LCSWMA funding slated for Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area (SGHA) has decreased by $25,000. (On July 27, council approved SGHA to enter an agreement to manage Columbia Crossing.) Taxpayers are currently paying utilities for the building. SGHA wants an office to be constructed in the building.
All road paving is done for the year. 13 blocks were paved, representing a 30% increase over last year.
New playground equipment will begin to be installed at Rotary Park next week.
Leaf pickup will end on December 11.
$14-15,000 of material (salt and anti-skid mixture) is needed to keep roads salted and safe.
Sewer refunds are done. Bills for delinquent accounts will be sent out.
Council approved a $5,000 donation to CBAA to remodel restrooms at Glatfelter’s Field.
“In-car” laptops for police are $6,000 each and need to be replaced every five years.
New Borough Manager Gregory Sahd becomes “official” on December 14.
Don and Becky Murphy received a Community Revitalization Award for the Susquehanna Center for the Arts, 224 Locust St., Columbia.
Preliminary plans were presented to the Planning Commission at its September meeting for the installation of two large propane tanks near Fourth and Manor Streets.
Three vacancies for 2016: Civil Service (6-year term), Police Pension Board (1-year term), Tree Commission (5-year term).
The Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authority will be taking over the blighted property at 208-210 Locust Street.
Norfolk Southern and PennDOT still have not reached an agreement, further delaying the opening of the Route 441 bypass. Further information has not been made available.
CEDC will sell the fire company building along Front Street. The fire company cannot sell the property, because it belongs to Columbia Borough. By law, the borough cannot donate the property to the fire company. By law, a realtor may not sell the property.
Columbia Spy 
We the tax payers should stop giving to the higher ups! The only ones that prosper are them! through the years in this town its a sham to see these people get rich off of tax payers! It must STOP! Want whats best for them and not others!! Low paying jobs in this town to BOOT!
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Wish i could get land because of who i am! This land is TAX PAYERS!! What can you not see here! If anything let it be voted on by TAX PAYERS!!!!!!!
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Thought they had $86,000.00 Thousand dollars in their bank account! Why and Why again must the TAX People pay and pay and give and give to those who only will benefit themselves!!
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Instead of waiting for penndot and the railroad company to come to an agreement on the trsffic lights at front and walnut, why not take the stop signs down on front street and let it be a throughway. At least until they get the politics figured out.
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Why way up on the Hill at Blue Lane? Why not in town? Must be a reason.
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About one year ago, there was a dumpster being placed in front of The Hotel Locust. This took place during the holiday season, in spite of shop owners disapproval. It is still vacant. No doubt a special type of investor will have to come forward in order to sell this building. Meanwhile, what has the CEDC been doing?
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I believe they were given $20,000 last year too and that did not motivate them then.
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SGHA wants an office built in the building! How big? How much money? What is their plan as a whole?? Let them EAT CAKE!!
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Why is not the Gladfelter Foundation repairing the rest rooms. The foundation has the money. Having been involved in the CBAA many years ago I can tell you the Foundation pays for very little improvements at this park. Either they start paying up or give up the foundation!
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$6,000. for a laptop? Sorry, that is way to high. I spoke to someone who works works for another police department and they are using Dell semi-rugged laptops at a cost of $2500 per computer. Why are we paying $6,000. Just another example of tax payer dollars being wasted with no oversight or investigation into the cost of equipment.
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Barking dogs… is the reason why it would be out there, with less impact to neighbors.
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Thank you!
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wake up people. Kudos to Judy for wanting to FUND this venture. Another GOOD for the Boro. VOTE YES
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in NO way, shape or form should theBoro give SGHA its OWN OFFICE SPACE!????? you people are nuts. NO NO NO theres NO room for an office. and Norfolk Southern SHOULD BE MADE TO BUILD A SAFETY QUIET WALL (like on turnpike) for apparent safety reasons and also to quiet the speeding trains.THANK YOU to Don & Becky Murphy!!!!!! So appreciative of ALL the good you are doing in the Boro. This folks, is the way to set an example…there are others who could step up. Job well done! Thank you!
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Why should anyone care there is not one penny of the tax payers money going into the project good thing for Columbia people are never happy know wonder the town does not get any where just for one time let's work together
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Here's the organization's 990:http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/236/236394173/236394173_201412_990EZ.pdf
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No reason Judy can't have the. building put there we do not get tax money from that land because the borough owns it!!!!!!!!
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Here's that organization's 990 for 2014:http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/201/201464297/201464297_201412_990EZ.pdf
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The borough cant sell the land! They have to have a 2nd party involved!! The borough is not in real estate business!! Also, the fire department on front st. IS for SALE!! That would be a very good place for what she wants to do!! Thank you for reading!!
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If the borough owns it, then its TAX payers LAND!!
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How about their contribution to the pool. Or should I say quick buck.
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Won't happen. The stop signs are in place on Front St. so traffic can keep moving off of the railroad crossing.
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You keep bringing up this safety and speeding issue. What are your credentials? What do you know about railroad speed limits and safety? And why should a company be made to build a wall? Maybe the crossings should just be closed off. NO PUBLIC river access allowed!!!!!
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The real take away here is, how in the heck did a propane tank off-loading station get approved here?A town in New Hampshire had to have a year long site study prior to any approval because it was a block away from homes. This construction is already well underway and sits in the backyard of several homes, one being an elderly highrise. Where was our year long site study or for that matter where's the permit?!!
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Really? You are worried about Judy McKonly getting a small piece of land to help animals, when there is a propane off-loading station being constructed at Fourth and Manor.
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How would the people get there boats in the river if there. was. Know public access to.the. river?
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I agree 100%, who gave the approval of this? this must be looked into!!
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” $14-15,000 of material (salt and anti-skid mixture) is needed to keep roads salted and safe.”Here's a wild idea: How about not running the street sweeper in the wintertime? There's no sense in sweeping up the salt and anti-skid between storms.
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Wrightsville? We're talking about safety here, since the OP is so concerned. Nothing would be safer than eliminating those public crossings.
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hello. wake up. the Boro WANTS to rent out “Columbia Crossings” bldg at the River Park for weddings, etc (get your head out of the sand!). How in the he– would or could they EVER make that haappen with the trains. Someone pays $$ to rent & have their wedding right in the middle of the service…OH WAIT STOP….HAVE TO WAIT TIL THE TRAINS THRU…CAN'T HEAR ONE WORD THE MINISTER IS SAYING!!! oh yeah. THAT”S WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!The Boro 's plan is to RENT IT.
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uh there IS a ZONING DEPT for a reason!
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Yes why does the street sweeper run in the winter years ago it did not run in the winter why now?
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I am thinking that it would be illegal (on a federal level) to restrict or prohibit public access.
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Uh, no one on the zoning board has to live near it.
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Guess it was a stupid idea to build the “Columbia Crossing” building near a crossing, then. I'm still wondering how you plan to build a sound barrier and yet have a crossing at the same time. Enlighten us.
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Ticket revenue.
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maybe if you'd get enough people to attend a council mtg and complain about the st sweeper running ALL year…they'd HAVE to do something about it. oh wait…..that would cost a ton of money because then ALL the signs would be incorrect. The street sweeper SHOULD NOT RUN IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY AT THE VERY LEAST.
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The over paid borough employees would have nothing to do then!
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The railroad tracks will be put in next to this propane site! Sparks from these tracks will be a problem!! I wonder who let this to be built?
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Good point. They will be sitting right next to an area zoned high-density residential.
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What could possibly go wrong?
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We hear that a propane off-loading facility is planned for the “field” at 4th & Manor in conjunction with several local businesses. 67 cubic yards (about 7-1/2 cement mixer trucks) of concrete was poured for a slab 20' x 40' – large enough to hold two 30,000 gallon storage tanks. Here's what happens when a mere 1,000 gallon tank blows (at 1:25 in the video):https://youtu.be/UM0jtD_OWLUIn Rapho Township in 2013, a 30,000 gallon tank car containing butane blew, causing a large fire in which a man was badly burned:http://m.wgal.com/news/lancaster-county-train-car-fire-forces-evacuations/20801988Work has been proceeding at 4th & Manor for over a month and a half with no permit displayed.
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Sparks from the tracks? Really? Some people on here need to get away from their computers and out into the real world once in a while. Many propane terminals are rail served (there's a couple in the county already). And there was no tank car blowing up at Rapho, Cole. Just a fire. Stop spreading ignorance and fear – there's enough of that already. LPG is one of the commodities that is needed around here. Let's support a REAL Columbia tax-paying business for a change. -FMB
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“Just a fire.” 150 firefighters responded. It took 23 hours to extinguish the blaze. Hospice and several homes and businesses were evacuated. Amtrak service was delayed. The heat from the fire was so intense that it warped the surface of the tank car.
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But a car didn't “blow up” as you said. –FMB
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I spoke with a former HazMat volunteer and he said yes, it is safe until there's a fire or a leak!
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And think of it this way: There were more people killed trying to cross 3rd St. in Columbia than at that Lancaster Propane fire.Nothing is 100% safe. But we live in a world where we are dependent upon fossil fuels. To keep a terminal away because of one accident is simple fear mongering. –FMB
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Most streets in this town have natural gas pipelines running under them. One of them blew up in Millersville when hit by a construction crew. So I guess we should remove them? Nothing is 100% safe. But we weigh risks vs. rewards every day. It's the real world. -FMB
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I wonder if “FMB” is willing to live within 50 feet of the tank itself.
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Too late after an accident and that's why hindsight is 20/20. The borough has a chance to say no to this location. Were the residents (living near this) invited to a public meeting to be educated and ask questions?
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