A Victory for the Citizens of Pottstown
POTTSTOWN, PA – At last night’s Pottstown Borough Council meeting, 12-year planning commission member Thomas Hylton was unanimously shut out in his quest for a fourth term. Hylton, who noted to council members that he “never missed a meeting in 12 years” did not attend last night’s meeting.
Andrew Kefer, a Chestnut Street neighbor of Hylton’s, was named to a four-year term on the commission.
We congratulate Mr. Kefer and wish him the best of luck and success in his new role!
We also thank the members of Pottstown Borough Council who did the right thing and welcomed a new member to the commission. Involving more new faces to the borough boards and commissions will only help move Pottstown forward with new ideas and opinions. It was refreshing to see that five residents applied for the open seat.
While this battle has been won (with Pottstown citizens being the victor), there is still cause for alarm.
Today marks the first day that nominating petitions can be circulated for those seeking public office for the 2011 elections. In Pottstown, there are several seats up for grabs on both borough council and the school board.
As many of you will recall, four years ago ex-planning commission member Tom Hylton orchestrated and funded a slate of school board candidates dubiously named the “Neighborhood Schools Team”. We shared with our readers Hylton’s role as Campaign Manager in the third part of our Save Our Land, Save Pottstown trilogy.
This year, the terms of those five candidates are up (as well as the terms of three members of Pottstown Borough Council – for the second, four and sixth wards).
We are so glad to see that Pottstown citizens are becoming more involved in the community in which they live. Pottstown needs good folks who want to give back to the community by volunteering their time and talents.
If you would like to run for school board or council, contact the Montgomery County Voter Services Office at 610-278-3280. They will be happy to answer all your questions. But don’t delay because there is a short window of time that petitions can be circulated and returned to Voter Services!
It really is imperative that Pottstown voters have a full slate of candidates to choose from for these seats…otherwise some unscrupulous and ethically-challenged folks may try to buy and manipulate public office positions to push through their own selfish agendas (which, unfortunately, Pottstown citizens have become all too familiar with).
So think about it folks…run for office and help improve your community!
Hip Hip Huzzah!! Ding dong, the Witch is dead! To Infinity and Beyond!!
I’m playing Devil’s advocate here. My apologies to Mr Kefer – I don’t intend to insult him or belittle his efforts. Having said that,
1. Are we certain Mr Kefer is NOT a “Hyltonite”? He is a neighbor after all. An unfortunate guilt by association. I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.
2. I know at least one other candidate who had excellent credentials for serving on a planning commission. Why was he overlooked? What are Mr Kefer’s credentials? I wish him all the luck there is, and am hoping his is the right injection of enthusiasm we need, but is he knowledgeable?
Both questions come from a deep-rooted fear that we will have, all over again, what we just got rid of. It is said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but so can a lack of knowledge be.
I noticed that the Mercury, while listing all the candidates names, only had Mr Hylton’s resume published. At least his is the only one I saw. Gee, what a surprise.
I applaud Borough Council. They are stepping in the right direction. Let’s keep those Councilors who are working for a better Pottstown and replace those who are merely dead wood.
Forward thinking! Up, up and Away!!!
SR:
Mr. Hylton was the only candidate who provided his letter to council. That is why it was used.
Just an FYI.
Evan. Mr Hylton’s letter was NOT the only one presented to Council by a candidate, but it may have been the only one presented to The Mercury.
Just an FYI . . .
SR:
You are correct. I misspoke. (Or mis-typed.) Mr. Hylton’s letter to council was the only one also provided to The Mercury.
I apologize for the error.
Thank you, Evan, for your reply and for clearing that up.
Have any of you seen the blog about Roy’s interview with Andrew Kefer on Roy’s Rants? Very informative.
That would have been nice in the Mercury. That would inform people who he is. To tell you, wouldn’t it be nice to have a short biography in the Mercury of all members who are on committees?
Thanks for the heads up SR. Here is the link to Roy’s very good interview with new planning commission member Andrew Kefer. BTW – Mr. Kefer lives in the 300 block of Chestnut Street…Mr. Sour Grapes lives in the 200 block.
http://roysrants.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/andrew-kefer-pottstown-planning-commission%E2%80%99s-newest-member/
@SR:
I haven’t seen it, although I spoke with Mr. Kefer the day after the article ran and he gave me his contact information so I would not have any difficulties getting him again.
He seems like a very nice and earnest fellow. I wish him luck.
@east1ender:
Thanks for the suggestion. I agree and I wish council made made the applications of all those available so we could include that info in our coverage. (Although to be fair, I didn’t ask).
As for doing it for everyone, it would be interesting but its a problem of time and space in the paper for us. We’ve never done that for any other commissions and it does raise concerns about should we do it for other towns we cover as well.
We just don’t have the room or the manpower for that kind of thing anymore.
However, it does sound like a good project for Roy or some other intrepid blogger….
Interesting to note that would include doing profiles of two elected officials as well.
Evan, Roy, all press people. Can you or anyone get into the borough and do a little digging up of information on the PAID position? Again, I fear it is one of those important issues that the community has not be fully apprised of. It has been acknowledged that they are seating a new board and yet they have not, to my knowledge, reached out to residents. I am deeply concerned, as a business owner downtown, that Leighton Wildrick could be considered for the PAID directorship.
Heaven Help Us.
With regards to Mr. Hylton stating that the work done on the zoning ordinance was done “pro-bono”. On the Save our lands save our towns website it states…”The illustrated, “user-friendly” ordinances were developed with the help of grants from the William Penn Foundation and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources” that doesn’t seem pro bono to me. Can someone explain this?
Dear Up Side Down,
I agree Mr. Wildrick is not a good choice to head PAID. The masquerade ball put forth by Mr. Wildrick and Mayor Heath was an example of frivolous spending and certainly not a consideration for the common folk of this town(much too expensive). And if the ball was to attract others into our town, one night at such expense was not what this town needs to develop economically. (And was Mr. Waldrick responsible for those purple lights? Those lights certainly lack class! What would Mr. John Potts think as we try to bring dignity back to this town!!!!!!!)
We need a Director that has a greater economic vision with certainly more taste!
As mentioned, it is a fact that Mr. Wildrick and Mayor Heath orchestrated the holiday ball. Informed Pottstownians know that Tom Hylton has also worked with Mayor Heath from the shadows since he secretively promoted her campaign just two years ago. Therefore, when the Mayor promotes her preference for Mr. Wildrick to be the Director of Paid, she is doing it for Tom Hylton. The Wildrick, Heath, and Hylton team are not what we need to move Pottstown forward. The future of Pottstown should not be directed by the Churchill morning clique.
Keep in mind, Mr. Hylton is on the Board of Directors for the new PAID group. He can vote for Mr. Wildrick directly for the Executive Director position. Let’s hope the others on that board can keep some sanity and a clear vision for the future of Pottstown.
I agree, Mr. Wildrick has been a huge disappointment. Came into town talking a GREAT game and got everyone psyched for good things to come. He has, so far, failed miserably. Numerous store owners have complained about his lack of presence and communication skills.
Is PDIDA even necessary for our downtown business district anymore? What return are these store owners getting for their annual PDIDA assessment? Is it worth the investment?
{Sigh}, just another topic we’ll never hear discussed at a Council meeting. They’re too busy debating the merits of a form.
Mov4Ward, just a teeny defense of the purple lights from my camp! I like the wacky off-beat choice of the purple lights. And when you say, “as we try to bring dignity back to town”, I trust that you don’t mean the dignity of the past? Our past is evident all around us, (for better or worse), and it is crying out to be re-purposed with a fresh new vision.
It is proven as a viable economic force to revitalize with arts and culture. Funky cafe’s, visual arts as in murals, unique retail, music venues, a movie theater a real night life I would very much like to see us head that direction downtown and surrounding areas. This borough, in their wisdom, should begin to appeal to the sensibilities of the youthful energy of Gen’s Y and X with their fresh outlook and sustainable approaches to business and life.
The purple lights, IMHO, add a touch of the unexpected, a little artistic flair that almost- almost detracts from the population that curently defines “night life” in Pottstown.
Another thought about the “night life” in Pottstown:
There was a recent article in the Mercury about a girls home in Limerick that was making unnecessary demands on law enforcement becasue the home was not well managed. Police Chief, William Albany, took the initiative to get the agencies involved in creating a solution.
http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2011/01/21/news/srv0000010695888.txt
Our Police Chief would serve downtown well to become proactive and begin to address the agencies that serve those populations that wander aimlessly and loiter endlessly. Work with them to make a plan and follow up to see that they are meeting the goals of the community. The foot patrol can start asking these folks to move on, but then the agencies that provide for them also need to provide something for them to do, a sense of direction. Chief Flanders needs to be encouraged and supported by borough leaders to spear head a plan that would put responsibility squarely back onto these agencies.
Downtown will struggle to revitalize until they get a firm grip on this problem. In fact, I will go so far as to suggest that refusing to address this could be the singular issue, all things being equal, that will stave off progress.