Senior adviser to President Joe Biden visits Reading

Asked why he chose to visit Reading, Tom Perez, senior adviser to President Joe Biden and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, gave a simple answer.

“Because they’re kicking butt,” he quipped.

Perez’s visit to the city Tuesday afternoon aimed to highlight positive impacts of Biden’s Investing in America agenda, including the American Rescue Plan Act.

Biden’s administration wants to see a return on the investment of federal dollars, Perez said.

“And when we come here, we not only see it, but then we take lessons back with us and speak with our colleagues about what else to do,” he said.

Mayor Eddie Moran said he and other city officials were honored and excited that Perez chose to visit Reading to see what is being done with federal dollars to address needs for job and educational development, housing, legacy projects and other areas.

“We could showcase the fact that, not only are we on the rise, but we’re utilizing the funding that was appropriated to us in the most positive way,” Moran said.

The mayor, City Council President Donna Reed and city administrators joined Perez and assistants on a two-hour tour that included stops at Reading Area Community College’s Weitz Healthcare Pavilion, Reading Housing Authority’s Oakbrook Community Center, Canal Street Skate Park and the Redner’s Event Center at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Tom Perez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, talks with from left Reading City Council President Donna Reed, Reading Area Community College President Susan Looney and Mayor Eddie Moran on Tuesday during a tour of the nursing program at RACC. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

Perez was met at the final stop by Berks County commissioners Christian Leinbach and Dante Santoni along with Reading Fightin Phils General Manager Scott Hunsicker.

The tour included a drive by other federally-funded projects, including the all-abilities playground at the Third and Spruce streets recreation center.

Perez said he and others learn much about where federal dollars should be aimed by visiting communities throughout the country. The information they gain can be used to make future funding decisions.

Several competitive grant programs are the product of studying innovative projects such as the Weitz Pavilion, he noted.

Begun last year, the $19.4 million project is being funded by $2 million in city ARPA funds, $1 million in Berks County ARPA and Community Development Block Grant funds, a $5 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant and RACC’s capital improvement campaign.

The project will allow the college to increase the number of students in its health care programs by 80%.

A large portion of those highly trained workers will find jobs in the local health-care industry, Dr. Susan Looney, RACC president, said, noting about 90% of RACC graduates remain in Berks.

Reading Area Community College celebrates groundbreaking for new health pavilion

Workforce development is one of the biggest challenges in the health care profession, Perez said.

“The thing that keeps us up at night the most is workforce,” he said, praising the project. “And you are building that pipeline. So that's what this is all about. And that's what we're going to continue to do: We're going to continue to invest in people.”

At RHA’s Oakbrook, Perez learned about plans for the community center under construction. The $8.6 million project is funded by $5.4 million from federal grant programs.

When completed, the family services center will include a food pantry, small grocery store, business center and a child care facility in new and repurposed buildings on the campus.

Perez remarked on what he called wraparound services for the neighborhood.

“Child care is a huge issue in Reading and across America,” he said, “and this child care center is going to enable scores of families to be able to make ends meet by having affordable child care.”

He noted the benefits the pantry and grocery store will bring to the area, identified as a food desert.

“Having a grocery store that you can walk to should be a right in every community,” he said.

J.D. Turner, right, one of the prime movers for the construction of a skate park in Reading, talks with Tom Perez, director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, second from left, along with Mayor Eddie Moran and Greater Reading Chamber Alliance President Lucine Sihelnik as they toured the skate park construction on Tuesday at South Sixth and Canal streets. (BILL UHRICH - READING EAGLE)

At the construction site of the Canal Street Skatepark, Perez heard how it will provide a safe space where area skateboarders can gather to practice and learn from each other.

The innovative facility also is expected to attract professional tours, demonstrations and other events that could boost the local economy and city coffers, Moran said.

On track for completion by the end of the summer, the $2.3 million project is funded by state grants totaling $290,000 and $855,000 in city capital improvement project funds, with the remainder made up of American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The tour ended with a stop at the newly opened Redner’s Event Center, which houses the Fightins' clubhouse along with community space for up to 500 people.

Reading Fightin Phils hold opening ceremonies at Redner’s Event Center

Funding for the $45 million building at the city-owned stadium included $5 million in city ARPA funds, $5 million in county ARPA funds, a $7.5 million state grant and $27.5 million from the Fightin Phils and their private partners.

“The local leaders, everybody, have been really strategic about taking the federal dollars that came from the American Rescue Plan and other funding streams and really putting them to work to help people,” Perez said.

The fact that somebody of Perez’s stature visited the city shows that Reading is on the rise and that decision-makers are taking notice, Moran said.