Leadership TriCounty January Session
Our first meeting was with Peggy Lee-Clark of Pottstown Area
Economic Development (PAED) PAED is the
economic development organization for the Borough of Pottstown. It is a 501 C3 which operates as a separate
entity from the public sector and has a 15-member board. The Board is led by an executive committee
that consists of representation from the Borough of Pottstown, The Pottstown
School District and the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority. This current organizational structure was
developed out of a recommendation from the 2008 ULI Report. Peggy noted there are multiple ways in which
economic development organizations are structured and operate.
Peggy talked about 7 reminders about Pottstown Area Economic
Development:
1.Not everyone is going to agree with what is to happen
2.Some projects will never come to fruition
3.Beautiful old buildings have a lot of costly warts
4.If you are doing land development, you will need DEP and RDA on speed dial
5.Everything takes longer than anyone planned for
6.Development must improve lives and be inclusive
7.There are more good actors than bad ones.
Peggy ended the presentation talking about working on the
need for accurate data to support informed decision making for future economic
development.
After lunch we discussed goal setting as a group. How we need to look at personal, family,
professional, mental, and economic goals.
We also looked at our leadership statement and reflected on our goals
and how we are possibly moving forward on them.
We next met with Paul Slegowski with Alvernia University. He talked about how Alvernia is expanding.
Finally, we met with Betsy Chapman with the Steel River Playhouse. It was founded in 2001 because of 9/11. This group wanted to bring community
together. The Steel River Playhouse
chose Pottstown to help rebuild the downtown area. On December 4th, 2008, they barely
opened for their first show, Miracle on 34th Street. Not only do they do plays, but they offer
other programs, such as, Senior Foleys where 55-60+ come to write and produce
their own work. They also have
educational programs for 3-year-olds and up that include acting instruments,
singing, and other workshops. They also
have a scholarship program to help bring in kids that can not afford these
programs. They truly believe that if
kids are into the arts, it helps them further on in life. Both groups we met with today seem like a
great asset to Pottstown in help improve lives and be inclusive!
Written by: Laura
Cornish, Leadership TriCounty Class of 2022