Big check highlights PA infrastructure funding in Pottstown

POTTSTOWN — An oversized check for $250,000 made its way into the Pottstown Borough Hall Wednesday and was handed over by state Rep. Joe Ciresi and highlighting infrastructure investments in the borough using state funding.

The check came from a Department of Community and Economic Development grant and will be used for Pottstown's conversion of old-style mercury vapor streetlights to more energy-efficient light-emitting diode (or LED) streetlights.

"Pottstown's old streetlights made it difficult to drive or walk safely at night, as well as drove up the borough's electric bills," Ciresi said. "I secured this $250,000 grant to replace the old lights with new, energy-efficient LED lights and control systems which will use less electricity and dramatically improve nighttime visibility and so improve safety in Pottstown Borough."

The fact that the check is dated June 2022 is indicative of the fact that the borough received the money last year and has already begun replacing the lights. Pottstown has 1,821 streetlights which were installed in the 1960s. This DCED grant has allowed the borough to purchase 820 fixtures to convert streetlights to LED.

"The upgrade of our streetlights to LED became possible due to the funding provided by DCED and the advocacy of Rep. Ciresi," Pottstown Borough Manager Justin Keller said. "We are grateful for their support as it allows us to reduce our carbon footprint and save on energy costs while improving safety in our neighborhoods. The LED streetlight upgrades are in line with our joint sustainability plan with the school district, emphasizing the importance of sustainable infrastructure for the community's future. This funding allows us to reach a significant milestone for this plan recommendation, bringing us almost halfway toward our sustainability plan goal, by installing 820 LED lights out of the 1800 streetlights in the borough."

Keller said Wednesday night that most of the streetlight replacements have taken place "in the numbered streets."

Ciresi told the council that since the November election, Pennsylvania now has a governor from Montgomery County and a House Majority Leader, Matthew Bradford, D-70th Dist., who is also from Montgomery County, all of which could make it easier for municipalities here to obtain state funding.

"Education is one of the biggest issues and Pottstown is the fifth most underfunded district in Pennsylvania," he said.

Ciresi also noted that during his budget address Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro highlighted the need to revive "Main Street USA."

"One thing I’ve always loved about Pennsylvania is that no matter where you are, nearly every place has a Main Street — and those main streets matter," Shapiro said in his budget address

"But unfortunately, too many of our main streets — like so many of those I’ve walked with so many of you — haven't had the kind of investment they need to help them thrive again. We’ve seen communities like New Castle get hollowed out — but we’ve also seen what communities like Phoenixville can become when the Commonwealth invests in their vision," he said.

"He used Phoenixville as his example, but he might as well have been talking about Pottstown," said Ciresi. "It's refreshing to hear where he wants to make investments."

Toward that end, Ciresi advised Montgomery County leaders to "think big" in terms of seeking state funding given the number of Montgomery County officials now in a position of greater influence.

Along those lines, Keller told the council Wednesday that the reconstruction of the pedestrian bridge in Memorial Park, which is funded in part by state grants, will be delayed until 2024 due to the long lead time needed to fabricate the materials for the new bridge.

However, that allows other projects to move ahead on the schedule, including upgrades to Chestnut Street Park and the pedestrian bridge over Manatawny Creek in Riverfront Park, work which is expected to take place this fall.

Keller also told the council that work has begun on the $4 million effort to find and replace lead water pipes, a project funded in part by state money. He said so far, the investigators have looked at 80 homes and found 18 with lead service lines between the water main and the house. The project has enough money to replace 100 of those service lines "so we’ve got a lot more discovery to do."

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