MARKET HOUSE MANAGER
Employer: Columbia Borough
Job Description
MARKET HOUSE MANAGER - P/T
The Borough of Columbia is accepting applications until August 13, 2010 for a PT Market House Manager. Job requirements include: B.S. Business Administration, Marketing, or similar degree with 3 yr business management or real estate leasing experience; or high/technical school graduate/GED with 10 yr of business management or real estate leasing experience. Pay rate is $18.50/hr. Applications and complete job description are available at the Columbia Borough Municipal Building, 308 Locust Street, Columbia, PA 17512. EOE"
41 comments:
what a shame. and why, if brian long has resigned, why would they spend all that money to advertise that position again??? they just advertised it what maybe 1 1/2 to 2 months ago- what a scam. when will the taxpayers of this boro realize the tremendous amount of WASTED money this council and management spends on a daily basis. this is not some big city, nor a town that has open land to build on. we need to hold council accountable for ALL their actions, norm and leo sould NOT have a free spending card
why does norm hire all these people from Hellam/Hallem ????? what the hell is up with his last place of emplyment? why does he continue to keep in touch with some- what's going on? is this a conspiracy?? someone better wake up before it's too late. with unemployment rates and such, WE should be looking in OUR OWN BACKYARD! don't tell me there are NO qualified applicants, that's bull ----.
check out july 28 blog.
i agree. the bottom line is that council can not say no to norm. WHY???? they must understand how municipalities (council) should be run. they have the power to stop em dead in their tracks...and oust them...the time has come, we must act now before we ALL move out of town because we can't afford to live here.
why doesn't the boro offices close fridays and save all that money like school districts do?
that may be an option. people work til 5 and would be able to stop in the offices after work with the extended 4 days work weeks and NO meetings are on firdays too. somehitng to think about.
why don't they have SET hours that ALL boro management is available to talk to in person????
last time i checked, there is NO management available until at least 10 am - wow, i'd like a job like that, where do i sign up
I can't believe some of the things posted here on this site which is why I probably won't show up at the meeting this week. Most comments are so negative with no understanding of the problems. The boro hired someone about 2 months ago. Most other applicates that were qualified could have found other employment. Even if they did not, I would advise the Boro to post the position again because another more qualified(better) applicant could have lost his/her job and now be looking for another one. The cost involved with finding a good employee is minimal compared with the lost time of starting the process over.
By the way, I am not saying that I am happy to see Mr long go. I personally have no way of knowing what actually happened but the boro must move on and find another employee.
Borough Council should review all applications and make the decision - and then Norm and Council should back off and let the manger manage things! And it needs to be someone with an outgoing personality, experience, and credentials. And ideally, perhaps even necessarily, someone that lives in Columbia! If they don't believe in Columbia enough to live here I'm not sure they will have the passion that we need. Emily Gofus would be good if available ??
The ad should also state that only Columbia folk need apply. Otherwise, the hire e will have no chance. Unfortunately, Columbia has a discriminatory attitude toward non-Columbians. This is exactly what's wrong with the town since it's clear no residents are competent enough to do the job.
There are probably a lot of competent residents - but it is a part time position, and those competent people probably already have full time jobs. Nor would they want to get in the middle of that whole mess.
Someone can tell me if I'm wrong - but I think the borough MUST advertise the job, and I don't think they can restrict the job to residents only.
ha!, now Tom, with all of the expertise that you share in these blogs, and to be honest - i'm impressed and challanged with some of your comments - but you gotta know by now that Columbia Borough can do all sorts of things that perhaps they aren't supposed to do!!
so with all due respect - RESTRICT TO A COLUMBIA RESIDENT!! - one way or the other :)
Restrict to a Columbia resident?? They hired a Columbia resident as our Borough Manager... that's worked out great, hasn't it??
Well, Columbia can hire someone that applies from Columbia, but I don't think they can *advertise* it as such.
Even cities that have residency requirements for certain jobs usually only require someone to live within so many miles, or at least gives them a few years to move there.
A columbia resident would have the advantage (or would that be a disadvantage) of knowing how certain governing bodies of this town works. Then again, outside ideas can sometimes be good as well.
All the money put in the market House to keep it going is not working out! That is the bottom line. STAY THIRSTY MY FRIENDS! :O)
This market worked 5 years ago, when it was restarted, when it was one day. Many changes went on over the 5 years, from days to hours. It lost the basic thing it needed, the right stands and products, and a manager that didn't become its her way or no way in her market, thats why she lost her job, and that is why vendors don't want to come to columbia market. Now the job is a boro job and you report to norm and market house commitee tell me where is room to make this a place to be. Also columbia people don't shop columbia any more like they did before. To many big heads at the table, any new market house manager is not going to make it. This market house is a asset to columbia and it is not roots or green dragon, it schould not be either. Now we have amish people in there which is good they don't like all the problems this town has , they see it. I hope somehow this town can support this treasure somehow. Howard Stevens
Back to what i said before, to much money an not enough output in the Market house. STAY THIRSTY MY FRIENDS! :o)
well Tom, it's an advantage to know how certain governmental bodies in this town work - and one thing is for sure - a Columbia resident can speak from the heart about how great the town is and is becoming
Are you NUTZZZ!! This town needs alot of HELP!!
In case you haven't noticed - this town is great and getting better all the time!! and I can give you at least ten good reasons -
sure, it has lot's of problems too! - but if you are market manager - you better focus on talking about the good things!!
Getting better? Really? In this economy? Not many towns are getting "better".
Surviving, maybe. Sure, talk about the good things, but you can't wear blinders to the bad.
no Tom, getting better, it's a fact and I can prove it!
And yep, sometimes you just need to put on the blinders!! - 'cause like it or not, you might just be a bit biased on certain things that bother you.
pk
Why not privatize it and let the investors, i.e. shareholders, appoint a market manager who will operate the market house thereby eliminating Borough government involvement so the taxpayers are not liable for any losses? If the answer is that prviate will not take such a risk, why is the Borough continuing with such a risk?
It's something to do with committment - Columbia Borough already decided to develop a Market House using County funds!
Borough Council needs to take the local leadership and tell the people that are hiring the people to either hire the right people or get out of the way so that Council can hire better people to hire better people !
pk
Mr. Buzzendore raises a good point. WHY is the borough in the market business?
And to PK: OK, then show me. The only positive thing lately has been THE (I hate that abbreviation. Let's go to the THE? I think we should abbreviate it as THillEx... sounds cooler).
I drive by Anvil Int'l and most of the time and there's 10 cars in the lot. Half the town is for sale. No real businesses opening. So we have a fixed up river park. whoop-dee-doo. It's just an over-glorified boat ramp and a pet project of one councilcritter.
And I still like the idea of a police dep't garage...
Tom, Please pack your bags and move to a town that wants you and your negative blows. Its weird.. when I read your comments. It appears in one sentence that you care, but then you finish with a shot of low self esteem for our town. We have a long way to go to fix up this town, but if people like you destroy along the way, no one will have the strength to stay strong and make this town a place to call home. Josh
actually, it would make a good Borough Run agressive high stakes Bingo Hall, with all profits going to the promotion of the downtown, seriously!!
pk
Sure Josh, that will work. Just chase everyone out of town that has some common sense. The 5 people left can go to little meetings and pretend that the realities of a small, post-industrial, poor, drug-filled town do not exist. They can discuss what type of trees to plant, or how to re-open the market house for the 32nd time.
It is possible to be cautiously optimistic without pretending that everything is sunshine and roses. It makes no sense to make dumb, expensive mistakes, over and over because it might work *this time*.
Bringing this to some semblance of a topic: in the end, if it comes down to leaving the Market House to deteriorate and rot, or finding an adaptive re-use for it, or finding a private party to operate it, I'm for the latter two.
And if you want to make it a bingo hall, you have to HVAC it. Old people and heat, ya know...
the question is why didn't Council previously consider privatization? Market Hoouses are struggling and were struggling before the current economic decline. The next question is what is Council doing besides hiring another manager? Is it considering, as Tom intimated, adaptive uses or something in conjunction with a market house? It is nice that the Boro is using our tax dollars in the form of County funds but it needs to have a viable economic use and we do not need to be wed to a market house. Prviate business does not have the luxury of waiting to see if something works. Neither should the Borough.
Tom, again you strike with your comments of hate for our town. While I agree we have drugs and many buildings for sale... but does that mean we should just pack up and leave because they are there>NO! we will keep pecking until all areas are well watched and make it united. It will NOT happen over night, but with attitudes like you have are just not helping! Jane L.
I do not hate the town. But many of the problems can't be solved on the local level. And definitely not buy re-opening a market house isolated bye everything else. Maybe we can somehow make the market work, even without the business downtown like Mr. Buzzendore pointed out about York. But even if we make it work, let's be real, it's not going to solve this borough;s ills.
If that is an attitude, then so be it.
Bottom line: should the borough be in he business of running a market?
well Tom, I think we all agree that the Borough should not be running the Market!
just CAREFULLY hire a good (local!) manager and give it another try - anything else will be too much red tape
I visited market for the first time last week. It's a bit different than Central Market in Lancaster... A lot less people/stand holders. I can honestly say that I was a bit disappointed. I love the building, and feel that market as a whole has a huge amount of potential. Having said this, I was very disappointed to see an Avon stand at market. What the hell?
Tom, I agree the boro should not run the market, but they should support the upgrades and advertising. Jane L.
do you realize that Avon is an old fashion amererican tradition - we should be proud to have Avon in our market - and be thankful for the person that has the guts to weather the storm and stay in the market
Why should the market manager even be on the borough payroll?
Should the borough go any further than owning and maintaining the actual building? Same question for advertising.
yes Tom, the Borough knows how to deal with employees - they have pleanty of employees already and one more for the Market House sure won't hurt. The Borough should advertise the hell out of the Market House and the Downtown! - to the tune of at least $1,000. per month which is peanuts compared to what the County sank in to the Market House!!!
pk
Considering the last market manager lasted all of a month - then I would argue the borough does not know how to deal with employees. IF one more employee won't hurt, then let's hire 3 managers for the market. Why not? They can always raise taxes again.
And my original question still stands - why should the borough be in the business of running (operating) a market? If it is such a great spot, why can't any stores make a go of it downtown? Could it be demographics and parking? The fact that there are several other places to buy fresh goods within 10 minutes of the borough?
Nah... must be another reason there somewhere. I bet it's because we don't have brick sidewalks downtown. That MUST be it.
Because the Market has been part of the Borough operations for the past 100 years. If the Borough can't do something as simple as hire a good market manager, then how efficient are they at hiring and managing all of the other department heads!! Taking the Market out of the hands of the Borough won't solve the problem that the Borough has in hiring the right people for the right jobs.
and, it's a pretty biased statement to say that "stores can't make a go of it downtown"! - I can list at least ten stores that are making a go of it downtown.
Maybe the market could make a go at it 100 years ago, but this is not 100 years ago.
I just do not think the borough should be in the business of operating a market. In the past there were lots of homeowners downtown, personal mobility was different, and we didn't have all the stores on the edges of town. But today? If having a makret downtown was such a slam dunk, then the private sector would have something similar already. There hasn't been for years.
And yeah, there's stores downtown - Hinkles, Stovers, The Re-uzit shop, and a bunch of antique shops. Hinkles wouldn't be surviving without the restaurant (and maybe the pharmacy), Stovers sells lottery, porn, and cigarettes (that place will be around forever), then there's a couple antique shops. What else is there? What has been around more than a few years? What actually gets more than a few customers a day?
You say you have a list - I'd love to see it.
ok Tom, you are inspiring me! Really, it's all a matter of perception! - and the way I see it, Downtown Columbia is Booming and getting better all the time!!
just off the top of my head - "a couple of antique shops" ? - Burning Bridge alone has over 100 independent vendors inside a 20,000 square foot building. Then we have The Managerie, Mackies, the one beside Stovers, Partners, and Rivertown. (more then a "couple")! We have the pet shop on 4th, the new Denim shop at 4th & Locust, and a half a dozen retailers on the upper side of Fourth. We have a Pizza Shop, a Subway, Tatoo Parlors, and the new ethnic resturant at 5th & Locust (delicious!) We have a number of Barber Shops, Banks, Two Real Estate Agencies (at least one whom is honest :) , three Insurance Companies, Stovers, Andy's, The egyptian grocer, Sargent Sholtz :), A Post Office, The Watermellon Candy Store, the Sports Store, The "cough" Bar Joints, Taste of Styles, The Steak Sandwhich shop, the sports bar at the old Loretto's, Law Office, a CVS, a Turkey Hill, a Printing Company, and best of all, The Daily Grind!! - and a few that I'm sure I missed.
Tom, when you have some time - pick up a book called "Change your Brain, Change your Life" - By Daniel G. Amen
Maybe you enjoy being a pesimist, but you'll b much happier if you teach yourself to see things in a better light!
although to be honest, you do have some very good points and it's a fine line between being realistic and being and optimist!, and I prefer the latter - 'cause it leads to the former !
Actually, I have some books on the old Pennsy and RDG railway that I need to read.
So your list - can we break it down further?
How many have been there for a few years? New places open up all the time, but is it still 9 out of 10 businesses fail their first year? Insurance, barber shops, and real estate agencies I wouldn't consider stores. Nor the fast food joints, although I guess you could have those in market.
What I'm getting at, is how many strictly retail establishments have been operating in the borough long enough to be considered stable?
It shrinks your list considerably.
But I will ask a third time: do you believe the borough should be in the market business - competing with the few stores that are downtown? Is that the role of local gov't?
I used to go to council meetings, and even attended one or two of those "future workshops". I did some undergrad work in planning. Heck, I hold a degree in Geography with a politics minor. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck (I chased it down the highway!).
Seems like every town is trying the same 3 solutions to solve their problems that are more national in nature. It's a shame because we have something that makes Columbia special - that big watery thing on the western edge. So much should be down with the river and civil war history... but instead we will throw money down the drain trying to keep the market open AGAIN.
You certainly have some valid points. I'm from the school of thought that positive thinking and positive actions have a huge impact on results. If you break the list down to strictly retail establishements, its no secret that its a brutal place to try to start a new business, however, in the middle of it all there are some success stories - which if nothing else shows the committment and passion that some have for Columbia.
granted - the Riverfront is the prime area! - so I don't quite see that moving the truck route through the prime river front area is such a great idea - but so be it.
so, you're presistant question - should the Borough be in the Market business in a bad economy? - I say maybe and maybe not - I can see it working either way - but one thing is for sure - if they are in the market business they should have the resources to promote it and keep it filled with standholders and customers!! - and if they just can't do that - then perhaps they just shouldn't be in the market business!
which then reaises another question - should the Market House be seperated from Borough Hall and leased out to a private operator?, or should it be something else as a part of Borough Hall ?
and antoher question - is Borough Hall the right place for Borough Hall? - or would it make sense to sell The Market House and Borough Hall to a private developer that can do something really special with both - and build a new Borough Hall somewhere else such as on the weed infested lots along the river that the Borough sold off?, or anywhere near the highway department.
who ever decided to turn the old opera house in to Borough Hall?
If someone wanted to buy borough hall, and the borough could build a new hall without incurring huge debt (unlikely scenario) then they'd be stupid not to sell it.
It is a little cramped in there, and not exactly great for A/V stuff.
Borough has been in the market business for awhile. I think we can all agree it isn't exactly "Working out". I wouldn't have much of a problem with the borough owning the building (give the building a little protection) while leasing out operations.
Ever go to that daily grind coffee shop? I was wondering if their prices are reasonable ( I'm not a fan of $4 iced coffee...) . I usually don't drive up that block of Locust (that traffic light at 5th and locust has too long a wait cycle if you're on locust.
Post a Comment