Tom's 50th Anniversary Celebration Approved

The Royersford Borough Council met for its last February meeting on Tuesday at . During the meeting, council members discussed a handicapped spot, a growing concern of solicitation in our area, and the approval of the celebration of 50 years for .

Mayor John Guest said he and Chief Kevin Schurr had discussed some concerns over the , which would be held on May 26 in a vacant lot across the street from the establishment. However, ownership at Tom's has submitted some detailed information on how they intend to administer the event, including security, parking, neighbors, etc.

Guest concluded by saying if the event is run as it was proposed, he and Schurr no longer have problems. Council voted unanimously to approve the event.

Borough Manager Mike Leonard gave his report, highlighting an important issue in town: solicitation. It has come to his attention by numerous phone calls and even people stopping in to his office, that are going door-to-door and being very aggressive in trying to get residents to change over from PECO.

"They seem to turn into used car salespersons," Leonard said. "They just don't take no for an answer. I had them on the phone talking to me. They're just obnoxious."

Leonard said he'd like to take a look at tightening up the soliciation permit, especially looking at the time of day restrictions. Leonard said that apparently these energy salespeople are out at night. More will follow in March.

Council approved three resolutions on Tuesday night:

• Resolution 2012-02: Approval to sign all documents for transfer of ownership on two 2012 Ford pickup trucks for use of wastewater and public works. They arrive on Wednesday.
• Resolution 2012-03: Approval to put in for a Community Development Block Grant for use on Chestnut Street between 7th Avenue and Lewis Road. Leonard said the borough applied but did not get one last year. The total construction cost on this road would be $227,000 with an engineering fee of $20,000. Leonard confirmed this work would be done in 2013 or beyond.
• Resolution 2012-04: Approval to make Chairperson Tom Weikel the voting delegate and councilman John Guest the alternate for the 101st General Assembly for the Boroughs Assosciation. The convention is from April 29 until May 2 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort

All resolutions were approved unanimously.

Leonard said a meeting was held on Feb. 24 that included himself, State Senator John Rafferty, Representative Tom Quigley and a plethora of other area representatives in relation to putting a traffic light on 1st Avenue and Main Street.

"Everyone’s in agreement that it needs to get done, but the borough doesn’t have the money to do it," Leonard said. "There's a grant coming up in June – the Red Light Enforcement Grant. We're going to apply and see if we can get that through and it should take care of most of it. We're not obligated to do anything as of now."

Other notes from the meeting include:

• Leonard mentioned the borough fulfilled one of its obligations to the , which is getting Verizon service installed on Wednesday
• Bills were paid in the amount of $169,411.76
• Council had a lengthy discussion on a handicapped parking spot at 155 Second Avenue. Due to a vast amount of factors, including a fire hydrant, pedestrian crosswalk and a handicapped ramp, council decided to send the request back to the police committee to make a firm decision.
• The Civil Service Commission did not meet in 2011, but approved minutes from March 2010. John Grispon was appointed to the three-person commission for 2012-13, replacing John Guest.