Wednesday, August 11, 2010

My Food for Thought!

I was having trouble coming up with a headline for today's column, so I thought I would steal a headline.
First, I was able to check on the Code Enforcement issue, which was discussed on Monday night. Code people were just doing what they were told and the situation has been corrected.
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Got an email from a police officer today, who said he wrote a ticket in the alley near the market because the owner of the vehicle was unable to be found. The ticket was excused by the borough's finance manager!
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There were a lot of comments about the proposed sale of the cabins on Monday night at the council meeting and possibly putting the issue on the ballot for the voters to decide. Just something to consider. It may take a few years to complete Mayor Lutz' proposed action and putting the issue on the ballot will cost the borough money to do, which apparently Columbia does not have.
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Now for the increase/decrease in prices with the downtown parking meters. I am a proponent of not having parking meters downtown only because we want people to come downtown. What I do not like is without meters those who rent apartments downtown will fill the spaces and get a free ride. Perhaps those people, if we know who the renters are, should be forced to pay a parking fee. But since in listening to some of the comments on Monday night, I'm not sure if Columbia has a handle on the rental issue.
But in my mind, this comes down to nickel and diming people. If we were getting $100,000 off parking meter revenue, then go for it. We are not. The same goes with Code Enforcement. Its not consistent. We are picking on the small stuff and letting the bigger issues go.
So here is a thought tied into what Mayor Lutz said Monday night, about using the money gained from the sale of the cabin area, perhaps somewhere in the neighborhood of $630,000, and using it to jump start  projects.
Here's food for thought -- consistent code enforcement, in terms of fines, etc. and using the truck weighing scales, which most of the time are sitting idol to its fullest use. Those two issues alone, if properly utilized, could bring Columbia that $630,000 in a hurry. Truck fines are expensive and could be an extremely profitable venture!
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One other food for thought item from the mayor's letter dealt with the street scape of Locust Street -- replacing the street lights, trees, etc. The mayor said it would cost $150,000 to complete. Perhaps some of the businesses downtown might be willing to contribute and has anyone approached PPL about doing it as a community project? They've done it before in town.

More charges filed in Delaware

More charges are filed in campground burglaries: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/276066