Updated: Bobst's Time In Pottstown

7 p.m. 5-22-12 Update - Comment from Jason Bobst:

"I think I am most proud of the fact that we put the borough in a financial position to succeed," Bobst said Tuesday evening via email.

Pottstown faced many financial issues with management transitions over the years but Bobst and his staff addressed problems and moved the borough forward, he said.

"A lot of that success was due to the staff we have here. They deserve much of the credit," Bobst said. "I helped get them the tools they needed to succeed and they will continue to succeed under the next manager."

Continued success in Pottstown will require "the community to step up and get involved," he said.

"The negativity and apathy needs to be overcome if they want to be the next Phoenixville, Manayunk or West Reading," Bobst said. "There are a lot of good people in this town that are turned off by the negativity, politics and back stabbing that occurs. Pottstown will continue to move forward when the town realizes how great this place can become."

Earlier story: 

Jason Bobst was a familiar face at many Pottstown community events.

The borough's manager for roughly three years, Bobst, who contributed to the regular post on Pottstown Patch "Ask The Manager," often talked of his desire to improve communication with local residents.

"The biggest thing we need to do better with residents is communicate," Bobst said earlier this year and went on to break down various issues facing Pottstown.

Last year, Bobst talked of his vision for Pottstown's future. 

Pottstown covers roughly 5.5 square miles, includes about 23,000 people and has immeasurable potential for success, he said at that time. 

Additionally, Bobst said he supported efforts to bring more business and attention to Pottstown.

At a December borough council meeting, Bobst warned the board of the need for a more all-encompassing effort to help the Trilogy BMX Park continue to host its national Memorial Day event. 

The borough must work to establish itself as a destination for tourists to make the race "into an event" he said at that time.

"This is one of the hidden gems we have in town," Bobst said.

In March, Bobst talked of a while they renovated and marketed an abandoned house that would otherwise rot and help deplete the town's tax income.

Pottstown several months ago started to collect delinquent water and sewer fees.

"As part of that process, this process for sheriff sales is available to us,” Bobst said of the borough’s attempt to recoup fees. 

"In talking with Dr. Lindley, we wanted to find a way to get the high school kids more involved in the community," Bobst said. "When you look at the surrounding municipalities and the surrounding school districts, they send their kids to (vocational-technical) schools, which are the separate buildings that have the nice facilities. While we had the (vocational-technical) program at Pottstown, we don't have those same facilities. So we were trying to find a way to make Pottstown kind of the lab, so to speak, for the students."

Bobst also didn't hold back when it came to what he described as a disconnection among Pottstown community members. 

"From the government's perspective, there's a lot of apathy," Bobst said in February. "There's a lack of communication."

The borough's wide range of demographics, from young to old, makes it difficult to hit on any one medium, he said at that time.

"Some people want that newspaper," Bobst said. "I'm a technology driven guy, so we'll use Facebook and all those things like that."

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