Agenda for Tonight's Council Workshop

Council Workshop tonight at 6:30 pm in the 1st floor conference room of Municipal Hall. There are 6 items on the agenda, which you can read at this link. Here's a summary:

1. Council is to decide whether Norristown should join the Pennsylvania Municipal League. This is an organization of cities and communities in PA, large and small, that lobbies state government for its members, and provides education, training, and other benefits. Probably not a bad idea.

2. The Waste System Authority of Montco--our old sewage authority--was dissolved at the end of 2014. If I understand it right, municipalities now have to manage how sewage treatment is done individually. But when an entity is dissolved, its excess funds have to be redistributed, so this is an official action to accept the disbursement of funds from WSA.

3. My favorite. The Police Department is requesting an ordinance requiring the licensing of pawnbrokers and dealers in precious metals, antiques and secondhand goods, "establishing registration and enforcement procedures and reporting requirements; providing for penalties for violations to assist in the crime reduction and investigation efforts of the police department." I'm all for this. Frankly, I assumed we already had something like this in place. Council, PLEASE APPROVE THIS. And make the ordinance strict enough that it discourages the slimier elements of those trades from doing business here at all. Wouldn't it be nice to have legit antiques and secondhand dealers in town, to attract the kind of visitors we want, and no pawnbrokers or guys standing on the corners with big "Cash For Gold" signs?

4. Another item regarding the destruction of obsolete municipal records. "Request Municipal Council to approve or disapprove Resolution 15 -110 so that the files listed and verified by the department supervisor/director may be destroyed." Doesn't say what department or what records.

5. This deals with the creation of a full-time position of Recreation Specialist in the Recreation Department.

6. Under "Items For Discussion": a verbal update on the Codes department given by Crandall Jones.

So there you have it. If the snow or cold keeps you at home, at least drop an email to any or all the council reps if you have opinions about the issues. You can find their addresses at http://www.norristown.org/municipal-council.html .