Making Things Happen

Just before waking this morning I had this dream--I was on Arts Hill and something was out of place (a large flower pot, I think). When I moved the pot, behind it was another object out of place. I moved that, too, and it revealed still another object, etc. When I awoke, I could have thought, "Wow, what a nightmare." Instead, I found myself thinking, "If that's all it takes to fix Arts Hill, let's get to it."

In the last 10 days, I heard one councilman say that council had done all they could do for Arts Hill, that Arts Hill and the Arts Council now had to help themselves. I heard another councilman, when talking about the economic situation of our downtown, say "We've tried everything. Nothing works in Norristown." A third councilman seemed to think council was working hard and getting things done, though outside of hiring a police chief, he was vague about accomplishments.

I think it's only natural that we look to our elected leaders for, well, leadership. As our borough manager, Crandall Jones, said at the Nudge meeting last Saturday, "People are telling me, 'We're all ready for things to get moving,' and they want to know why things aren't."

I think it's time to quit waiting for council to take the lead, and just go make things happen on our own.

Norristonians are good at making things happen. In the last year, groups of citizens began to clean our streets, paint over graffiti, create a mural, reclaim a park, organize amazing festivals, hold late night vigil walks to discourage crime, build community gardens, organize youth programs, restore one of our historic buildings, and start up neighborhoods in Nextdoor.com to help improve communication. We banded together to fight counterproductive development (and won one of those fights, at least). I'm sure I'm forgetting something--we did SO MUCH this past year!

It's not only our volunteers. Terrific entrepreneurs have set up shop in town. Christopher Duy Nguyen, the owner of Banh Mi Bistro at 31 West Main, posted a blog Tuesday about his enthusiasm for Norristown and how he wants to bring life back to downtown. Last night, I had dinner at Zachary's BBQ (1709 Markley) and had a great chat with Chef Keith Taylor. He assured me that he's going to start making things happen in the North End. Jus' Java at 1601 Dekalb, besides their usual breakfast, lunch, coffee and tea, is always trying something new (check out their facebook events  --book signings, Poetry Open Mic, jazz, Bible study). They're going to host their first Sunday brunch November 10th. I have it on good authority that Caffe Galileo on Swede will be opening soon. Then, of course, there's Almaz Cafe, and the folks who brought live theater to Dekalb Street, Fran and John Doyle, Erin Reilly and Matt Decker. Norristown is lucky to have all of these people contributing to our community.

All this momentum has been good for Norristown. Outsiders are starting to notice and show up for our events (does council even know that?). No effort made in the last year has been so small that it hasn't had a positive effect. But now, while we've got the momentum, let's start a conversation about what groups of regular citizens can do to help revitalize Arts Hill and our shopping districts. What can we do to make these parts of town appear inviting to investors? How can we make Arts Hill more "artsy?" Collectively, we probably know enough realtors, entrepreneurs, whoever, to help us make things happen.

The West End International Business District is a lively place on Saturdays. Let's ask the West End Business Association for their expertise. What's working on West Marshall that we can apply to Main Street and Logan Square?

I'm ready to hear ideas. Comment below or start brainstorming on Facebook or, if someone knows of a venue, let's have a series of citizens' town halls with representatives from our volunteer groups, and our business and arts communities. If council shows up, I guess we'll let them stay, unless they try to tell us we can't do something, then out they go.

Norristown can't afford that attitude anymore.

Candidate Forum: Council

Below is a summary of responses from the council-at-large candidates at last Thursday's forum, with my comments in parentheses. One announcement first: our new police chief will be officially hired at the November 6th council meeting.

MARLON MILLNER said he's running for his 2nd and final term so he can finish the work he started. He repeated "final term" more than once during the forum. Not sure why. He was the only candidate to RSVP at the last minute, and the only one to arrive late, after the forum had begun. Also said more than once that Norristown was "urban" and "majority/minority." No explanation as to what the latter meant. He called for comprehensive parking reform--in fact, he said he's been calling for it the last 3 years, though did not elaborate what reforms he tried to make. He said the residents want "zoned parking." Again, no definition. He seemed to think all our problems are cause by our "high density." (Norristown actually had a more dense population in the late 1960s, without the problems, and has had 30,000+ people since the 1910 census.)

When asked if he could remain optimistic about Norristown through his term, he said he wasn't pessimistic, then went on to say, "Government is hard. You can get discouraged." He proceeded to blame the community for miscommunication. (Ironically, Millner tweeted yesterday, "Special #Norristown council meeting Tuesday, Oct 29 at 7 pm." It wasn't on the town calendar, but a bunch of us showed up. We found the door locked. He tweeted his apology around 11:30 pm, blaming the Times Herald. Though, council did have one of their secret "executive session" meetings last night.) Back to the forum: Millner said that the perception that Norristown is only collecting a portion of taxes owed is false. He wants comprehensive immigration reform so we can tax illegal workers. When asked about diversity in hiring, he said it was illegal to use demographic percentages for hiring, but that he thought we should recruit and hire minorities and women.

DERRICK PERRY said he would like to strengthen public safety. He said council should encourage home ownership, youth involvement and smart development. He grew up in Norristown and loves the community diversity. He said he has a passion for Norristown and wants to give back to the community, adding that everyone seems to want to do something great for the borough; we just have to come together. He said lack of communication leaves a bad perception of council and recommended using social media and even a digital billboard for town meeting announcements.

OLIVIA BRADY said she's been a resident for 30 years and wants to make a difference. She has a vision for Norristown--a vibrant Main St. and good schools. She wants people to WANT to come to Norristown. She'd like to see a comprehensive study of parking, not by a big company, but by the residents themselves--something where everyone can have input as to how many spaces we have and where the parking issues are. As for optimism, she said it's sometimes a challenge not to get frustrated by the apathy and negativity, but that we need to develop a sense of town pride. Communication: also recommended social media like Facebook, but added that the Times Herald should list council meetings. (They're supposed to, by law, and they very well might, but for those of us who read the Herald mostly online, these notices are impossible to find, and the Times Herald website loads slower than Healthcare.gov.) Ultimately, though, Brady said communication is council's responsibility. She wants the Norristown.org website updated. She stated that the contract process is open to women and minorities, but wanted to see language in the ordinance regarding discrimination.

MARY ELLEN EARLY-DIGREGORIO said she's a 3rd generation Norristown native. She became interested in council when she tried to find out where her taxes are going. She wants more than one-party representation in Norristown. She asked why the borough can't meet its basic needs: cleanliness, safety and good schools. She said that in a parking study done  on Marshall in 2006 or 07, the finding was that it would cost more to put the meters back. (I could only find one study, from 2009 . It didn't have this finding though it did highlight other problems with meters.) She said more studies are too expensive and won't address problems like loss of business due to insufficient parking. She said we need to fight apathy and get more community involvement, and that sometimes we need conflict for people to get along (didn't explain further), that it was difficult to have a positive attitude. She said we needed better communication and wanted an open question period at the end of council sessions so the audience could ask questions or comment on what was said in the meeting. (As it is, you have to sign your name at beginning in order to have a chance to talk and then public comment is taken BEFORE issues are discussed.) She said we're not collecting all the taxes we should. She wants to see the borough website updated so it's easier to navigate.

SUE SORIANO was out of town and couldn't appear at the forum. I would have liked to hear her answers to the questions. It's not too late, Sue, if you want to leave a statement in the comments below, I'll publish it.

So there you have it, your candidates for council. Remember, next Tuesday, November 5th, is election day. If you want a better Norristown, get out and VOTE.

Your Candidates for School Board

The forum last Thursday night gave me a good chance to get to know the school board candidates. Going in, I honestly didn't know much about them at all, except for E. Pearl Smith, who's running for her 4th term. I'm guessing most of the voters in Norristown are in the same boat, and because of their ignorance will either not vote next Tuesday or will vote for the names they've seen most on mailers or signs. Neither of those options works in a democracy. Neither do bad schools, so do your homework and vote.

Four of the candidates were running as a "team"--Smith, Rivera, Hutson, and Assenmacher. I understand the necessity for pooling funding and resources in local politics. I get that one publicity photo with 4 people in it on a mailer is cheaper than 4 individual photos and mailers. Still, these 4 took the concept too far. They were all wearing black and yellow, and kept urging us to vote for them as a team. This gave the unfavorable impression that they were joined at the hip and wouldn't be able to think for themselves. So, all our local politicians, in the future rethink the team concept, okay?

E. Pearl Smith was raised in Norristown and went to Norristown public schools. She said student achievement was her priority. She has a good attendance record at board meetings--almost always there in person, and when she can't, attends by conference call. She drops in at schools during the school day. She meets with the principals. In response to questions about funding, she explained that the current governor cut billions from the state education budget, but that the district has worked with a grant writer and also been awarded grants from local businesses like TD Bank. When asked about the arts in our schools (since Norristown is supposed to be an arts community), she said that she enjoys music and the arts herself and would like to engage groups to bring the arts into the schools. She said there needs to be more arts activities for the students. Sports need to be added back into the lower grades. In my opinion, of all the candidates, Smith came across as someone who knows more of the many facets of the job and of education in Norristown.

Pamela Assenmacher is also an incumbent. She said she's for "education reform" and "innovative programs in technology." She regularly attends board meetings and goes to evening programs at the schools. She works full-time so therefore is unable to drop in on the schools durng the day.  She said she had toured the "tech school"--I wasn't sure if she meant Roosevelt, Eisenhower School of Science and Technology, or the Central Montco Tech School (which isn't in her jurisdiction). She DID seem to know a lot about the districts programs for Latino students, such as ESL classes, and had some good ideas for parent involvement in those programs. As for funding, she said the state needs to change the formula--they can't continue to cut programs. She'd like to see the district actively recruit high quality teachers.

Tiffani Henley grew up in town, went to Norristown schools and graduated near the top of her class. She feels that she wants to give back to the district. She has a child in the schools and is involved as a parent. She'd like to increase in parent involvement and in the quality of the schools. She has visited Eisenhower during the day and for other programs. She wants to see programs that encourage kids to get into the arts, even something as simple as a talent show. The schools could work with outside groups, for instance, the NAACP has programs that encourage kids to get involved in the arts. For sports, intramurals need to be added back into the 7th and 8th grade curriculums.

Matt Rivera at first gave what sounded like a typical political speech that didn't say much about himself, in fact, he forgot to give his name. He did mention that he was a musician and active with school music boosters. He said creativity was needed to solve the district's problems, especially with funding. The district needs to work with organizations and parents. When asked how many schools he's visited, his response was "as many as I could," but he only mentioned East Norriton, Paul Fly and the high school, and mostly for evening programs. He said he still volunteers for Paul Fly (now that his kids are no longer there) but did not mention in what capacity. For funding, he said the district should lobby Harrisburg, but act locally. He didn't give specifics. For the arts, he wants to see more kids involved, especially in music. Parents need to also be involved, especially in the lower schools. He said we're losing kids interested in the arts and sports in the middle schools because there aren't enough programs. We need to complete the stadium. When asked about diversity among teachers, he said we need ethnic and racial diversity, but also diversity of talent. He said we need to encourage kids to become teachers.

Turea Hutson said she has a love of education since overcoming a learning disability. She said, instead of using public funds, we should have public/private parternerships with local businesses. She said she "has not kept a tally" of how many schools she visited (there are 11 in the district), but only mentioned going to Gotwals for their Read Across America Program. As for recruiting teachers, she said we should go to teachers colleges and let them know Norristown is an option.

Ken Christovich said this was his 9th forum. Assuming he's done forums for both primaries and general elections, that means he's run for school board 4 or 5 times and has yet to win. He attends school board meetings often. In his introduction he talked about codes, accountability, transparency, government. He barely mentioned education in any of his answers. He endorsed line-by-line cuts of the school budget as a way of saving money. He said that the district doesn't earn enough from taxes. He mentioned his support for the governor, but later said we need money from the state. He says he's had 10 or 12 meetings in the schools. Unclear if he meant with the principals.

So there are your school board candidates. You'll be voting for 4 of them. Choose wisely.

Norristown Pride

I did some research on the Ellis Island website years ago, and since then, I've gotten an email from them maybe 4 times a year. I have to admit, I like their style--the emails usually lets me know new features on the website, with a modest DONATE icon at the bottom, so it isn't your typical spam. But the one I got this week was special, because it had a letter written by Tommy Lasorda after receiving the Ellis Island Family Heritage Award. In the letter he said, "...not a day goes by that I don't think about my brothers and my mom and dad, and growing up in Norristown, PA."

I read that and thought, here's a man who had gained national recognition, but is so proud of his hometown that he's announcing it to a national audience. He doesn't have a negative opinion of Norristown, so why should we?

If you go to Wikipedia's entry for Norristown , you'll find a list of our Notable People. Wikipedia being what it is, the list is incomplete and a few of the entries are wrong (the person was born or grew up near Norristown, not in it), but for the most part, it's a list of our residents who went on to make history or become noted in their professions in some way or another. A more telling list may be IMDB's "Most Popular People Born In Norristown." These are people who have appeared in or worked behind the scenes on movies and TV, and weren't ashamed to put "Norristown" in their bios.

It occurred to me that the people I've heard nay-saying Norristown will likely never get onto a list of Notable or Most Popular People. So why are we listening to them?

Think of the people who have had, at the very least, town-wide recognition and popularity the longest--people like Hank Cisco. He's been saying great things about Norristown for decades. Now think about anyone you've heard put Norristown down. Is that person going to be remembered for any contribution to society, ever?

If you pick up a published book, chances are you'll find one or more blurbs on the back cover--quotes from book reviews and authors saying how great the book is. If we're going to turn around Norristown's negative image, it wouldn't hurt to get a few blurbs from those of us who went on to gain notoriety, like Tommy Lasorda.

But every one of us in the borough, whether we go on to achieve fame or not, can help to change our image. Tell people you're from Norristown, and be proud of the fact. It's time to stop letting the put-downs go unchallenged.

Great Happenings, All Weekend Long

Don't let me hear you say there's nothing to do this weekend in Norristown. The party starts at sundown.

Tonight from 7 pm to midnight, come out to SELMA, 1301 West Airy, for their GHOST TOURS. The mansion will be all lit up and decorated for Halloween. Hear the history of the house and meet the ghosts who made that history (I know for a fact that Widow Knox will be on hand to welcome visitors to her home). Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for kids ages 5 to 12. Refreshments will be sold. All proceeds go to the Norristown Preservation Society to continue the restoration of Selma. Work already began this month on the outdoor windows and the cellar stairs, but so much more needs to be done. Help bring Selma back from the dead this Halloween.

Also tonight, from 8-11 pm at the CARVER COMMUNITY CENTER, a TEEN DANCE for ages 13-17. Admission: $3.00. You must have a student I.D. Concession stand will be open.

NIGHTMARE AT ELMWOOD is tonight and tomorrow night from 6 pm to 9 pm at Elmwood Park Zoo. Trick or treat stations will be located throughout the zoo, plus a spider-infested corn maze (couldn't that also be called a maize maze?) and a Monster Mash target challenge. Admission $14 for adults, $10 for children, children under 2 get in free.

Tomorrow, start the day at the St. Augustine Academy Thrift Shop at St. Augustine Church, 1208 Green St, from 10am to 2 pm.  Enter to win a flat screen TV! Donations of clothing, books, furniture, etc are highly appreciated.

From 11 am to 2 pm, Saturday, come out and support GENERATION NEXT TRACK CLUB by purchasing food and beverages at Express Check Cashing, 408 W. Main St. Donations will be used to support track expenses such as practice facility, equipment, and travel arrangements. I met some of these young people at Riverfest--definitely a worthy cause.

You can also benefit the PAL FIELD HOCKEY Empowerment Program tomorrow by getting 4 friends together to go play bocce ball tomorrow at Holy Savior Club's (436 E. Main St) Bocce Ball Tournament from 11 am to 5 pm.  Cost per person is $40.00 ($10.00 for children) and includes all food and cost of the lanes. RSVP to lab2663@gmail.com .

Norristown Recreation's HALLOWEEN SPOOK-TACULAR is also Saturday. All participants will meet in costume at the bandshell in Elmwood Park at 1 pm. Judging will begin at 1:10 p.m. Prizes will be given out following judging of age groups 2-5, 6-8, 9-12, and 13-up. Then all participants will receive a hot dog, drink, and Halloween Bag with a candy bar and goodies.

After all that, go to LITTLE BOO AT THE ZOO, at Elmwood Park Zoo, noon to 3 pm (also on Sunday, same times). Trick or treat stations, costume contests both days at 2:30. The regular zoo admission gets you in. For more info go to http://www.elmwoodparkzoo.org/event/67

I'm willing to bet that Norristown's got more going on this weekend than surrounding communities. How could you not be proud of this town?

Path of Least Resistance

Other cities and towns are turning their economic depression around--Oil City, PA; even Detroit, MI... and look at what Conshohocken has accomplished in the last 20 years. The difference between them and us is that they have leaders who believe in their communities.

I've heard it said, often, that our town council has no vision. I've said that they have no positive energy--that going to a council meeting is the most depressing and discouraging experience one can have in Norristown. After speaking with half of our council folks in the last few weeks, and observing the others, I've come to the conclusion that they've stopped believing that Norristown can change. One or two of them, perhaps, never believed it.

That's what differentiates them from all our volunteer organizations who put so much effort into making positive things happen.

That's not to say that council is doing nothing. Yet, they only seem willing to put Band-aids on problems, to take the path of least resistance needed to maintain the status quo. For instance, the issue about whether to let Gaudenzia open a drug counseling center at 166 W Main St.

Widepread public opinion in town is that our taxpayers don't want drug treatment centers here at all. Residents especially don't want the centers in our downtown. We want our downtown to become a retail, office and arts center. We don't want drug users loitering on our streets, discouraging new business.

Council, though, seems to believe that the presence of Gaudenzia's corporate headquarters at 106 W. Main (Masonic Hall) is the only thing keeping at least 2 blocks of Main St afloat. Gaudenzia owns their building and is renting space at Marshall and Dekalb for a treatment facility. What they want to do is own 166 W. Main as well, consolidating administrative and counseling into that building.

What would Norristown gain from this? Gaudenzia is non-profit, so we get no taxes from them. We'd get drug users loitering in our downtown, especially after group sessions, the frequency of which may have been deliberately misrepresented to our council people when Gaudenzia made a presentation to them a week ago Wednesday. The ONLY gain I was able to glean from council members was that they thought downtown Gaudenzia employees were the majority of patrons at Almaz Cafe and Banh Mi Bistro.

Now, I worked in offices for more than 20 years. I can tell you that in this day and age, the lowliest of office workers are more likely to bring lunch because they don't get long breaks and always have too much work to get done. The workers who do go out rarely go to the same restaurants every day. Unless I see a survey of patrons that covers, say, two weeks time, I don't really believe that Gaudenzia is solely responsible for keeping those restaurants open. But even if they were, lunchtime trade isn't enough. Banh Mi is reducing their hours next week and closing at 4:30 pm on weeknights, and that's a bad sign. We need to bring people into our downtown after work for dinner and shopping, and for that you need retail stores, more restaurants, nightclubs, and an active, vibrant arts scene.

Council, however, is trying to go the easy route, taking the path of least resistance. They're afraid that Gaudenzia will up and move out of town. They forget that the company owns property here--selling that property might not be easy, moving would be expensive. If Gaudenzia does sell their property, if it's not to another non-profit, we get tax revenue. If they rent out Masonic Hall, we get earned income tax and new businesses. If they leave the building sit empty, they're stuck with maintenance costs.

Council needs to quit courting big corporate interests. Corporations aren't good for Norristown. They don't care about the town--they come and go without a second thought, leaving gaping holes. We need to put our trust in smaller businesses that will become part of our community as Gaudenzia never can. They're just using us and not giving anything back.

Council thinks, keep Gaudenzia on Main and downtown will be just fine. We all know that's not true. Sure, it's an awful risk to lose another business, but if it's a business that isn't helping the community in any way, maybe it's time council stopped being so damned careful and started taking a few risks. At least then we could say they tried their best.

Candidate Facts

The Candidates Forum is tomorrow night. (Thursday, 7-9 pm at The Centre Theater). The election is November 5th. To help you prepare, here are some facts about our council candidates.

One open seat on council is for a 2-year council-at large office. The seat was vacated by Dwayne Roster last summer. Cy Burke was appointed by council to fill the remaining months of 2013. The two candidates for this seat are Olivia Brady and Mary Ellen Early-Digregorio.

Olivia Brady is running as a Democrat. She grew up in Merion, but has lived in Norristown much of her adult life. She works as Assistant Director for the Montgomery County Democratic Committee in Norristown and lives in the West End. Olivia served on Council from 2000-2003, was Council President in 2003, then resigned to run for State Representative, which she lost by only 4 % of the vote. She attends many meetings at Municipal Hall and many events in town, plus serves on the board of the Norristown Preservation Society, and is active with the Women's Leadership Initiative and Community Gardens.
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Mary Ellen Early-DiGregorio is running as a Libertarian. She grew up in Norristown and lives in the East End.  She describes herself as a housewife, caretaker, and volunteer mobile notary public at Montgomery County Hospice. In the past she's been an administrative assistant, fundraiser and engineer assistant. Mary Ellen attends nearly every council meeting and many of the zoning meetings, and occasional events in town.

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Two seats are open on Council for 4-year council-at-large offices. Running for them are Marlon Millner, Derrick Perry, and Sue Soriano.

Marlon Millner is the Democratic incumbent, elected in 2009. His first term ends Dec. 31, 2013. He's been a resident of Norristown since 2007, with a house in the North End. His Linked-In page lists him as "Freelance Communications Provider Communications, Digital Media and Consulting Services." He says he writes a local column in a local newspaper, though I only found 4 opinion pieces in the last year for The Times Herald. He does not list his Council office on his Linked-In page, nor does the word "Norristown" appear anywhere on it.  He also, since August 2012, serves as pastor of McKinley Memorial Baptist Church in Willow Grove. He has separate Facebook pages for his pastorship and his office on council . Neither mentions the other or his freelance work.

Although council members are supposed to rotate through the office of Council President, serving one year each, Mr. Millner declined to serve as president in 2013 when it was his turn, so Mr. Simpson served a 2nd year. Mr. Millner is often seen texting on his phone during meetings. He's tweeted comments during meetings and has even left the room to take phone calls, missing votes. He is rarely seen at zoning or planning meetings and never at town events.

Mr. Millner is the only council candidate not to RSVP for the forum tomorrow. When the coordinator of the forum tried to ask him about it in person last night, he looked right at her, then walked out of the room without saying a word. He did this in front of 4 witnesses, of which I was one.

In 2011, Council censured Mr. Millner for alleged ethics violations.
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Derrick Perry is running on the Democratic ticket. He grew up in Norristown, attended Norristown public schools, and now lives near Elmwood Park. His Facebook page lists his as an Educated Steel Worker at ArcelorMittal in Conshohocken. He's very active with One Love Club, youth sports, and Special Olympics. He attends occasional meetings at Municipal Hall. You can see him at nearly every town event.
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Sue Soriano  received the most GOP write-in votes last primary, and so became the Republican candidate. She immigrated to the US from the Dominican Republic in 1985 and now lives in the West End. Sue is a Senior Database Adminstrator for Diversified Software and the Board of Directors' Secretary for Hopeworx, Inc. on Stanbridge St. She's active in NC3BT (Norristown Community and Cops Coalition Building Team) and is an officer of the Greater Norristown Hispanic Business Association. She was appointed to the Montgomery County Commission on Women and Families Committee. She RSVP'd her regrets for the forum because she'll be out of town that day.
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So there are our council-at-large candidates. Come to the  forum and ask the candidates attending about issues that concern you.