Thursday, April 25, 2013
Lansdale Council President Matt West gave a lesson Tuesday night on how the Madison Parking Lot project will benefit the entire community of Lansdale and beyond through multimodal access.
Whether you walk, bike, ride or drive in Lansdale, the future Madison Lot Redevelopment Project will affect you in some way. That's the message put forth by Lansdale Council President Matt West Tuesday night during an informal gathering of a handful of residents and borough staff at Lansdale Borough Hall. West, tapping into his inner teacher (West teaches clases on GIS and geography at Kutztown University and Montgomery County Community College), said the meeting Tuesday was not to talk about the "minutae" of Madison Lot itself, but of the geographical and regional impact of the project. "It is a huge redevelopment in the works, a $50-million-plus investment," he said. West, as a regional planner, decided to talk about the bigger picture…
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Lansdale Borough will pay former Lansdale arts center business manager Anne Yannarella $12,000 of the $18,000 due to her in back wages. The $12,000 covers the council president and borough manager, who were defendants in the suit.
The old Lansdale Center for the Performing Arts, known colloquially as 311 W. Main, continues to cost Lansdale Borough money—$12,000 to be exact. In January 2013, former Lansdale Center for the Performing Arts business manager Anne Yannarella sued the North Penn Regional Council of the Arts, doing business as Lansdale Center for the Performing Arts, and four of its board members, in order to collect $16,750 in lost regular and overtime wages from 2010, according to civil court records. Two of those four members being sued were Lansdale Council President Matt West and Lansdale Borough Manager Timi Kirchner. The other two were Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Robert Kerns and Dale Murphy. All four were being sued because each…
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The vacant seat left by the resignation of former Lansdale Borough Council Vice President Paul Clemente is up for grabs. The borough accepted letters of interest until Dec. 31, 2012, with an appointment on Jan. 16
Come January 16, the battle for the open seat on Lansdale Borough Council comes down to two Ward One residents: Jason Van Dame and Jeffrey Howard. Council President Matt West informed Patch that the borough received two letters of interest for the open Ward One seat, vacated by the resignation on Dec. 31, 2012 of Vice President Paul Clemente. Van Dame is a resident of Jenkins Avenue. Howard is a resident of South Chestnut Street. West said that, as of Wednesday, there are no plans to extend the due date. Council will appoint either Van Dame or Howard to the vacant seat at its Jan. 16 action meeting. Whoever is appointed will fulfill Clemente's term, ending Dec. 31, 2013.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Lansdale Council President Matt West is teaching Kutztown University students the where and the why of Geographic Information Systems, all the while finding his place in life
Most children confined to the backseat of their parents' car during lengthy trips are usually accompanied by a favorite doll, or book, or — in this day and age — a Nintendo DS or iPhone. For Lansdale's Matt West, he had a map. West's father was an ordained minister, and West would often find himself and his parents traveling from town to town between the ages of seven and 13, seated comfortably in the backseat of the car, map in hand. Flash forward to West's anticipatory excursion into the college world. One day, while touring the school with his mom, they took a break and flipped through a book on the various majors offered at Kutztown. Mrs. West came across geography, read the description and blurted out, "Hey. This is you. You should be…
Monday, June 25, 2012
Borough Council President Matt West said he would support a town watch, as long as residents work in concert with council and police. Lansdale Police Chief Robert McDyre also had a message for criminals: We are coming for you
With the recent surge in arrests in Lansdale - including an alleged serial masturbator, alleged cocaine dealer, alleged vandals threatening residents with knives, alleged burglars jumping off roofs, alleged prostitutes and an alleged methamphetamine trafficking ring bust - borough residents have expressed interest in protecting themselves by forming a neighborhood watch. A neighborhood watch once existed in Lansdale Borough, but it did not work, as residents either had power struggles or were patrolling for crime for the sake of finding crime. There is no issue in forming a neighborhood watch, but there is a caveat: Residents are liable for any harm or injury, physical or otherwise, that can come with patrolling their streets for crime. …
Friday, April 27, 2012
Amy Rims stepped down from her position on the task force due to a move to Bucks County, and questions why no task force members supported her art shows
A vacancy has opened on the 311 W. Main Task Force in Lansdale with the resignation of North Penn School District resident Amy Rims. Rims was asked to step down due to her move to Sellersville, Bucks County. Borough Manager Timi Kirchner said the task force and its members are governed by an ordinance, one that defines the composition of the task force. The task force ordinance calls for 11 members. Four of those members must be council members. Four other members must have an established arts and entertainment background and need not be from the North Penn district. The remaining three members must be North Penn residents or own a business in the North Penn district. Rims was one such member. "Amy was appointed to the task force as a …
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The borough customarily recognizes employee tenure in five-year increments
Six Lansdale Borough employees - including four Lansdale Police officers - were recognized at a recent meeting for milestone anniversaries. "As it's been our custom so far, in the past two years, is to recognize employee milestones in five-year increments," said council President Matt West. "Tonight, we have six." Here are the six employees and their length of employment with Lansdale Borough:
Monday, January 23, 2012
Jack Hansen taking over as chair of Department of Community Development, Denton Burnell taking reins as chair of Public Works Committee
The announcement of new Lansdale Borough committee assignments last week revealed some new leadership under the 2012 council. Council President Matt West said the committee assignments were finalized two weeks ago, but ran through each one to "memorialize" the appointments. Dan Dunigan will remain as chair of the Administration and Finance Committee. Joining him will be council vice president Paul Clemente and West. There is no change to assignments from 2011. The Parks and Recreation Committee will be chaired again by Mary Fuller. Joining her are new councilman Steve Malagari and councilman Rich DiGregorio. Malagari and DiGregorio replace resigning councilwoman Anne Scheuring and councilman Mike Sobel, respectively. Public Works Committee…
Friday, January 20, 2012
The Christopher Dock High School grad was an officer with Macungie Borough Police
Drew Freed is now another one of Lansdale’s finest. The Abington native was sworn in Wednesday as an officer with Lansdale Borough Police. Friends and family, and colleagues, packed the meeting room at borough hall to support the Christopher Dock Mennonite High School graduate. Council President Matt West said Freed graduated Christopher Dock in 2003. He went on to attend Montgomery County Community College where he majored in Information Technology Management Information Systems. “Officer Freed attended the Montgomery County Municipal Police Academy while working part time at Elm Terrace Gardens, here in Lansdale,” West said. “Upon graduating the police academy in 2010, Officer Freed continued to work at Elm Terrace while eagerly testing …
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Part one of three stories looking at the inaugural meeting of the 311 W. Main Street Task Force
Advisors Assemble! The 311 West Main Street Task Force convened for its inaugural meeting Tuesday night, where they elected a chairman and vice-chairman and reviewed the structural integrity and conceptual plans for the former performing arts center. Councilman Mike Sobel was elected chairman of the task force by unanimous vote. He was nominated by councilwoman Mary Fuller and seconded by Robert Willi. Charles Booz, owner of Chantilly Floral, was unanimously named vice chairman, nominated by Fuller and seconded by council president Matt West. Task force member Amy Rims nominated James “Royale” Collins. However, Collins said he would be willing to work with anyone. “I’d like to take a crack at it,” said Booz. The Board Each member …
Kerry Boehm
7:40 am on Friday, April 26, 2013
I look out the window of the train every day and all I see is cheap easily accessible parking. I can only speak for myself but that is exactly what I am looking for in my daily commute. Although I have not seen any plans to raise the price of parking, I strongly suspect if millions of dollars are spent on a parking garage the money is going to need to be recouped. Also with a parking garage, I … more ›