Lacrosse parking spurs Hill School critique.
POTTSTOWN >> A conversation about asking tax exempt properties to contribute to borough and school district tax coffers shifted abruptly Thursday to discussion of a lacrosse tournament at The Hill School — and the parking arrangements.
During a Pottstown School Board meeting, board member Thomas Hylton said he had been approached by Borough Council Vice President Sheryl Miller about sending out a joint “PILOT” letter — Payment in Lieu of Taxes — to tax exempt properties in town, asking them to make a contribution to both entities.
Currently, the borough does this annually and she thought it might be more effective to have both entities send out a single letter together, he said.
The school board decided it was a good idea and said the details about how much each entity would get from any proceeds should be worked out.
But board member Ron Williams brought up an editorial advertisement Hylton published in The Mercury that noted that when The Hill School hosted a major lacrosse tournament in June, it did not allow parking on its own campus, but did secure free parking for visitors at the former Edgewood School.
Williams noted that The Hill School got paid to host the tournament on its property, and asked why the school district should not also be paid for the use of its property?
Acting Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez reminded the board that The Hill School also shares its facilities with the district frequently.
Board member Katina
“It is important to note that The Hill School does, in fact, pay taxes and make substantial payments that support Pottstown. In (fiscal year) 2016, we paid over $89,000 in property taxes, an increase of 11 percent from the prior year.” Cathy Skitko, Hill School Director of Communitcations If it paid property taxes, “The Hill School would pay about $2 million a year and would be the borough’s largest taxpayer.” Thomas Hylton, Pottstown School Board member
Bearden said when The Hill hosts large events, parking often “spills out into the streets.”
She said she has had people park in her backyard without permission and the police would not have it towed for fear of “damaging the car.”
Bearden pointed out that Mount Olive Baptist Church on Jackson Street offered parking on its grounds for $10 during the lacrosse tournament, but there were few takers.
Hylton noted that if it paid property taxes, “The Hill School would pay about $2 million a year and would be the borough’s largest taxpayer.”
He said the school “serves an affluent population” in a district that has a struggling tax base and it should make more effort to improve the neighborhood that surrounds its growing campus.
But that is exactly what The Hill School is doing through its Hobart’s Run initiative, argued Hill School Communications Director Cathy Skitko in an email responding to Mercury queries.
Skitko confirmed The Hill School rented its facilities for the tournament sponsors and was given permission to use the former Edgewood School property for parking by former Superintendent Jeff Sparagana.
“The tournament brought about 4,000 people from all across the United States to our hometown, where they supported local restaurants and other businesses here in Pottstown,” Skitko wrote. “We have heard from several local business owners who were thrilled by the event and the interest it brought to the Borough and local businesses.”
“We recognize that this influx of visitors can result in parking and traffic congestion,” Headmaster Zachary Lehman wrote in a letter to the editor published in June 28 edition of The Mercury.
“While The Hill School certainly strives to strengthen communication and notification with local residents, the Pottstown Police Department, and local businesses and organizations, we believe that these types of events provide a critical boost to economic growth for the borough,” Lehman wrote.
In her email, Skitko also wrote that: “It is important to note that The Hill School does, in fact, pay taxes and make substantial payments that support Pottstown. In (fiscal year) 2016, we paid over $89,000 in property taxes, an increase of 11 percent from the prior year,” she wrote.
“In (fiscal year) 2016 alone, The Hill School also made substantial contributions to the borough for economic development and directly to the Pottstown Area Industrial Development Corporation. The Hill also contributed $325,000 to the Borough for the repaving of Edgewood Street.”
It should be noted that the repaving payment was part of an agreement forged in 2008 in which the borough agreed to abandon Green Street, to allow for the campus to expand for more faculty housing.
That agreement also included The Hill agreeing to pay borough property taxes on the homes it build and converted to faculty housing.
However, as Williams pointed out, the school district was not part of those negotiations and there is no agreement to pay school taxes on those properties.
But The Hill School’s financial impact on Pottstown does not stop with taxes, Skitko argued.
“In addition, more than $2 million in goods and services are purchased by The Hill each year from Pottstown businesses — a figure that does not include purchases made by students, parents, alumni, and other guests who enjoy Pottstown businesses while visiting The Hill,” she wrote.
Also, in addition to the efforts made to clean-up Edgewood Cemetery, “The Hill also provides generous financial and volunteer support to several local community organizations including the local fire companies, the Olivet Boys’ and Girls’ Club/Ricketts Center, the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities, Operation Backpack, and Steel River Playhouse,” she wrote.
“We welcome discussions about additional partnerships with the Pottstown School District, the borough, and other entities that share our hopes and vision for an ever-stronger, revitalized community,” Skitko wrote.
But there wasn’t any more discussion on the school board side of the equation Thursday night.
Although the “pilot” program was on the agenda for “discussion,” School Board President Kim Stilwell stopped that discussion — in the process cutting board member Kurt Heidel off when he wanted to make an observation of his own about the Hill School conversation.
Stilwell said she wanted to keep the meeting “on the agenda.”