Democratic Councilman Dissents in Lansdale Asset Upgrades Votes

Lansdale Borough Councilman Jack Hansen hates the difficult comfort level and the way it sounds inside the Wissahickon Park building at Lakeview Drive and East Main Street during Lansdale Democratic Committee meetings in the winter and summer, especially with the shoddy HVAC system turned on. He also hates how there's parking is extremely limited.
Hansen didn't hate it all enough to vote against a complete renovation to the building on the edge of Wissahickon Park near Norway Drive last week.
In an 8-1 vote, council approved, among other upgrades, Centre Point Contracting, of Lansdale, as the firm responsible for the project.
"Although it can be somewhat used, it is not very user friendly. Because we're moving, we do have (the North Penn Educational Services Center meeting room) for council meetings. But we don't have space for our other meetings like planning commission, Economic Development Committee and Communication Commission, et cetera. That building has been sitting there for years and costs us money to keep it up to date, but it's not doing anything for us whatsoever," said borough Manager Timi Kirchner.
Kirchner said now is a good time to take the opportunity to do the renovations to the building to get it to a point where it can be used for borough meetings for the couple of years.
"Ultimately, it would be used and rented out by other entities in the community going forward, so then it becomes a money maker," she said.
Kirchner said 421 W. Main St. is a borough property that it is constantly upgrading over the years.
"We have major tenants in those buildings," she said.
Scott Malin, of Spiezle Architects, the firm contracted to complete and offer solutions in a facilities study for borough assets.
"This renovation updates all the interior materials, provides all new mechanical systems, HVAC, and new electric. We are adding a toilet that will be fully (handicap) accessible, and renovating the existing one that is not (handicap) accessible," Malin said. "Essentially, updating the building with all new materials and finishes, so new flooring, walls and ceilings."
Parking will be increased by five spaces, he said.
"Comfort levels will be dramatically increased to provide a much more comfortable environment for anyone that uses it," Malin said.
Malin said it will be a new space renovated within the existing. It will make for a great meeting space, he said.
An office will be made out of a storage area, Malin said. The idea is to open it up and make it more usable.
"A renovated building of this type could be rented to other groups for a fee. When this is up to snuff, it's a lot cleaner, a lot better," said Councilman Mike Sobel.
Kirchner said some borough buildings are short-term options for groups, but this upgrade would make Wissahickon Park building a long-term option for interested groups.
In other votes, Hansen repeated his dissidence in other votes for property upgrades.
Council voted 8-1 to have B&E Boilerworks, of Red Hill, repair the boiler at 421 W. Main St. Lansdale Borough owns the building that houses District Court 38-1-28 and the Montgomery County Aging Services division. It once served as borough hall.
Council also voted 8-1 for Joe Dugan Inc., of Glenside, to restore the masonry facade at 311 Arts (itself a former Masonic Temple). But this time, the dissenter was Democratic Councilman Rich DiGregorio Jr.
Hansen chose principle over comfort in his vote on the Wissahickon Park building. He said council members never received any schematics for the building renovation.
"We hadn’t seen anything on that, as far as whats being done. We're not going to see it," he said. "I don’t see how any member can vote for anything they haven’t seen."
Furthermore, he said the 2012 bond being used for all the upgrades needs to be approved by council first.
"At the time that we passed that bond, there was a list of projects that came up to the $10 million. Ms. Fuller and Mr. Sobel challenged our bond counsel, 'Can this be used for any other projects, and the bond counsel told them not without approval of council and approval of lenders," Hansen said. "We haven’t heard it come before council to change the 2012 bond to fund this project."
Kirchner told Hansen the bond can be used for major capital projects for municipal and police purposes.
"They are authorized," she said. "What we are spending money on is authorized in the statement within that bond."