Temperatures are somewhat unpredictable in the Pennsburg Borough Hall.

                In the middle of a particularly snowy and cold winter, the occupants of the building at 76 W. 6th Street, namely the borough staff and the Upper Perk Police Department, sometimes have to deal with a lack of heat.

                In the middle of the night, Council President John Lear is sometimes called to a chilly borough hall to fix the heater.

                And when the heat is on, it doesn’t always shut off when it’s supposed to either.

                According to Lear, the borough has been having problems with its heating system for a number of years.  The problem came to a head in mid-December when, after fixing a thermostat that was wired backwards and addressing several other malfunctions, the system still didn’t work properly.

                It continually trips the building’s circuit breaker, making it downright frustrating for staff and police department personnel to do their jobs, much of which involves working on computers.

                Fixing it has become an expensive proposition.

                Councilman Bruce Lord, chairman of the borough’s facilities committee, said the group is working on a five-year plan that will explore several options to remedy the problem, including purchasing a new borough building.

                Other options include redoing the borough building with “green” technology or leasing to buy another building.

                “There are a lot of things we really need in this building, the heater being one of them,” Lear said.

                The committee will have unnamed “outside sources” look at the building in the coming weeks to determine what they believe is the best course of action.

                While Lear acknowledged that all the options will be explored, a tight budget will likely dictate what is done, he noted.

                Roads committee chairman Mike Mensch noted the borough has spent $2,877 this winter for snow removal and road maintenance, and has more than $1,000 left in the budget. 

                Council later voted to advertise the BYOB ordinance, with final approval expected at their April meeting. 

                Council also voted to authorize Administrative Manager Jeanne Hopkins to apply for a $40,000 grant through the Montgomery County Housing and Community Development Block Grant Program for the Revitalization Phase V streetscape project.

                In a separate motion, council authorized a $750 payment to Urban Research and Development company to prepare the grant and a power point presentation for the Montgomery County Revitalization Board to do Revitalization Phase VI. 

                Officials said the sixth installment would improve the area along Route 663 beginning at West Side Alley and ending at Green Alley.