Phoenixville council approves contract, loan and change orders to reinstall historic Phoenix Wheel near French Creek Trail

Phoenixville Borough Council voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with restoration and installation of the historic Phoenix Wheel, awarding a construction contract, approving a change order for engineering, and authorizing an amended loan agreement with the Schuylkill River Heritage Center.

The action follows multiple public comments from members of the Schuylkill River Heritage Center urging council to finalize agreements and meet a grant-driven deadline to complete the work before June 2026. Council approved the base contract and selected alternates with Special Metals Welding and Fabrication Incorporated (vendor name in council motion) and passed related funding items by an 8-0 vote.

The motion awarding the contract specified the base bid plus alternates 2, 3 and 5 for a total contract amount reported in the motion as $2,193,596, and it was approved contingent upon funds being available and upon receiving authorization from all funding agencies. The council also approved RVE (engineering) change order number 2 for an additional $53,313 and authorized execution of an amended and restated outgoing loan agreement between the borough and the Schuylkill River Heritage Center to document financing for the project.

Public testimony at the meeting came from several Heritage Center representatives and local volunteers who described the wheel’s history, its planned location at a French Creek Trail trailhead near Breaux Hall and Renaissance Park, and the community and educational value they expect it to provide. “We are going to restore it as a sculpture that will be a piece of heritage tourism adjacent to the French Creek Trail,” said Barbara Cohen, identified in her remarks as president of the Schuylkill River Heritage Center. Mike Kajak, a Heritage Center board member, thanked borough staff and engineers and asked council for approvals that would allow the project to proceed. Other speakers, including a Foundry tour guide, described local enthusiasm and youth engagement with the artifact.

Council members and staff said the approvals are contingent on the finalization of grant and loan paperwork. Finance committee motions recorded at the meeting explicitly made the contract award, the engineering change order, and the loan agreement approvals contingent on funding availability and any required authorizations from funding agencies. Council’s motion to award the contract was moved and seconded on the record and carried 8-0; the subsequent motions on the change order and the loan agreement likewise passed 8-0.

Staff and presenters noted practical funding requirements tied to the grant: the borough must spend funds first and submit proof of expenditures to receive reimbursement from the grant program. The Heritage Center told council they hope to have the wheel installed before June 2026 to meet grant timelines. Remington Versec (as named in public remarks) engineers and a fabricator identified in the motion were named as project partners during the meeting.

Council and staff also discussed site-specific approvals already taken: the council’s historic preservation and certificate-of-appropriateness process had earlier approved demolition of an existing shed at 381 Bridge Street and associated hardscaping needed for the wheel site; planning and permitting steps were referenced as complete or in-process as part of the project’s path forward.

The meeting record shows the borough will execute a loan agreement with the Schuylkill River Heritage Center, as authorized by council, and will only proceed with the contract award when the required external funding authorizations are in place. Council asked staff to coordinate signage, site work and communications around the installation and to return for any additional approvals if funding or scope materially change.

The approvals end a multi-year effort by the Heritage Center and borough staff to preserve and repurpose the historic wheel as a public monument and trailhead feature. Project backers and several council members described it as a heritage-tourism asset expected to draw visitors and provide educational programming for local schools and community groups.