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One of the discussions planned for this week’s Columbia Borough Council Workshop is the possibility of using a single trash hauler for the borough. Residents wishing to comment should attend the meeting at Borough Hall, 308 Locust Street, Tuesday, September 3, at 7 PM.
The meeting will also be livestreamed on the borough’s YouTube channel.
A vehicle accident occurred this morning at 6th & Union shortly before 11 a m. Several personnel responded.
(Photos: Angelina Caprice Walt)
This week’s photos of Columbia
(Click/tap on photos to see larger, sharper images. )
The bridge lights are back on. They were off for a couple of months in anticipation of mayfly swarms, but not many showed up this time.
There’s a weight limit of 10 tons on the bridge due to deterioration. There’s a 5-year rehab project in the works.
Sheriffs’ vehicles on Perry Street
And there are the sheriffs.
Taking a look underneath
Help with feral cats and poop bags for dogs
The tipped left ear on this cat in Avenue G indicates it has been spayed/neutered.
A lone cage in Avenue G
Coming up September 13
altitūd cycling
When the weeds are right outside your door
Public meeting scheduled for September 3
A development of 9 townhomes is planned for the site noted above.
Keeping an eye out
Auction scheduled – but where?
Watching
Fortunately or unfortunately, this abandoned piano is only a Kleinway, not a Steinway.
CIES on South 4th
Almost twins
Enjoy the park, just don’t do any of these things.
Is it a good investment?
E-bike shop on the 100 block of Locust
Police are cracking down on riders who don’t follow the rules.
Activity at the former drive-in again
If this comes at you, just get out of the way.
Just double park your Amazon van while making a delivery . . .
. . . even though there are plenty of open parking spaces.
Boater
Birds
Getting “unhooked”
A chair for looking down the street
Or across the street
What’s the point?
Morning dew or morning dust at the quarry?
Two C-130s on a possible training mission
A tow motor in the dumpster
It’s campaign season.
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What happened: Council members have started work on changing the way the borough deals with residential landlords who fail to fix property issues, such as trash accumulation, pest infestation, overrun weeds and more.
What’s new: The borough may consider fining property owners up to $600 a day until they comply with a violation, Zink said in the call.
What would change: Council members approved a “quick ticket” ordinance in 2014 that allows employees to issue tickets to property owners for neglecting routine upkeep. Fees start at $25 for the first violation, $50 for the second violation for the same incident and then $100 for the third time.
Problems: Some property owners, however, would rather pay the fines than perform maintenance, Zink said Aug. 28. In addition, landlords may appeal each quick ticket, which could draw out the process.
Quotables: “It can stretch out over a period of months,” Lutz said Aug. 28. “In the meantime, the residents in the area are putting up with the problem.” Borough Solicitor Evan Gabel offered a similar opinion. “The quick tickets, I think, are clouding up the process of getting a property into compliance,” he said. “It’s entirely unworkable.”
What’s next: Council will discuss the matter at the meeting Oct. 1.
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When: Columbia school board meeting, Thursday, Aug. 29.
What happened: The school board approved a five-year contract with current Superintendent Ashley Rizzo, effective July 1, 2025.
By the numbers: Under this new contract, Rizzo will earn a salary of $199,000 for the first year, plus a $7,000 stipend if she fulfills the responsibilities of the human resources director. The contract includes potential annual raises based on her workload and performance, Keith Ramsey, business manager, said Friday. Rizzo’s current salary is $178,652.
Details: Columbia Borough and Eastern Lancaster County school districts share some personnel positions, including the technology director, business manager and human resources director, Ramsey said Friday; however, the agreement between the districts is up at the end of 2024-25. Donna Prokay, human resources director, will only continue with Columbia if the board renews the contract with ELANCO or if it passes a new one, Ramsey said.
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Columbia Borough Fire Chief Scott Ryno said recent fires in the borough are not suspicious in nature. “It’s an unfortunate chain of events,” he said at Tuesday’s borough council meeting. He said the fires were due to unsafe practices rather than arson. Ryno added that although the fires were accidental, they were also preventable.
Ryno highlighted issues at fire scenes that contributed to fires, including hoarding and electrical problems. He noted unsafe practices such as connecting an air conditioner to a power strip, then to an extension cord, and finally to an outlet.
Ryno also noted a growing hoarding problem in some rental properties. “We’re seeing deplorable living conditions,” he said, in which there are “too many people” living in a particular property. He also cited “doubling up,” where one family moves in with another, adding to the fire load situation.
At Tuesday night’s Columbia Borough Council meeting, Mayor Leo Lutz said that police have stepped up enforcement of ordinances governing e-bikes and e-scooters. Riders have been cited for various traffic infractions.
“The guys are stepping it up, and there have been citations,” Lutz said.
Currently, bicycles aren’t permitted on sidewalks, according to borough ordinance. Councilman Peter Stahl noted Police Chief Jack Brommer’s recent reminder that e-scooters are prohibited on borough streets and sidewalks. Stahl said scooters are permitted only in designated areas such as [certain] parks.
The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code “prohibits the use of electric scooters, electric skateboards, and electric unicycles on public roadways.”
Columbia Borough, PA Alert:
The Columbia Water Company will replace a water main on South Third Street Between Locust and Cherry Streets beginning September 3, 2024. The work is expected to be completed by October 11th. Parking and traffic flow disruptions are expected.
Police have charged a Columbia man with kidnapping a woman in Lancaster city Saturday.
Lancaster city police charged Jvian Mendez-Gonzalez, 18, with felony kidnapping for trapping a woman in his car and driving at a high speed while threatening her.
According to a criminal complaint, the woman told police she met up with Mendez-Gonzalez in Holly Pointe Park, near the Conestoga River in southeast Lancaster, around 1 a.m. Saturday.
The woman told police that, after conversing in Mendez-Gonzalez’s car for several hours, he became irate after seeing a promise ring on the woman’s necklace. The woman told police he pulled the $200 necklace from her neck and threw it out the window into the park. She then got out of the car to look for it.
Police say that Mendez demanded the woman get back into the car and threatened to follow her if she tried to walk away.
When the woman got back in the vehicle, Mendez-Gonzalez refused to take the woman home and drove over 100 mph on Route 30 west, according to the criminal complaint. During this time police say he took the woman’s phone from her and threatened to kill both himself and the passenger.
The woman told police that she knew Mendez-Gonzalez had access to firearms and feared for her life.
Police say that Menez-Gonzalez eventually stopped his vehicle in Columbia and allowed the woman to run out of the car.
In December, Columbia police arrested Mendez-Gonzalez on charges of marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license.
Mendez-Gonzalez is not listed in custody. Police did not respond to requests for additional information.
He faces a felony kidnapping charge and four misdemeanors for unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, making terroristic threats and property damage.
Columbia Spy 