Part I: INTRODUCTION

The Schuylkill Canal Association’s mission is "to preserve, maintain and appropriately restore the Schuylkill Canal and its surrounding lands and manmade structures; to encourage wide public use of the area and an appreciation of its natural environment; to seek ways to further general education in the area’s history; to provide facilities and enhanced settings for various kinds of passive recreation; to seek support of individuals and private organizations, and of local, state, regional and federal governments, to achieve these goals; and to solicit, receive and expend funds for such purposes.

For the first eleven years following its 1985 non-profit incorporation the Association concentrated on maintaining the canal and its 60 acres of adjacent Montgomery County property, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and leased to Upper Providence Township. The Association also refurbished and found a tenant for the dilapidated and uninhabited Locktender's House by Lock 60 at the head of the canal, and added amenities such as canoe launches and picnic groves to help meet Phoenixville’s and Western Montgomery County’s underserved recreational needs.

In late 1996 Pennsylvania designated the Schuylkill River as a Heritage Corridor, and the Association took on the additional responsibility of restoring the Lock 60 area of the canal as nearly as possible to what it was at the height of the Canal Era in the mid-nineteenth century. 888
The Schuylkill Canal Association’s restoration efforts have met with considerable success. Over the last four years the Association has been awarded $860,000 in federal, state, township and private foundation grants towards over $1 million worth of projects the Association intends to complete by 2004. These grants cover funding for preliminary engineering and architectural plans, and for actual restoration. Much progress has been made during this period. The exterior restoration of the Locktender’s House is now complete. A major reconstruction of one of the wastewater weirs is to be completed in December 2001. The restoration of Lock 60 will commence in the June of 2002.

Along with these significant and important efforts has come the realization that the Schuylkill Canal Association’s opportunities and responsibilities are now outpacing its capacity as a strictly volunteer organization. Maintaining the canal and encouraging public recreation is a significant task by itself, and with the restoration of the historic Lock 60 facilities the Association foresees that its site, once restored, will be visited by thousands of people. If the Association is to take responsibility for maintaining the area as a significant tourist attraction and a catalyst for education about the region’s industrial heritage it will need to hire a full-time, qualified executive director to provide professional management of its efforts and to broaden and deepen the base of its financial support.

In 1991 the Schuylkill Canal Association commissioned a detailed Master Plan. While much of the data and goals in the Master Plan remain relevant, developments over the last decade, and the decision of the Association’s Board of Directors to create the position of an employee Executive Director, require a new evaluation of the Schuylkill Canal Association’s core objectives and the implementation of a series of strategic plans to attain these goals.

The following pages set out the Schuylkill Canal Association’s key objectives over the next four years and identify specific action plans to reach the identified goals.

Part II: OBJECTIVES AND ACTION PLANS
A. CANAL MAINTENANCE, IMPROVEMENTS, INFRASTRUCTURE

1. Overview:
   The head of the canal begins at Lock 60, about 600 yards below Black Rock Dam. The Schuylkill Canal Association is responsible for maintaining the open water between the dam and the lock, and, proceeding downstream, for maintaining the Locktender's House, which overlooks Lock 60, and the two and a half plus miles of watered canal, towpath and open land between the canal and the Schuylkill River. The Association has also undertaken responsibility for restoring one of two original lock chambers at Lock 60 to operating condition, a project that will be completed in 2003, and for the restoration of Locktender's House, which will serve as a visitors’ center once the lock restoration is complete.
   
   
2. Goals:
   To maintain and improve the canal and its 60 acres of surrounding land and structures. To expand access to Lock 60 and the Locktender's House. To repair and preserve the canal watershed.
   
   
3. Action Plans:
   1. implement a revised canal maintenance plan.
   2. Implement a maintenance plan for the adjacent land and trails.
   3. Develop and implement a land management plan for the adjacent land and trails.
   4. Develop and implement a maintenance plan for the restored Lock 60.
   5. Repave the canal towpath from the Route 29 Bridge to Lock 60.
   6. Develop and implement a plan to meet the demand for additional parking at
      Lock 60.
   7. Develop and implement a plan for alternative vehicular access to Lock 60.
   8. Develop and implement a maintenance plan for the Locktender's House and adjacent public facilities.
   9. Develop and implement a plan to equip the Locktender's House with a modern but unobtrusive HVAC system.
   10. Inventory all significant Canal Era structures and buildings on or adjacent to the canal site.
   11. Develop and implement plans for the scheduled renovation/restoration of selected Canal Era structures and buildings.
   12. Implement the repair of the wastewater weir near Lock 60.
   13. Dredge and repair the canal forebay.
   14. Implement a storm water management control system for the ravine runoff into the canal forebay.
   15. Develop a plan for repairing the masonry retaining wall in the forebay and along the canal’s East bank.
   16. Implement a storm water management control system for the water inlets along the canal.
   17. Implement the repair/reconstruction of the underwater conduits at Lock 60 and the outflow controls at the downstream end of the canal.
   18. Develop and implement a plan to stabilize where necessary the canal and river banks and the grass towpath downstream of the Route 29 Bridge.
   19. Develop a plan for dredging the canal to permit future use of a mule driven barge.

B. RECREATION, EDUCATION, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Overview:
   The canal property contains, in addition to the canal itself, two picnic groves, three canoe launch sites, paved and unpaved towpaths, several miles of nature trails, a lock, a locktender's house dating from the 1830s, and a large cement platform adjacent to Lock 60. The site attracts thousands of visitors each year, who come to canoe, kayak, or paddle on the water; fish in the canal; bird watch along its banks and paths; bike or hike on its towpaths and trails; and attend a variety of educational and entertainment events sponsored by the Schuylkill Canal Association.
   
   
2. Goals:
   To restore Lock 60, the Locktender's House, and other Canal Era structures. To develop the refurbished Schuylkill Canal into a significant historical and recreational site attracting both local and regional visitors. To utilize the Schuylkill Canal site as a first hand lesson on American industrial history for students of all ages. To promote the restored site as a stage for local and regional cultural events. To assist in the economic revitalization of the Phoenixville and adjacent Montgomery County Communities.
   
   
3. Action Plans:
   1. Supervise the completion of the Lock 60 Restoration Project.
   2. Supervise the completion of the Locktender's House exterior structural improvements.
   3. Hire a consultant to develop a proposal to renovate the interior of the Locktender's House to serve as a visitors’ center with appropriate period furnishings and décor.
   4. Establish in the Locktender's House a Canal-era related collection of educational materials for display and research purposes.
   5. Furnish and equip an office for the Executive Director on the third floor of the Locktender's House.
   6. Develop and implement a plan to demonstrate the operation of the restored Lock 60 on a regular schedule.
   7. Develop and implement an educational program keyed to the needs of the area schools, with an emphasis on the importance of the canal navigation system to the nation’s industrial history.
   8. Develop and implement an educational community-wide outreach program, to include offering sites along the canal to other organizations and the public for community events.
   9. Develop and implement plans to promote increased usage of the canal and its adjacent facilities, including enhancements designed to accommodate the anticipated increased numbers of visitors.
   10. Undertake a feasibility study of the conversion of the abandoned hydroelectric facility by Lock 60 into an open-air stage for community theater, concerts, etc.
   11. Develop and implement a plan to bring a historically correct canal boat back on to the canal.
   12. Coordinate with regional partners the extension of the Schuylkill River Trail from Oaks to the canal’s lower towpath onto Rt. 29 to the French Creek Trail in Phoenixville.
   13. Develop and implement the "Schuylkill Loop" trail with regional partners creating a 6-mile loop from various points along the way in both Montgomery and Chester Counties.
   14. Develop and implement a plan to provide canoe and kayak rentals on the canal.
   15. Develop and implement a plan to improve the canal area as a habitat for birds and other wildlife.

1. Overview:
   The Schuylkill Canal Association is a volunteer organization whose considerable success has been dependent on the enthusiasm, time, labor and money donated by its members and friends. In order to effectively discharge the increased responsibilities that accompany this success the Association needs to expand its management, fundraising and public relations expertise beyond what is available on a volunteer basis. The Association will also address the question of what governmental entity is best equipped to take title to the canal property at the expiration of the current Upper Providence Township lease. The recent investments of substantial funds made by federal, state and local governments and by private foundations in the Schuylkill Heritage Corridor, of which the canal is an integral part, prove that the interest and resources exist to assure the preservation of the canal for the foreseeable future. It is generally recognized that the restored canal area will be one of the Heritage Corridor’s principal attractions, and the Association is confident that it will find a willing and appropriate governmental steward for the canal property.
   
   
2. Goals:
   To hire a full time Executive Director with responsibility for the overall management and promotion of the Schuylkill Canal Association’s programs for carrying out the mission and policies adopted by the Board of Directors. To transfer ownership of the Canal site and related property rights to a governmental body with a programmatic and financial interest in the Canal as an historical, cultural and recreational resource. To increase the Association’s membership, corporate sponsorships and financial base to provide the necessary financial support to attain the Association’s goals and objectives.
   
   
3. Action Plans:
   1. Review and revise the Association’s by-laws to incorporate the position of an employee Executive Director.
   2. Establish and obtain interim funding for the position of a salaried Executive Director.
   3. Recruit and hire an Executive Director.
   4. Develop and implement a plan to provide predictable funding sources for increased Association operating expenses, including a competitive salary and benefits package for the Executive Director.
   5. Develop and implement a plan to expand Association membership and dues revenue.
   6. Develop and implement a plan to expand Association corporate sponsorships.
   7. Coordinate with the township the transfer of the canal recreational area from the state’s Bureau of Abandoned Mine Reclamation to the most appropriate governmental body.