Pottstown parks director outlines regional cooperation, grants and strategic plan for PARRC

Michael Meyer, Pottstown's parks director and the borough's PARRC representative, gave a presentation on Feb. 4 outlining the regional parks cooperative's structure, recent grant success and an updated strategic plan.

Meyer said PARRC now represents eight municipalities and three counties and that pooling resources helps win grants and share planning staff. "For $9,000 you have a dedicated staff person," Meyer said, describing the regional park planner role that coordinates grant writing and regional projects. He said Pottstown has received $1,609,500 in grants since 2014 with the region securing roughly $2,000,000 in grants for the year.

Meyer walked council through the organization's return-on-investment report and said the park planner position, plus the Park Foundation (a related 501(c)(3)), enables the borough to seek funding otherwise unavailable to municipalities. He also previewed a final draft strategic plan that will be presented for confirmation at the February meeting and emphasized priorities including expanded recreation services, revenue sustainability and operational reporting.

Councilors were invited to review the draft annual report in their packets and to send questions to Meyer after the meeting. No formal council decisions were made during the presentation.