LaMott Community Garden Update!

In a letter dated May 20th, 2010 a letter was sent to Ms. Ann Weaver Hart, President of Temple University regarding the LaMott Community Meeting held June 6, 2010.

"Dear President Hart:

On behalf of the residents of the community of LaMott, you or representatives of Temple University are cordially invited to attend a LaMott Community Meeting on Sunday, June 6, 2010, at 3p at the LaMott Community Center to discuss the possible sale of the temple Tyler School of Art property and the future of the LaMott Community Garden, which Temple University has allowed to exist on a portion of the school's property for many decades.

I, and the residents of LaMott, look forward to having you or a designated representative at the meeting to discuss the future of the Tyler School of Art property."

The above letter was sent by Harvey Portner who is the Commissioner of Ward 3 which is located in Cheltenham Township.

I personally attended this meeting! And Temple sent a representative to attend the meeting. They sent Charles Duncan who works in Government, Community & Public Affairs for Temple University.

At the time the property mentioned above was being considered for sale but the final details of the sale were not finalized.

at the present time and as far as I know the property has not been sold to any one as of yet.

Please stay tuned for more details! I will post them as soon as I can!

Latest Update

• Although Temple representatives were not present at the last community meeting they did send one of their lawyers to represent them.
  
  
• Re: property taxes - The garden plot / tract (which is 1.8 acres) is taxed $2100 per year and the plot / tract itself is valued at being worth $500,000.
  
  
• The next Temple Board of Trustees next scheduled meeting will be at the Ambler Campus on June 17th 2010.
  
  
• The Land Conservacy of Elkins Park which is a non-profit organization, is interested in buying the Temple Estate (which would include the garden plot / tract). 42 acres of the Dominican Republic are owned by the Land Conservacy of Elkins Park.
  
  
• The acting president of the LaMott Community Gardins is Diane Williams.

Area Ordinance - Fencing In Your Property!

I didn't know it until recently that our local area has an ordinance about the type of fencing that one can put around one's home. Apparently the fence has to be see-through - at least partially - meaning that while some aspects of the fence have to be see-through, it doesn't have to be that way on all four (or two) sides. I'm guessing that this is because of the fact that the police in the area would like to be able to see what is going on in the neighborhood and they will have a better view of things going on in the area if their views are not obstructed.


In a way this makes sense to me because I have heard stories from neighbors in the area about attempted thefts in and around their properties, so I can see why this area would this kind of ordinance.

What happens if you don't follow this ordinance and you build a solid fence or fencing around your property? You could get fined and have to pay a fee!

Another Resident Comments!

Hey, I live in LaMott too. Are you aware of LaMott Town Center proposal?
I hear taxes are going up again for the next year. And economic development around and possibly in the LaMott residential area itself is in the works.
I am all for making the area more beautiful but more retail stores and/ or apartment buildings are a NO for me. I think they have their eyes on John Russell Park.

The above is a comment that was left on my blog. I felt that it was important to include it as a blog entry because there are so many things going on in this area and a lot of residents aren't aware of it!

I realize that its very hard to keep abreast of things in one's own local area - especially when you are out working every day!

There are so many rumors (and unfortunately some of them are true!) going on that it's important to be able to know which news is rumors and which ones are facts!

If you have a concern, want to voice your opinion or just want to know more about what's going on in this area then please be sure to continue to visit (and comment) on this blog. I'm still working on a way to provide links and other related information about this area and what is (and is not) going on in this area!

Taxes, Taxes And MORE Taxes!

Well I finally finished my 3 tax returns that are due by April 15th! All three of my the tax returns are in the mail! Just in case you want to know what the "3" are? Here they are!

• Federal Income Tax
  
• State Income Tax
  
• Local Earned Income Tax

Now after being happy about finally completing and mailing in all of my income tax forms, I find that I am now angry because now I have another tax form that I have to fill out, INCLUDE A CHECK WITH A TAX PAYMENT! and mail it in because it is due by April 30th!

This additional tax is courtesy of our own little local Cheltenham area! It is called the "Earned Income Tax" and it has to be paid quarterly! I guess that I should be happy that it does have to be paid quarterly because I don't think that I would be able to pay it in a lump sum at the end of the year!

If your employer already takes out this tax then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I believe that you still have to fill out the quarterly form though every 4 months! One of the things that makes me angry about this local tax (besides the fact that it is a tax that we have to pay and the form and payment have to be sent in on a quarterly basis) is that even if you make under $3,000 - which makes you exempt - you still have to submit your total income quarterly along with the tax payment itself and if you fall under the $3,000 income exemption then YOU have to wait for them to send YOU back YOUR money!

And don't even THINK about trying to get "by" them. If you don't pay the quarterly tax then you are assessed a fee every month that you are late with your tax payment.

Like I said I still have to fill this out and send it in by the 30th. I see where they mail you the forms and even provide you with stickers with their address on it so that you can put it on the envelope - the problem is they don't provide you with an envelope!

Basically I'm just ranting because I really REALLY hate doing this!

About the only way (I think) that I could solve this little thing that bothers me is to not have an income!

May 15th - Primary Election Day!

Yes I went to vote today. For those of you who in the area that don't know where our local polling place is it is the LaMott Community Center which also houses our local library.

I went during the later part of the afternoon and as always the volunteers that were there were helpful as usual. They are there to answer any questions that you may have.

As far as the number of people that were voting it wasn't a large amount but at the time that I was there the voting booths were busy and there were a number of cars parked all around.

I do know that there was a question being put before the voters in our area about the area imposing another tax on income - supposedly to reduce the amount of money that residents pay in property taxes. The cost of the property taxes in this area has always been a very sore subject for the residents here because the taxes are so high! And what makes it worse is that we the residents get 2 separate tax bills in the mail! I don't even think you can pay them in installments - the property taxes have to be paid in full - both times!