Borough thanks volunteers for park cleanup
LANSDALE » A group of local volunteers has earned a public shout-out for cleaning up several of Lansdale’s parks.
Borough Manager John Ernst publicly thanked volunteers from The Dr. Frank E. Boston Legacy Foundation for volunteering their time on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
“For their service day, here in the borough, they organized a cleanup for Whites Road Park, Fourth and Fifth Street parks, Memorial Park, and the Moyer’s Road ballfields,” Ernst said.
“They organized approximately 80 participants, they worked for a couple of hours in those parks, and they were able to collect 40 bags of trash,” he said.
That Boston Legacy Foundation is a Skippackbased group of volunteers that works to honor the legacy of Dr. Frank Boston, a borough resident and World War I veteran who helped establish both the Elm Terrace Hospital, later known as North Penn Hospital, and the First Aide Emergency Squad that is now known as the Volunteer Medical Service Corps.
“I want to thank them for coordinating with us. We were able to help provide pickup and organization of all of the trash, and get it out to local facilities,” Ernst said.
And on the subject of winter, if not quite spring cleaning, Ernst also reported figures from the town’s public works department
on the total amounts collected by the department’s street sweeper last year.
“It picked up, in 2020, nine tons of trash, 152 tons of sifted material — which is gravel, dirt, pieces of roadway that might be coming apart, and cinders that are left over from snow removal,” Ernst said.
Those figures do not include an additional 480 cubic yards of leaves collected by the sweeper, which are then taken to a local nursery and distributed as mulch, Ernst told council during his manager’s report on Jan. 20.
Appointments approved: Borough council also voted unanimously on Jan. 20 to reappoint several incumbent
members of various borough boards and commissions.
Via motions made by appointments committee member Mary Fuller, the following were reappointed:
Economic Development Committee — Bruce Schwartz and Mark Ladley, both for terms running through July 31, 2023
Human Relations Commission — Juliane Ramic, for a term running through Feb. 28, 2023 and Jessica Rice, for a term running through Feb. 8, 2023.
Planning commission — John Chirico, for a term running through Sept. 30, 2025.
Fuller also moved, and council approved, the appointment of resident Rosanne Schussler to act as borough treasurer, effective immediately. Prior to that appointment, the monthly report of the treasurer typically approved by council was tabled, and Ernst said that report was not ready due to the transition between the town’s former and interim finance directors.
Construction meetings coming: Ernst also announced that staff are currently working with the North Penn Water Authority to plan their 2021 road and water line repairs, in coordination with each other.
“We will be embarking on a couple of road projects, primarily Columbia Avenue, from Susquehanna Avenue to Valley Forge Road, the full length,” Ernst said, “and also Laurel Lane, down by the creek, to deal with some stormwater runoff issues.”
Once those plans are finalized, according to the manager, borough and water authority staff will hold public meetings with residents in those areas, to describe the project and likely disruptions.
Borough hall to reopen Feb. 1: Staff have also announced that borough hall, located at 1 Vine Street, will be back open to the public starting on Monday, Feb. 1.
Hours of operation will be from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and 12 to 4:30 p.m., with the midday closure to allow for thorough cleaning of all areas where the public has access, according to the borough.
Residents can continue to pay their utility bill online or by phone at 1 (888) 844-8371, and credit card service charges remain suspended; bill payments can also be made at the dropbox in the lobby at borough hall. All borough electric disconnections and late charges also remain suspended.