Annual Report 2016
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Scott Exley and Jill Blumhardt were reappointed for 4-year
terms at the beginning of the year. Shari Shapiro, Esq., LEED AP,
was appointed to the MCPC Board on January 21 to replace
Rachel Yoka. Shari leads public and government affairs efforts in
Pennsylvania and Delaware for Uber. She is a resident of Lower
Merion Township.
The board, which held 12 meetings in 2016, took action on
various contracts, provided important planning guidance,
and received staff briefings and guest presentations from the
following organizations:
Lower Merion Township
Horsham Township
Montgomery County Housing Authority
Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board
Upper Dublin Township
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
Schwenksville Borough
On July 13, the board, along with several guests including
Commissioner Joseph Gale, boarded a bus for an extensive
tour of Pottstown. The tour began at the new Sustainability
and Innovation Hub at the Montgomery County Community
College’s West Campus where Dr. Kevin Pollock, college
President, and David DiMattio, Vice President of the West
Campus, spoke about the innovative technology education
taking place at the college. Along the tour, the board saw the
proposed Schuylkill River Trail; transportation improvements;
economic development opportunities; the route of the innovative
Walk and Bike Pottstown Program; the Hill School campus
and the Hobart’s Run Project area; the Feccera Mill adaptive
reuse project; the Pottstown Airport Industrial Park, which
contains the Sly Fox Brewery and the Manatawny Distillery;
and the greenway preservation work along the Manatawny
Creek. The board took an elegant ride back to Pottstown on the
Colebrookdale Railroad. The tour ended up visiting Memorial
Park, The Carousel at Pottstown, downtown Pottstown, and the
Keystone Boulevard development opportunity area.
In addition to monthly board meetings, our board members
played active roles on committees, advising on grant selections
for the new Montco 2040 Implementation Grant Program and
reviewing nominations for the Montgomery Awards Program.
Board members also spent time accompanying staff during the
remaining Montco 2040 meetings throughout the county.
MCPC Board (standing L-R) David L. Cohen; Scott Exley; Steven Kline, Chair; Rev. John H. West, III; Dulcie F. Flaharty, Vice Chair and
(seated L-R) Charles J. Tornetta; Jill Blumhardt; Robert E. Blue, Jr.; Jody L. Holton, MCPC Executive Director
(Missing: Shari Shapiro)
