Columbia Middletown BPOE No. 1074, 445 Chestnut St., Columbia, Nov. 7. Pass. Sliced turkey, a refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature-control-for-safety food in the small cooling unit, was date-marked by the facility, but was beyond the seven-day use- or sell-by date and requires discarding. Observed a large mound of frozen condensate in the middle of the floor of the walk-in freezer. Commercially processed, refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature-control-for-safety food (sliced ham), located in the small cooling unit, and held more than 24 hours, is not being marked with the date it was opened. Chlorine chemical sanitizer residual detected in the final sanitizer rinse cycle of the low temperature sanitizing dishwasher was 0 ppm, and not 50-100 ppm as required. Facility filled partially filled container of chlorine bleach and primed the dishwasher; the final sanitizing concentration was 50 ppm.
JB Supermarket Inc., 234 Locust St., Columbia, Nov. 5. Pass. Observed half-gallon of whole milk and one quart of buttermilk beyond the sell-by date being offered for sale.
Sunoco Columbia, 1000 Columbia Ave., Lancaster, Nov. 3. Pass. Food facility does not have available sanitizer test strips or test kit to determine appropriate sanitizer concentration of the quaternary ammonia of the three-compartment sink. Static dust observed on the fan guards of the walk-in cooler.
Leaf Collection Leaf collection will continue through Friday, December 12th following the street sweeping schedule.
Street Sweeper Tentatively, the last day of street sweeping will be Friday, December 19th. This date is subject to change, depending on weather conditions.
Curbside Yard Waste Pick-up The last day for curbside yard waste pick-up was Monday, November 10th. The yard waste recycling facility is open 8 am-12 pm the second Saturday of the month year-round.
Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with holidays in several countries, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which also occur on the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.
Rick Breneman of Breneman Site Construction, who has been overseeing the McGinness remediation project for the borough, provided options for the future of the site at Thursday’s Columbia Borough Council Workshop. Breneman characterized the endeavor as “a tricky thing to navigate.”
(Breneman didn’t delve into the progress of remediation, except to say the project is expected to be done by Thanksgiving. Based on introductory remarks by Heather Zink, council president, he was asked to speak about the sealed bid process and restrictions, and how fast to proceed.)
Developers require 2-3 years for due diligence
Breneman explained to council that developers typically need 2-3 years for due diligence, permitting, and planning before construction begins, and they generally won’t pay for the property until they’ve secured development approval and identified tenants or buyers. He cited the Belmont Shopping Center as an example, which took eight years from concept to breaking ground.
Breneman also said that in the development industry, the due diligence period is when developers are creating conceptual designs and developing a budget for all costs of the project. “And then they’re going to look at what the return on investment is going to be,” Breneman said.
Borough zoning reduced the pool of developers
Breneman noted that the borough’s zoning change from housing to commercial/light industrial reduced the pool of potential developers. “And quite honestly, there has to be a demand. There has to be a demand for what it is that land is zoned for,” Breneman explained.
Two potential sales approaches
He discussed two potential sales approaches: a public auction (which likely won’t meet the borough’s financial expectations and could result in buyers sitting on the land), or working with the EDC’s proposed schedule (which will require negotiating on timelines and payment terms).
Of the first option, Breneman said, “You can go down the road of public sale and advertise and see if there’s any interest, but my guess is that the interest you’re going to see, you’re not going to be happy with the return.” He emphasized that developers need flexibility on timelines, because they can’t afford to carry land costs for years without generating income
Over-55 housing
Breneman said council could also consider over-55 housing as an option, because it wouldn’t burden the school system and would expand the number of potential buyers. “That’s not a bad idea, because again instead of just looking at a group of people this big, it opens it up a little bit more and maybe makes it a little bit more appealing,” Breneman said.
Commercial realtor Kevin Wolfe presented options to council in August 2025.
In August, council heard from commercial realtor Kevin Wolfe, who laid out several options for the site, including data center, industrial, recreational, retail, and office space. Of those, only office, retail, and recreational were considered feasible and would require “significant marketing,” according to Wolfe.
The mural was designed by artist Cesar Viveros, as Columbia Spy reported HERE.
Volunteers helped paint it.
At Coffee & Cream
This keeps getting worse (at Rotary Park).
A message at Columbia River Park
Ghost pumpkins
Near miss
How not to spear a coworker
Full moon
Evening clouds
Left behind
Back on track(s)
A Weber surveyor at South 9th & Avenue X
An apartment building is planned for the lot there.
Clouds and hints of clouds
Iron Eagle was knocking down the treeline between the two runways at the former McGinness property.
Rick Breneman, who is overseeing the project for the borough, gave a report to council at Thursday’s council workshop. He said the project (remediation/stabilization)
is expected to be finished by Thanksgiving.
Any development of the property is at least 2-3 years out—if a developer is interested.
GUEST COMMENTARY [Name withheld by request out of fear of retaliation]
For two decades, Leo Lutz has occupied the mayor’s office in Columbia, and his supporters are quick to credit him with every positive development in our borough, but leadership is a two-way street. If Mayor Lutz is going to accept praise for Columbia’s successes, many of which, frankly, he had little direct involvement in, then he must also be held accountable for our failures.
The facts paint a troubling picture. Despite the mayor’s repeated assurances that our streets are safe, we’ve witnessed a disturbing rise in assaults, shootings, and vandalism. His promises have fallen by the wayside: the foot patrol we were promised never materialized, nor did the bike patrol that was supposed to increase our sense of security.
Fiscally, the situation is equally dire. Taxes have increased at least twice during Mayor Lutz’s tenure, yet the borough now finds itself millions of dollars in debt. This isn’t the record of effective stewardship. It’s a pattern of decline masked by rhetoric about prosperity.
There’s an inconvenient truth that property owners understand all too well: every time taxes rise, property values fall. That’s not prosperity; that’s a slow erosion of our community’s economic foundation.
Columbia needs vigorous, forward-thinking leadership. Instead, we have a mayor whose age and lengthy tenure raise legitimate questions about his ability to efficiently fulfill the demanding role ahead.
He’s one of the last of the good old boys that unfortunately ran this town. If voters return him to office, we can expect more of the same: continued decline, mounting debt, and broken promises.
The choice before Columbia’s voters is clear: we can either maintain the status quo and watch our borough continue to deteriorate, or we can demand accountability and choose a new direction.
Mayor Lutz has had 20 years to prove himself. The results speak for themselves.
Columbia Spy 
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![Rick Breneman to council: “I’m not trying to paint a doomsday picture for you—which it sounds like that’s what I’m doing—but this is a tricky thing to navigate, no doubt, for you guys to try to maximize your investment.” [Columbia Spy file photo]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBMJ_c7ZAwQOirhi4gyjXNe0PjY8Gyc8n3HvLv_0wmxxPDeNYJUIkMUL6TlBeBKxGp1IxncoH1wep_xnFUzL6dxJjalsU6UrI4PSBksWKGftaxKHItpI0m2iZVjkoQcNS2BrlpVAoBEMw7tN66g4vytVv0N4Wzd_3GNeXB7J8njwgpwoyr1b-pf5qm1Q/s4000/1000026822.jpg){kind=link}
