Chief Shade

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove Police Chief Michael Shade, who began his law enforcement career with the township almost three decades ago and who rose through its ranks to become a detective and later its commanding officer, officially announced Tuesday (Jan. 3, 2012) he would retire Jan. 23, exactly 28 years to the day he started on the force.

The Board of Commissioners, to which Shade had given advance notice several weeks ago, accepted his letter of resignation with regret but good wishes. And there’s a chance, board President Jonathan Spadt acknowledged, Shade “will still be around” Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township in the future. He has accepted a position as a Montgomery County detective “and may be here on occasion,” Spadt said.

With only 20 days to go before the official end of Shade’s tenure, board members – during their first meeting of the new year – also acted quickly and unanimously on his recommendation to name department Lt. Michael Foltz as acting chief, effective with the retirement.

Shade has served as chief for almost six years, and told commissioners and audience members who packed into the Buchert Road municipal building conference room that his decision was “tough to make.” He expressed his gratitude to the board, and in particular to township Manager Rodney Hawthorne, for an “excellent working relationship.”

“I always received tremendous support with the daily operations of the department and also when employing new procedures and equipment,” Shade noted in his resignation letter. For the past 28 years, he added, the department “was somewhat my second home. I will miss those that I have worked with over these many years.”

What followed during the meeting was what Commissioner James Kaiser jokingly called a “love fest,” in which each of the sitting commissioners and others sang Shade’s praises.

He was hailed as a “man of class” by Solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway; as one who “cleaned up” and solved department problems, by Commissioner Stephen Klotz; and “the best chief of three I’ve worked with,” by Bursich Associates engineer and President Scott Exley; and as the envy of other townships across the county, by Commissioner Michael McGroarty.

“You did everything we asked of you as chief, and more,” Spadt noted.

Of Foltz, Shade said, “he’s full of new ideas.” The acting chief “is capable of leading the department to even higher standards,” he added in his letter to the board.

Although Shade starts his new job with the county on the same day he leaves his current one, a retirement agreement also accepted Tuesday by board members allows him to continue as a paid township employee through March 2012. The agreement addresses only “full retirement” benefits he is qualified to receive, and were reported to be “within the scope” of his contractual employment. They include such things as paid vacation and personal time, and health care coverage.

Other coverage:

• Lower Pottsgrove Reacts to Police Chief’s Retirement (Pottstown Patch)
• Lower Pottsgrove chief stepping aside to take new position (The Mercury)

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Jan. 3 meeting):

• Police Chief Shade Retiring; Foltz Named Acting Chief
• All Sworn In And Ready To Work In Lower Pottsgrove
• Police Officer’s Heroism Acknowledged With Award
• Commissioners Ring In New At Tonight’s Township Meet