Author: SPY

2nd Annual Winterfest Christmas Tree Lighting

Due to all the abundant good will in Columbia on Saturday night, even the rain backed off for the tree lighting ceremony at Locust Street Park. This year’s event was dedicated to the memory of Sis Brown, who passed away last month. Refreshments were available and Santa was on hand to round out the festivities.
 All lined up and ready to go

The lighting of the tree

 The tree lit up

 Santa . . .

making his rounds

 Hanging around

 The Brown Family

Folks under roof

Ribbon cutting at River Park

On Saturday, December 6, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the Northwest River Trail Services Building at Columbia River Park.  The 3500-square-foot building includes a warming kitchen/cafe, an observation deck with a view of the Susquehanna, multi-use event space, mechanical rooms, and restrooms.  The two-million-dollar building will eventually connect with the 14-mile river trail. The building will open officially in May.

This large, decades-old mural was found recently in a storage area of the borough offices and placed in the new building.

A look around

Mayor Lutz officiates

The cutting of the ribbon . . 

Zoning board renders decision on pole barn

At its December 3 meeting, the Zoning Hearing Board approved a motion to deny the appeal of Vincent Fiorella from the determination of the Zoning Officer to revoke Zoning Permit #14-206 issued July 11, 2014 and adopt the written decision prepared by the board solicitor, Joselle Cleary.

Previously, Zoning Officer Jeffrey Helm had sent a letter dated September 26 revoking the permit that had been issued to Mr. Fiorella to build a large pole barn/garage on his property at 631 South Thirteenth Street.

Mr. Fiorella had then filed an appeal of the zoning officer's decision. An evidentiary hearing was held by the board on October 29, 2014.

Copies of the decision were distributed to sworn parties only.

Were we expecting twins?

At its November 24 Meeting of the Whole, Columbia Borough Council unanimously approved waiving the dumpster permit fee and parking fees for Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) to remove unwanted materials from Hotel Locust and Hotel Columbia. During discussion preceding the vote,  Council said CEDC wanted to place a dumpster at the location on the 300 block of Locust Street for approximately a week.  However, two large dumpsters appeared today, the first day of the operation. As promised, items were being removed and thrown into the dumpsters, which currently block three metered parking spaces and part of a loading zone.  As can be seen in the last photograph on this post, ample space is available in the rear of the property, but various logistical concerns make access less convenient.

For the backstory on the project, go HERE.

Body cameras: Local police like the idea

“My theory is that people act more appropriately when they know they’re being recorded,” Graeff said. “They’re less likely to do something stupid and escalate the situation.
“That goes for police officers, too,” he said.