Friday's commentary

It's been a while since I have actually sat down and wrote some commentary. It's not that I haven't had time because that's all I got.
First and foremost, I am not going to change the comment portion of COLUMBIA TALK. I am still going to be watching everything that is going on in this town as usual. After a week of touring town, I can tell you there is a lot happening. Some good things and some bad things.
Among the good things are that a couple of art galleries are planning to move to the 400 block of Locust Street as Fourth Friday continues to take off and grow. The recent find of historical documents by CHIPS  at the former M&T Bank and the dig at Rotary Park, with donations with the Wright Mansion are two more examples.
The bad things, well, I am just not right now at liberty to say too much, but there are a lot of people watching  our town. And that's even with the good things too.
Yes, Columbia has a vacancy on borough council. Anna Gerlitzki's resignation hasn't even officially been accepted by council. I've heard from both sides on this and one thing I think is necessary is some type of program needed to educate first-time people, not only on borough council, but school board as well. It's a lot more than attending meetings. I know with school board, its either the IU or PSBA that runs an orientation program. And also, if you are not sure about a project or an issue, ask.
As for a replacement, which should only be until the end of next year, I agree there is a need for new blood. And since it has been suggested on here and on another site, that I might be interested in seeking a seat on council, I will tell you I have thought about it and if I would do it, I would do it for the best interests of all 10,300 citizens in this borough. I wouldn't do it for me or any group.
Yes, sometime Brian Long, who resigned last month as market manager, will be leaving. He's been willing to stay on as an interim manager. I was at market yesterday as I am every Thursday (was told last Thursday I wasn't there, however on Facebook, there was a photo posted and I was in the background, so unless I have a brother I don't know about, I was there) and I thought the traffic was good. Today, however, when I stopped in briefly, there was no need to put an alert on Traffax.
As for what I think Columbia should look for in a new market manager, is a person with a marketing/sales background; one who will go to other markets, try to recruit new stand holders and be a public relations person for the town. And I also believe it should be someone with no ties to the market (and I didn't say not from Columbia).
The parking situation in Columbia continues to be a discussion around town. Do I think Columbia should be collecting from meters until six o'clock or nine o'clock? No. But until things are changed, it is the law. When these new meters were put in several years ago, as some of you may have noticed, there's a place to put in a key, but nothing has ever happened in that regard. I also think too that perhaps we should keep the cost of the meters at 25 cents for an hour. We need to get people into our town and the change to 25 cents for 30 minutes is not business friendly.
I do hope when they change the meters, they do had a coat of paint to them. I know its a small thing, but it will be an improvement.
I could go on and on, but I won't. I will end with this, we are a small town of 10,300 people. We have a mix of cultures in our town and we really need to get a long. Getting a long will go a long way toward making our town what we once had and dream of having. As the theme song on the television show Cheers said, "a place where everybody knows your name." It's just not that way in town.