The Elverson Borough Council approved a grant application for the Municipal Authority of the Borough of Elverson (MABE), discussed possible plans for the preservation of historical artifacts and finalized a plan for a capital reserve fund at their monthly meeting.
Rick Shaw, Joe Boldaz and Charlotte Gehman of MABE attended the Feb. 3 meeting, asking council to permit them to apply for a grant that will help to continue improvements to the treatment plant site.
“Authority is being considered for consent in order to close the other two lagoons,” said Boldaz. “It’s not finalized yet, but we have been discussing the issue with DEP, so this year we would like to finalize the design on closure of lagoons two and three at the treatment plant. The idea is to then sell the property off.”
MABE was awarded the same grant last year in the amount of $740,000. If MABE receives this year’s grant, it would be in a similar amount.
“We are hoping to demolish old structures and clean up the site completely,” said Boldaz. “We are trying to make a saleable piece of property for the authority in the future.”
The specific site MABE is looking at sits on close to 10 acres of land.
Council passed a motion and resolution to approve MABE to apply for the grant.
Gehman is hoping to receive more letters of support this year.
“I will be reusing the letters of support from last year,” she said. “However, we only have eight of them, so we are hoping others will be wiling to write some.”
Also in attendance at the February meeting was Chris Cameron of the Elverson Historical Commission.
Cameron attended to request that council work with the commission in order to consider improvements to a room in Borough Hall that is currently being used to house artifacts, as well as a meeting place for the Boy Scouts.
“We’ve had a number of inquiries from residents who are getting ready to pass on Elverson artifacts, and they would like to make sure there is room within the borough to preserve them,” said Cameron. “We’d really like to try and get whatever support we can from the council to speed up renovations and make them conducive to housing artifacts and also having the room as a community room.”
Council and the Historical Commission both would like to see the room further utilized.
Ideas were tossed around about whether or not it would be necessary to apply for a grant, ways to protect the artifacts currently on display and hurdles that might present themselves in the process of renovation.
The conversation was preliminary, but council member Jack Stewart agreed to attend the next Historical Commission meeting to discuss possibilities.
In a development from last month’s meeting, council members Bob French and Doug Hoskins created an updated resolution for the creation of a capital reserve fund for the borough.
Council reviewed the resolution and passed it unanimously.
In other news, Vice President Merle Stoltzfus took a moment at the beginning of the meeting to say a few words in remembrance of Robert Cook, a beloved member of the Elverson community and former president of the council.
“He served during a time when Elverson almost doubled in population,” said Stoltzfus. “These were challenging days for our town, but Bob’s quiet and firm leadership kept us working together. He left all of us a legacy, a gift of the past. I think the legacy of Robert Cook should have us pause and consider how we use our time and our space on this Earth and commit ourselves to leave a legacy as well.”
Council took a solemn moment to honor Robert Cook and is looking for a way to honor his contributions to the borough.
The next borough council meeting will be held in Elverson Borough Hall on March 3 at 7 p.m.
