Properties To Be Considered by Zoning This Week

There's a Zoning Board Hearing tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 7 pm at Municipal Hall. Here's the agenda with some information I was able to find out.

1330 Powell St -- This is actually listed 2nd, but I think it's the most important one. It's Einstein's medical building, across from the Montgomery Hospital lot. They want to install 4 signs -- 2 large lit signs on the Powell and Wood sides of the building, and 2 free standing signs. The large lit signs will be 122.5 and 103.5 square feet. I don't know the exact dimensions, but a sign that is, say, 5 x 24.5 feet would equal 122.5 sq. ft. The signs would be easily in view from the senior apartments that will be built on the hospital property, definitely shining into the windows of the houses on Wood Street, and possibly disturbing residents on Locust Street as well. If they're lit all night and I were a neighbor, I wouldn't be happy. Are lighted signs necessary? Do any of the offices in that building have night hours? I think this is simply Einstein marking their territory. Bad enough that they removed the largest employer in our town and demolished a historic building, now the town will have to look at their name in lights 24 hours a day. If Einstein wants to spend money on that building, I suggest they repair the elevators. Only one works and that one doesn't inspire confidence. But Einstein proved with the hospital that building maintenance isn't a big priority.

30 E Elm - The 3 electric meters leads me to believe that this tiny house used to be a triplex. It reverted to a single occupancy but the new owners, Carlos Vega-Alvarez and Flores Lenyn Cervantes, want to make it a duplex again. Not only that, they want a variance that would let them only have 2 off-street parking spaces instead of the 4 required for a duplex. It should be noted that that block of East Elm is so narrow that parking is only allowed on one side of the street and it's the other side. My opinion is NO, the house is too small, the parking situation on the street is bad. We don't need more multiple occupancy rental properties in N-town.

324 Cherry--Deverly Johnson would like to open a barbershop in this building. The first floor was a restaurant originally, so I see no problem opening another type of shop. Better have a business there than a vacant store. Although there's no parking on the street, there is a lot next to the building that doesn't appear to be marked as private, though I could be wrong.

553 E Lafayette--EPAY, Inc. is seeking a variance to allow for a metal fabrication workshop in this building. Currently, it's a residential district, and I'd have to wonder how that would effect the neighbors. But with the Lafayette Street improvements in the next few years, I'm guessing a lot of those houses might be bought out. Still in the interim, I'd hope they wouldn't disturb the neighborhood too much, and I hope they improve the look of the property.

So that's the zoning meeting for tomorrow night. I can't make it, but I hope some of the neighbors in the 1st block of East Elm and of the Einstein building will come out and protest those requests. 

FOURTH FRIDAY Improved, Gardening, Gala, and More

This morning at 10 am,  Norristown Municipal Administrator Crandall Jones will hold another Facebook Chat at this link. Go to that page and wait for the Chat post to come up. You must sign onto Facebook to ask questions, but you should be able to read the questions and answers even if you're not signed in. I got late notice of this, so I apologize for not mentioning it sooner. Also, with Fourth Friday downtown starting at noon, I won't be able to participate.

Today from noon-2 pm, as part of FOURTH FRIDAY DOWNTOWN, food trucks and local restaurants will be on Swede Street in front of the Courthouse and in the Public Square at Swede and Main. (Miss Diva's Kitchen? They'll be there.) I'll be at the Norristown Business Association table, handing out restaurant directories and other information. Come downtown for lunch.

Here's the evening schedule for FOURTH FRIDAY tonight:
5-9 pm – Banh Mi Bar & Bistro (31 W. Main) – Vietnamese cuisine and live Asian music. No cover charge.
5:30-8 pm – Jazz on Cherry Street (216 Cherry) will present saxophonist Sam Peake and pianist Carlos Jones. Free live jazz concert begins at 6 pm. Mix and mingle atmosphere.
6-8 pm – Las Palmas Del Sur (10 W. Main) - Mexican cuisine and live music. No cover charge.
8-10 pm – Salsa on Cherry (216 Cherry, 2nd Floor)– Salsa lessons until 9 pm ($7 per person) followed by free dancing.
8-10 pm – Jus’ Java (317 Swede) - Live acoustic music. No cover. Gourmet coffee, tea and café food available. BYOB.

Remember, parking on the streets is free after 6 pm.

Also tonight at Greater Norristown PAL (Harding Blvd)--doors open at 6 pm -- A Community Kidz event for kids 7 to 14 until 9 pm. Boys and Girls welcome. Fun filled night with music, food, games and prizes.

Also tonight and Saturday at 8 pm, "In The Blood" continues at Theatre Horizon. Sunday's performance is sold out but there's another on Thursday at 7:30 pm. Tickets and info at this link. 

Saturday from 10 am to noon at Zachary's BBQ (1709 Markley St.) Feed The Burbs will present another gardening workshop as they plant the herb garden in front of the restaurant. $25 includes workshop and lunch, $35 includes all of the above plus a $50 coupon from Feed The Burbs toward help with your own garden. Sign up at www.feedtheburbs.org/home/

In support of SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS MONTH the following events will take place around ‪‎Norristown‬ on Saturday, April 25th. (I took this straight from the Municipality's Facebook page, so don't shoot the messenger for incomplete information. It was only posted 17 hours ago, so I had no time to find out more. I'm also wondering why so many of these events are scheduled at the exact same times.)

Pet Parade at Stewart Middle School (W Marshall and Selma) 10-11:30 am. (Not sure how that connects to sexual assault.)

"Voices of Men" at the Norristown Borough Hall, 10-11:30 am. Featuring a one-man performance by Ben Atherton-Zeman that addresses sexual assault and consent, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.

Dating Violence Workshop at Norristown Hospitality Center 10-11:30 am.

Informational tabling events at Theatre Horizon and Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library 10-2 pm with free promotional giveaways.

Mini Carnival at Aclamo Family Centers on West Marshall Street 12-1:30 pm. Free event for the community, kid activities include a face painter, ice cream truck, music and more.

"Private Violence" screening at Norristown Municipal Hall 12-1:30 pm. A film that explores the simple but deeply disturbing fact of American life: the most dangerous place for a woman is her own home.

Peace of Mind Community Discussion,  11:30 am-12:30 pm. Montco OIC, 1101 Arch Street, 2nd Floor. Join us in increasing awareness about violence prevention. Community discussion on non-violence. Food and refreshments will be served. RSVP at 610-277-0932 ext. 233 or email at lynn-williams@vscmontcopa.org.
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Saturday at 3 pm at Greater Norristown PAL (340 Harding Blvd.)--"Take Control of Your Money", a youth financial seminar. Call 484-429-5885 or visit www.blight2lightfoundation.org for more information!

Saturday night, from 7-10 pm, ACPPA will hold their annual benefit gala: An Evening on the Red Carpet, at Grace Lutheran Hall on Haws Avenue. $35 per person general admission or VIP admission at $45 per person which includes access to champagne bar, chair massages and VIP gift. Delicious catered food, an open bar, and great music throughout the entire evening’s affair. While you are enjoying yourself upstairs, there will be a complimentary separate party for the kids, ages 2-12 as well. For more information about the gala, please visit acppa.net. Tickets are available at http://acpparedcarpet.eventbrite.com, in ACPPA's office, or over the phone at 610-277-2270.

Tuesday at 7 pm, Zoning Board Hearing at Municipal Hall. Agenda at this link. I'll cover the properties on Monday's Diary.

CADCOM will hosting its second annual Community Day at Oak Street Park (corner of Oak and Arch) on Saturday June 27 from noon to 5 pm. They're looking for vendors for the event. Vendors need to provide their own tables and chairs. No electricity available. For-profit fee $15, non-profit, free, but you must register. If interested, contact Heather Lewis at 610-277-6363 x166 or hlewis@cadcom.org. They could also use donations. They do good work in Norristown. Think about it.

Saving $ on Power and Saving the Earth In The Bargain

IT'S EARTH DAY. First, a reminder that The Norristown Project and Dragon Boat Club will be cleaning up Riverfront Park (1 Haws Avenue) tonight from 5-7 pm. They need volunteers. A 2nd clean-up of the park is scheduled this Saturday from 12:30 to 3 pm. All ages welcome. Let's make this park ready for summer.

Last year on this date, I gave you some tips about how to save water (go to this link to read it). This year, I'm posting a few tips for saving electricity. If you do some of these things regularly, you can skip Earth Hour next year with a good conscience.

First, if your dad was like mine, we were reminded constantly to turn off lights when we leave rooms. Dad's advice still stands, and goes for more than light bulbs. Only a few appliances need electricity all the time, like your refrigerator, your heater, certain medical devices, plug-in carbon monoxide detectors, clocks, etc.

Your Wifi and most cable boxes don't have to be powered up 24/7. When you turn them back on, they may take a minute or two to connect, but you'll save a lot of money in the long run if you turn them off when no one's at home or when everyone's sleeping. I have mine on power strips with the TV and computer to make it easy. And, of course, TVs and computers ought to also be powered down overnight or when no one's at home unless you're charging a laptop or something.

Speaking of charging, don't charge phones, laptops, tablets, etc, for more than the minimum amount of time it takes to reach full charge. Not only will you save electricity, you'll protect the device from overload and your home from possible battery fires.

Stop and ask yourself if you really need the clock on your microwave. If you use it for a kitchen clock, fine. If not, hook the microwave up to an appliance-grade power strip and when you're not using it, turn the strip off. You can do this with any other appliance that pulls electricity when no one's using it. Again, make sure especially that the power is off when you're sleeping at night and if no one's home during the day.

Everyone probably knows that CFL bulbs save a significant amount of electricity, yet a lot of people won't use them because they say they don't like the glow (most CFLs now cast a light similar to soft light incandescents), or because they're afraid of them breaking around pets or children. The good news is LED light bulbs have really come down in price and they're so long lasting that you may never have to change bulbs again. They use even less electricity than CFL bulbs. Still, turn them off when no one's in the room.

Here's a link for more energy and water saving tips. Honestly, why give your power company extra money that I'm sure you have better uses for?

One last Earth Day word about power providers: Many of them now give you choices about how your electricity is produced, including sustainable sources like wind and solar. I use the Energy Co-op, which I like for several reasons. They're based in Philly, so they're local. They're a co-op as opposed to a big corporation. They have a 100% sustainable option, which I chose, so ALL of my power comes from renewable sources. And best of all, those sources are Pennsylvania's wind farms and solar power bought back from the co-op's customers who have solar panels. So I'm helping my state's economy as well as the environment.

So, this Earth Day, think about all the ways you can save money on your electric bill AND help the environment. Who needs one Earth Hour a year?

Council Agenda for Tomorrow

Still no agenda for the Special Zoning Meeting listed on Norristown.org for tonight, but an agenda was posted for tomorrow night's Council Meeting at 6:30 pm in Municipal Hall. You can read the entire agenda at this link. I just picked a few highlights to comment on below.

Council will be voting to approve or disapprove the following: "To support reprogramming of RACP (Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program) funding to facilitate the proposed residential use of condominium units on the 4th and 5th floor while maintaining commercial uses on the ground floor through third floors."

Now I read that and think, how many 5 story buildings do we have, let alone 5 story buildings that have commercial uses on the first 3 floors? Seems obvious to me that this item is intended for a specific building, though it's not mentioned in the agenda. It SHOULD be listed, or at least, the zoning district involved should be listed. Otherwise, I could see this set a dangerous precedent for landlords wanting to add extra apartments or condos in houses in residential zoning districts on even in some of the older smaller properties downtown where parking is already a problem.. The building should also be listed so residents know if they'll be effected by the change.

Here are the other Action Items:  They're voting on Mascaro's contract (I'm guessing, with 1/3 of the town in possession of new trash containers, they'll vote yes). They're also voting whether to award the construction contract for 9 W Main to United Home Builders of Philadelphia, though, from the wording on the agenda, it almost seems like the bidding process doesn't end until today, so I'm not sure how they know who won the bidding yet. And under Planning and Zoning, voting on the conversion of a garage/warehouse on Lafayette Street to a metal ductwork shop.

Under Items for Discussion:

Carver Center -- I know a lot of you are concerned about the George Washington Carver Center. There will be a discussion about it at the Council Meeting. No specifics listed on the agenda.

Update on New Horizon effort - A description of the New Horizons Collaborative can be found at this link.  It's essentially a way of improving neighborhoods--especially those with chronic crime problems, by involving the residents of those neighborhoods.

Other Items for Discussion have to do with reports, committees, the auditors and State and Federal visits.

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Theatre, Music, Fourth Friday and More

Most important notice this week. If you're not registered to vote, do so by Monday, April 20 so you can vote in the May primary.

Tonight at 8 pm, In The Blood at Theatre Horizon (401 DeKalb Street). Free tickets are available for Norristown residents. Contact Josh Millhouse, Audience Services Manager, for more information: 610-283-2230 or email  ticket@theatrehorizon.org. Show runs through May 9. Go to this link for more info.

Saturday from 10 am-noon, Spring Fling sponsored by In His Eyes Outreach at 1430 Dekalb Street. FREE event for women of all ages and walks of life. Childcare available. Keynote speaker Nia Campbell, rejuvenate your body with nutrition tips from Joan Anderson Gangwer, and celebrate with us as we close out the day with a Zumba party. Giveaways, Raffles, Networking. For more information, contact Carla at 484-284-2008 or at inhiseyes2008@aol.com

Also Saturday, April 18th from 11 am to 1 pm, ACPPA, 506 Haws Ave, lower level, will host another Community Creation Day. All are invited to join them in exploring the cultural imagery of the play, Asian Cinderella: The Story of Pear Blossom, through the creation of props, backgrounds, and costumes. Please register at this link so they can have enough supplies for everyone.

Sunday from 11:30 am to 5 pm at Jus' Java (317 Swede). Live Music Sunday, all afternoon. FREE. Stop by and enjoy the music.

Monday from 1 to 4:30 pm, Money Smart Monday is at the Norristown Library (Swede and Powell). From 1-2:30 pm is the Credit Sense session, then Financial Preparation from 3-4:30 pm. Call 610-278-5100 for information.

There's a special meeting of the Zoning Board listed for 7 pm Monday night. No agenda listed so I don't know what it's about.

Tuesday at 6:30 pm, Council meeting at Municipal Hall. No agenda listed yet.

Wednesday, for Earth Day, The Norristown Project will conduct a clean-up of Riverfront Park (1 Haws Avenue) from 5-7 pm. Can't make that one? A second session will be held Saturday from 12:30 to 3 pm. All ages can volunteer. Volunteers will be asked to clean Riverfront Park--trash that has washed on the shore over the winter, plus debris and weeds around the park. Time permitting, volunteers will then head to the surrounding area and clean up trash and debris off the sidewalks. Just show up in the parking lot of Riverfront to volunteer.

Next Friday morning at 10 am,  Norristown Municipal Administrator Crandall Jones will hold another Facebook Chat at this link. Go to that page and wait for the Chat post to come up. You must sign onto Facebook to ask questions, but you should be able to read the questions and answers even if you're not signed in.

Next Friday is FOURTH FRIDAY DOWNTOWN and this month, it's bigger and better. From noon-2 pm on Swede in front of the Courthouse and on the Public Square, vendors will be on hand selling food and other items. Here's the evening schedule:

5-9 pm – Banh Mi Bar & Bistro (31 W. Main) – French/Vietnamese cuisine and live Asian music. No cover charge.
5:30-8 pm – Jazz on Cherry Street (216 Cherry) will present saxophonist Sam Peake and pianist Carlos Jones. Free live jazz concert begins at 6 pm. Mix and mingle atmosphere.
6-8 pm – Las Palmas Del Sur (10 W. Main) - Mexican cuisine and live music. No cover charge.
8-10 pm – Salsa on Cherry (216 Cherry, 2nd Floor)– Salsa lessons until 9 pm ($7 per person) followed by free dancing.
8-10 pm – Jus’ Java (317 Swede) - Live acoustic music. No cover. Gourmet coffee, tea and café food available. BYOB.

Remember, parking on the streets is free after 6 pm. There's also a parking garage at Cherry and Main.

Next Saturday from 7-10pm, ACPPA will hold their annual benefit gala: An Evening on the Red Carpet, at Grace Lutheran Hall on Haws Avenue. $35 per person general admission or VIP admission at $45 per person which includes access to champagne bar, chair massages and VIP gift. Delicious catered food, an open bar, and great music throughout the entire evening’s affair. While you are enjoying yourself upstairs, there will be a complimentary separate party for the kids, ages 2-12 as well. For more information about the gala, please visit acppa.net. Tickets are available at http://acpparedcarpet.eventbrite.com, in their office, or over the phone at 610-277-2270.

Another Question About Trash

The photo at the right is what the recycling containers actually look like. The resident who this belongs to painted her house number on it.

The following comment was left on my entry from Monday and I wanted to answer it publicly because the info might help everyone.

"So what if we have more then one can of trash because I usually have 2-3? Will they still take the trash if it's different trash cans? And as a long time resident who pays at least 300+ a year for trash removal I know I don't have the money to spend to buy an extra can?! SO how will this work just curious as I never received any info about this happening.? I only saw it on FB."

My understanding is that you can put up to 2 older cans out with your new one. No need to buy a new one.

You can also try recycling more items to cut down on how many trash cans you put out.

The person who asked the question is right, though, I only saw information about it on Facebook. Maybe there was something in the paper, too, and I missed it. Maybe we get instructions with the new cans?

I'd be interested in hearing everyone's experiences as they receive their new cans. Or if you have any other questions, post them here and if I know or can find out, I'll post an answer.

More About Our New Trash Cans

I mentioned last week that the West End had received their new trash containers. By the end of the week, they had received their new recycling containers.

The photo above was circulated a few weeks ago by the Municipality, leading us to believe that this is what the new cans look like. And they do sort of. From what I've heard from West End residents, the real new cans are different in one way.

In the photo, they're imprinted with the words "Recycling" on one and "Trash only" on the other. But the real cans have no printing other than Mascaro's logo. If you take their lids off, all the containers look EXACTLY alike.

That means that when lids come off through ordinary wear-and-tear (translation: as Mascaro's workers throw them around weekly), we'll have absolutely NO WAY to tell the containers apart. Which means all the recycling will start going into the trash truck. Or people who need extra trash containers will rip the lids off their (or their neighbors') recycling containers.

So I'll amend my suggestion from last week. Not only should you paint your house number on your containers, but probably you should paint the words "Recycling" and "Trash" on them as well.