Just to let inquiring minds know, the report due back on the code enforcement department in Norristown, the one that cost, I believe, about $19,000, is not back yet. Actually, we believe it came back but the administration wasn't happy with it so they sent it back to the consultants.

Here's a new one for you. We're still trying to track it down but rumor has it a deal was struck with Wood's Golf Center in East Norriton to put a new hospital on the grounds. Apparently the gas pipe that runs somewhere under the golf course isn't enough to scare away Einstein. What I hear is they can build around it and leave it as open space. My only suggestion for East Norriton is for them, as part of the approval process, to get the hospital to pay to make Germantown Pike four lanes all the way through the township.

So, I just got home from a mini vacation and I'm getting a bite to eat watching the Phillies play and catching up on some reading in The Times Herald and I can't believe what I'm reading.

Norristown wants to give a consultant a year to tell us what needs to be done at Poley Park?

First, I said a month ago Norristown doesn't need a consultant to tell them they need to clean the place up, stripe it, landscape it and start charging people to park there.

Now they want to give someone a year to tell them the same thing?

Look, do what the family wants. Leave a bench, or two, at the entrance of the parking lot on a patch of green space, just like what's there now. Respect the family's wishes.

I've been trying to figure out what's going on with Norristown council since the 'new' government was put into place. I think maybe I have it now. They want to act like they're running a major metropolis. They're not. They're running a small town with folks who simply want them to run the small town like a small town. Residents of Norristown want a nice clean, safe place to live and work.

All I could think about when I'm reading the story is that I hope they don't do the same thing with the proposed movie studio. I hope they don't tell the people who want to bring a movie studio to Norristown that they'll have to study it a year before they can do anything.

Get it in gear, council, please. Move the municipal train forward before anyone who wants to do anything in Norristown decides it's just not worth the effort.

I appreciate the post from anonymous reminding me of my duties as editor of a newspaper.
I am indeed digging deeper to find out if the alleged $11 million floating around in Norristown is rumor or fact. I've contacted a respected numbers man who has agreed to take a look at the audited budget for me. I believe another anonymous wrote that the money might be in the FOP budget, but that doesn't make much sense to me since the FOP was the recipient of the shaft when the borough was crying poor mouth and laid off seven officers, but you know what? We'll look there too.
We're also digging deeper into the county's firing, or not, of former, or not, public property director Andy Gulotta. It's one thing to let the guy go because you don't like the way he treats his employees and then hire him back at basically twice the salary, but it's quite another to let him go because he was allegedly doing work for people on county time, or having work done for him on county time.
Rumors are one thing folks and we can talk about them all day long here, but when it comes to getting the story into the paper it's a whole new ball game. We have to have everything nailed down before it gets into the paper.
But rest assured, we're bringing the hammer.

Sorry, I've been a little behind the eight ball and haven't had much of a chance to post lately. I just want to give you an update on the alleged $11 mill found in Norristown since someone reminded me of it in a previous post.
I have an audited copy of the budget. I've also asked a very knowledgeable person to look it over and tell me what he thinks. As soon as I know, you'll know. Unless of course you know something I don't know.

Here's something everyone can chime in on.
There will be a story in Friday's (Aug.3) paper talking about the agreement between the county and the former property director Andy Gulotta.
Seems Andy is going to be making about $3,500 a week in his new position as consultant.
Now I know Andy and I don't begrudge him anything. More power to him for negotiating such a sweet deal. But what in the world were our county commissioners thinking when they agreed to that sum.
You do the math. It works out to about double what we (I mean all of us hard working taxpayers) were paying him when he was on the county's payroll.
I've borrowed a favorite phrase from our sports editor, Dave Kurtz before and it seems appropriate here: "C'mon."
I've borrowed from our illustrious courthouse reporter, Peg Gibbons: "Give me a break."
But now it's time to cement my own phrase into the local lexicon, given the circumstances of the atrocity.
Are you kidding me?