Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Saturday, June 30th, the Mercury published a piece on Pottstown’s first Open Slum House Tour. Members of Pottstown Borough Council were invited to come and see first hand the horrific living conditions in a rental unit at 501 King Street. The rental unit was issued a permit by Pottstown’s Codes Department.
An open house was held on Saturday afternoon from 2:00pm to 3:30pm and hosted by Katy Jackson, a King Street resident and community activist.
What I am about to report is typical and totally disheartening. Only one Borough Councilor showed up! Fifth Ward Councilor Dan Weand! Councilor Weand was accompanied by his wife Polly (a Pottstown School Board member). John Armato, Pottstown School District Director of Community Relations also attended the open house. Thank you Dan, Polly and John for taking time out of your Saturday to give a damn about Pottstown!
(The elephants in the room)
- Where in the hell was Pottstown Borough Council President, Steven Toroney or First Ward Councilor Mark Gibson, whose ward contains the offending property?????????????????
- Pottstown’s Codes Department apparently deemed this property A-OK and issued a permit for the owner to rent the property. Considering the horrific state of the property in question, does this not make you wonder exactly what metrics borough codes employees are using? Would you want to live in a house of horrors like this? Is this not a huge red flag that there might be a problem? Is this not indicative of a broken process?
- As an elected official, whose job it is to serve the taxpayers of Pottstown, taking an hour out of your Saturday to get first hand knowledge of a serious problem should be a top priority. It would have been prudent to notify Mrs. Jackson that you had a prior commitment that precluded your attendance so as not to appear indifferent to the plight of the people who elected you into office!
Based on the pictures and description of the property, it sounds like it should be condemned and torn down, not given a rental permit!
Steve, if you aren’t up to the task of being Pottstown Borough Council President, we think you should step down. We see no evidence of leadership, no vision and no way forward being presented. Sitting in your North End home and ignoring everything south of Wilson Street isn’t much of a strategy.
Pottstown is spiraling out of control. Key employees are leaving, councilors are resigning, crime is high, poverty is high, slumlords and Section 8 housing are pulling Pottstown down while property and school taxes go up, up, up… Is the goal here to become the next Pennsylvania community accepted into the Act 47 program for financially distressed municipalities?
There was just a home invasion in the 800 block of Queen Street. There are too many shootings. There are hookers and drug dealers lurking in the alleys of the core neighborhood. There are tumbleweeds blowing down High Street. Borough Council does not support the few struggling businesses downtown nor does Pottstown enforce laws for loitering and panhandling which deter shoppers, diners and theatre patrons. There is a homeless problem you refuse to deal with and the list goes on and on.
Pottstown deserves a Borough Council who is willing and ABLE to lead the community down the road to prosperity. Those who can’t should step aside and let those who can DO!
Sticking one’s head in the sand and ignoring all the warning signs is not what you were elected into office to do. People expect action. People expect and want change for the better. Status quo is not an option. Neither is taxing people to the point of having to choose between paying taxes or buying food and medicine. Look at all the for sale signs around town. Look at the abandoned properties where homeowners have simply walked away. All is not well! Get a clue!
Either lead or get out-of-the-way!
