County Commissioners OK Funding for Schwenksville Parking Project

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution at its meeting Thursday that will bring about $183,000 to Schwenksville for the Perkiomen Trail corridor parking project.

The grant comes as part of a countywide community revitalization program that will provide seven Montgomery municipalities with roughly $1.8 million for enhancement of public facilities.

The commissioners voted 2-1 in favor of passing the resolution, with Commissioner Bruce Castor submitting the lone nay vote, voting for only one of the 11 proposed improvements. He said his vote was motivated by financial concerns.

“[Our financial situation] has us with low cash reserves and higher debt,” he said. “I think these are good projects and good ideas, but I think we should delay them for a year, maybe two years, until the county recovers financially and then fund them. I don’t have any objection to these projects, I just think we should delay them.”

Castor voted against all projects except the proposed funding of a studio center streetscape project in Norristown, saying that the program's basis of funding was a loan, not a grant, and that the county would recoup money on the project.

The next Board of County Commissioners meeting is scheduled for July 20. 

The commissioners approved the following grants as part of the community revitalization program: