Dunk the coaches, help Columbia sports

Union Station, Fourth and Union streets, will host a dunk tank benefit for the Columbia High School athletic program from noon-6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 21.
Among the CHS coaches already committed to the "tank" are football coaches Mike Burke Sr. and Jr., basketball coach Mark Wisler and wrestling coach Scott Rupp.

St. Anne's to hold yard sale

St. Anne's Retirement Community Yard Sale (in conjunction with the Mountville Yard Sale) on Saturday, Sept. 18.
Proceeds from yard sale areas will be donated to the Pet Fund and benefit the pets at St Anne's Retirement Community
For $15, you can reserve your lawn area. One - 10x20 grass area (includes space for you car)
ALL PROCEEDS FROM YOUR SALE ARE YOURS TO KEEP
For further information, you may contact: Karen Kuhn at 285-6105 or email kkuhn@stannesrc.org You can also pick a yard sale form up at St Anne's Retirement Community

Help is needed

Columbia High School is looking for volunteers to help with the concession stand during home football games. Interested parties are asked to call Deb Nissley at 684-7500, ext. 3413.

Are you ready for some football?

Football practice starts Monday at Columbia High School. Equipment was given out tonight. Tomorrow between 9-11:30 a.m., the football program conduct will hold its annual town canvas.

A Night of Music

 It was a Night of Music tonight at Columbia High School as the marching band performed its football and competition show for parents and friends.

Food for Thought

HERE IS THE TEXT OF MAYOR LEO LUTZ' LETTER TO COLUMBIA BOROUGH COUNCIL CONCERNING THE CABINS ALONG THE SUSQUEHANNA RIVER.


During the next several months you will be making the second most important decision that has been made in my nine years working for Columbia Borough. The first major decision was the purchase and sale of the property at Third and Linden Street. I believe we all can agree that this was the right thing to do toward jump starting the Economic Development and Revitalization in Columbia Borough.

Now Columbia Borough has been offered the gift of three parcels of land owned by the Safe Harbor Power and Water commonly known as the River Cottages. The decision will be hat do we do with this gift and what is the right thing to do? I have thought long and hard about this decision and listened to many discussions and ideas on the subject.

Columbia Borough must show it is serious by completing projects such as constructing a building at River Park, purchasing the adjoining 14 acres of land between the bridges, increasing parking by purchasing and demolishing the building between the Market House and the Market House parking lot and completing the Downtown Beautification project.

These projects and the theory behind completing these projects are noted in the soon to be finalized Economic Development Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Plan. Both plans have been developed by residents throughout all walks of life in Columbia Borough with a common goal; creating a sense of place, that place where we all want to live and call home.

With this in mind, I have heard or thought of three different scenarios on what to do with the gifting from Safe Harbor Power and Water and how to create the funding necessary to complete started or stalled projects. Allow me to outline these and include my assessment of each.

One: Take the gifting from Safe Harbor and place the property up for sale to the highest bidder. This will create capitol, but may take a generation to see the full economic impact if any. As seen in the purchase and sale of the Third and Linden property this option is very time consuming on personnel at a time when we need to have other projects moving and may take years to complete the transaction. Also, the development that may take place may not be in the best interests of Columbia Borough. This is not the right thing to do to the people who have been there for generations and noted is part of the historic fabric of Columbia Borough.

Two: Take the gifting from Safe Harbor and continue to lease the property to the cottage owners. This option will not create the capitol needed to do these projects planned or stalled. Additionally the expenses of becoming a landlord such as taxes, maintenance and installation of roads and infrastructure will off-set monies collected on leases. This is not the right thing to do.

Third: Take the gifting from Safe Harbor and sell to the Cottage Owners Association through the Columbia Economic Development Corporation in the same manner as the Turkey Hill Experience. This can be a fast transaction creating the needed capitol for projects and when combined with grant funding already awarded can jump start further economic development, business retention and recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. The amount the Cottage Owners Association has offered Safe Harbor can be used to complete projects as noted above such as:

Constructing a building at River Park with restrooms and deck. DCNR has indicated $165,000 could be realized for such a project provided Columbia Borough can provide a match. This would allow for the construction of a $320,000 building. There is a possibility of additional funding to complete the entire building but Columbia Borough would have to make the initial investment.

Purchase the 14 acres between the bridges from Norfolk Southern. Columbia Borough has made an offer to Norfolk Southern. If the offer is refused and Columbia Borough cannot invest the monies to purchase, we will lose a $30,000 grant from DCNR that is to be used for the purchase and funding from the Lancaster County Urban Enhancement Fund to be used for the planning phase. $100,000 may be needed for this transaction to be completed. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase the lands and complete the footprint of River Park.

Complete the Downtown Beautification Project. The completion of this project has been cited by both residents and businesses alike as an important part in the economic development and revitalization of Columbia Borough. The project is also listed, as are the others in the Economic Development Strategic Plan. The lights have been purchased with a grant from Senator Brubaker but cannot be installed properly without the other part of the project such as new conduit, curb and sidewalk reconstruction and tree planting. Completion of this project may cost $150,000.

By my calculations, that leaves roughly $200,000 to purchase and demolish the building across the alley from the Market House and adjacent to the new Market House parking lot and expand the lot. Additionally, the borough could offer the front portion of the lot to an entity to construct a mixed use businesses/residence properties on the South Third Street portion of the lot. This would offset the cost, allow for more economic development in other areas, increase the tax base, eliminate curb cuts, increase business and residential opportunities and fill the void in the streetscape. This is the right thing to do.

I believe if you sharpen your pencils a bit with these suggestionsm you may even have enough money left to retire the latest borrowing taken on by council.

Please give these thoughts and scenarios some serious thought. This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to create the Columbia Borough we all would like to live in and have new business and residents invest in. We can also create the sense of place, that place we proudly call home if we do the right thing.

Leo S. Lutz
Mayor

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.
****
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!
*****
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.
******
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!
*****
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

Other council business

Here are some other things that happened at last night's meeting:
* Todd Kramer questioned the council when two fire damaged buildings on North Second Street at Poplar street might be demolished so he can rent out two buildings he owns near the fire scene.
Borough Manager Norm Meiskey said it won't be long before the buildings will be demolished legally.
* Heather McDonald thanked the council for changing the street sweeping in the 100 block of Locust Street.
She also asked how long vehicles can be parked on properties.
* Frank Doutrich asked why a dead end area of Seventh and Poplar streets was paved and also how many projects are on council's plate to be completed.
* Tabled a maintenance agreement between Columbia, West Hempfield and Wrightsville for the Route 462 Bridge lighting project.
* Approved hiring a part-time janitor for up to 19 hours a week, Anna Gerlitzki voted against the motion.
* Appointed Jonathan Lutz as an alternate member of the Zoning Board.
* Approved a request from the St. Paul's Missionary Baptist Church for the use of Makle Park this weekend for a basketball tournament and church service.
* Reappointed Mark Zeamer to the Tree Commission and noted there are vacant seats on the commission, the Planning Commission and the HARB Board for an architect.

Advertising at River Park

Saw this sign posted Sunday at River Park. Is this legal?

Turkey Hill happy!

Usually at borough council meetings, members of the council and management often times have a bottle of water or soda in front of them during meetings. Monday night, just seemed kind of odd that those sitting at the head table were sipping Turkey Hill iced tea out of Turkey Hill coasters!
Is Turkey Hill tea now the official drink of Columbia Borough!

Was it a better meeting?

Over the first five or six months of this year, there has been plenty of discussion at Columbia Borough Council meetings on how the meetings were being conducted by President Mary Wickenheiser.
Public comment was limited and there was to be no interaction like in the past between citizens, council members and staff. Questions would be answered at the end of a citizen's comment and if the citizen had a follow up question to a response, they would have to wait a month to answer the question.
It created a lot of tension and mistrust among members of council and those attending meetings.
Monday night, the tension was gone and the meeting went off without a hitch.
Council President Wickenheiser was on vacation and Mary Barninger, council's vice-president ran the meeting.
There was give and take between council and the citizens and a relaxed mood at the meeting.
"It is obvious you (Barninger) don't agree with the way the meetings were being run before and I applaud you for it," said Frank Doutrich to Barninger during the citizen's comment portion of the meeting.
After answering a multitude of questions from Doutrich, Barninger said she likes the format being used Monday night.
"I like to give the folks the benefit of doubt and as long as there is respect and the meetings are orderly that's how I'll run the meeting," Barninger said.
Mayor Leo Lutz said he has spoken to Wickenheiser about changing the way meetings are conducted.
"She was considering it as long as there were some guidelines and I thought we were going back to that," Lutz said.
"I guess the council president didn't discuss the changes with the rest of council," the mayor said.

A question and some answers at the market

About two weeks ago, after a special meeting of Columbia Borough Council, COLUMBIA TALK learned of the resignation of Brian Long as Market Manager.
Two days later, Long was still in command at the market and issued a "no comment" about his future.
Monday night, resident Frank Doutrich asked about Long's status as Market Manager and what happened.
"Tell us what is going on?" Doutrich asked.
Kelly Murphy, who chairs council's market committee did in fact confirm Long resigned as of July 16 and an ad seeking Long's replacement appeared in the Lancaster Sunday News.
"He has agreed to stay on as acting manager," Murphy said of Long.
Murphy said council is trying to move forward with the market, but did not say what caused Long to resign.

Meter prices are being changed

Well, if you have been downtown recently and parked at the meters, you've probably noticed Columbia is enforcing the meter laws to a T. Monday through Thursday and Saturday from 9 a.m.to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
You've probably been one of those ticketed.
Well, get ready for another change in the very near future.
Once the meters are cleaned, calibrated and signs changed, it will cost you more to park.
Now, with the exception of an area near the post office, it costs 25 cents to park for an hour. Once the above changes are made, it will cost 25 cents to park for 30 minutes.
Council members Mary Barninger and Anna Gerlitzki voted against the change.

More Code Enforcement concerns are expressed

It seems kike no matter the meeting, there are also concerns expressed about the borough's efforts in code enforcement. Monday night's borough council meeting was no exception.
Tim Swartz told members of the council he was talking with one of the borough's new code enforcement officers last Friday, who was answering a complaint. Swartz said the official told him, he was asked to "back off" on issuing citations because the staff in the office was low.
"We're only suppose to issue citations if we get phone calls," Swartz was told.
"This is very discouraging, We need to enforce these codes with zero tolerance. Why would this person tell me this?" Swartz asked.
"If we can't enforce our codes, having extra people doesn't mean a thing," Swartz said.
"If we are going to revitalize this town, this is not the way to do this and this is an issue that needs to be addressed," Swartz said.
Swartz also spoke of an apartment on Locust Street where 11 children and two adults were residing.
Mary Barninger, who served as acting council president for the meeting, was surprised to hear Swartz' information
"We need to immediately look into this," she said.
"This is ridiculous," said Borough Manager Norm Meiskey.
Mayor Leo Lutz said the borough has been working with the Columbia School District and others to get a handle on living problems. Lutz said 71 disruptive conduct reports have been written in the last year concerning tennant issues in Section 8 areas and four people have been taken off the Section 8 lists.
"We are cracking down on this," Lutz said.

Cabins are safe

For those who own cabins along the Susquehanna River, it has been a tense summer and it has nothing to do with the hot weather that has locked into the area.
For the last four months ever since Columbia Borough Council said it was considering a gift from the Safe Harbor Power Company for land the cottages sit on, the owners have been attending meetings in mass, trying to find out the fate of their properties.
Last week, the cabin owners attended council's property meeting and were told the "gifting" was still in the hands of the solicitor.
Monday night, the cabin owners and others again packed the monthly meeting of borough council and finally got a response on their questions.
The response came in a three-page written statement from Mayor Leo Lutz, who told the council to accept the gifting of the land from Safe Harbor and sell it to the River Cottage Owners Association through the Columbia Economic Development Corporation, similar to the way the Turkey Hill Experience project was completed
Lutz said (Food for Thought, posted elsewhere on COLUMBIA TALK) the sale would allow the borough to move forward with other projects.
Lutz' letter was greeted with a round of applause from the cottage owners, but there were no comments or a vote taken by the council on the mayor's request.

Woman is struck

West Hempfield Towbship Police have investidated this accident: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/275179

Weekly Columbia Police reports

LEO NOBILE, AGE 58, OF YORK, WAS CITED FOR REGISTRATION & CERTIFICATION OF TITLE REQUIRED, ON BRIDGE STREET, at 7:36 P.M., AUG. 2..

ANDREW J. MULHERIN, JR., AGE 49, OF YORK, WAS CITED FOR OBEDIENCE TO TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES ON ROUTE 441 AND PERRY STREET, AT 5:54 P.M., AUG. 2.

DIANA JOAN PALACIOS, AGE 31, OF MARIETTA, WAS CITED FOR MAXIMUM SPEED LIMITS ON ROUTE 441 AND PERRY STREET, AT 5:12 P.M., AUG. 2..

WILLIAM R. LIPPLATT, AGE 58, OF FLORIDA, WAS CITED FOR OBEDIENCE TO TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES AT THIRD. AND LINDEN STREETS, AT 6:03 P.M., AUG. 3..

JENNA L. ENTERLINE, AGE 23, OF CONESTOGA, WAS CITED FOR OBEDIENCE TO TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES ON ROUTE 441 AND PERRY STREET, 5:28 P.M., AUG. 3.
BRIAN LEROY SHOFF, AGE 36, OF WASHINGTON BORO., WAS CITED FOR MAXIMUM SPEED LIMITS ON ROUTE 441 AND PERRY STREET, 4:30 P.M.; AUG. 3.

MARK DAVID OTT, AGE 42, OF COLUMBIA, WAS CITED FOR OBEDIENCE TO TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES ON ROUTE 441 AND PERRY STREET, 4:58 P.M., AUG. 3..

RONALD PAUL SACKS, AGE 39, OF COLUMBIA, WAS CITED FOR PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS IN THE 400 BLOCK OF LOCUST STREET, 12:38 A.M., AUG. 5..

JOHN L. LOWE, AGE 43, OF COLUMBIA, WAS CITED FOR REGISTRATION CERTIFICATION OF TITLE REQUIRED, AT FOURTH AND LOCUST STREETS, 12:10 A.M., AUG. 5..

MICHAEL D. DISHONGH, AGE 54, OF COLUMBIA, WAS CITED FOR REGISTRATION & CERTIFICATION OF TITLE REQUIRED, IN THE 600 BLOCK OF LOCUST STREET, 4:50 P.M., AUG. 5.

BRADLEE ANTHONY REGA, AGE 25, OF LANCASTER, WAS CITED FOR OPERATION FOLLOWING SUSPENSION OF REGISTRATION, AT ROUTE 30 EAST, AT ROUTE 441, 9:33 P.M., AUG. 5.

KATHERINE CHRISTINE PIERRE, AGE 26, OF HARRISBURG, WAS CITED FOR MAXIMUM SPEED LIMITS, ON ROUTE 30 EAST AND ROUTE 441, 8:54 A.M., AUG. 6.

JENEE SPRINGER, AGE 34, OF WASHINGTON BORO., WAS CITED FOR OBEDIENCE TO TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES, AT ROUTE 441 AND PERRY STREET, 9:50 A.M., AUG. 8..

DAVID MICHAELBEAM, AGE 56, OF MILLERSVILLE, WAS CITED FOR OBEDIENCE TO TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES AT ROUTE 441 AND PERRY STREET, 10:05 A.M., AUG. 8.
TRISHA MARIE HARTMAN, AGE 19, OF COLUMBIA, WAS CITED FOR TRAFFIC-CONTROL SIGNALS AT THIRD AND CHESTNUT STREETS, 12:05 A.M./, AUG. 9..

Coming up

Covereage of tonight's Columbia Borough Council meeting.

Any thoughts?

Here is a story from PennLive, about Middletown Borough Council not wanting to be contacted: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/08/middletown_council_members_kee.html

Baptism held at River Park

The Ashley Tabernacle Church of God in Christ and their associates held their annual baptism at River Park today

Scenes today at River Park

CHS administrator to leave

COLUMBIA TALK has learned that Nathan McGlynn, the assistant principal at Columbia High School, has submitted his resignation.
McGlynn will take an assistant principal's position at the Red Land High School in the West Shore School District.

CBAA to hold yard sale

The Columbia Boys Athletic Association is holding its 1st Annual Fall Yard Sale and Flea Market, Saturday, Sept. 18. If you would like a 20x20 stand for $20, please contact Robin Ortman at 717-314-2714 by September 10. Spaces under the pavilion can be secured on a first come first serve basis. No food vendors please. The concession stand will be open and all proceeds will benefit the Columbia Boys Athletic Association. September 19 has been selected as a rain date.

This week's happenings and more

Here are a list of upcoming events:

Monday, Aug. 8, 7 p.m., Columbia Borough Council meeting, 308 Locust St.
Thursday, Aug. 12, 7 p.m., Columbia School Board Committee of the Whole meeting, 200 North Fifth St.
Saturday, Aug. 14, 9-11:30 a.m., town canvass for the Columbia High School football program.
Saturday, Aug. 14, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Holy Trinity Chicken Barbecue, picked up at the church or the Susquehanna Fire Company.
Saturday, Aug. 14, 6:30 p.m., SVCC Night at the Lancaster Barnstormers, for tickets call 684-5249.