This week’s meetings » Lansdale borough council
March 28
Parking ticket period extended: Borough council voted unanimously March 28 to extend the period of time to pay a parking ticket. “The passage of the new parking ticket ordinance highlights some of the great work this board is doing,” said Mayor Garry Herbert. “While it seems small, the ability to pay tickets in a reasonable amount of time will allow residents to avoid paying punitive fees, and avoid creating unnecessary animosity with the borough,” he said. An ordinance was passed unanimously amending section 56 of the borough code book to extend the amount of time an owner or operator has to pay a parking ticket from the previous period of three days to seven days. Payments of a $15 parking ticket can now be made to the Borough of Lansdale, 1 Vine St., “within seven days after the date and time set forth on the notice, excluding weekends and holidays,” according to the new ordinance. That recommendation was vetted and put forward from council’s Public Safety meeting earlier this month, then approved unanimously by council with compliments from the Mayor. “This is what good government looks like: working with residents, and nonresidents, to have more positive interactions with the borough,” Herbert said. “I am proud to have helped move this across the goal line, and to have helped fostered more goodwill with the community,” he said.
••• Events OK’d: Several upcoming events were unanimously approved by council, including the following: • The annual Founders Day event celebrating the borough’s birthday on Aug. 25. Roads to be closed include S. Line St. between E. Main St. and Penn St.; Penn between S. Line and Church Road; Park Avenue tween E. Main St. and Penn St., all from 8 p.m. until the end of the fireworks show that night. • The seventh annual PA Hometown Hero Walk, starting at 10 a.m. on May 12. Participants will start and end at Trinity Lutheran Church, located at Main St. and Valley Forge Road, and walk on sidewalks on East and West Main to Line Street, then turn around and return. • The 2018 season of the Lansdale Farmers Market, to be held from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. (market open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) on Saturdays from May 19 through November at Penndale Middle School, 400 Penn St.
••• Grant funds sought: Council also approved several grant applications seeking outside funding for projects across the borough. A grant application was authorized seeking $281,000 from the Montco 2040 Implementation Grant program, to cover the costs of upgrading playground equipment at Whites Road Park. If awarded, that grant would be matched with up to $70,253 in borough matching funds. A second grant application was authorized seeking similar funds from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ 2018 Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2) grant program, also for Whites Road Park playground improvements. A third grant application was also approved, seeking $498,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority via the PennDOT Multimodal Transportation grant program for further work on the Liberty Bell Trail running through the town. A fourth grant application sought $135,562 in funds from the state Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Program. That funding would be used for storm sewer upgrades along East Third St. between Chestnut and Broad streets, and was vetted and recommended by council’s public works committee, while the others were vetted and recommended by the parks and recreation committee.
••• Residents appointed: Four borough residents were appointed unanimously to positions on vacant borough boards and commissioners. John Chirico was reappointed to serve an additional five-year term on the Lansdale Building Code Board of Appeals, expiring March 31, 2023, and Chirico was also reappointed to serve a new five-year term on the Lansdale Parking Authority expiring the same date. John Darab was reappointed to a four year term on the borough Planning Commission, running through March 31, 2022, and residents Bill Allen Jr. and Ray Liberto were both appointed to three year terms on the Lansdale Police Pension Fund board of trustees, both running through March 31, 2021.