Komen Walk for Cure arrives in Chestnut Hill

Walkers with the Susan G. Komen "Walk for the Cure" were in Chestnut Hill this morning where they received a hero's welcome from scores of sidewalk cheering sections. J.S. Jenks elementary school students were out to cheer the walkers as well.

More photos

 These photos come from Drew Shaw who says someone tried driving through the flood waters near Erdenheim Farm and had to be rescued. The photo is of Stenton Avenue (facing Northeast) from Flourtown Rd.

This is Route 73 just below Bethlehem Pike. 

Wissahickon flooding, Valley Green stable burns

I was down at the Valley Green Inn along the Wissahickon Creek this morning to look at the flooding. At 12:30 the waters were beginning to recede a little bit, though several people I spoke with (who were also there to get a look at the water) said they heard that the creek would crest later this afternoon. As you can see from the video, water was up over the retaining walls and lapping the feet of the nearby park benches.



While I was there I noticed that the stables along Valley Green Inn had recently burned. A man who called into the Local from Mt. Airy said he saw fire crews put out the blaze out earlier this morning. I've put a call into the Philadelphia Fire Department to see if they know what caused the fire.

Germantown ‘Y’ reopens after 2-year shutdown

People signed up to join the newly opened Germantown Y last Saturday.

by Lou Mancinelli

Closed for two years because of damage caused by a burst sprinkler pipe, the former YMCA of Germantown – now called the Germantown Y – celebrated its grand reopening this past Saturday

The ceremony also marked the end of a two-year period during which the Y lost its national charter, suffered layoffs, reorganized its board of directors, faced lawsuits – one settled, one not – and carried out extensive renovations.

“Basically, we cleaned things up,” said director Maurice Walls. “The board of directors, with its vision and the help of volunteers, made it possible.”

“Fortunately,” said board president Jim Foster, “our newly constructed board of directors included people with backgrounds in things like finance, contracting and building. We became our own project managers. And through prudent judicious use of funds and a lot of volunteer work we were able to reopen.”

In case you missed it: 10 reasons to go to the B&W Gala

Why you should attend the Black & White Gala
by Paula M. Riley

If you have been at the shore all summer or your head has been in the sand (figuratively or literally), you may have missed the stories about this year’s Chestnut Hill Community Association and Chestnut Hill Community Fund Black and White Gala and Silent Auction. 

The Black and White Gala is held outside on a warm fall evening with great auction items.  If that’s not enough, here are other reasons why you should attend the gala:

1. It’s happening in September, specifically on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m.  Other than shipping the kids back to school and the mass exodus from the beach, nothing exciting ever happens in September – until the gala, of course.

2. SoHa (which means South of Hartwell Avenue for you newbies) will be transformed into a Roaring ‘20s party complete with white party tents and a full dance floor. Even the stodgiest among us will be able to relax and enjoy the festive mood.

3. It’s a reason to get dressed up (tuxes are not required, but most guests do wear black or white attire). Who needs a reason to get dressed up, you wonder? Everyone. No matter your age, size or wardrobe, putting on an elegant black and white outfit makes even the most demure person feel like a million bucks.

4. The gala appeals to all generations. Whether you call yourself a senior, Baby Boomer or Gen-Xer, you will enjoy the party.

5. If you haven’t danced to Big Band music since the last wedding you’ve attended – get ready for Paula Johns and the John Clark Big Band. Boy, can she can belt out the tunes! Combine this with an amazing brass section and even you non-dancers will be tapping your feet to their magical sounds.

6. You can bid (and strike a deal) on a huge variety of auction baskets. There are trips to rental homes and Eagles tickets and thanks to the generosity of local merchants and donors, much more. Interested in a wine party at the home a renowned sommelier? Do you want Javelin Design to create and host a website for your growing business? There’s something you will want to win at the silent auction.

7. Everyone in your home will want something from the auction – the athlete in the house will love the basketball instruction and camp from Coach Matt Paul. Your teenage girls will enjoy Millennium Nail Salon & Spa package and the little ones will love the Ballerina Party Package from O’Doodles, which includes a pearl necklace from Lemons and Limes and tickets to the Nutcracker, donated by Jane Piotrowski and Janine Dwyer.

  

8. Your pooch, big or small, will enjoy the gift card from Bone Appetite: 12 doggie baths from Philly Dog Spot and daily dog walking courtesy of Meet ‘n’ Greet.

9. Passes to yoga classes at Chestnut Hill Yoga, Balance Chestnut Hill are accompanied by fitness clothing from American Eagle Outfitters. 

10. Yes it’s a fundraiser but the money goes directly to the community in which you live, you love and cherish!

This year’s Black and White Gala is being generously sponsored by Bowman Properties, Chestnut Hill Hospital, East River Bank, Elfant Wissahickon Realtors, Stephen T. Piotrowski and Valley Green Bank. Be sure to add it to your calendar. For more information and tickets, call 215-248-8810 or visit www.chestnuthill.org.

Tohopeka Block Party 2010

Photos by Steve Ladner

Dialysis center neighbors file appeal

10 E. Moreland Ave.: proposed dialysis center

Peter and Susan Burke, near neighbors of the proposed dialysis center at 10 E. Moreland Avenue, appealed a July 6  Zoning Board of Adjustments decision to allow the dialysis center to operate until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The appeal was filed by attorney Dan McElhatton on Aug. 3. McElhatton represented neighbors opposed to the zoning variance requests of The Good Food Market last year.

The ZBA had originally approved a variance for the dialysis center with a proviso that it close no later than 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at the urging of several neighbors who also presented the ZBA with a petition signed by 72 other nearby residents. After the initial decision, Fresenius Medical Care hired philadelphia zoning lawyer Carl Primavera who asked the ZBA to reconsider the decision, suggesting that the restricted hours would likely prevent the dialysis center from opening.

Primavera told the Local at the time that Fresenius did not want to renovate the property for a center with that kind of restriction. He said Fresenius representatives did not adequately convey that sentiment to the ZBA so he was asking them to reconsider. The ZBA did so, reversing their decision.

The Burkes were clearly unhappy with the decision and decided to appeal it in common pleas court. The one-paragraph notice of appeal calls the decision "arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and contrary to the evidence of record and the Laws of Philadelphia."

In an e-mail to the Local, Burke wrote:  "It is our concern that only politically connected, big business oriented opinions ... were given any weight by the ZBA. 72 neighbors do not appear to count in the ZBA decision process! "

Burke said he has not yet been informed of a hearing date but expects to have a hearing before years' end.

Undemocratic Democrats?

A group of Democratic committeepeople, many from local wards in Chestnut Hill (9th), Mt. Airy (22nd) and Roxborough (21st), sent a letter to City Committee leader, Congressman Bob Brady, to voice their concerns about seemingly undemocratic actions by the City Committee.

The Aug. 6 letter authored by 22nd Ward committeeperson Gloria Gilman was inspired by a City Paper story on the ouster of 40th Ward committeeperson Tracey Gordon. The letter references stories in the Inquirer and the Local, which detailed a fight that erupted during a contested organizational meeting in May that pitted one-time council candidate Cindy Bass against Ron Couser for Ward leader.

From the letter:

Articles about these meetings in the Inquirer and Chestnut Hill Local have reflected poorly on the Democratic Party.  Our concern is that, in a city where many people do not vote, these instances will further alienate the public and erode their trust in the DCC.  An open, transparent review process would help the DCC regain the public's faith and will ultimately strengthen the Party.

Gilman's letter is available here:

Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. says he'll preserve Manatawna farm

Councilman Curtis Jones Jr., whose district contains part of Manatawna farms in upper Roxborough -- wrote to the Roxborough Review this week about his intention to preserve the farm and to, presumably, block Philadelphia's proposal to turn 10 acres of the land into commercial farm plots.

The Local has followed the proposal since it originally came to light earlier this year. Many neighbors -- i Roxborough and in Whitemarsh Township -- are opposed to the plan

Here's Jones' letter:

Merger talks today

Members of the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation, Business Association and Business Improvement District will meet early this evening to discuss the possibility of merging operations of all three entities.

A memo that was circulated to interested parties -- and that was described as purely a preliminary, work-in-progress starting point to the discussions by Business Association President Greg Welsh -- describes an organization plan that would establish a three-person oversight or supervisory committee composed of one member from each participating organization. That committee would hire and supervise a CEO, who would supervise other staff members of all three organizations.

According to the memo, all three organizations would control their own budgets but pool revenues and other resources in an effort to increase efficiency. Models cited in the memo included Center City and Manayunk, both of which have central business organizations that employ an empowered CEO. Those districts are organized  based on the "Main Street" program model.

The Local will report on these talks as we learn more.

Revamped NW Student Press

We're working on a revamped NW Student Press blog... Actually, it's the work of Penn Charter senior Adam Garnick and Germantown Friends School Senior Zoe Feingold. Both are Anna Fisher Clarke interns for the summer.

The site is aimed at local teens. Here's the work in progress blog. It's still being designed, but there's some interesting writing on it.

4th of July, 2010

Our 4th of July slideshow.  Photos by Jaime Perez
Find hi-res versions here (available soon).

Inky's Mark Armstrong weighs in on McCauley plan

Today's Inky has a column by business section scribe Mark Armstrong, who ruminates on Chestnut Hill's retail woes and briefly touches on the plan by Midge McCauley and Downtown Works that was "unveiled" last night. McCauley was hired for $75,000 to conduct the study.

A takeaway figure from Armstrong's piece was this:


What did Downtown Works find from its interviews with "stakeholders" and on its walk-arounds? According to its report released Wednesday, too many banks, not enough restaurants, and a mix of stores that is not enticing to shoppers.

During the winter, the firm counted 175 business spaces on Germantown Avenue between Rex Avenue and Mermaid Lane. Thirteen percent of that space is now vacant. Retailers fill 43 percent of the space, while bars and restaurants account for 15 percent. Offices and religious institutions occupy 22 percent of the space, while service businesses work in 7 percent.

That's the kind of data that could probably have been gleaned from any regular Avenue shopper, but it will be interesting to see what solutions McCauley offers. We'll have more here on the plan shortly.

McCauley to unveil plan next Wednesday

Retail consultant Midge McCauley will present a report to invited members of Chestnut Hill's business and civic community at Stagecrafters, 8130 Germantown Avenue, next Wednesday, June 23. McCauley and her firm, Downtown Works, were hired at the beginning of the year to study the Avenue's retail mix and its vacancy issues and create a plan of action.


Several weeks ago, retail recruiter Eileen Reilly was hired by the Business Improvement District to realize McCauley's plans.


The report caps a six month study by McCauley and her associates that was paid for with $75,000 in funds raised from the Chestnut Hill Community Association, Business Association, Parking Fund and Business Improvement District.

Electrical fire closes Cheese Shop this a.m.

Employees at The Cheese Shop on Germantown Avenue had a frightening start to the day when a fuse panel in the basement apparently short-circuited and started an electrical fire.

Cheese shop employee Adam Serfass said he and owner John Ingersoll heard a sound that sounded like an electric sizzle at about 8:30 this a.m. When he and Ingersoll went into the basement they saw massive sparks and Serfass called 911.

There appeared to be no damage to the shop. The shop was dark and passersby could smell smoke. The shop will likely remain closed for several hours as workers repair the circuit panel and check for other problems.

Hoeffel won 9th Ward

In this week's Local, we published a brief item about the Ward 9 primary election results. In that story, we mention the fact that Dan Onorato, who won the state-wide Democratic nomination, fared worse than the city-wide winner, Sen. Anthony Williams.

We failed to mention, however, that Joe Hoeffel, the 9th Ward Democratic Committee endorsee won the ward with 46 percent (45.91 to be exact) of the vote. Hoeffel received 1,699 votes to Williams' 905 votes. See table below.

Hoeffel came in a distant third in the state, earning about 10 percent of the vote.

(Photo: 9th Ward Democratic Leader John O'Connell greeted gubernatorial candidate and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel at the Company 37 fire station on primary election day, May 18).

RESULTS FOR 9TH WARD

Candidate Name	Party	Votes	% of Total Votes
ONORATO, DAN	DEMOCRATIC	777	20.99 %
WAGNER, JACK	DEMOCRATIC	320	8.65 %
WILLIAMS, ANTHONY HARDY	DEMOCRATIC	905	24.45 %
*HOEFFEL, JOSEPH M	DEMOCRATIC	1699	45.91 %

What is poor in Philadelphia?

A front-page story in this week's Philadelphia Inquirer by Alfred Lubrano references a study by University of Washington that establishes a benchmark income level needed for a family of four to survive. According to the study, Philadelphia families beed $59,501 to scrape by. And of course, according to Lubrano, nearly 62 percent of Philadelphia households take in less than $50,000.

In Montco, the minimum is $71,393.

One interesting omission from the study's findings is that student loan costs are not factored in. I'm sure student loan payments might add another $10,000 a year (ballpark) if you assume college educations are necessary for a household to earn at least $60,000.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20100520_Study__To_survive__family_of_four_needs_nearly__60_000.html#axzz0oTe7e7xt

Lot #7 goes private, will tow cars

A metal sign went up about one hour ago designating the former Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation Lot #7 as private parking (see photo) with a warning that all other cars will be towed. Lot #7 is located behind shops on the west side of the 8400 block of Germantown Avenue, from Gravers Lane to Highland Avenue. The lot has 73 spaces.

I reported on the parking foundation's loss of this lot in the April 22 Local. Acadia Realty Trust declined to renew its lease with the parking foundation late last year, and the lot reverted to Acadia's control on Monday April 19. All the parking foundation's lots are operated on a lease basis from the individual property owners who lease their land for a minimal fee, for as little as $1 a year in some cases. The property is part of a parcel that includes the retail strip on that block containing Talbots and Jos. Banks clothing stores.

Acadia has reportedly been fairly vigilant in towing cars from the small lot of the former Borders Books property, which it also owns. Acadia did not return calls for comment on its plans for the lot.

AG letter of compliance to be signed

The Chestnut Hill Community Association board of directors distributed and accepted a letter from the Pennsylvania Attorney General settling an investigation that has gone on for a little less than two years. By signing the letter, the CHCA and the Chestnut Hill Community Fund -- the CHCA's affiliated 501(c)3 fundraising arm -- have agreed to pay the state $5,481.50. in penalties and expenses. Neither organization admits to wrongdoing in any of the three instances outlined by the AG.

The letter, an "assurance of voluntary compliance" sights three findings by the AG.

1) The letter states that the CHCF "failed to account properly for the use of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development grant ... by failing to ensure that $2,900 received by the fund were expended in accordance with grant restrictions." The money referred to was part of a $10,000 grant (detailed well in a post below) that was supposed to be used on workstations for the Chestnut Hill Local, which is owned by the CHCA. $2,900 of that money was used for a separate building owned by the fund, since sold to Bowman Properties, which was not in accordance with the terms of the grant.

2) The AG found fault with members of the CHCA soliciting contributions for the CHCF without a license from the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Charitable Organizations. That registration has since been obtained by the CHCA, according to CHCA president Walter Sullivan.

3) The AG frowned on the fact that the CHCA and CHCF "temporarily comingled [sic] contributions to the fund with operating assets of the association" by processing those donations made by credit card to with an association credit card processing account. That situation has also, according to Sullivan, been remedied. The CHCF now has a it's own credit card processing account.

That's it. The letter signifies that by signing the letter the CHCA and CHCF will avoid admitting wrongdoing of any kind. In the letter: "the respondents deny the foregoing allegations and voluntarily have taken action to correct the matters alleged."

In addition to the $2,900 to be repaid on the grant, the CHCA and CHCF will pay $500 in civil penalties, $2,000 in AG expenses and $81.50 in filing fees.

We will have a full report of the matter in next week's Local.

A recent recap of AG investigation

Access to a lot of our online articles has been restricted to subscribers, making it difficult for us to link to older stories.

I have no new information on the conclusion of the state AG investigation, but thought it would help to post this recent recap by Joel Hoffmann. In the piece, Joel summarized the facts of the controversial DCED report (also thoroughly explored in an July 2008 report by me) and contains an interview with CHCA president Walter Sullivan).

Still, a this time, I do not have the exact findings of the Assurance of Voluntary Compliance form.

CHCAPledges To Accept Findings Of State Probe

Chestnut Hill Local (Philadelphia, PA) - Thursday, November 12, 2009

Author: Joel Hof fmann

A state probe into the accounting and managerial practices of the Chestnut Hill Community Association and Chestnut Hill Community Fund is close to resolution after 17 months of uncertainty, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

In a letter sent last week to Mark A. Pacella, chief deputy of the Charity and Nonprofit Division of the Office of Attorney General, CHCA board president Walter J. Sullivan wrote that the board and the fund were ready to accept the state's findings and sign off on an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance form.

The precise terms of the settlement were not clear when the Local went to press - Pacella cannot comment until the investigation is officially over - but in an e-mail version of his letter and an interview with the Local, Sullivan previewed the terms of the settlement as he understood them.

Sullivan told Pacella that the fund and the association were committed to correcting the "instances of seriously bad judgment" that tainted the CHCA presidency of Maxine Dornemann.

Though he believes there is no evidence of "wrongdoing" or "personal enrichment," Sullivan said the board and the fund were willing to repay the state $2,400 spent "outside the terms" of a $10,000 grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development.

In July 2008, the Local reported that the grant money had been earmarked for workstation improvements in the newspaper's production and advertising department. Ten former CHCA board members who brought about the investigation, including CHCA pioneer Lloyd Wells, former CHCA president Ron Recko and former CHCA Oversight Committee chairman Jim Foster, first alleged in 2006 that the entire grant had been misspent after Foster found that receipts submitted to the state to close the grant out had been doctored.

In a 2004 letter to State Rep. Rosita Youngblood, who had helped the fund, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, obtain the grant on behalf of the association and the Local, former CHCA community manager Marie Lachat said the grant would help "accommodate the growth of our weekly newspaper, the Chestnut Hill Local."

She added: "Because advances in technology have increased rapidly, we at the Chestnut Hill Community Fund have struggled to keep up."

The fund had lobbied for a $20,000 grant, but only received $10,000. The total cost of the new workstations in the production and advertising offices was estimated at $46,000.

Department of Community and Economic Development grant regulations require all expenses to be specifically itemized. When Lachat learned that only $10,000 would be made available, she wrote that the $10,000 would be spent as follows: $3,600 for IKEA cabinets, $600 for new data ports, $6,000 for two new workstations in the production department and $320 for design consultation fees.

"Not one dime was spent [that way]," Foster said.

The grant closeout report sent to the DCED's office of audits and compliances in May 2006 itemized the grant expenses like this: $5,293 for carpet installation, $1,342.58 for a fire door, $100 for a leaky drain, $1,340 and $1,000 for paint, $285 for electrical repair, $200 for light and window repair and $439.42 for a kitchen floor.

In an August 2006 report, the Oversight Committee found that the address line on some of the receipts had been changed from 8431 Germantown Ave., which was owned by the fund at the time, to 8434 Germantown Ave., where the Local and the association have their offices. The committee concluded that the grant had been closed out improperly and suggested that the grant had been misused on the whole.

In January 2007, the DCED sent the association a letter rejecting the closeout report because the invoices for carpet installation were inadequate. In March of that year, the DCED sent a notice of noncompliance. But the DCED accepted the closeout report after former community manager Ed Budnick faxed the original invoices for the carpet.

Still, Foster and others believed the grant was spent illegally. In December 2007, he and his fellow challengers hired Karl E. Emerson and Donald W. Kramer, attorneys from the law firm of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker and Rhoads, to review financial statements for the fund and the association covering the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2006.

In May 2008, Kramer and Emerson submitted their findings to the Local in an open letter addressed to former CHCA president Tolis Vardakis and fund president Jean Hemphill.

"It is clear that certain financial and administrative practices were sloppy and were not adequately reported," they wrote.

Following an internal investigation at the fund, Hemphill found that $2,400 had been spent on renovations at 8431 Germantown Ave. The invoices for $1,800 and $600 came from Legacy Construction, a subsidiary of Legacy Real Estate, which is owned by former board member and officer Sanjiv Jain.

Hemphill apologized for "improper and inappropriate" behavior by staffers at the fund and the association in a letter dated July 3, 2008.

"We ask you to determine if there is any further action necessary on the part of the CHCF to obtain a proper, full and complete closure of the grant," she wrote.

Paying back DCED funds that had been misspent was at the core of the challengers' request for corrective action. They also alleged that Dornemann had acted improperly by leveraging a $50,000 line of credit against a fund-owned building. Dornemann signed her name on the line reserved for the fund president at the time, Thomas E. "Chip" Butler Jr. (Butler was found guilty last year of failing to file his personal income taxes from 2001-2005.)

Sullivan said the fund and the association are eager to move forward and come into full compliance with the law.

"No one did anything criminal, and use of the word fraud was an overstatement," Sullivan said of the challengers' criticisms. "If in the minds of a few people there is and kind of a tiny little cloud, lets resolve it," he said.

Although it wasn't clear whether the attorney general's office would call for anything beyond the scope of what Sullivan laid out, Sullivan said he believes there will be no further controversy.

"Maybe there will be a kicker in what they send, but I don't think that's very likely," he said.

AG Investigation

In this morning's Local, I filed a brief report on the end of the Attorney General office's investigation of the Chestnut Hill Community Fund and the Chestnut Hill Community Association.

Here's that report:

Attorney General query of CHCA/CHCF closed

By PETE MAZZACCARO

An investigation of the Chestnut Hill Community Association and the Chestnut Hill Community Fund by the state Attorney General’s office that began in mid-2008 appears to have concluded.

A final agreement between the Attorney General’s office, the fund and association will be discussed in detail at the next meeting of the association’s board of directors on Thursday, March 25.

CHCA president Walter Sullivan acknowledged that the investigation had drawn to a close and explained that the CHCA and CHCF had received a document called an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance that would settle the matter between the Attorney General’s office and the two community organizations.

Sullivan said he could not discuss the particulars of the document but promised a full public disclosure at the board meeting. Several messages left with the Attorney General’s office for details went unreturned at press time.

The investigation stemmed from a dispute between CHCA board members over a number of matters, including a Department of Community and Economic Development grant that several board members said was misspent in 2005.

Those same board members tried to have the CHCA undergo a forensic audit, which a majority of the board declined. After that attempt failed the group, which included former CHCA president Ron Recko, former board member Jim Foster and CHCA founder Lloyd Wells, retained an attorney and turned a complaint in to the Attorney General’s office leading to the investigation.

I hope to report further details soon, before next week's issue. I've spoken with someone in the AG's office, but await the return call of a "spokesperson." The office may not be willing to discuss particulars with me until the CHCA/CHCF sign off on the agreement letter.

Power back on

PECO just restored power to the 8500 block. A PECO worker at the scene said it looked like antifreeze had been poured into a grated area that contains transformers for the block. (The photo, left, shows the location: Evergreen and Germantown in front of Clear Wireless.)

I peeked into the hole and saw an awful lot of green liquid that looked like antifreeze.

All stores on the block appeared to be open. I'll check in with PECO to see if antifreeze was the culprit. The location has been a problem for PECO in the past, including one time, perhaps two years ago, in which an underground fire there knocked off power for the block for hours.

Power out in 8500 block of Avenue

The east side of the 8500 block of Germantown Avenue is without power.

Dan Weiss and Adam Serfass of the Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop said they came in this morning to open and had only limited power. That power has been out since at least 10 a.m. forcing the shop to close. Paperia and the Chestnut Hill Bootery are also closed.

Starbucks and the pretzel shop next door still have power.

PECO workers are busy trying to restore power to the block.

Launching the breaking news blog...

Re-launching the breaking news blog on a so-called snowy day. Almost all of the local schools are closed today -- probably tomorrow, too -- but so far, the weather hasn't been much more than wet.

I hope to keep this updated regularly with photos and news items as they develop.

This week, we also re-introduced the Local podcast with which we'll discuss the contents of each week's paper. The goal is to make it a compelling discussion of stuff in the news to augment the stories of the week.

Check back here regularly for tidbits of news, photos and maybe some video in the future.