Pennsburg Borough Council has a few suggestions for the conditional use appeal of the proposed Upper Perkiomen middle school in Upper Hanover.

            On Tuesday night, following an executive session held during its monthly public meeting, Solicitor Chuck Garner identified five proposed suggestions for the plan to construct the new facility along Montgomery Ave.

            They include requiring a crossing guard near the school if children are required to walk, remove a paragraph granting a waiver for the distance allowed between driveways, allow the borough's engineer to review any damage on the Pennsburg side of Montgomery Ave. that might be caused by the construction, require the implementation of a three-way stop, and the utilization of a crossing guard at the intersection of Eighth Street and Montgomery Avenue if a crosswalk is installed and the implementation of sidewalks on Eighth Street if it is deemed a walking route for students.

            The suggestions were made at the behest of the Upper Perkiomen School District, according to Garner. He said after the meeting that the district officials invited all intervening parties in the conditional use hearing between the district and the township to present ideas.

            "It's a good sign," the solicitor said after the meeting.

            On Thursday, March 30 in Norristown, in a hearing before Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Del Ricci, multiple parties looking to intervene in the case made their case. Garner represented Pennsburg. Ethan R. O'Shea, appeared on behalf of Montgomery Ave. residents David Pico and Len Mathews, of Pennsburg, and William Chrisman, of Upper Hanover.  Solicitor Eric C. Frey represented Upper Hanover Township, while the school district was represented by attorney Mark Hosterman and Sandra Kassel, the district's business administrator.

            The parties decided, after considerable discussion with the court, that Del Ricci would utilize submissions by the lawyers to make a decision so actual testimony was unnecessary, according to an email from O'Shea.

            The judge is expected to make a decision before April 24, according to Garner.

            Last month, Upper Hanover's Board of Supervisors announced that they would not oppose the residents' motion to intervene.

            Also in March, Pennsburg filed a similar motion. If its petition is granted, Pennsburg would become a regular participant in the proceedings, according to Garner.

            The municipality's goal is to protect the safety of the children who would be walking to the new school, to be constructed on Montgomery Avenue in Upper Hanover – near the border with Pennsburg – and the interests of the borough, according to Council President Kris Kirkwood.