Co., Liberty’s insurance carrier, according to court papers and Samuel H. Pond, the lawyer who represented Tuski, The Mercury reported. Pond, managing partner of the Pond Lehocky Stern Giordano law firm in Philadelphia, said the settlement was reached Oct. 27 (2011).

The settlement was approved by workers’ compensation Judge Thomas J. Hines and appears to be one of the highest workers’ compensation settlements in the country, according to Pond.

• Read a story by reporter Carl Hessler Jr., titled “Lower Pottsgrove man gets $3M in workers comp settlement” and published online Thursday by The Mercury, here.

POTTSTOWN PA – Three people were arrested Wednesday (Dec. 14, 2011) by Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township police in the 3100 block of Pruss Hill Road on a variety of drug-related charges under outstanding warrants dating back to July, and one of them also faces new charges.

Taken into custody, according to a report filed by Ofc. Richard Smith, were Herbert Rhoads, 20; Nicole Evans, 26; and Teesha Holmes, 53, all of whom were said to reside in the township.

Police allege they found marijuana and drug paraphernalia at the location while they were in the process Wednesday of serving warrants following a July 29 (2011) investigation. They charged Rhoads with “possession and paraphernalia and related charges,” Smith said. He was arraigned and committed to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in Eagleville PA in lieu of $15,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for Dec. 20.

Rhoads, Evans and Holmes also were arrested, according to Smith, on the basis of the July warrants. Police allege that, while at the same location on that date, they discovered marijuana plants, drug paraphernalia, packaging materials, and $520 in U.S. currency. Regarding that incident, all were charged with “the intent to deliver/manufacturing, possession of narcotics, and related charges,” Smith said.

Evans and Holmes were arraigned and released in lieu of $10,000 unsecured bail, with preliminary hearings scheduled for Dec. 23.

POTTSTOWN PA – For those accustomed to driving on Pruss Hill Road in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, and who found themselves at a loss when the road was closed months ago because of its faulty bridge, their Christmas gift from the municipality arrived 11 days ahead of schedule.

Pruss Hill Road was re-opened to traffic Wednesday at 9 a.m., according to Lower Pottsgrove’s website.

Forget Santa. It was Manager Rodney Hawthorne, the township Highway Department, Traffic Planning and Design Inc. (TPD) of Sanatoga, and the Board of Commissioners who delivered the goods.

The road was closed in mid-September after TPD engineers determined the bridge was structurally unsound. Commissioners voted Oct. 24 to make limited repairs to it and restrict crossing traffic to only passenger cars using a single lane. The work was estimated to be finished in about a month; it took longer. That’s OK by resident P.J. McGill of Rivendell Lane.

“Yahoooooooo, it’s been reopened,” McGill exclaimed today in an e-mail to The Post. He’s been a harsh critic of township officials at times, but his note held only praise for Hawthorne, the road crew, and others involved. “Way to go!,” he said to the multitude.

Previously announced restrictions remain. “Be aware of the new traffic pattern,” the website warns.

Traffic movement is reduced to one lane, and cars attempting to cross the bridge from either direction should stop and ensure the lane is clear before moving forward. Vehicles using the bridge must weigh 5 tons or less; all others are banned. Most cars weigh less than the limit; most trucks, buses and other vehicles will exceed it and must use the existing detour route.

Other coverage:

• Pruss Hill Road bridge reopens to traffic (The Mercury)

Related (to Pruss Hill Road and its bridge):

• As Gift Just Before Christmas, Pruss Hill Road Re-Opens
• Pruss Hill Bridge Could Take Longer Than Expected
• Pruss Hill Bridge To Reopen, But As One-Lane Only
• The Problems At Pruss Hill Lurk Beneath Its Bridge
• Pruss Hill Bridge Might Re-Open With Weight Limit
• Bridge Damage Closes Pruss Hill Road ‘Indefinitely’
• Commissioners OK Pruss Hill Road Accidents Study
• Bridge, Guardrail Study Proposed For Pruss Hill Road
• Stop Sign May Be Answer For Pruss Hill Road Crashes
• Pruss Hill Road Guardrail Now Repaired
• Use Caution Driving Pruss Hill Road
• Car Upended On Pruss Hill Road

POTTSTOWN PA – A final 26-24 vote Wednesday night (Dec. 14,2011) in the Pennsylvania Senate confirmed months of work by legislators who created a new decennial map of the state’s congressional districts, which The Pennsylvania Independent online news service said had been “drawn in behind-closed-door meetings,” unveiled only a day earlier (Tuesday, Dec. 13), and conducted without input from the public or the state legislature’s Democrat minority.

Rep. Jim Gerlach

The process “has reignited a debate about the proper way to draw new districts,” The Independent reported.

The new maps must now be approved by the state House of Representatives, which is scheduled to vote on the measure Monday (Dec. 19)

Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township is significantly affected by the redistricting. It has been represented for the past 10 years by Republican Congressman Charlie Dent, whose 15th District primarily covered the Lehigh Valley. If the new maps are approved, as is expected, the township would be consolidated with the borough of Pottstown, and Upper and West Pottsgrove townships into a re-configured 6th District represented by Republican Rep. Jim Gerlach.

Gerlach’s district already includes Limerick Township.

Representation by one congressman of so many contiguous municipalities is seen as a boon for local governments and politicians who oversee them and, by extension, their constituents. Area observers believe uniting under a greater Pottstown banner in a single district better focuses municipal interests at the federal level on consensus issues like improvements to U.S. Route 422 and economic development.

On the other hand, it also means Lower Pottsgrove, which had been working with Dent’s office, would begin somewhat anew with Gerlach … even though local officials know and have collaborated with him before.

New congressional districts must be redrawn every decade following the national census to reflect shifts in population, but every state undertakes that process in their own way. Pennsylvania Democrats charged Wednesday that the controlling Republican majority unfairly chopped and reassembled districts in puzzle-like fashion for their own electoral advantage.

• Read a story by reporter Eric Boehm, titled “PA lawmakers say redistricting process unfair, seek changes” and published Wednesday by The Independent, here.

Other coverage:

• Pa. Senate Passes Congressional Map 26-24 (Politics In PA)
• State Senate approves congressional redistricting plan (The Independent)
• New redistricting maps ‘puzzling’ for many (The Mercury)
• Pennsylvania state Senate moves Congressional district map to House (Harrisburg Patriot-News)
• Pennsylvania’s redistricting map poised for Senate approval (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

ALL SUNSHINE AND SMILES – Now that the ribbon has formally been cut, and the new Ringing Rocks Elementary School “unwrapped” for the public by the Pottsgrove School District, its next task is to complete the return of Ringing’s student body, materials and furniture from its 18-month interim home at the former St. Pius X High School on North Keim Street to the expanded and renovated building at 1401 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA. The transfer will occur during the district’s winter break, which starts after school dismissal on Dec. 23 (2011; Friday) and continues through Jan. 2 (2012; Monday). The school is expected to open for classes the following day, Jan. 3. Wielding scissors Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 13) for the school dedication and ribbon-cutting on the front steps of the “new” Ringing were Principal Michelle Bozzini, Jason Peters, Ava Sibley, Cheyenne Cole, Robert Whybrow, Dana Robinson, and Joshua Ross.

Other coverage:

• Ringing in the new Ringing Rocks Elementary School (The Mercury)

Related (to Ringing Rocks Elementary School renovations):

• Ringing’s Big Move Now Follows Tuesday’s Big Snip-Snip
• Pottsgrove Shows Off Its Newest Jewel, Ringing Rocks
• Pottsgrove Opens Ringing Rocks Tonight For Tours
• Pottsgrove Plans Open House At New Ringing Rocks
• Color Him White With Anger Over Pottsgrove Vandalism
• Hear That? It’s The Ticking Deadline Clock At Ringing
• Ringing Rocks Delivery Could Be On Santa’s Wishlist
• Pottsgrove Board Tours, And Likes, Progress At Ringing
• No Power For Ringing Library Computers ‘An Omission’
• Blasting A Possibility, But Not Yet, At Ringing Rocks
• Few Change Orders, So Far, At Ringing Rocks
• Rigs Arrive At Ringing Site To Drill Deep For Geo-Heat
• Exterior Demolition To Begin At Ringing Rocks
• Digging’s Done, Now Real Work Starts At Ringing
• Ringing Rocks Ground-Breaking Set For Thursday
• After Month’s Work, Pius Deemed Set For Ringing Pupils
• Ringing Rocks Bids Accepted, At $1.5 Million Less
• Final Words On Ringing Rocks: Okey-Dokey
• Ringing Rocks Gets Final Plan OK
• Borrowing Authorized For Ringing Rocks Project
• Pottsgrove Signs Pius Lease For Ringing Students
• Pottsgrove Authorizes Pius Lease For Ringing Relocation
• Call Goes Out For Ringing Rocks Construction Bids
• Board OKs Ringing Rocks’ Preliminary Plans
• School Vestibule Design OK; No Decision On Rocks’ Relocation
• Ringing Rocks Plan Approval Held Until May
• Ringing Relocation Decision Deferred Again
• Township Legal Move Saves District Time, Money
• Economic Tales, Exec Sessions, And Long Night At Pottsgrove
• Geothermal Now ‘Locked’ Into Ringing Re-Build
• How Estimated Costs For Ringing Shape Up
• Less Is More In School Project, Planners Learn
• Bids Sought For Ringing Project Asbestos Removal
• Ringing Relocation Decision Possible In Two Weeks
• Restaurant, Ringing Projects Win Conditional Uses
• Ringing Rocks, Restaurant Hearing Topics Tonight
• Pottsgrove Student Enrollment: Up? Yes. Down? Yes Again
• Green Discussion At Ringing Results In Red Faces
• Pottsgrove, Archdiocese Still Discussing Pius Lease
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Discussion Set For Tonight
• In The Ringing Rebuild, Whither Pius?
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Plan: Modulars At MS
• Ringing Rocks Construction Cost Hearing Tonight
• Planners OK Ringing Rocks Land Sketch
• District Sets Dec. 3 Hearing On Rocks Budget
• Pottsgrove Asks State Help To Pay For Ringing Re-Build
• As School Opens, Progress On Ringing Rocks’ Project
• Surprise Enrollment Spurs Demographic Interest
• District Assembles Ringing Rocks Planning Team
• District OKs Architect Negotiations
• Consensus On Ringing Renovations: $16M
• Ringing Rocks Proposals Aired Tuesday
• Ringing Rocks Re-Examined April 14
• Pottsgrove To Trust-But-Verify On Ringing Plans
• Ringing Rocks Plans Take Another Step
• No Shortage Of Ideas At Pottsgrove Meeting
• Weigh In On Pottsgrove Renovations
• Framing The Rocks Discussion
• Response Mixed To Pottsgrove Improvements
• District Invites Public For Study Results
• A Different Rocks, But Only As A Concept

Photo from the Pottsgrove School District