Good Day To Stay In

If you were planning on going to the budget meeting tonight, it's been cancelled due to the snow.

No word yet about tonight's Planning Commission meeting. The only thing on their agenda is Via Venuto's proposed plan to merge their property with the one on the corner (Markley and W. Logan). They want to knock down the existing buildings and build a larger restaurant with better parking. I think everyone in Norristown wants Via Venuto to come back to town, and bring business to the Logan Square corridor. The buildings in question aren't historic or even great-looking, so I don't think anyone objects.

Let me point out that the planning agenda was posted on Norristown's website LAST THURSDAY. See? Agendas CAN be posted in a timely manner.

As for the snow, check on your elderly and disabled neighbors. Remember they can't (or at least, probably shouldn't) shovel their walks and dig out their cars alone, and some can't afford to pay to have it done. Give them a hand.

Not sure I'll be posting a blog tomorrow. Got a morning appointment (assuming I'm dug out from the storm), then I'm off to Selma to help get it ready for "A Selma Mansion Christmas" on Saturday.

Stay safe. Drive carefully.

Norristown In The Snow

First snow of the season. I've been looking at people's photos of N-town. From Coffee Talk on West Marshall, to Jus' Java and Plymouth Produce in the North End, to the Times Herald photos of downtown, Norristown sure looks pretty covered in snow.

But if you have to drive in it, or find parking when it's deep, that's another thing.

How do we measure up compared to surrounding communities? Since I'm a musician, which means doing performances everywhere this time of year, and since, until recently, I commuted to Malvern, I've seen how many of those communities handle snowstorms.

First Upper Merion Township, which I think of as the gold standard. I was over in King of Prussia Saturday and the roads were already treated for the coming storm. Instead of using salt, UM puts down a chemical that sticks to the roads. Not only do they treat main routes, but I've even seen the telltale stripes from this chemical back in the developments. Unless we get deep snow, most of the time after a storm, the streets of Upper Merion are merely wet. If not, they usually plow the main roads fairly quickly. I don't know exactly what chemical they use, how safe it is in the groundwater, how much it costs, etc., but it sure does work well. And where there are hills, I've often seen big cans of cinders set up, in case anyone gets stuck.

Worst streets? The Main Line, pretty much the whole length of Lancaster Avenue from Wynnewood west to Tredyffrin. For all the times I've had to drive those routes in storms, I swear they don't salt or treat the roads in anyway, and I've rarely seen a plow during a storm. Tredyffrin puts down cinders and maybe a minimal amount of salt on their main roads, after they get slick. Even Lancaster Avenue (which I would have assumed was a Penndot route) is often a skating rink.

Norristown at least seems to salt the main streets, like Marshall and Fornance, and the plows are often out during the storms. Dekalb, Main, and I think, one lane of Markley, are Penndot's responsibility, but I've seen Norristown trucks on these routes as well, helping to keep them clear. Fornance was salted yesterday, and Marshall didn't look too bad in the photos. Some of Penndot's routes were bad yesterday--Dekalb didn't look salted, and my brother said the west end of West Main was icy and people were skidding into parked cars.

Our side streets are almost always hazardous during and after storms. I'm only 2 blocks from Markley, but sometimes the side streets are bad enough that I can't get to 202 for a day after a storm. I realized we have a lot of streets and limited resources, and it's only the start of the season, so we need to conserve salt, but it doesn't help our tax situation if people can't get out to work.

I'd give Upper Merion an A+ in snow and ice control. The Main Line gets an F. Norristown? Maybe a C. We could do much better, but we're definitely better off than a lot of communities.

Comment below or on Facebook and tell me what your street's like in the snow and ice.

Santa Comes To Norristown!

Not only will Santa be arriving this weekend, and sticking around for the festivities, but a symphony orchestra and The Norristown Chorale will give free concerts.

Tonight, Friday, from 6 to 8 pm at RESCHEDULED DUE TO RAIN to Thursday, Dec 12, 6-8 pm at Elmwood Park Zoo, come to the zoo's annual Holiday Tree Lighting. Carols, hot chocolate, s'mores, and photo opportunities with Santa and Anya, the reindeer. Admission to the event is FREE.

Saturday morning from 10 am to noon, Mt. Zion Health Ministry and TRUST for an Informational Forum will host "Get Covered America," a seminar about health insurance. I've been to one of these seminars and they're a great place to start if you need to buy health insurance under the new Affordable Care Act (however, I urge you to do your own research, too--and, the voice of experience here, DON'T let it go until the last minute). The event is at Mt. Zion, 1312 Willow St. For more info on Get Covered America, click here.

One of Norristown's best kept arts secrets is the fact that St. Patrick's Church hosts 2 concerts annually by the Ambler Symphony. They pass the plate for a freewill offering if you'd care to donate, but otherwise, NO CHARGE. If your kids have never heard an adult orchestra live, bring them to St. Pat's, Dekalb and Chestnut Sts. on Saturday afternoon, 2:45 pm, for an hour's concert of Christmas music.

Same afternoon at 4 pm, The Norristown Chorale will presents, "Where Are You Christmas?" at the First Baptist Church of Norristown, 445 Burnside Ave (technically, West Norriton). Admission is free; free-will offering accepted.

Ebenezer Concert Choir

Saturday night from 7 to 9 pm, you're invited to "Winter Wonderland at Riverfront Park" (entrance at end of Haws Ave). Come and join the Dragon Boat Club of Norristown for their tree lighting, a night of singing Christmas carols (led by Ebenezer Choir), and the reading of "Twas The Night Before Christmas."  Hot beverages will be available. Bring a plate of cookies for a cookie potluck. Bring your own chair. Don't forget to have your child write to Santa and put the letter in Santa's mail. Rumor has it that Santa may arrive by dragon boat! (Parking lot will be closed for the safety of children.)

Justice System, Revisited (but not by the criminals)

Just a quick update today on the crime story I wrote last week. You'll remember the criminal was a drug user who stole money from a Norristown volunteer organization in August, then was arrested by 4 different police departments in the last 3 months, on 6 felony charges. Each time he was given unsecured bail and allowed to walk without paying anything. He didn't show for a court appearance in October, but a contempt charge and warrant were never issued.

Yesterday, he was to have 2 court appearances. He skipped bail and didn't show up for either. Big surprise. But at least this time 2 bench warrants were issued for contempt.

Montgomery County now lists their active bench warrants online and the list is pretty depressing. There are more than 4000 warrants outstanding in the county, some more than 20 years old. If you search on those who listed Norristown addresses, you get more than 800 names. Much of it, I assume, is because Montco courts keep letting criminals walk away after their arraignments, with no incentive, like having to pay a percentage of bail, for them to come back for their trials.

One would assume that most of these criminals are long gone, but really, in this day and age, no one can fly under the radar for long, and most criminals aren't smart enough to be good at it. Would it be such a bad use of our tax money to have someone spend a few days matching social security numbers, addresses, drivers' licenses, etc, to find out if these people are still in the area? Pay me minimum wage, give me access to the records, and I'd do it.

But if you want to do your part, go to the bench warrants list, press Ctrl-F, and type in the name of your street. You can go through the list that way, checking for addresses on your block. If you know that the person listed still lives at that address, you can click on the last name to submit a tip to the sheriff's department. You can also search by last name and city. Tips are kept confidential.

The Arts Hill Challenge - Ways To Support Our Arts

Here are a few ways you can support Art Hill.

The 1st, obviously, would be donations. The Norristown Arts Council is currently running an online fundraiser to fund the 5th Annual Arts Hill Festival, and go toward operating costs of the Council. This month, a pledge of matching funds has been made by Gene R. Frank, PhD, and Susan K. Howard. All individual donations between $5 and $50 will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to a total of $2500. BUT, if the Arts Council fails to reach its goal of $2500 in individual donations, they will receive no matching funds. The deadline for raising the $2500 is December 20th.

You can help the Norristown Arts Council work towards its mission of making Norristown Arts Hill a destination for all for as little as 5 bucks. If you're so inclined, go to https://www.wepay.com/donations/319748994 and donate. If you'd rather not donate online, you can send a check to Norristown Arts Council, 208 Dekalb St., Norristown, PA 19401.

Last year, the Arts Hill Festival featured more than 30 free performances and 30 vendors of art, food, crafts and services, with approximately 300 people taking part. They'd like the festival to grow in future years. They have also sponsored the Arts Hill Mural Project, and co-sponsored the Juneteenth, Norristown DanceFest and Movies From The Hill. They're involved with the design and development of the new River Trail Wall.

The Norristown Arts Council has just received its 501(c)3 non-profit status, so they'll be developing a membership of individuals, businesses, non-profits and other organizations. They're looking forward to more regular interaction with the public.

Besides donating, there are other ways you can help grow the arts in Norristown. On Thursday, January 23, from 6:30 to 8 pm at the Centre Theater, the Council will hold its Annual Meeting and annual election of members for the Board of Directors. They're looking for new blood. Even if you'd rather not be a Director, you can volunteer for a committee. More information on these positions and how to be considered for them can be found at http://norristownartshill.org/index.html

Get involved.

Communication Keeps Getting Worse

This blog is being posted late today for one simple reason. The agenda for tonight's council meeting wasn't available on Norristown.org until about 9:30 this morning, only 10 hours before the meeting is set to begin.

I don't know what's going on with the calendar on the website, but for more than a month, things that need to be posted -- council agendas, zoning and planning meetings and agendas -- aren't showing up until the very last minute, often on the day the event is supposed to take place.

I've noticed that other events aren't being posted either. Over a week ago, I submitted a notice for the Christmas event at Selma Mansion and it still hasn't shown up. I resubmitted it this morning. I can only assume that if one person has the job of updating the calendar, that person either isn't working for the borough anymore, or he/she has been given so much other work that the calendar is no longer considered to be a priority.

But it IS a priority. I know residents use the calendar because, for the last event at Selma, I asked people who came how they heard about the event. Many saw it on the town calendar.

I know I use the calendar each week to check for meetings and agendas. Other residents have told me the same.

What's on tonight's agenda? First, an "Executive Session Announcement." That could mean anything from the fate of our financial director to anything I've already read about on Facebook, like the tree lighting at the zoo this weekend. These "Executive Session Announcement" listings on the agenda need a bit more description, so residents know if it's worth their time to go to the meeting.

Also on the agenda, a motion to introduce the proposed budget ordinance for 2014. The ordinance is NOT available for taxpayers to review before the meeting.

J.P. Mascaro's trash hauling contract is up for extension. There's no motion associated with it, but the word "discussion" is written next to it.

There's a motion to lease purchase 3 new police cars. I hope that means more police presence on the streets.

And there's a motion to introduce an ordinance to adopt the 2012 International Property Maintenance Code. This, I think, is to follow standards for property maintenance used around America. You can read it here, but it's long. You probably won't have enough time before the meeting.

I can't make the meeting tonight, but would someone who goes please ask council to fix the problem with the calendar postings being so late? And ask that they post ordinances in advance of the meetings so we can be informed when asked to give public comment.

Then again, "Public Comment" ISN'T listed on this agenda. I guess that shows what they think of our opinions.

Zoning Hearing: N-Town vs. Gaudenzia

Okay, we've all had a long holiday weekend, but it's time I let everyone know what went on at that zoning hearing last week.

First Gaudenzia's lawyer, Vern Anastasio, got up and immediately said how fortunate we all were to have a multi-million dollar corporation in our midst. He repeated this many times. Remember that, we'll come back to it. He said Gaudenzia's plan is to consolidate 3 of their other locations at 166 W. Main, for a total of 72 adminstrative workers and 6 counselors, with an annual payroll of 3 million. He said that no medicines would be dispensed on the site, that services would be counseling only, and that Gaudenzia's clients were no different than the clients of a law firm (I was thinking they might even be the same people--like the drug user I talked about last week, who ended up needing a lawyer for 4 arrests).  In the 10 or 15 minutes that Mr. Anastasio spoke, he never mention the words "drug" or "alcohol" once. He said that an average of only 4.5 clients would be onsite at any one time, and would use the back door. That 96% of the activites at 106 W. Main would be administrative and only 4% counseling. And also that 25% of the total staff live in Norristown, with a combined income of 1 million dollars. He also repeated these points many times.

We also heard testimony from 2 workers at Gaudenzia who live in Norristown, 2 women, one black, one handicapped, chosen, I assume, to appeal to our emotions. They both claimed that Gaudenzia was the best company on earth, and that they'd hate to move out of Norristown if Gaudenzia can't stay.

The CEO of Gaudenzia testified. He explained that each facility was licensed separately, so that services in one facility couldn't simply be sent to another place. He said that since Gaudenzia has been at 106 West Main, they've turned the neighborhood around. He took credit for bringing Almaz Cafe and Bahn Mi Bistro to West Main (say what?). He said that Gaudenzia clients never hang around outside their building on Marshall St--they were clients of some other company. He also said that, since Gaudenzia is tax exempt, he'd pledge to pay the equivalent of what would be paid in taxes for that property to Norristown for the next 8 years.

The Zoning Board then asked for clarification on some points: Services? FINALLY the words "drug and alcohol counseling" were uttered. Building hours? 8 am to 8 pm, weekdays and some hours on Saturday for any employees who wanted to do extra work. Employees who lived in Norristown? It came out that the local workers lived in Norristown AND the surrounding area, but that it was about 24 employees, closer to 30%.

4 Norristonians, including me, gave testimony against Gaudenzia's plan. 3 were cross-examined by Mr. Anastasio with intimidating questions like "Who told you to come here tonight?" He of course didn't realize that the resident was a regular at zoning meetings, but his intimidation definitely kept others from going up to the podium and putting their opposition on record. I pointed out some questions that needed to be answered: What was the MAXIMUM number of clients that would be onsite at any one time? How many group therapy sessions and how many in each group? How many employees lived within Norristown's borders and how many were homeowners? I also suggested a compromise, mainly to see how it would be received--I suggested the 96% administrative staff stay at 106 W. Main and the counseling services be moved up into the healthcare district around Montgomery Hospital. If it were only 6 counselors, they wouldn't need that much space.

While cross-examining another resident, Mr. Anastasio said specifically that he would answer my question about maximum clients. Since there were only 6 counselors, they could only see one client at a time, the answer was 6.

The Zoning Board called the CEO back to the podium and reiterated most of my questions. Now we heard that the group therapy sessions could have up to 10 drug users in them and there could be 2 going at once. Group sessions would take place Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday (so the building wouldn't just be open for workaholics), mostly between 5 and 8 pm on the weekdays, but possibly in the afternoon, too. So there could be more than 20 drug users present in and around the building at one time.

That was Lie #1 exposed.

Lie #2? Employees who live in Norristown. Only 10 workers, with an average income around 20 or 25 thousand. They didn't ask about homeownership.

Lie #3 came out in the residents' testimony. Gaudenzia claimed their clients never hang around outside their building. One of the residents had family members who were Gaudenzia clients, and testified that his family members DID loiter around the building after their sessions. And seriously, how would the CEO know if they did or not? The danger of 20 or more of them coming out of the building and hanging around is, of course, that every drug dealer in the area will be there watiing for them.

But perhaps the biggest lie was #4. When the Zoning Board asked the CEO why the drug counseling activities couldn't be done in another part of town, after all of Mr. Anastasio's bragging about Gaudenzia being a multi-million dollar corporation with a local payroll of 3 million, the CEO claimed that they couldn't afford to rent office space for 6 counselors, not even in Norristown where rentals are pretty inexpensive, or where they could even buy one of those empty medical offices up on Dekalb Street, probably dirt cheap.

As for the suggestion of compromise, the CEO's attitude was juvenile. If Gaudenzia couldn't get its way, they'd take their marbles and leave Norristown altogether. They owned land near West Chester, he said. They'd build a headquarters there. (They can't afford to rent a little extra space in N-town for 6 counselors, yet they have the bucks to build a whole new headquarters buidling outside of West Chester?) If it were up to me, I'd call their bluff. Companies who lie and act like brats aren't exactly good neighbors. Norristown deserves better.

The Zoning Board decided to take 45 days to decide. They'll issue their decision on December 19th. At this point, I think maybe all residents can do is band together and send a petition around, like we did with Pennrose.  You all need to decide: Do we want drug users wandering around downtown, discouraging other businesses from coming to Main St.? Do we want a tax-exempt corporation who after 8 years will stop generating revenue for our town?