Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Committee

PARRC MEETING MINUTES February 23rd, 2022 -A hybrid meeting In attendance: Michael Lenhart, Borough of Pottstown Greg Churach, Upper Pottsgrove Township Charlie Valentine, West Pottsgrove Township Tim Konetchy, Montgomery County Planning Commission Cathy Paretti, Upper Pottsgrove Township Craig Colistra, Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Jay Erb, North Coventry Township Foundation Karen Nocella, East Coventry Township Tricia McCloskey, Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Pete Hiryak, Douglass Township Committee Naomi Crimm, Montgomery County Planning Commission Meeting Notes: 1. Call to Order- 4:35pm and Pledge of Allegiance 2. Welcome and Introductions- Naomi Crimm, Montgomery County Planning Commission 3. Meeting minutes from January 26, 2021, were motioned for approval by C. Valentine and seconded by C. Paretti, all approved. There were no objections. G. Churach abstained. 4. Executive and Subcommittee Reports. a. Treasurer’s Report. C. Paretti provided the Treasurer’s Report and indicated that the CD will mature on February 25th, 2022 and at that time the balance will be transferred into the checking account. The CD balance is $25,087.50. b. Events Subcommittee. C. Colistra stated that an Events Subcommittee meeting had been held. The group discussed holding events that tie into the strategic plan. One idea that the committee came up with was to have volunteer events at each park, one per weekend for seven weeks. Each event would rotate to a different park in the PARRC region. This could help build up the volunteer base for PARRC. K. Nocella stated she will be participating in an upcoming Litter Lifters event in the Phoenixville area and she will report back on how it was organized, run, etc. C. Colistra stated it may be a good idea to have a fund for food and supplies. C. Paretti indicated that in Upper Pottsgrove, the Arboretum develops the volunteer programs with students. J. Erb stated that the disc golf course could use some work to remove invasives and pick up trash. An item could be raffled off to encourage participation. T. McCloskey stated that we she served on a local watershed board in the Lehigh Valley, many people turned out to clean up the stream. Her group also worked with local companies, universities and people that needed to provide community service to get volunteers. C. Colistra stated that we may be able to have an intern that works on volunteering and events administration. c. Financial Sustainability Subcommittee. T. McCloskey reviewed the memo she prepared of her meeting with Patty Elkis of DVRPC regarding the formation of a non-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status for PARRC, including the order of the tasks that need to be accomplished and the need to designate the 501(c)(3) as a supporting organization to PARRC. C. Paretti stated she met with D. Garner and he didn’t think that it would be a problem but needs to look into it further. M. Lenhart stated that PARRC needs to make sure it has the funds in place to cover the costs associated with insurance and fees, etc. C. Paretti indicated her group didn’t need to file a 990 because it fell below the minimum dollar figure requirement. C. Colistra indicated that insurance may cost around $20/month. C. Valentine stated that it was about $600 to file the paperwork Website: www.parrc.net  for Adventure Grove Playground and first year estimated costs are about $2,000 to $4,000. C. Paretti stated that there is a $125 charge to file with the PA Bureau of Charitable Organizations. M. Lenhart stated that PARRC should add these costs into the next municipal funding resolution. C. Paretti stated that we still have to fulfill 2022 and 2023 so the next municipal resolution is 2024. K. Nocella stated the first question from the supervisors will be how much will this cost. A formal vote will be needed at some point. M. Lenhart stated that the next step if for each PARRC member to discuss this with their governing body. d. DEI Subcommittee. No activity. T. McCloskey needs to contact R. Griffith and T. Konetchy regarding setting up a working group. 5. Planner’s Report. T. McCloskey provided the Planner’s Report for the last month which included sending out the reviewing information for several new grant programs, submitting LOIs to PAHWF, beginning two MontCo 2040 grant applications, submitting one Chester County Preservation Partnership Program grant application, and beginning work on CFA LSA applications and DCNR applications. 6. Old Business a. PARRC Non-profit designation update. Topic covered under previous agenda item. 7. New Business a. Pottstown Parks Foundation and Judo Club funds. M. Lenhart indicated that the PPF is dissolving and distributing the funds it has, including $4,000 for the Judo Club, which has been basically inactive the past two years due to Covid. The Judo Club needs a place to put the funds since they have no bank account. Can PARRC hold the funds for them? J. Erb stated PARRC may want to talk to a solicitor about that before depositing the funds. T. McCloskey also asked about a low interest credit card for small on-line purchases. C. Colistra indicated SRGA may have a credit card she could use for these purchases. b. Public Art funds in PARRC’s account. T. McCloskey indicated that ArtFusion did not want to hold the funds in their account and asked if PARRC can hold the funds. C. Colistra stated that PARRC will need a policy regarding holding these kinds of funds. M. Lenhart described the mural on electrical boxes project to the group. c. APRA Funding Town Hall. T. McCloskey stated she attend the ARPA funding town hall meeting held by the Montgomery County Recovery Office. She stated that $160 million dollars in funding is available to communities and the project types are fairly broad, and do include park and recreation projects as eligible project types. The grant applications are due April 14th. 8. Grant Announcements: a. Items a. through f. on agenda. M. Lenhart and T. McCloskey reviewed the scopes of work for all of the upcoming grant programs, including Chester County Preservation Program, MontCo 2040 Implementation Program, DCNR Community Conservation Partnership Program. Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Statewide Local Shares Account program, and DVRPC’s TCDI program. T. McCloskey indicated that since the agenda was printed, East Coventry’s CCPC grant application was filed. b. PMRPC Minigrant Program Update and Round 22. T. McCloskey working to meet requests for information for some of the applications. 9. Partner Updates: • Douglass: Landscaping to be updated at the municipal building and the EMS building. • East Coventry: Upcoming 5K and 10K race on 4/2. Shared use agreement is done and will be approved at the March BOS meeting. • Lower Pottsgrove: No update • North Coventry: No update • Pottstown: Took down trees in Riverfront Park, lost of woodchips are left over and does anyone have a need for woodchips? C. Valentine wanted to know what kind of equipment would be needed to pick it up and haul it. J. Erb said they could use some for the disc golf course. • Upper Pottsgrove: G. Churach indicated that the township had approved the trail paving project on Snyder Road. Shore Catch Pond is going to be treated for algae in March and logs and debris removed. May be site for the fishing derby. • West Pottsgrove: No update • MCPC: Not present during this time of the agenda  • CCPC: Not present during this time of the agenda • PAHWF: PAHWF is preparing a community health survey for the Pottstown area. The survey will cover topics such as health needs, employment, quality of life, walkability, etc. The survey is slated to go out mid-March. 10. Public Comment. None. 11. Action Items. PARRC-Pottstown Public Art Funds. 12. Next PARRC meeting Agenda items. M. Lenhart stated that PARRC can make a motion on setting up the non- profit organization and getting 501(c)(3) status. 13. Adjournment- A Motion to Adjourn was made by C. Paretti and seconded by j. Erb, meeting adjourned at 6:30pm. Website: www.parrc.net