A special meeting of the East Norriton Township Board of Supervisors was called to order by Chairman Donald Gracia at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday January 24^th, 2006 for the purpose of reviewing the draft of the new Township Open Space Plan.  Supervisors present were Donald Gracia, Chairman, Lewis McQuirns, Vice Chairman, and Supervisors James Serratore, James Staufenberg, and Kandy Heckman.  Mr. Gracia then led the Supervisors in a prayer and the pledge of allegiance.

             Mr. Gracia then introduced the members of the East Norriton Township Open Space Plan Committee and thanked them for their hard work in preparing this draft plan.  He noted that members of the East Norriton Township Planning Commission were also in attendance for this meeting.

              Mr. Gracia then introduced the Township Planner, Mr. E. Van Rieker, to review the draft of the 2005-2006 Open Space Plan.

             Mr. Rieker reported on the past purchases of the Township under the 1995 Open Space plan which included acquiring the Van Landeghem Tract with West Norriton Township, the purchase of the DeSage property and the subsequent sale of land and the house with permission of the County for the preservation of this historic home, the purchase of the Old Arch Road Park, and the purchase of additional property of the Lewis K. “Mack” Watson Park.  The purchase of the Van Landeghem property was also instrumental in the development of the Feasibility Study for the Green Way Trail.

             Mr. Rieker then noted that the East Norriton Township Open Space Plan Committee will be making this same presentation to the Montgomery County Open Space Board on February 14^th.  He went on to explain that the Open Space Plan, a part of the township’s draft comprehensive plan update, contains twelve chapters including chapters on census, growth, development and land use. The comprehensive plan update is expected to be presented to the Board of Supervisors sometime in the middle of this year.

             Mr. Rieker reported that the East Norriton Township Open Space Committee has been meeting on a regular basis since June of 2004 and has identified 21 properties which  have been categorized as thirteen Priority One and eight Priority Two properties for possible acquisition.  He went on to explain that the County has allocated approximately 1.1 million dollars for East Norriton Township to acquire land for open space.  The County would pay 80% of the costs for properties to be purchased with the Township responsible for 20% of the costs.  Mr. Rieker noted that there is a limited amount of open space remaining in East Norriton Township and that the Open Space Committee has reviewed possible trail development as a part of this plan.

             Mr. Rieker then explained that East Norriton Township has contacted all of its neighbors about possible joint ventures and possible open space or trail linkages with projects in neighboring communities.

            Mr. Rieker then highlighted the open space lands identified in the new plan with particular emphasis on the preservation of Woods Golf Center, obtaining land from the Norristown Farm Park as additional active recreation areas for East Norriton Township and the purchase of the Barrington property as a possible educational area developed in conjunction with the East Norriton Middle School.  Mr. Rieker also noted the importance of preserving the open lands of each of the schools in East Norriton including Cole Manor, East Norriton Middle School, Paul Fly and the Penn Christian Academy.  These properties are currently used by the Township as active recreation areas.

            Mr. Rieker then noted that he has also met with the East Norriton Township Historical Advisory Committee to include a chapter in this plan on historic preservation in our township.  Some 30-35 properties have been identified by the East Norriton Township Historical Advisory Committee as being historically significant to our Township.

             After Mr. Rieker’s presentation, Mr. Baerwald noted the make up of the committee which included Mr. Dan Delaney, Chairman of the Norristown Area School District Board of Directors, Mr. Keith Tornetta of the East Norriton Township Planning Commission, Mr. Bud Denner, past Chairman of the East Norriton Township Board of Supervisors, Mr. James Serratore, now a Supervisor and past member of the Planning Commission, Mr. Shawn O’Rourke, tenant farmer at the Norristown Farm Park, Mr. Larry Brown, Director of Parks and Recreation, and Mr. Helmuth Baerwald, Township Manager.  He went on to explain that this meeting was an informal presentation of the Open Space Plan and that a future Public Hearing on the plan will be scheduled after comments are received from the Montgomery County Planning Commission and Open Space Committee. This Public Hearing will be duly advertised.

            Mr. Rieker requested that copies of the plan be sent to our neighboring communities to make them aware of what East Norriton is doing which might affect them.

            Mr. Serratore thanked Mr. Rieker and his staff for all their hard work on this plan.

           Mr. Gracia again noted that East Norriton’s presentation of this plan will be made to the Montgomery County Open Space Board on February 14^th beginning at 3:00 p.m.

            There being no further business, Mr. Serratore made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. McQuirns and approved.

Helmuth J. H. Baerwald
Township Secretary