COLUMBIA SPY

Borough Council on Monday ratified Mayor Lutz's emergency declaration making the 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street one-way, and took the first step toward making the change permanent. The mayor told council at its October 13 meeting that the street, which is part of a recent streetscape project, would reopen in the near future. He said the borough's street ordinance needed to change "in order to ensure safe travel for motorists, safe travel for bicyclists and pedestrians." In the meantime, he said, he issued an emergency declaration designating the two blocks as one-way. Council also voted to authorize advertisement of Ordinance 2026-968, which would formally designate the 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street as one-way.   Before the vote, Evan Gabel, borough solicitor,  noted that the draft's direction of travel had been switched from an earlier version. Gabel suggested the ordinance describe travel as running from Third Street to Front Street. "It gives yo...

The existing building at 1100 Ridge Avenue will be used mainly for vehicle storage and as a shop. JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  Vote clears the way for design work and for the sale of the old wastewater treatment plant and municipal services building Borough Council voted 6-0 at its October 13 meeting to relocate the Public Works Department from its riverfront site to the Ridge Avenue property the borough has already purchased. The approval depends on the sale of the two riverfront parcels: the former wastewater treatment plant and the municipal services building that the public works department currently uses . Officials said the two decisions are linked. A prospective buyer, working through the Columbia EDC, wants both riverfront parcels and won't purchase just one. "They are uniquely tied together," councilman Kelly Murphy said of the sale and the move. The buyer has been waiting on the borough. "The buyers want an answer. They've been asking since July," P...

Location of proposed shoot at Columbia River Park   A small film crew will shoot a scene at Columbia River Park later this month, after Columbia Borough Council approved the project at its October 13 regular meeting. Sarah Dewey submitted the application on behalf of "reverie," a full-service film and commercial production company located in Lancaster. The working title of the project is "Independent Short Film." Filming is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, beginning at 3 p.m. The scene involves two actors and about eight crew members in total. Organizers expect the shoot to take five to six hours, including setup and teardown. The crew has not requested any borough services and does not plan to use borough streets.

Timothy Sheaffer Jr. LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A Central Pennsylvania man was sentenced for possessing more than a dozen explosives inside a safe and causing a community-wide evacuation last year. Online court records show, Timothy Sheaffer Jr., 41, of Columbia Borough, was sentenced Oct. 7 to spend a little over a year to nearly five years by Judge Bradford Charles. He will be under active supervision for the first three years of his sentence. In August, court records show Sheaffer pleaded guilty to charges of weapons of mass destruction, risking catastrophe and recklessly endangering another person. He was facing more recklessly endangering another person charges but they were withdrawn. MORE: https://www.abc27.com/local-news/lebanon/central-pennsylvania-man-sentenced-for-possessing-explosives-that-led-to-community-evacuation/amp/  

NOTICE is hereby given that the Columbia Borough budget meeting scheduled for October 22, 2026, has been rescheduled to October 21, 2026 at 7 p.m. at the Columbia Borough Office, 308 Locust St. Columbia, PA 17512. COLUMBIA BOROUGH COUNCIL By: Evan M. Gabel, Solicitor

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  Columbia resident Frank Doutrich brought a visual aid to the October 13 borough council meeting to make his point: a stick with a string tied to it, and a tin can dangling at the end. Standing at the podium, Doutrich held the stick out toward council members as the can swung from the string. His message was that council has a habit of postponing decisions, this time about hiring a borough manager.  "By doing what you're doing, you're kicking the can down the road," Doutrich told council. Jack Brommer is scheduled to retire as borough manager on November 13, and council has not announced a successor. Ron Youtz, a former West Hempfield Township manager, will fill in until the end of the year. Youtz assisted Brommer with borough duties last fall.