Thursday, May 15, 2025
Columbia to give one senior citizen per household 1-hour free parking per visit in metered zones | Community News | lancasteronline.com
TRAVIS MUELLER | FOR LNP | LANCASTERONLINE
When: Columbia Borough Council meeting, May 13.
What happened: Council voted to adopt an ordinance creating a senior citizen parking program in the borough.
Background: The ordinance allows residents who are 65 or older to receive a permit for free parking in metered zones or borough-owned lots, entitling them to one hour of parking per location. Residents can apply at the borough municipal building for a Senior Citizen Parking Permit.
Quotable: "One of our big concerns with the parking meters and the parking solutions is how we can take care of our seniors that may not be able to embrace the newer technology," President Heather Zink said, referring to the borough's parking meters which are now primarily paid via mobile app.
Permit availability: The permit stickers, which would need to be displayed on the vehicles, have been ordered but are not yet available for distribution, Jack Brommer, police chief, said. He estimated they would be available in a month.
One permit per household: Applicants will be limited to one permit per household. Council member Barbara Fisher asked why the ordinance is limited to one per household and not one per senior citizen, saying senior couples may have more than one vehicle. Brommer said it was the decision of the working group that created the program, but did not elaborate.
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https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-to-give-one-senior-citizen-per-household-1-hour-free-parking-per-visit-in/article_493fb8ef-58c7-45be-a327-8d5a3531ddd3.html Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Columbia Borough School Board votes to decrease taxes by 3% for next year | Community News | lancasteronline.com
MORGAN HUBER | FOR LNP | LANCASTERONLINE
When: Columbia Borough school board meeting, May 6.
What happened: The school board voted 9-0 to approve a proposed final budget that will cut taxes by 3% for the 2025-26 school year.
Details: The expenses for 2025-26 are $33.7 million, an increase of 2.2% from last year. Revenue is projected at $33.2 million. The difference in revenue and expenses results in a $520,175 funding gap, which the district will close using money from its fund balance.
More: This is Columbia Borough's first year with a decrease and the sixth consecutive year the district has not levied a tax increase.
Tax rate: The proposed real estate tax rate is 25.66 mills. One mill equals $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value. For a house assessed at $100,000, the annual tax bill would be $2,566, down from $2,646 last year.
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Columbia Borough approves $150,000 bathroom for Makle Park
Columbia Borough Council has approved the purchase of a prefabricated bathroom facility for Makle Park as part of a broader improvement project funded primarily through state grants.
At Tuesday's regular meeting, council voted unanimously to approve the purchase from CXT at a cost not to exceed $150,000 (increased at the meeting from the original $132,292) through COSTARS, a cooperative purchasing program.
The bathroom facility represents just one component of a $597,875 improvement project at Makle Park. The borough previously secured $478,300 in funding through the 2022 C2P2 (Community Conservation Partnerships Program) Recreation Development grant, with the borough providing a required match of $119,575.
The overall project includes:
- Resurfacing of the basketball courts
- Resurfacing and striping of the park's 19-space parking lot
- Construction of restrooms and a picnic pavilion
- Installation of new amenities including benches, trash receptacles, picnic tables, and bike racks
- Associated landscaping and stormwater management enhancements
The bathroom will be delivered directly to the site by the manufacturer and installed by the borough's contractor. According to the fiscal impact analysis in the meeting packet, the bathroom purchase will be fully covered by grant funding with no projected expenses through fiscal year 2029.
The Ozark II bathroom building measures 10'6" × 18'8" and features two single-user flush restrooms, a 4-gallon water heater, interior and exterior lights, and will arrived pre-loaded.
For this order, the borough selected several upgrades totaling $17,000, including stainless steel water closets, lavatories, and urinals, electric hand dryers, toilet seat cover dispensers, sanitary napkin disposal receptacles, and an exterior frostproof hose bib. The customer also opted for split face block wall texture at $5,500.
Columbia Borough Public Works Dept. Announces Paving Schedule and Infrastructure Projects
The Columbia Borough Public Works
The Columbia Borough Public Works Department has unveiled a lineup of projects for the spring and summer months, according to its April 2025 report.
Major Paving Projects Underway
Residents can expect to see road crews throughout the borough as a paving schedule gets underway. Public Works crews will begin patch repairs at various locations and prepare scheduled streets to be paved that have no utility conflicts:
- Walnut St (Front to Third)
- Walnut St (900 &1000 blocks CDBG)
- Chestnut St (800 block)
- *S 2nd St (Locust to Cherry)
- *S 3rd St (Locust to Cherry)
- *Maple St (500 block)
- *Poplar St (600 block)
- *13th St (Ironville Pike to Chestnut)
- *Locust St (600 block)
- *Tann Ave (Lancaster Ave to Elbow Ave)
Water Infrastructure Improvements
The Columbia Water Company is currently undertaking a water main replacement project in the 1000 block of Walnut Street. This is being performed ahead of the Community Development Block Grant Project and is expected to be completed by late May.
Ongoing Maintenance Projects
Public Works crews have been addressing routine and emergency maintenance issues in the borough:
Storm Drain Maintenance: Crews have been cleaning inlet basins using the vacuum truck mounted unit and clearing inlet grates before and after rain events to prevent flooding.
Sinkhole Repair: Workers successfully repaired a sinkhole on North 13th Street near the intersection with Chestnut Street.
Yard Waste Services in Full Swing
The borough's curbside yard waste collection program began on March 31 and will continue every Monday through November 10, 2025, which marks the final pickup day for the season. In April alone, crews collected 33.73 tons of yard waste from borough residents.
The yard waste recycling facility has expanded its operations for the season. Beginning this month, the facility will be open from 8 am to 12 pm on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month through October 25, 2025.
In April, participating municipalities dropped off 478.61 tons of yard waste. Additionally, contractors purchased 825 cubic yards of compost during the month.
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
No death penalty in former Lancaster man's retrial for 2010 Columbia killing | Local News | lancasteronline.com
Jakeem Towles
LANCASTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
DAN NEPHIN | Staff Writer
A Lancaster city man sentenced to death in 2012 for fatally shooting a hip-hop musician in Columbia two years earlier is getting a new trial, and he won't face the death penalty.
Jakeem Towles, 35, will be retried after a federal judge ruled that one of Towles' appeals attorneys was ineffective for failing to raise the issue that Towles' trial attorney was ineffective.
On Friday, the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office withdrew its notice of aggravating circumstances, which is the legal reason prosecutors must give to pursue the death penalty.
In a statement, the DA's office said the federal court's ruling "in no way impugns the work of the prosecution (but) we have nevertheless been ordered to re-try the case by the middle of October, barring extensions requested by defense" and declined further comment.
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