Council Meeting Tonight. Bring Your Decoder Ring.

Council Workshop Meeting tonight at 6:30 pm in Municipal Hall. I'm guessing they'll require a secret handshake to get in because they sure don't seem to want us to understand ahead of time what's up for a vote tonight. The agenda can be found at this link.  Here's a summary.

After the usual call to order, etc. presentations will be made by Five Saints Distillery and Norristown Men of Excellence. Then announcements, then the public gets to comment before they find out any details about the issues of the meeting.

The 1st item for voting is an amendment to the Sterling Act to require that up to one percent of Philadelphia wage tax paid by non-residents of Philadelphia be remitted to the Municipality in which the taxpayer resides. The Sterling Act is a state law concerning city taxation. Not sure why Norristown needs to vote on it.

Item 2 is a request from the County to waive location restrictions which prohibits transient merchant sales along Swede Street between Main Street and Airy Street. I assume this is to allow for food trucks in front of the court house. Since the food trucks that the county brought in last year weren't local, all this does is take business away from Norristown restaurants, so I don't think we should allow it unless they give priority to food vendors from Norristown. But since Council always gives the county what they want, it's probably already a done deal.

Item 3 -- Five Saints Distillery requests to waive location restrictions which prohibits transient merchant sales at 129 East Main Street opposite the firehouse garage doors and on Green Street opposite the planned front door entrance. Not sure what they have in mind, but my opinion is the same as above. No transient merchants from outside Norristown if they're offering anything existing town businesses already offer.

Item 4 -- Awarding the contract for the Public Works Roof repair to Munn Roofing from Hatfield for the base and the alternate in the amount of $255,125.

Item 5 is the amendment to Zoning. Here's the actual language: "Request Municipal Council to approve or disapprove a proposed Ordinance to amend Zoning Chapter 320 and establish new provisions governing development in the Municipality. Motion to approve or disapprove proposed Ordinance 16 - 08 to amend Zoning Chapter 320 and establish new provisions governing development in the Municipality." Still not telling us a blessed thing. I can only assume they think this is something everyone would object to, or else why not tell the residents what it involves ahead of the vote like they're required to?

After that are these items for discussion:

1. Facility Use agreement ~ No clue what this is.

2. HARB and demolition issues ~ I believe this is about the demolition of buildings within the Historic Districts due to years neglect by the owners that then puts the structures into a hazardous condition. I think good could come of this discussion and I'll be anxious to hear what, if any, ideas arise from it. 

Then they'll end with Monthly Departmental Reports from Codes, Finance, Public Works, Planning and Development, Fire Department, Police Department, Office of the Administrator.

ELECTION: Candidates for Attorney General

Today I'll take a look at the race for PA Attorney General. This is to replace Kathleen Kane and it's the only office on the ballot (not counting delegates) where voters in both parties have a choice of candidates (though, of course, you always have the option of writing in a candidate for any office).

On the Republican side, the contenders are Joe Peters and John Rafferty.

Joe Peters is the current Executive Deputy Attorney General, in charge of the Office’s Drug and Organized Crime Division. He's served in the Attorney General's office for 15 years. Before that he served in the White House Drug Czar's office under both W. Bush and Clinton. He was a Federal Prosecutor who worked on the Nicky Scarfo case. He began as a police officer in Scranton. You can read more about him at http://www.joepeters.com/

John Rafferty is currently a state senator, representing parts of Bucks, Chester and upper Montgomery Counties. He's held that office since 2003. He served as PA Deputy Attorney General, though more than 25 years ago, between 1988-1991. Before that, he was on the Methacton School Board. His website is http://www.raffertyforag.com/

If you're a Democrat, your choices are John Morganelli, Josh Shapiro and Stephen A. Zappala, Jr.

John Morganelli is District Attorney of Northhampton County and has served in that post since 1991. He has also been President of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys’ Association and has served as a Special Deputy Attorney General. His website is http://www.johnmorganelli.com/

Josh Shapiro is currently Chair of the Board of Commissioners for Montgomery County and has served as commissioner since 2012. From 2005 to 2012, he served as state rep for the 153rd district (Abington/Upper Dublin). He got his law degree in 2002. Besides being commissioner, he works as an attorney for Stradley, Ronon, Stevens, and Young, focusing on general corporate law, real estate and regulatory compliance. His website is https://www.joshshapiro.org/

Stephen Zappala has served as District Attorney for Allegheny County since 1998. Before that he worked at various law firms. According to Wikipedia, his career has been rather politically contentious. His website is zappalaforpa.com/ (which I had trouble getting to load).

So, there are your options. Remember, primary election day is next Tuesday, April 26. I'll review some of the other candidates this week. If you want to know about delegates, click here for last week's Diary.

COMIC FEST, and Much More

BIG day at the library tomorrow ~ Norristown's first Comic Fest. Go check it out. And there's a huge variety of other activities all week long.

Saturday, April 16, 10 am to 3 pm at the Montgomery Count-Norristown Public Library at 1001 Powell--Comic Fest. A whole day of activities and fun. FREE. Dress as your favorite character, meet local artists and publishers, attend workshops and panels, and much more. For more information visit our webpage www.mc-npl.org/comicfest

Saturday, 2-4 pm at ACPPA (506 Haws Ave), Spring Tea Party for mothers and daughters. Everyone who attends will enjoy a variety of teas, cookies, and of course, tea sandwiches. Decorate the tables and hats! $15 per child, no fee for accompanying adults. Register at this link.

Saturday, 7 pm at Montgomery Cemetery at 1 Hartranft St. Local Boy Scouts will hold a flag retirement ceremony. Individuals who have flags that are in need of retirement can either bring the flags that evening or drop them off at the Cemetery during the day. The public is invited to take part in the ceremony. For info, contact Barry Rauhauser at 610-272-0297 or barryr@hsmcpa.org 

Sunday at 3:45 pm in Riverfront Park -- Dragon Boat Team practice. All interested adults and youth welcome. New Youth Team will race for the first time on June 4th. Safety equipment provided. Email info@dragonboatclub.org for more information.

On Monday, ACPPA Community Arts Center (506 Haws Avenue) will start their online auction. It will run until April 24. Go to their website, http://www.acppa.net/ for details.

Monday, 7 pm at Montgomery County Human Services, 1430 Dekalb. Free home buying basics class sponsored by Genesis Housing. Learn about Realtors, Agreements of Sale, Mortgages, Inspections, Grant and Loan Programs for Homebuyers and more.   

Monday is the deadline for volunteers to register for The Great Norristown Cleanup. Contact Kristi DeLorenzo at 610-270-0470 or  click here to email.

Tuesday, 6:30 pm at Municipal Hall, Council Workshop meeting, followed by a Public Hearing on Zoning at 7:30 pm. No agenda is posted and still no word what the zoning amendment is about. In my opinion, Council ought to announce the change at this meeting and vote on it at the next meeting, to at least give some semblence of real public notice.

Next Friday, April 22, 6-9 pm at First Presbyterian Church (Airy and Dekalb).  Spring Game Night. Game night for 6-14 year-olds. $10 to register.

Next Friday starting at 7 pm (doors open at 6:30), Family Bingo Night at Stewart Middle School Cafeteria. $15 per family includes bingo book of 12 games and one raffle ticket. Refreshments available for purchase.

Next Saturday, April 23,  11 am-5 pm at Selma Mansion, 1301 W Airy, the Norristown Preservation Society presents SELMA MANSION: Most Haunted. Special guest Jason Love, famous Scottish paranormalist and demonologist will lead investigations, talks, and discuss haunted objects. $10 at the door. Come for a hour or 2 or all day. All proceeds go toward the restoration of Selma Mansion. For information, call 610-597-3619.

Also next Saturday, 11 am to 2 pm at Norristown Public Library (Powell and Swede). Learn about Social Security history, benefits, and how to make the best decisions for you.

Also next Saturday, 1-5 pm at Riverfront Park (1 Haws Ave) -- Earth Day in Norristown. Join The Norristown Project for their annual Earth Day cleanup and beautification project in Norristown. This year's project is in partnership with SlyFox SRT Spreekend, Schuylkill River Heritage Area, ShirtCitizen, PennDOT and Keep PA Beautiful. Volunteers are needed to clean the park, river bank and bike trail. To RSVP, email NorristownProject@montcooic.org.

Election: Presidential Candidates and Delegates

As you probably surmised from the ads on TV and now daily robocalls, the primary election is coming soon. It's less than 2 weeks away, on April 26. This is not only a presidential election year, but we'll be voting for one US senator, our US Congressional rep, both our state senator and representative, and most importantly, the delegates who'll go to the national conventions to select the nominees for president. There's also 2 questions for amendments to the PA state constitution on the ballot and if you're in Ward 3, you'll be voting for a councilperson.

So I wanted to get started early with my blogs giving you information on the candidates. Problem is, this year Montgomery County STILL doesn't have a sample ballot posted on their website. The best I could do was an unofficial candidate list. So possibly the candidates I give you info about won't show up on the ballot. Sorry for any confusion, but don't blame me, blame the county or whoever they get info from. 

Before I go on, let me remind you that you can only vote in the primaries if you're a registered Republican or Democrat. If you're Independent, stay home. I can't tell you how many Independents try to vote at my polling place on Primary Day and we have to turn them away. Sorry, that's the way PA works.

Today we'll start with the biggies, the presidential candidates and their delegates. The delegates are more important because they actually choose the nominee who'll go on to the November Election. If you vote for one candidate, yet choose delegates committed to another, you essentially negate your own vote. To make it more confusing, the 2 parties have different systems. Democratic delegates commit to a candidate ahead of time (though I don't know if those commitments show up on your ballot so you'd better go into the voting booth knowing who'll you'll choose ahead of time).

Frankly, I don't understand the Republican system in PA at all. If I understand what I read in Ballotpedia  correctly, only 17 of PA's 71 delegates MUST vote for the winner of the primary in the state. The other 54 delegates aren't bound to vote for the winner. So all I can do is list the District 13 delegates for you Republicans. You need to find out how they intend to vote. Good luck with that.

On the Democratic side, the candidates listed are Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Roque Rocky De La Fuente (I did not make that up--he's a San Diego real estate developer with policies that are vague and right-leaning). I'm not going to go into their policy stances. That's really easy to look up online (click on their names above). I will say, please give your choice some thought and don't just go by the propaganda you hear on TV and social media.

Here are the Democratic delegates according to their commitments (I don't know how many we'll be able to vote for--that's on the final ballot):

For Hillary Clinton: Allyson Schwartz, Val Arkoosh, Betsy May Kilkenny. Charles Quann, Louis Farinella, Elaine Tomlin, W. Gerard Oleksiak, Mike Stack.

For Bernie Sanders: Michael Rahming, Mark Cohen, Henry Albert, Linda Fields, Melissa Robbins, Bev Hahn.

There are no Democratic alternate delegates on the ballot for District 13.

Republicans: The ones you've heard about on TV are, of course, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich. A few of the others who've already dropped out might still be on the ballot too.

The GOP delegates running are Alan Apt, Shannon Oscar, Gilbert Cox, Pam Levy, Lauren Casper, Tom Ellis, Michael McGonagle, and Dan Tinney. The alternate delegates are Gary Grisafi and Camille McColgan. Like I said, I don't know who these folks would be likely to vote for. You might try finding them on social media to see who they're praising or dissing..

That's it for presidential candidates and delegates. I'll try to cover the other offices and ballot questions in the next week.

Oh, and I still haven't heard anything from Council about the zoning amendment they're voting on April 19. Tsk tsk.

Our Notice To Council

While I was checking out the Norristown.org calendar as I prepared my blog last Friday, an Item labeled "Public Notice April 19 Hearing" attracted my eye. Next Tuesday at 7:30 pm at Municipal Hall, Council will be voting on an amendment to our Zoning codes, but they were thoughtful enough to provide the residents with the following summary of what the amendment will entail:

"In accordance with the Comprehensive Plan of Norristown, and Article VI Zoning and Article VII Traditional Neighborhood Development of the 'The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code Act of 1968 as reenacted and amended. The Municipality of Norristown desires to amend the Zoning Chapter of the Code of the Municipality for the purpose of promoting the health, safety, morals and general welfare of the Municipality, and is designed to lessen congestion in the streets and highways; to secure safety from fire, panic and other danger; to provide adequate light and air, to prevent the overcrowding of land; to avoid undue congestion of population; to facilitate schools, parks and other public requirements; to conserve the value of buildings; and to encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the Municipality."

In other words, the exact opposite of most of what they've approved in the last few years. Not only will this magical amendment prevent the overcrowding of our land and undue congestion of our population (no more Sarah Peck and Progressive Ventures condos? Do we really believe that?), but it'll conserve the value of our buildings (instead of letting them be demolished?) And it's somehow going to promote our health and morals (morals, really?), and even keep us from panicking. And we'll have plenty of light and air while all this is happening.

Maybe by now you've noticed that this summary says absolutely nothing.

I began this blog 3 years ago when Council was being incredibly secretive about all their business. Residents never heard what they were going to vote on until it was a done deal. Things improved the next year--their agendas actually gave a decent idea about the issues on the table, so you could go to a meeting and speak your mind during the Public Comment part of the meeting. That still wasn't the optimal situation, because the Public Comment part of the meeting always happens BEFORE you get to hear the details about each issue, but it was an improvement. About the middle of last year, they got secretive again. Agendas once again tell us nothing. This isn't how a democracy is supposed to work.

On April 19th, Council will be voting on zoning, which requires public notice. They think the above quoted paragraph covers their asses for that requirement. Sorry, no, it doesn't. The public needs to know what exactly the zoning changes will be, not a lot of flowery language that sounds like heaven but means zilch.

So Council, you've got 8 days to give us real public notice. Send me a paragraph or 2 that truly summarizes the zoning changes. I'll publish it here and help spread the word. And don't wait until next weekend when you usually post your meeting agenda. That's not enough time.

If you don't, well, we'll remember next time each of you comes up for reelection.

Poetry, Music, Books, Baseball and More This Week

Don't let the cold weather keep you home this weekend. There's a great variety of things to do all over town. 

Tonight, Friday, April 8, 6:30 pm, at Coffee Talk. SpeakMeFree Productions presents The Gathering, an indoor/outdoor get together--music, poetry, refreshments, conversation. For info, contact 484-534-0779.

Also Friday, 7:30 pm at Centre Theater (208 Dekalb), Starving Artist Prevention presents an Open Mic. $5 admission. The favorite of the night wins 2 tickets to the April 16th Doogie Horner Show.  Information contact 484-477-2058.

Saturday, from 8:30 am to noon, Norristown Little League Opening Day. Parade and team introductions on the fields on Harding Blvd. Snack stand will be open. For more info, contact Bill Plichta, Recreation Director, 610-270-0467, admin@norristownlittleleague.com or go to www.norristownlittleleague.com

Saturday from noon-2 pm at the Norristown Public Library Children's Dept (Powell and Swede, 2nd floor). A Blanket and a Book. A read-in family event. Come and celebrate family as they share fantastic books for children that feature African-American characters, authors and illustrators. Presented by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Phi Beta Omega Chapter. A free blanket and book will be given out (supplies limited—first come, first served). For info, contact  610-278-5100, ext 205 or ysprmcnpl@yahoo.com

Also Saturday from 1 to 4 pm at MontCo S.A.A.C. (536 George St.). Bow Wow Bingo. Doors open at noon. Game begins at 1pm. Cost is $20 in advance and $25 at the door. 50/50 raffle will be available. Dog and/or cat food donations being accepted. Procedes benefit the MontCo S.A.A.C. activites program. For info, contact Jillian Nabozny, 610-275-1960, jnabozny@montcosaac.com

Sunday starting at 11 am at Selma Mansion (1301 W Airy). Spring Cleaning Day. All volunteers are welcome. Bring cleaning supplies if you can. Come see the mansion for free and help get it ready for this year's events.

Monday, 7-9 pm, Montgomery County Human Services, 1430 Dekalb. Free class on Money Management sponsored by Genesis Housing. Learn how to: Set Up a Working Budget, How Current Spending Impacts Future Financial Options, Prioritizing Spending.

Tuesday from 11 am-3 pm at GN PAL (340 Harding Blvd), Job Fair. Candidates looking for Part-time, Seasonal or Full-time work and many more career opportunities. Call 610-278-8040 for more information. www.greaternorristownpal.org

Tusday, 7 pm at Municipal Hall, Planning Commission Meeting. No agenda yet.

Thursday from 4:50-6 pm at the Montco Historical Society (1654 Dekalb).Meet the Author: Stan Huskey will speak about his book ELMWOOD PARK ZOO, about the history of Norristown's zoo. For more info, contact Barry Rauhauser at 610-272-0297 or barryr@hsmcpa.org

Next Saturday, April 16, 10 am to 3 pm at the Montgomery Count-Norristown Public Library at 1001 Powell--Montco Comic Fest. A whole day of activities and fun. FREE. Dress as your favorite character, meet local artists and publishers, attend workshops and panels, and much more. For more information visit our webpage www.mc-npl.org/comicfest

Also next Saturday, 7 pm at Montgomery Cemetery at 1 Hartranft St. Local Boy Scouts will hold a flag retirement ceremony. Individuals who have flags that are in need of retirement can either bring the flags that evening or drop them off at the Cemetery during the day. The public is invited to take part in the ceremony. For info, contact Barry Rauhauser at 610-272-0297 or barryr@hsmcpa.org

ACPPA Community Arts Center (506 Haws Avenue) will be holding an online auction from April 18-24. They're looking for donated items or gift baskets. If you'd like to make a donation, please contact Amy Grebe at amy@acppa.net.

Springsteen Comes To Norristown

Not true. Just an April Fools' joke. But it got your attention, right? We have lots of other things to do in the next week instead.

Saturday, April 2, 5:30-7:30 pm at GN PAL (340 Harding Blvd), Annual High School Step Show Competition. Doors open at 5:30 pm. $5 in advance, $7 at the door.

Sunday 11 am-2 pm at Stewart Middle School, FREE Boy's Lacrosse Clinic for grades 5-8. Dress in t-shirt, shorts, sneakers or cleats. No equipment needed. For information, contact friendsofnorristownlax@yahoo.com

Also Sunday, 10 am-1 pm at Coffee Talk (507 W Marshall). Open Mic. Musicians, poets, writers, actors, artisans welcome. $5 donation at the door.

Monday from 7-9 pm at Montgomery County Human Services (1430 Dekalb) -- Understanding Credit -- Free class sponsored by Genesis Housing on understanding credit and credit scores. Obtain a Free Credit Report from Major Credit Bureaus with Scores. Learn How to Improve Your Credit Score. Register online at www.genesishousing.org

Tuesday at 7:30 pm at Municipal Hall, Council Meeting. No agenda yet.

Next Friday, April 8, 6:30 pm, at Coffee Talk. SpeakMeFree Productions presents The Gathering, an indoor/outdoor get together--music, poetry, refreshments, conversation. For info, contact 484-534-0779.

Also next Friday, 7:30 pm at Centre Theater (208 Dekalb), Starving Artist Prevention presents an Open Mic. $5 admission. The favorite of the night wins 2 tickets to the April 16th Doogie Horner Show.  Information contact 484-477-2058.

Next Saturday, from 8:30 am to noon, Norristown Little League Opening Day. Parade and team introductions on the fields on Harding Blvd. Snack stand will be open. For more info, contact Bill Plichta, Recreation Director, 610-270-0467, admin@norristownlittleleague.com or go to  www.norristownlittleleague.com

Also next Saturday from 1 to 4 pm at MontCo S.A.A.C. (536 George St.). Bow Wow Bingo. Doors open at noon. Game begins at 1pm. Cost is $20 in advance and $25 at the door. 50/50 raffle will be available. Dog and/or cat food donations being accepted. Proceeds benefit the MontCo S.A.A.C. activities program. For info, contact Jillian Nabozny, 610-275-1960,  jnabozny@montcosaac.com

ACPPA Community Arts Center (506 Haws Avenue) will be holding an online auction from April 18-24. They're looking for donated items or gift baskets. If you'd like to make a donation, please contact Amy Grebe at amy@acppa.net.

As always, check the link to the library calendar to the right of this blog for their ongoing weekly programs.