NEW TO THE BEAT

Officers sworn in and local beautification initiative recognized as first Montco affiliate

Council meeting, which was moved from its usual Tuesday slot to Wednesday because of National Night Out festivities Tuesday evening.

Magisterial District Judge Francis Lawrence administered the oaths of office to entry level officers Robert Nolan and Matthew Walsh as their family and friends looked on. Both officers were selected in accordance with a resolution, previously passed by Council, to hire two new police officers who had successfully completed their civil service examinations.

After their swearing in, Assistant Municipal Administrator and Executive Director

of Keep Norristown Beautiful Brandon Ford took to the podium to deliver a presentation about Norristown’s involvement with the national and statewide beautification and environmental awareness program.

Norristown is the first municipality in Montgomery County and only the 14th in Pennsylvania to become an affiliate of the nonprofit initiative which aims to reduce littering, improve recycling and beautify communities.

Affiliate communities receive corporate assistance to acquire supplies and are eligible for selected training opportunities and grants.

Keep Norristown Beautiful has already conducted a 50-street litter index, held a spring clean-up — in which 88 volunteers collected nearly a ton of trash — increased recycling, and planted native species plants in Riverfront Park, said Ford.

Future projects include an additional fall clean-up and a Riverfront Park festival slated for Sept. 15 that will feature kayaking, music, watershed education activities and “tentatively,” a beer garden. The organization is also teaming up with neighboring communities for an ongoing series of hazardous household waste collection events.

One of the municipality’s goals in participating in the project is to receive a gold or silver sustainability certification from the Pennsylvania Municipal League. A high rating in the assessment of Norristown’s environmental practices could attract business and encourage innovation and investment, Ford explained.

For more information, visit the Keep Norristown Beautiful page of Norristown’s website or email knb@norristown.org.

In other business, council passed a resolution to adopt the 2017 Montgomery County Hazard Mitigation plan as the official mitigation plan for the municipality and accepted a $1.76 million bid from Glasgow Inc. of Glenside, Pa., for milling and paving, ADA ramp construction,

OSCAR GAMBLE — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Newly sworn-in Norristown police officers Robert Nolan, left, and Matthew Walsh, right, stand in front of the portrait of fallen Norristown Officer Thomas Barone at Municipal Hall shortly after taking their oaths in front of family and friends, Wednesday, Aug. 9.

OSCAR GAMBLE — DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA From left, Assistant Municipal Administrator and Executive Director of Keep Norristown Beautiful Brandon Ford poses with Councilman Hakim Jones, Municipal Administrator Crandall Jones, Councilwoman Heather Lewis, Councilwoman Olivia Brady, Council President Sonya Sanders, Councilwoman Rebecca Smith and Councilwoman Valerie Scott-Cooper as Lewis and Sanders hold a certificate of recognition for Norristown’s participation in the Keep America Beautiful initiative.