Category: Trail Towns & Tours

Draft Heritage Action Plan to be discussed by Council tomorrow night

 On Wednesday, August 3rd, Borough Council will be discussing the Draft Heritage Action Plan (HAP) at the Committee of the Whole Meeting at 7 pm at Borough Hall.

Tom Carroll and I will give a brief presentation – 10 minutes – about the Draft (HAP). The Borough undertook the creation of a HAP this past spring with a grant from the Schuylkill River Greenway Association & the William Penn Foundation. The process sought input from a wide range of history, arts, culture, business and educational partners and citizens. We also got advice from Peter Johnston & Associates, planning consultants out of Easton, Maryland, who created a Schuylkill River Heritage Towns & Tours Toolkit for grant recipients to use.

The ideas behind Pottstown creating a Heritage Action Plan are to:

(1)  identify existing heritage & Schuylkill River Trail-related resources, such as historic walking tours, Pottsgrove Manor, the bike shop, arts organizations and restaurants;

(2)  let Trail users, residents and other visitors know what resources there are and where they’re located through good signs and trail markers;

(3)  get Schuylkill River Trail users from Riverfront Park and into the downtown, where the Trail can be extended down High Street through the use of the existing bike lanes, and further extend the Trail to a new terminus at Pollock Park;

(4)  help generate more foot/bike traffic for downtown merchants; 

(5)  get the Borough, business owners, and arts, historical, recreational, educational and wellness organizations working together around marketing Pottstown as a heritage destination.

One of the key words above is “Action.” There’s $25,000 available now from the Greenway/William Penn Foundation to implement some of the prioritized projects in Pottstown’s Draft HAP. Click on COMPONENT RANKING RESULTS to see the complete list of projects. These are some tangible activities that could help get people into town and give the downtown & PDIDA a leg up in marketing Pottstown as a Heritage Town.

Four projects were identified as appropriate for the next round of implementation funding from the Greenway (the $25K mentioned above.) They are:

#6 – Trail Connection: Riverfront Park to High Street & High Street to Pollock Park
#18 – Pottstown Comprehensive Brochure (to go into kiosks, Chamber of Commerce, businesses)
#28 – 3 Informational Kiosks at Riverfront Park, Pollock Park, Downtown
#36 – Trail Friendly Decal for participating businesses who offer water, rest rooms or discounts to Trail users

 These projects were chosen from the list of 42 projects based on:
• making a visible impact;
• being able to be completed within the scope of the available funds ($25K);
• being able to be completed by May 2012;
• and being compatible with the Heritage Towns & Tours major initiatives:
– destination creation and marketing;
– creating a Trail Town identity and a sense of place;
– and improving or creating on-ground connections between trails and communities.

The HAP can be used as a supporting document to go after more grant money to implement other projects listed in the plan. In a time of dwindling resources, there is still money in PA for conservation, trail connections and the like.

Residents and downtown business and property owners are encouraged to come out tomorrow night to hear more about the HAP and see what’s proposed for implementation.

MCCC Begins Phase II on Riverfront Center

I recently received the following press release from Montgomery County Community College and added the photo so readers would know what building is being renovated.

140 College Drive

 

June 15, 2011, Pottstown, Pa.—As residents of Pottstown and its surrounding communities head to theSchuylkill River and its trails for recreation this summer, they will see a flurry of activity at 140 College Drive – the future home of the Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center.

Montgomery County Community College is currently in phase II of the renovation that will transform the facility, commonly referred to as “the old PECO building,” into a state-of-the-art educational center. Phase II work includes improvements to the building’s infrastructure and exterior envelope, including the installation of sustainable features that will support LEED certification.

Specifically, phase II will include replacement of the building’s aged, leaking roof with an eco-friendly green roof, along with the installation of energy efficient windows. A new entrance and handicap-accessible ramp will also be created. Phase II work is slated for completion in September.

When funding becomes available, phase III work will focus on the building’s interior, including the development of classrooms, offices and student spaces. A variety of sponsorship and funding opportunities are available to help bring the proposed Riverfront Academic and Heritage Center to fruition. To learn more, visit www.mc3.edu/giving or call the College’s Foundation at 215-641-6535.

The completed Center will provide space for four college classrooms equipped with SMART technology, a state-of-the-art laboratory that will support the College’s Environmental Science degree program, and an interpretive center that will provide educational, historic and tourist information about the Schuylkill River Heritage Area (SRHA).

In May 2010, the College completed phase I of the project by renovating the site’s parking lot. Renovations included removing contaminated soil, installing underground drainage facilities, adding clean fill, installing a blacktop cap to protect the groundwater table, and constructing three bio-retention basins to capture stormwater runoff. Installation of LED lighting and the placement of more than 130 trees, shrubs and bushes make the lot more sustainable.

The building at 140 College Drive served the Pottstown community as an electrical generating station starting in 1911.  After sitting vacant for a number of years, the building and three-acre site were purchased by the Borough of Pottstown. The College secured ownership of the site in April 2009, and enjoys a unique partnership with the SRHA, which leases office space in the building.

Schuylkill River Sojourn: A Day on the “Hidden River”

Tuesday night, June 14… This time last week I was collapsing in a recliner in my parents’ living room, recovering from a 13.7 mile paddle down the Schuylkill River from Gibralter to Pottstown’s Riverfront Park. And I was happy as a clam. (What makes clams so happy, anyway?)

I’d gotten up at the ungodly hour of 4:30am and was on the road by 5am from New Jersey to the launch in Birdsboro. I’d only ever done some recreational paddling a few times when visiting friends in Canada the past few summers, and just figured I’d tough it out for one day. How bad could it be?

After fortifying myself with a few pancakes provided by the Cumru Township Lions Club, catching up with Tom Carroll, my consulting partner on Pottstown’s Heritage Action Plan, and his brother Mike, and meeting Carol DeWolf, Director of the Schuylkill Highlands Conservation Landscape Intitiative, and Dennis DeMara from PA’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, it was time to get into a kayak and literally test the waters.

I immediately drifted out into a part of the river where the current was pulling me downstream. I saw all the other paddlers patiently waiting for everyone to get into their boats, while I spun in circles and paddled furiously to keep from getting too far from the group. After 10 minutes, I was ready to call it quits for the day.

But, as would happen throughout the morning, until I got a little more instinctive with my paddle and kayak, someone knowledgeable would float over to me and offer me pointers and they had an immediate impact. By mid-morning, I was moving steadily down river with Mike from Spring City, and later joined by his brother-in-law, Mark. They were doing the entire Sojourn; it was their first time. Turns out Mike just started paddling last fall, and he’s hooked. He talked about living near the river all his life and really just discovering it recently. He’s gone so far as to buy his own camping gear, kayak and paddle – I rented mine from HRO Outfitters – and he’s been known to put in at the Spring City boat launch on the spur of the moment for a cruise on the river.

It was like this all day long – meeting friendly people, many of whom were also first-timers like me. The “experts” who floated past always had a new piece of advice for ne, and I appreciated all of it. There are plenty of paddling and certified safety professionals on the Sojourn, so you’re always in very safe company. Next year I definitely want to add at least a few days. The Schuylkill River Sojourn runs for 7 days and 6 nights; participants can do one day or the whole week. They can camp by the river or find other accommodations. The food is outstanding. We had an amazing candlelit lunch of fried chicken, pasta salad, freshly cut apples and Rita’s water ice at Morlatton Village, along with a short talk about planting native species in your Pennsylvania garden. And dinner by Bause-Landry Catering in Riverfront Park was out of this world: cornbread, fresh salads, Portabella mushroom chili (as well as the meat variety), and a massive chocolate chip cookie. I think I also wolfed down a few other things that are escaping me now…

My first time in the Schuylkill River, ever, was this past January 1st for Pottstown’s Parks & Rec Polar Bear Plunge. Now that I’ve had this kayak experience – where my whole perspective on what the river has meant to this region, since way, way back has been totally awakened – I’m looking forward to getting out there more often. It is peaceful and other-worldly and right in your own backyard. But boy was I glad to come around the bend, arms acquiver,see the Hanover Street Bridge and know that I was home.

Tom Carroll and I meet up in Riverfront Park

For $1/minute, I had a brief massage under the pavilion by Angela Wagner of the Academy of Massage Therapy and Bodyworks, located at 141 High Street in Pottstown. That definitely set the right tone for my recovery over the next couple of days.

If you want to experience the Schuylkill River Trail and River in a “peddle and paddle” event, check out the program that’s taking place on June 25th, sponsored by the Schuylkill River Heritage Area. It’s filling up fast, so sign up today!

How would you spend $25K to attract River Trail users to Pottstown?

For those who have been following the development of Pottstown’s Heritage Action Plan or HAP, it’s time to rank the various projects and strategies that have surfaced.

The purpose of a HAP is to inventory and assess our heritage resources – arts, culture, history and recreation – and then come up with a vision and marketing strategy to entice hikers and bikers off the Schuylkill River Trail and into the downtown. We have already identified our resources and are now at the point of prioritizing projects and strategies for the $25,000 we hope to receive in implementation funding from the Schuylkill River Heritage Area in the coming months.

Anyone can participate! We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who care about the revitalization of Pottstown’s downtown. Here’s what to do:

Attached is a TRAIL TOWN COMPONENT RANKING  spreadsheet. If you have a few minutes over the next 24 hours, please follow the instructions below and return your rankings by tomorrow, May 11th to ptownHAP@gmail.com.

1.       Click on the link above to open the file.
2.       Rename file, adding your name, e.g. “REPKOtrailtowncomponentranking.xlsx”
3.       Rank each component on a scale of 1 to 10; 1 being extremely important to 10, not important.
4.       In the suggested location column, add a suggested location or a comment, if you want.
5.       Return the completed ranking form as an attachment in .xlsx or .xls (EXCEL) format by tomorrow, May 11th to ptownHAP@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for your input and ideas!

If you want to learn more, you can find previous blog posts and discussions here:
https://positivelypottstown.wordpress.com/category/trail-towns-tours/ or check out Pottstown Heritage Action Plan on Facebook.

Ranking projects for Pottstown’s Heritage Action Plan

For those who have been following the development of Pottstown’s Heritage Action Plan or HAP, it’s time to rank the various projects and strategies that have surfaced. These rankings will determine the initial priorities for funding and completion.

To bring everyone up to speed… With funding from the Schuylkill River Heritage Area, Tom Carroll and I have been leading a cross-section of the community through a Heritage Action planning process on behalf of the Borough. The purpose is to produce a plan with a vision and marketing strategy around our heritage resources – arts, culture, history and recreation – so that we can entice hikers and bikers off the Schuylkill River Trail and into the downtown. We have identified our resources and ranked them, and are now at the point of prioritizing projects and strategies for the $25,000 we hope to receive in implementation funding from the SRHA in the coming months.

Anyone can be a participating partner! We welcome input from all organizations and individuals who care about the revitalization of Pottstown’s downtown. Here’s how to participate in the ranking:

Attached is a TRAIL TOWN COMPONENT RANKING  spreadsheet. If you have a few minutes over the next few days, please follow the instructions below and return your rankings by next Wednesday, May 11th to ptownHAP@gmail.com.

1.       Click on the link above to open the file.
2.       Rename file, adding your name, e.g. “Repkotrailtowncomponentranking.xlsx”
3.       Rank each component on a scale of 1 to 10; 1 being extremely important to 10, not important.
4.       In the suggested location column, add a suggested location if you are so inclined; i.e. “Bike Lane Striping” Suggestion: “Add bike lanes to Evans and Franklin Streets; connecting the North End to the Downtown”
5.       Return the completed ranking form as an attachment in .xlsx or .xls (EXCEL) format by Wednesday, May 11th to ptownHAP@gmail.com.

Thank you in advance for your input and ideas!

If you want to learn more, you can find previous blog posts and discussions here:
https://positivelypottstown.wordpress.com/category/trail-towns-tours/ or check out Pottstown Heritage Action Plan on Facebook.

Heritage Action Plan assesses resources & linkages

This past Monday, about a dozen members of the Heritage Action Plan working group gathered at the Tri-County Area Chamber of Commerce to review the results of a recent listing and ranking of Pottstown’s heritage resources.  

The map below – created by Tom Carroll – shows the clusters of historical, arts, cultural, dining and recreational resources in and around the downtown. Some highly-ranked resources received “poor” ratings for physical condition.  It’s important to keep in mind that highly-valued resources, perceived to be in poor condition, may be excellent candidates for money or attention to draw the most benefit from them in our promotional efforts.

The map also listed major annual or seasonal events hosted in/by Pottstown every year. When these events are shown by the month in which they occur, it becomes apparent that the Borough and various other organizations are holding major events that draw visitors from throughout the region 8 months out of the year. Coordinating & enhancing promotion with downtown merchants and PDIDA could be one of several recommended strategies in the HAP. Creating additional events to fill in the other months would lead to a full year of “hometown celebration” programming.

As the working group moves toward defining Pottstown’s heritage marketing strategy and branding, history and the arts emerged as themes to pursue. Here were several comments/suggestions:

  • Start giving Historic Walking Tours on First Saturdays, led by MCCC students.
  • Consider giving Cemetery Tours, esp. for John Potts Cemetery, which is now not open to the public, and for Edgewood Cemetery. Coordinate with Pottsgrove Manor.
  • Look into creating a Historic Church Tour; several churches were highly-ranked.
  • Use banners (inexpensive) to designate High St. as an “Avenue of the Arts.”
  • Use banners to generate excitement & direct visitors to downtown. Add color! 
  • Coordinate with PDIDA & downtown merchants.

The group briefly talked about tourism/hospitality amenities that are lacking or need improvement. Safety and cleanliness had been concerns in our first large group meeting back in March. 

  • High school students will be cleaning up the downtown on the April 30 Clean-Up Day, and this should be the beginning of more frequent clean-ups downtown by student volunteers.
  • Need to do a better job of tapping volunteers in the community.
  • Involve high school students in creating marketing materials.
  • Need signage, banners, kiosks to get Trail users into the downtown – still must decide how many, what goes on them, where to place them and prioritize list.
  • Need more occupied storefronts, esp. creative-related, for critical mass to attract trail users.
  • Will need lodging for overnight visitors when Trail is complete.
  • Consider a winter carnival in February.
  • HAP partners must continue to have conversations & coordinate with County & PennDOT regarding road projects and trail linkages.
As one participant noted: “This is exactly what the ULI report was talking about.”
We expect to have another large group meeting in the next couple weeks as we solicit more input on a vision statement, marketing strategies, and trail town components like signs, kiosks and connecting paths. The public is invited to join in here or by emailing PtownHAP@gmail.com.


Man-made waterfalls: A vision for Pottstown?

This past Friday, Joe Zlomek, Managing Editor of The Sanatoga Post, published an interesting revitalization story out of Rosemont, Illinois. You can check out the article here: “You can see the Pottstown waterfalls from Illinois.”

Joe describes the way this relatively new town created waterfalls at one of their gateways and at an entrance to a walkway along the Des Plaines River and asks readers to imagine something similar along Pottstown’s Schuylkill Riverfront.

With funding from the Schuylkill River Heritage Area and the William Penn Foundation, the Borough is in the midst of developing a Heritage Action Plan. The plan will lay out a vision, goals and objectives, and a marketing strategy for linking Schuylkill River Trail users to downtown resources, such as shops, restaurants, arts, culture, history and recreation. The River and the Trail are key to any revitalization and economic development strategy.

A working group meeting is taking place this morning, Monday, April 18 from 10:30am-noon. Anyone interested in being part of the planning or implementation of the Heritage Action Plan is welcome to attend this or future meetings.  Please send an email to PtownHAP@gmail.com or check out the Pottstown Heritage Action Plan on Facebook for more info.

A huge “THANK YOU” to Joe for giving us some creative food for thought!

Schuylkill Highlands holding open house for economic development plan

The Schuylkill Highlands is one of seven “Conservation Landscape Initiative” regions in the state of Pennsylvania. It’s a place that includes the Schuylkill River watershed; it’s also a collaboration of people and partners who want to preserve the landscape and promote sustainable economic development.

The Schuylkill Highlands is holding an open house tomorrow from 4-6 pm at Morlatton Village and everyone is invited. See The Mercury’s articlehere.

The open house will showcase the findings, outcomes and recommendations for The Compatible Economic Development Plan: Valley Forge to Reading and The Hopewell Big Woods.

Carter van Dyke & Assoc., Campbell Thomas & Assoc., Susan Huffman along with the Task Force will exhibit their findings on:

– Place -Based Tourism recommendations
– What types of businesses are needed and where
– What types of infrastructure improvements are needed and where
– Next steps to enhance the visitor experience, encourage economic development in this region and preserve our natural, cultural and historic resources
– Next steps to plan for the influx of visitorship to our gateways and river towns as the Schuylkill River Trail is completed.

Pottstown’s Heritage Action Plan, which is in the process of being formulated by a wide range of local Partners, is one piece of the larger, regional heritage tourism/economic development puzzle. I’ll be there tomorrow and hope a few faithful readers and Heritage Action team members from Pottstown can get there, too!

When: Thursday, March 31, 4-6 pm. Come and go as you please.
Location: White Horse Inn, Morlatton Village, 31 Old Philadelphia Pike, Douglassville, PA 19518

Sunshine Day!

If you haven’t noticed – it’s a GORGEOUS day! This morning, after doing a yoga pose for a Team Tri-County for a Cure video down by the river, I took a jog along the Schuylkill River Trail, and it was just wonderful.

Give yourself some time to cut out of work early and get on the trail or into a local park or just out on the street on your bike. This is one of those gifts from above that you don’t want to miss!

And afterward, stop by the Tri-County Performing Arts Center for the Positively!Pottstown Happy Hour. It runs from 5-7:30 pm; the $5 cover gets you appetizers from Juan Carlos Fine Mexican Cuisine, cookies from Company Cakes and complimentary beverages. Then get your tickets and stay for The Crucible at 8!

And now, a fond remembrance for this beautiful day…

What Heritage Resources are missing from this list?

LIST BELOW UPDATED AS OF 3/17/2011, 2:20 p.m.

PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE LISTING LOCAL, EXISTING RESOURCES

As part of the Heritage Action planning process, we’re in the midst of listing all the heritage resources that Pottstown has to offer. Think of a heritage resource as anything that is of any cultural, natural, historic or recreational significance in the history or current life of a community. Is there anything you’d like to see on the list?

Our next step will be to assess and rank these resources. Thanks for all the input so far!

NAME OF HERITAGE RESOURCE

Listed Historic Site/Structure
2 National Register Historic Districts
Pottsgrove Manor
Railroad Station
Roller Mills
Grubb Mansion
Jefferson Elementary School

Non-Listed Historic Site/Structure
The Carousel (planned)
Elks Club
Pottstown Historical Society
Historic Walking Tours
Potts Family Cemetery
Edgewood Cemetery
Candlelight House Tours

Cultural Site/Structure
historic churches
– Holy Trinity Church
– St. John’s Byzantine Church
– Emmanuel Lutheran Church
– Zion’s Reformed Church (Old Brick Church)
– St. Aloysius
– St. Peter’s
– Christ Episcopal Church
– Invictus Ministries
– Other churches

Edgewood Cemetery
Old St. Aloysius Cemetery

Archaeological Site/Structure

Museum or Interpretive Center
Pottstown Historical Society
Pottsgrove Manor

Educational Institution or Library
Pottstown School District
Pottstown Public Library
Montgomery County Community College
The Hill School
The Gallery School (arts)
High Street Music
Wyndcroft School
St. Aloysius School

Arts, Entertainment, Shopping
Assume all the downtown shops; maybe we’ll need a complete directory that’s easy to update on an informational kiosk?
The Gallery on High
Tri-County Performing Arts Center
Pottstown Arts & Cultural Alliance (PACA)
North Hall at MCCC
Boyer Gallery at Hill School
Center for the Arts at Hill School
High Street Music
The Ballroom on High (Swingkat)
Coventry Singers
Emmanuel Lutheran Concert Series
Sunnybrook Ballroom
Churchill – poetry & live music
Pottstown Symphony
Dada Gallery
Existing Murals

Trails, Greenways, Bikeways, Railroads
Schuylkill River Trail
Memorial Park
Bike Paths on High Street
High Street (wide – for parades)
Historic Bridges – 1903 Manatawny Bridge
Transportation
– PART – public transit
– Charles W. Dickinson Transportation Center (transit center)
– Pedestrian Underpass at MCCC
– Free bike program/bike lanes
– Airport

Natural & Scenic Sites
The Schuylkill River
Schuylkill River Trail
Riverfront Park
Manatawny Creek
Memorial Park

Parks & Recreation Areas
Pottstown Parks & Rec. Dept.
The whole Pottstown Parks & Rec. System, pocket parks, etc.
Pollock Park (Schuylkill River trailhead?)
Memorial Park
– Spray Park
– Trilogy Park
– Skate Park (planned)
– Miniature Golf/Manatawny Gateway (planned)
Riverfront Park
422 Sportsplex
High Street Yoga
Community Land Trust – Community Gardens
Pottstown Garden Club
The Dell & Far Fields at The Hill School

Festivals/Special Events
– In Riverfront Park
– Schuylkill River Festival
– Schuylkill River Sojourn (stopping point)
– First Saturdays
– Sunday Music in the Park
– Relay activities
– Weddings
– Fishing/rafting
– cross-country skiing
– biking
– Polar Bear Plunge
– Shiver on the River

Carousel of Flavor
Classic Car Shows
July 4th Celebration
Volleyball Rumble
Soapbox Derby
Parades
Family Fest
Open Doors (community day)
Halloween Parade
Candlelight Historic House Tour
Free Trolley Tours during special events

Heritage Tourism Business
– recreation
– Tri-County Bicycles
– Bike Share Program
– Bentley’s Boards (skate shop)
– Hidden River Outfitters (operates out of SRHA building)

– food/drink
– The Farmers’ Market
– Grumpy’s Handcarved Sandwiches
– Churchill, Inc.
– The Brickhouse
– Juan Carlos
– Funky Lil Kitchen
– Henry’s
– Positively Pasta
– Martha’s Famous
– Beverly’s Pastry Shop
– Company Cakes
– Burger King
– McDonald’s
– Dunkin Donuts
– Wawa
– Pottstown Diner
– High Street Diner (VIP)
– Very Best Restaurant
– Frankie & Johnnie’s
– Jack Cassady’s
– The Pourhouse
– The Icehouse
– Maria Angela’s
– Maximilliano’s
– Brunish Brothers Hot Dogs & Sausage

Media & Marketing
Borough Website
Tri-County Chamber of Commerce
Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority (PDIDA)
Roy Keeler/Roy’s Rants – blogger
WPAZ
PCTV
The Mercury
The Pottstown Post/Sanatoga Post
Positively!Pottstown – blog
Citizens for Pottstown’s Revitalization

Other
Walkable town
Wide, tree-scaped streets
Plenty of parking
Coordinated programs & activities promoting physical activity & health.
Historic architecture
Keystone Opportunity Zone
Mrs. Smith Pies
Pottstown Memorial Medical Center
Health & Wellness Foundation
Great volunteers
Elks Club, Rotary Club, Ambucs, Kiwanis,
Veterans Groups & other civic associations
Brookside Country Club
Train line
Small town atmosphere
Eagles/Firebirds
Hurricane Agnes
Underground Railroad
Reading/Philadelphia Railroads/Stations
Mills/Forges
Native American Lenni Lenape tribe
Dutch naming of the river
Steel industry & metal fabrication legacy
Firestone

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