Committee

ing, which we know there are a lot of issues of flooding in Norristown and all over Pennsylvania,” said Municipal Administrator Crandall Jones.

As part of an ongoing effort to comply with state programs associated with stormwater management, the municipality expressed interest in establishing a stormwater utility.

“There’s no funding related to the mandates that the state has for each community, it’s just a requirement that we have to do it, we have to submit annually to the state a report on our efforts and the progress we’re making toward those efforts,” Jones said during the Dec. 1 virtual

meeting.

Jones said that “those efforts are substantial,” and often “not covered in a budget. He added that creating a “separate stormwater stormwater utility” is a proactive measure that allows for the designation of funds and allows for potential grant opportunities to “deal with major stormwater issues in communities” and offset expenses.

Members of the Norristown Municipal Council previously authorized a consulting contract with Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc., a King of Prussia-based engineering firm, according to municipal officials. The company later recommended establishing the group with a variety of partners including area residents, business owners, municipal staff, and elected officials.

In order to spread awareness and drum up participation, Jones said outreach was done online, by way of social media as well as directly to stakeholders.

The following people were appointed to serve as members of Norristown’s stormwater advisory committee:

• Wally Harris, a community member

• Wailani Sosa, a community member

• Drew Shaw, of the Montgomery County Planning Commission

• Rebecca Swanson, of the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority

• Hakim Jones, Norristown Municipal councilman

• Christopher Dormer, superintendent of the Norristown Area School District

• Derrick Perry, Norristown

Municipal Council president

• Thomas Odenigbo, a municipal staff consultant

• Kathy Pfister, a municipal staff consultant

• Khal Hassan, a municipal staff consultant

Engineering consultant Allison Lee praised the initiative during last week’s virtual meeting.

“I think having a stormwater advisory committee is really a good effort, and it’s definitely smart on your end because the committee will have the capacity to assist, and advise, and maintain the guidelines, and the intent of the stormwater program are followed and well managed,” she said.

As the cases of the novel coronavirus continue to rise here in Montgomery County, Vice President Rebecca Smith stressed the importance of testing and

noted the extended hours at the Norristown location.

The COVID-19 testing site is now open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 1401 DeKalb St. in Norristown.

People of all ages living, working or going to school in Montgomery County are eligible to get tested by appointment at the countyrun sites.

To register, visit montcopa.org/covid-19 and click on the “county testing information” tab starting at 7 a.m., or call 610-970-2937 beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day.

In other business, Norristown Municipal Council members recognized an area resident who donated his kidney to his father earlier this year.

Twenty-three-year-old Nicholas Green, an employee of the Elmwood

Park Zoo, had initially felt “compelled to help his father find a match for a kidney to help save his life,” the proclamation stated.

The procedure took place on July 17, according to officials, and the father and son duo have since recovered.

“It brings us great honor for a young man like yourself to be such a selfless person and … you’re a light to this world … and you keep on doing your thing man,” Perry said. “God is gonna bless you one of these days for doing such a great act. We appreciate you, and I’m pretty sure your father appreciates you.”

The next Norristown Municipal Council work session is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 15.

Councilwoman Heather Lewis was absent from last Tuesday’s meeting.