NEWS
MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
COURT HOUSE, NORRISTOWN, PA., BOX 311, 19404-0311
PHONE (610) 278-3061 FAX 278-5943
COMMISSIONERS:
JAMES R. MATTHEWS, Chairman, JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Vice Chairman, BRUCE L. CASTOR, JR, Commissioner
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY 02/20/09 PR#09-07
Montgomery County Commissioners Funding East Norriton Open Space
EAST NORRITON — Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews presented East Norriton with a mock check for $880,000, the County’s contribution toward the preservation of the Barrington Property.
The funds come from Greenfields/Greentowns, the County’s 10-year $150 million open space preservation program that voters approved overwhelmingly in 2002.
The township matched the County’s with $220,000 of its own funds. It plans to use the 12.25 acre property as passive open space and for nature education.
There are other County programs to help municipalities on the horizon as well, Matthews told the audience at the Township Supervisors most recent meeting.
The County Commissioners will be coming to voters again this November asking them to support another $150 million program to improve traffic flow on area roads, Matthews said.
The state and federal governments have clearly indicated that all of their transportation dollars for the foreseeable future will be used to fix existing roads and bridges that are wearing out.
“The question people ask themselves when they’re stuck in traffic is: When are ‘they’ going to fix this?,” Matthews said. “The state and federal governments have made it clear that we are now ‘they.’”
Montgomery County and its municipalities are going to have to get together and fix our own problems, he said.
There is also a new county-wide economic development program will be investing $107 million into the County’s communities, Matthews said.
left to right, East Norriton Supervisors James J. Serrator, III, and Karen “Kandy” Heckman, Montgomery County Commissioner Chairman James R. Matthews, East Norriton Supervisors Vice Chairman Don Gracia, Chairman Lewis K. McQuirns and Supervisor James K. Staufenberg.
