Columbia Spy

The meeting packet is HERE.

 This week’s photos of Columbia 

Click on photos to see larger, sharper images. 

JOE LINTNER| COLUMBIA SPY 

That looks complicated. 

The hydrant at Columbia River Park recently got a shiny, new paint job. 

A sunflower nodded off with a visitor hanging on underneath at the National Watch & Clock Museum. 

Bouquet 

At the Re-Uzit Shop 

At Laurel Hill 

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A fall sky, even though fall doesn’t start until September 22

Glinda Johnson-Medland was the featured poet at the final installment of the Second Annual Time & Eternity Series held Saturday at the National Watch & Clock Museum.

The ice cream truck rolled through again.

Foxhole Foundation 

Truckin 4 Troops 

Sometimes, even the bus needs help.

Meanwhile, in Mount Joy: 

Buggy Parking Only

And in Columbia:

 Shopping Cart Parking Only

Is this in effect anymore?

Pool table delivery 

Guiding a pole on North 6th

Walking is healthful.

Bird bathing in a muddy puddle

In season

Sometimes, even the bus has to wait.

This plane flew over several times Saturday afternoon. It’s a Cessna 404 Titan, according to the Flightradar24 app.

National Hispanic Heritage Month 

Old Glory

This hornets’ nest is hanging in a tree at Laurel Hill Cemetery. 

It’s quite active. There’s a guard peering out from the entrance.

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More dust at 1020 Manor Street 

This photo could almost make you cough.

A golf cart in a ditch?

Texting?

Who knows what else they’ll find out there.

Digging deep

King of the hill

Digging deeper 

Fencing arrived during the week.

This sign was attached. 

So was this one.

So was this one.

For some reason, LASA arrived on scene.

Workers, presumably from LASA, started digging the old-fashioned way: with shovels.

Whatever this is appeared in the field recently. 

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Candidates, left to right, are Ethan Byers, Brad Chambers, Jasmine Preston, Jeanne Cooper, and Kyle Ricker. Byers, Cooper, and Ricker are candidates for borough council, Preston is running for mayor, and Chambers is campaigning for a seat in the PA State House of Representatives in the 2026 election. 

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY

Candidates share vision for addressing residents’ top concerns.

Four candidates running under the Columbia Forward Together banner recently met with Columbia Spy to discuss their platform and priorities for the borough. The slate includes mayoral candidate Jasmine Preston and council candidates Jeanne Cooper, Ethan Byers, and Kyle Ricker.

The candidates emphasized their grassroots approach to campaigning, having spent considerable time canvassing neighborhoods and speaking directly with residents throughout the community.

●High Taxes Top Resident Concerns
When asked about the most pressing issues facing Columbia residents, all four candidates were in agreement: high taxes are the primary concern voiced by constituents across party lines.

Byers: “It’s unaffordable to live in general, and then that tax increase from last year made it more difficult.”

“Life not being affordable — that’s consistent across Democrats, Republicans, Independents,” said Ethan Byers. “It’s unaffordable to live in general, and then that tax increase from last year made it more difficult.”

Jeanne Cooper added, “Taxes have been raised here so many times, and they’re so high already.” Cooper wants to see comparison shopping for certain services. 

Cooper: “Taxes have been raised here so many times, and they’re so high already.”

The candidates expressed particular concern for vulnerable populations affected by tax increases. Byers noted that renters and those on fixed incomes are often overlooked in budget discussions. “The people who get left out of the conversation are the renters,” he said. “Also people who are on a fixed income. A lot of people are on social security or disability. A tax increase like this every year will bankrupt people.”

●Scrutinizing Borough Spending
The Columbia Forward Together candidates identified several areas where they believe the borough could reduce costs.

Preston: “They continue to spend, and now the borough is in the real estate business. And they put the burden on the people.”

Preston, the mayoral candidate, criticized the borough’s involvement in real estate ventures. “They continue to spend, and now the borough is in the real estate business,” she said. “And they put the burden on the people.”

Ricker: “McGinness is like the poster child for living beyond our means.”

Ricker drew attention to the McGinness project as an example of fiscal overreach. “McGinness is like the poster child for living beyond our means,” he said, arguing that those funds could have been better allocated to meet residents’ basic needs. “We need to make sure we’re functioning well as a borough. Growth can come later.”

●Calls for Transparency and Community Engagement
A central theme of the candidates’ platform is increasing transparency in borough operations. “A big part of our campaign is transparency in the way that we’re spending money and in the conversations we’re having,” Byers explained. “We just want people to know as much as possible.”

Preston emphasized that residents feel disconnected from local government. “People are not being heard,” she said, advocating for more inclusive decision-making.

●Public Safety and Community Relations
On policing matters, Preston clarified her stance on law enforcement funding. “I would never defund the police department,” she said, while emphasizing the importance of community-police relationships. She wants to see members of the department build relationships with the community. 

Byers stressed the need for greater transparency regarding police department operations, noting that “people don’t know what’s happening around town.”

●Addressing Homelessness with Compassion
The candidates also addressed the borough’s homeless population, with Preston advocating for compassionate representation. “They’re still people. They still have thoughts and feelings,” she said. “They’re still in our borough. They still need representation.”

●Moving Forward Together
Ricker emphasized the need for unified leadership, stating that “on a local level we should all be moving in the same direction.” He acknowledged that returning to fiscal responsibility after years of increased spending would be challenging. “If you’re living outside your means, that’s your new comfort zone,” he said. “Bringing that back to normalcy is hard.”

https://www.abc27.com/local-news/lebanon-county-da-man-accused-of-possessing-pipe-bombs-has-history-of-drug-pfa-order-violations/

Hello from Jasmine Preston, Ethan Byers, Jeanne Cooper, and Kyle Ricker – your Democratic candidates for mayor and borough council in Columbia. We have an important message about voting in a non-presidental year.

The General Election is on Tuesday, November 4th, and we’re reaching out to make sure every voter has a way to make their voices heard!

Voting by mail is easy, secure and gives you the option to vote early from home, especially if there’s a chance you won’t make it to the polls on November 4th.

Will you sign up to Vote By Mail Today? https://vote.pa.gov/applymailballot

(Paid for by Columbia Forward Together)

 This week’s photos of Columbia 

Click on photos to see larger, sharper images. 

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Workers raising the flag at Saint Peter Apartments earlier in the week

Seven State Police vehicles (including two marked “Forensic Services”) were parked in the 600 block of Avenue H on Wednesday evening, September 10. Police found electronics and a remote firing system/device in a garage there that are believed to be related to explosives found in a house in Newmanstown. A Columbia man, Timothy Shaeffer, has been charged with weapons of mass destruction, risking catastrophe, and recklessly endangering another person.

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Men at work on Locust 

Painted piano at Coffee & Cream, with credits

Trolley on Linden 

Curious

Items at Tollbooth 

New Idea

Dust storm at McGinness!

More progress with the remediation/stabilization 

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A couple of guys taking their cones for a walk

Witch in the window 

At Columbia Curiosities 

More roof problems at Columbia Crossing?

Morning moon 

Watch out for that T-rex!

New sign for the smoke shop on Chestnut 

Must’ve been a heckuva party.

Follow one line.

Diamond in the rough

Out at the Linden Street Build 

Little library on North 7th

The bridge inspectors were back.

A bridge inspector chips away at cracked concrete on the underside of the Veterans Memorial Bridge on September 11. The area under the bridge was taped off about a week ago because of falling concrete.

Several pieces of concrete came loose, including the big chunk shown above.

This was the result.

So was this.

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Missing board at Rotary 

Signs, nicely textured

Steps at the Lloyd Mifflin House on Walnut 

Looks as though moisture has seeped into the clock at 5th & Chestnut. 

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Columbia Borough Council voted to appoint Jack Brommer as interim borough manager at Tuesday’s meeting. Brommer will continue as police chief while serving as interim manager until next April, when he retires as chief. He will then become full-time borough manager in May. In the meantime, he will receive $2,000 a month for the extra duties, in addition to his $118,000 annual police salary.

As interim, Brommer will receive assistance from Ron Youtz, whom council voted to approve as part-time assistant borough manager at $50 an hour, not to exceed 30 hours a week. Youtz, a former West Hempfield Township manager, previously worked in Columbia Borough’s public works department.

Council also voted to approve Brommer as full-time borough manager, commencing after retirement as chief of police at a starting rate of $110,000 per year contingent upon a signed employment contract.

Brommer has been Columbia’s police chief since 2011.

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Columbia Borough Council voted unanimously last Tuesday to support Lancaster City’s application for funding for a major water transmission line project that will impact several Columbia streets over a 13-month construction period.

Councilman Peter Stahl made the motion to provide a letter of support for Lancaster City’s PennVEST loan application, with Council President Heather Zink seconding. The decision comes after the borough previously sent a letter of non-support for the project.

“When we initially denied it, we got a seat at the table again, and Lancaster City’s listening,” Stahl explained. “I feel that we have a place now to discuss and get in writing the things that we need to be done and need to be considered.”

Borough Engineer Derek Rinaldo emphasized that the letter of support is specifically for Lancaster City’s loan application, not an endorsement of the project itself.

“This is basically supporting the city of Lancaster in getting financing at a good rate for this project,” Rinaldo said. “As municipalities in Lancaster County, we have no desire to stick it to the city of Lancaster. We want to make sure that their taxpayers and their ratepayers get the best deal on this project if they can.”

Funding

Lancaster City initially applied to the Commonwealth Finance Authority for ARPA funding in 2023 for the full cost of both Phase 2 and 3, but received only $3.132 million for Phase 2 of the project. The city has since applied for PENNVEST funding, which offers lower interest rates but comes with specific requirements.

As part of the PENNVEST application process, Lancaster City must demonstrate that the project aligns with local land planning efforts. The application requires letters of support from all affected municipalities, including Columbia Borough, West Hempfield Township, Mountville Borough, and East Hempfield Township. 

The project

At Tuesday’s meeting, Rinaldo acknowledged significant concerns about the project’s impact on Columbia. “This is going to be a pretty large pipeline project right through the heart of a big section of the borough,” he said.

The pipeline will begin at Lancaster City’s pumping station at the river and run to South 15th Street. Lancaster City cannot use a route at Strickler Run due to an existing water line, forcing the project onto Manor Street. The new pipeline will provide needed redundancy, since the existing line is 70 years old and has experienced leaks, including an emergency repair in 2012. Construction is scheduled to begin February 2026 and run through March 2027. Columbia Spy previously reported on details of the project HERE.

Concerns and negotiations
Most of the line will run through Manor Street, which is a main conduit that includes the fire station. At a previous meeting, Jared Barninger, president of the Columbia Borough Fire Department, was concerned about access to the fire station during construction.

Councilman Eric Kauffman expressed concern about timing, particularly with the Lancaster County Fireman Association parade scheduled for June. “Will we be able to negotiate time frames at all?” Kauffman asked. 

Rinaldo said time frames would be negotiable when Lancaster City submits street cut permits, which the borough plans to review extensively. Key issues to be addressed include:

• Street restoration requirements and timelines
• Road closure durations and detour plans
• Emergency vehicle access for the fire company
• Business delivery impacts, particularly for truck traffic

Council President Zink wanted a condition that construction vehicles cannot be parked on Manor Street overnight to allow resident parking. She also defended the need to work with Lancaster. “You’ve got to give a little to get a little,” she said.

Underground utilities
Councilman Kelly Murphy was concerned about existing underground utilities including UGI gas lines, water services, and other infrastructure already under the streets. Rinaldo explained that subsurface utility investigation would be conducted to prevent conflicts. Ground-penetrating radar could also be used.

Mayor Leo Lutz was concerned about risks with the new line, particularly water leaks that could erode the area’s limestone bedrock. “We have to be very diligent and work with Lancaster City if it’s going to happen as to what we want to see happen and what protections we have,” Lutz said. 

Lutz later added, “I’m a little apprehensive about it.”

Rinaldo assured council that Columbia’s control over street cut permits would provide leverage with Lancaster City over terms and conditions.

Resident Sharon Lintner spoke about the issue from the residents’ point of view. “Council President, you just said ‘Give a little to get a little,’ but we’re getting nothing,” Lintner said. She noted that former borough manager Steve Kaufhold, who retired September 5th, had advised against a letter of support. Lintner also directed a comment to Rinaldo: “Derek, you said we don’t want to stick it to Lancaster, but are you okay sticking it to Columbia residents? Because they’re going to suffer for this.”