Pottstown Council Poised To Name Drumheller As New Police Chief

Editor’s note:  Would it have made more sense for Capt. Drumheller to take the Civil Service test before being offered the promotion?  I love how council forms a committee to find a new police chief and they do absolutely nothing.  The point of the committee was exactly what?  We all know how things work in Pottstown **wink, wink, nod, nod**  Thank you Evan for your candor in reporting this process.

POTTSTOWN — Police Capt. Richard Drumheller is now one step closer to being Police Chief Richard Drumheller.

If approved by a borough council vote Monday night, Drumheller will replace Borough Manager Mark Flanders, whose retirement as police chief becomes official April 14.

Since he was appointed Nov. 13 as borough manager, Flanders has held both positions, although drawing only one salary.

For the most part, Drumheller has been running the department since then.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130403/NEWS01/130409686/pottstown-council-poised-to-name-drumheller-as-new-police-chief#full_story

Pottstown, West Pottsgrove Push Extension Of Keystone Boulevard

POTTSTOWN — Just two days after borough council approved a property tax break for a new business proposed along Keystone Boulevard, officials from the borough and West Pottsgrove Township met to brainstorm about extending the road to the Grosstown Road exit off Route 422.

The extension of Keystone Boulevard through the former Flagg Brass property in West Pottsgrove and over to the Stowe interchange has long been envisioned and was the subject of an $81,000 study by the Rettew Assoc. engineering firm.

Paid for through a grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the grant brought both municipalities together to plan jointly for the project, which could cost as much as $10 million.

Although PennDOT does have plans for a $30 million improvement to the Stowe interchange as part of its long-range plans for upgrading Route 422, Brian Regli, Montgomery County’s Director of Commerce, told the assembled officials not to expect the state to come up with the money for that project any time soon.

Read more:

http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130315/NEWS01/130319529/pottstown-w-pottsgrove-push-extension-of-keystone-blvd-#full_story

One Of My Adaptive Reuse Posts Catches Eye Of Scranton Mayor

Image via Wikipedia

This is one of those moments that makes sitting here blogging away every day worth the effort.

I wrote a post for Code Blue’s The Pulse blog about an adaptive reuse project, here in Pottstown, that would transform the old armory building on King Street into luxury apartments.  This would be significant as there are several other projects lining up along the same lines.  If this project is successful, it could jump-start redevelopment in the central core neighborhood.

As an example of adaptive reuse in a central downtown neighborhood, I cited the Connell Building project in Scranton‘s central business district.  My post and reference to Scranton’s renaissance caught the eye of Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty.  As a result, I am traveling to Scranton on Tuesday to meet Mayor Doherty and get the mayoral tour of Central Scranton.  I am more than a little excited!

Here is a link to my post about the armory project:

http://codebluepulse.blogspot.com/2011/01/pennsylvania-state-armory-building.html

There will be a posting and lots of pictures from my trip!

The Mercury Leaves Out Important Details On Lebanon Crash Involving Pottstown Woman

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I suppose this should not really be a great surprise for anyone but the Mercury’s condensed version of the Lebanon Daily News coverage of an accident on Route 322 in South Annville Township, that involved a Pottstown woman, has some key facts missing.

What the Mercury fails to point out is:

“Burton’s vehicle was pushed into the eastbound lane when it was struck from the rear by a Chevy Equinox driven by Amber Dumond, 32, of 117 E. Cherry St., Palmyra, he said.”  The quote is from South Annville Township Police Chief Ben Sutcliffe

The Mercury tells us Burton’s children were in the car at the time of the accident.  According to the Lebanon Daily News “Burton’s front-seat passenger was Elizabeth Hain, 36, also of Pottstown, Sutcliffe said. She was released after treatment at the hospital. In the back seat were Hain’s children, Dharia, 13, and Delanie, 7. Both were listed in fair condition at HMC, a hospital spokesman said.”

Here is the entire Lebanon Daily News article for you to read and get the correct information.  A friend of Faith Burton’s brought this to my attention so we here in Pottstown have the correct information regarding this tragic event.

 http://www.ldnews.com/ci_17038737

Lower-Income Rental Complex Proposed For Norristown

“A proposal for 48 rental apartments on Sandy Street subsidized by federal tax credits ran into pointed questions and some opposition when it was recently presented to council”…. read the full story on the Times Herald:

http://www.timesherald.com/articles/2010/12/27/news/doc4d17e877e8982758384678.txt?viewmode=default

Hat Tip to Chris Huff for bringing the story to my attention!

Here is another story from the Philadephia Inquirer with their take on the lower-income rental complex proposed for Norristown and includes Pottstown in their discussion.  Another hat tip to Chris Huff for the link!

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_region/20101230_Norristown_shuns_apartment_dwelling.html?viewAll=y

BIE Moving Pottstown Home Show To Kimberton And Changes Name!!!

I am not sure exactly what to say.  Sunnybrook is too small?  Can’t find another venue around Pottstown?  I know there are some large buildings around here that are empty!  With parking.

It’s 11 miles each way to Kimberton  (per Mapquest).  Basically 20 minutes, depending on traffic.   You might as well have moved to the Valley Forge Convention Center or the Greater Philadelphia Exposition Center in Oaks.  At least the road is better than 724.

Kimberton is not centrally located in the Tri-County area.  That would be Pottstown, if one looks at a map.  We are at the convergence of Berks, Chester and Montgomery counties. 

This news makes me crabby.