Thursday, August 13, 2026
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Baseball bats, brawls, and broken promises: Angry residents demand answers
JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
15 adults brawl with baseball bats
A Columbia resident told council that a rental property near 3rd and Mill Streets has become the site of repeated violent brawls, including one in which roughly 15 adults fought with baseball bats. He demanded that the borough enforce an anti-disruptive-conduct ordinance that has sat unfinished for years.
The resident said he has called 911 so often about the property that dispatchers recognize his voice. “They know my voice. They get a kick out of me,” he said. “But there's the constant fights over there. April 17th of this year, 15 adults were fighting with baseball bats.”
He said the same location saw three separate brawls in a single night recently and a woman involved in a previous baseball-bat fight was involved again. “You hit somebody in the head with a baseball bat, somebody's getting killed.”
He said he found that no records were filled out when he checked with police, and that no one appeared to have been arrested. He argued that rental properties in that area should lose their licenses over the repeated incidents.
Mayor Leo Lutz called the area the worst trouble spot in town. He said a disruptive-conduct ordinance passed by council was never formally codified, leaving police without clear authority to act. Evan Gabel, borough solicitor, cautioned that any such ordinance must be written carefully so it isn't used against domestic violence victims who call police to report abuse against themselves.
Council said work on updating the ordinance has been underway, with proposed changes already identified, but turning it into final legal language would take time. Officials said they hope to bring a draft back to council by the next meeting.
Current law only allows a rental license to be revoked over a code violation or a landlord's failure to evict a problem tenant, and there is no provision allowing the borough to pull a license simply because a property racks up a certain number of disruptive-conduct incidents within a set period of time.
Ignored warnings on pedestrian safety
Resident Robert Thompson accused officials of failing to act on pedestrian safety warnings he had given two months earlier. He told council he did not want to be standing before them again repeating what he had said at the June 9 meeting.
"We are tired of feeling unsafe in our own streets," Thompson said, noting that he has asked officials to increase enforcement at dangerous intersections and station adults to walk children to school. "Apparently those words fell on deaf ears," he said.
Thompson noted the recent incident in which three pedestrians were struck at 3rd & Chestnut. He stopped short of blaming officials but said the borough bears responsibility for the conditions that preceded the crash. "The danger was known, the warnings were given, the corrective action was proposed," he said, claiming the borough did not respond with urgency.
Thompson also described a pattern of police disregard for pedestrian safety, including officers allegedly ignoring traffic laws themselves and residents' complaints being dismissed.
He read two accounts from mothers in town. One described a Columbia police vehicle speeding through a stop sign near Park Elementary School during an early dismissal, nearly striking her as she pushed a double stroller, and said an officer initially denied the vehicle was the department's. Another mother said a black truck swerved toward her and her children as they crossed in a marked crosswalk, missing her by about six inches before speeding off.
Thompson also described his own experiences: being injured by a vehicle in May 2025 and, he said, threatened with criminal charges rather than treated as a victim; and being cited this July for disorderly conduct and obstructing a highway after a confrontation with a driver who had entered a crosswalk while he was in it.
Thompson also said he and his wife, through an effort he called Columbia Walks, have collected resident reports of near misses and dangerous conditions. Thompson called on the borough to act before Aug. 24, the day before school resumes.
"Do not answer by saying Sunday's crash remains under investigation," Thompson told council. "An investigation into one collision is not a pedestrian safety policy."
He closed by telling council members their job was to "stop it, triage it, fix it," and to protect residents. "Protect us," he said.
A department in disarray
Frank Doutrich accused some council members of neglecting their duties, questioning how much time they actually spend at Borough Hall getting to know municipal employees.
"I would like to sometime — I know some of you comment on the internet — tell the public sometimes how many hours you put in Borough Hall," Frank Doutrich told council. "How many hours do you go in, talk to the people, talk to some of our employees, get to know them, find out how experienced they are?"
Doutrich said he understood that borough employees are discouraged from mingling with council members. "My understanding is that they're deterred from coming in. The new borough manager doesn't want that," he said, adding that most council members don't seem to grasp their own authority over borough staff. "Most of you, I'm going to say most of you, don't know that you're in charge. The borough manager works for you. You don't work for him."
Doutrich: "The word on the street is the previous chief and the mayor left the police department in a hell of a mess." [File photo]
Doutrich also noted that Columbia's police chief had missed two consecutive council meetings. "I had some things for the top cop, but she's not here," he said. He also speculated that the chief inherited a department in disarray. "The word on the street is the previous chief and the mayor left the police department in a hell of a mess, and she has to work through that now and she's not getting a lot of the go-to-go with it to run that department."
Doutrich also pressed council for an update on the borough's towing rotation, asking whether all approved tow operators were getting equal opportunities for work. "I have not seen a policy. Is there a policy? Is anybody working on it?" he asked. Mayor Lutz responded that the borough is still in the process of setting up the towing system. "Where we're at right now is identifying all the tow operators that want to work in Columbia and then setting up a schedule that they can work. And that's where we're sitting right now, setting that schedule up," Lutz said.
Lutz: "Well, soon as people stop shooting each other and things like that, maybe we'll get some time to do some of this stuff." [File photo]
When Doutrich pressed for a timeline, Lutz pointed to the police department's staffing shortage as the reason for the delay, along with an increase in violent incidents. "Well, soon as people stop shooting each other and things like that, maybe we'll get some time to do some of this stuff, or we get a couple more officers," Lutz said. "Right now we have 14 officers. We usually have about two on a shift. That don't give a whole lot of time to do other things."
Thompson noted the recent incident in which three pedestrians were struck at 3rd & Chestnut. He stopped short of blaming officials but said the borough bears responsibility for the conditions that preceded the crash. "The danger was known, the warnings were given, the corrective action was proposed," he said, claiming the borough did not respond with urgency.
Thompson also described a pattern of police disregard for pedestrian safety, including officers allegedly ignoring traffic laws themselves and residents' complaints being dismissed.
He read two accounts from mothers in town. One described a Columbia police vehicle speeding through a stop sign near Park Elementary School during an early dismissal, nearly striking her as she pushed a double stroller, and said an officer initially denied the vehicle was the department's. Another mother said a black truck swerved toward her and her children as they crossed in a marked crosswalk, missing her by about six inches before speeding off.
Thompson also described his own experiences: being injured by a vehicle in May 2025 and, he said, threatened with criminal charges rather than treated as a victim; and being cited this July for disorderly conduct and obstructing a highway after a confrontation with a driver who had entered a crosswalk while he was in it.
Thompson also said he and his wife, through an effort he called Columbia Walks, have collected resident reports of near misses and dangerous conditions. Thompson called on the borough to act before Aug. 24, the day before school resumes.
"Do not answer by saying Sunday's crash remains under investigation," Thompson told council. "An investigation into one collision is not a pedestrian safety policy."
He closed by telling council members their job was to "stop it, triage it, fix it," and to protect residents. "Protect us," he said.
A department in disarray
Frank Doutrich accused some council members of neglecting their duties, questioning how much time they actually spend at Borough Hall getting to know municipal employees.
"I would like to sometime — I know some of you comment on the internet — tell the public sometimes how many hours you put in Borough Hall," Frank Doutrich told council. "How many hours do you go in, talk to the people, talk to some of our employees, get to know them, find out how experienced they are?"
Doutrich said he understood that borough employees are discouraged from mingling with council members. "My understanding is that they're deterred from coming in. The new borough manager doesn't want that," he said, adding that most council members don't seem to grasp their own authority over borough staff. "Most of you, I'm going to say most of you, don't know that you're in charge. The borough manager works for you. You don't work for him."
Doutrich also pressed council for an update on the borough's towing rotation, asking whether all approved tow operators were getting equal opportunities for work. "I have not seen a policy. Is there a policy? Is anybody working on it?" he asked. Mayor Lutz responded that the borough is still in the process of setting up the towing system. "Where we're at right now is identifying all the tow operators that want to work in Columbia and then setting up a schedule that they can work. And that's where we're sitting right now, setting that schedule up," Lutz said.
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
Columbia Borough Council approves $5,200 storm sewer inspection ahead of Lancaster City water main project
Columbia Borough Council has approved a $5,200 project to locate and televise storm sewer facilities along Mill, Fourth, and Manor Streets, in preparation for a large-scale water main installation project planned by Lancaster City in those areas.
At Tuesday's meeting, council voted to hire Utility Services Group, Inc. (USG), a Camp Hill-based contractor specializing in underground infrastructure rehabilitation to carry out the inspection.
Derek Rinaldo, borough engineer, told council, "Not only are you providing protection, providing a baseline, but it's a really good time to get a conditions assessment."
Approximate size of a 42-inch diameter pipeline compared to a six-foot man [AI image]
As Columbia Spy reported previously, the 42-inch diameter line will sit in an 8-foot deep, 8-foot wide trench during construction, which will proceed at a rate of 50 to 100 feet per day. The impact on Manor Street could last up to six months.
The pipeline's underground path will begin at a pumping station along the Susquehanna River, under the railroad tracks, then under Front Street, up Mill Street, over South 4th Street, and up Manor Street to the water treatment plant at the bottom of South 15th Street. The line will occasionally zigzag to accommodate existing utilities.
The line will continue via a 28,200-linear-foot finished water main paralleling existing infrastructure through West Hempfield Township and Mountville Borough towards the Oyster Point Reservoir on the western side of Lancaster.
According to a borough executive brief, Lancaster City's proposed water main work could affect storm sewer infrastructure that Columbia Borough owns within the project limits, depending on how deep the new water lines are installed. To protect the borough's interests, officials want a baseline assessment of the storm sewer system's current condition before construction begins.
That baseline would give the borough documented evidence of the pipes' condition, which could prove important if the storm sewer system is damaged during the water main work. Having a "before" record would strengthen the borough's position in negotiating repairs with Lancaster City if damage occurs.
According to the proposal terms, USG will document pipe integrity, system conditions, and any notable issues, and deliver the results via a shared drive. The company's terms note some limitations: because the extent of the underground system isn't fully known, USG cannot guarantee complete inspection coverage, and the borough is responsible for directing crews to work sites and ensuring manholes and structures are accessible and clear of debris, snow, or brush. The proposal also excludes items such as pipe cleaning or jetting, offroad CCTV work, repairs, resident notifications, and traffic control.
The executive brief lists no net fiscal impact across operating expenses, capital expenses, liquid fuels funding, or external revenue sources over the next five years (2026–2030).
Construction was originally scheduled to begin in February 2026 and conclude in March 2027, but an updated timeline estimates the project will be completed by September 30, 2027. Currently, no specifics have been announced on when the Columbia portion of the project will begin.
[Sources: LNP, Columbia Spy, Columbia Borough, files.dep.state.pa.us]
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