Upcoming Commissioner Meeting

The Montgomery County Commissioners meeting will be held on Thursday, November 16, 2023 at 10 am. All of these meetings are located at 425 Swede St, Norristown on the 8th floor. Even though the meeting is in two days, the agenda is not posted to their website. However, with the recent press release saying they have requested “Norristown Council postpone its review of the county’s permit application for the Airy Street Prison”, it may be discussed, or at the very least Chairman Lawrence could read a statement on it.

“The County maintains its position that County tax dollars should not be spent on restoring or maintaining the history of incarceration. After listening to the people of Norristown, community organizers, and preservationists, the County will issue a request for information (RFI) that solicits proposals seeking to reuse a portion of the space without utilizing county funds. 

The RFI will invite individuals and organizations to submit viable development plans for the potential reuse of the oldest section of the prison building and/or the façade that contribute to the Norristown Community, do not prohibit the future development needs of the Municipality of Norristown and the County, and do not rely on the use of County tax dollars”

It is still unclear when the RFI will be released, and how they will release it. Furthermore, they have only postponed the review of the demolition application, they have not withdrawn it. So, these are questions that cause uncertainty to the future of the building. 

This all being said, if you can come to the meeting and speak about this issue, please do. Let’s keep them on their toes and let them know this issue is still in the minds of those who care about the building. Bear in mind the public comment section of the meeting is just comment - you cannot ask questions and expect answers. However, you can email the commissioners about this issue at the following email addresses:

Commissioner Ken Lawrence - ken@montgomerycountypa.gov

Commissioner Jamila Winder - jamila@montgomerycountypa.gov.

Commissioner Joe Gale - joe@montgomerycountypa.gov. 

Finally, thank you for subscribing to this blog.  Please share the link with other like minded people who care about the Old Airy Street Prison.