UPDATE: 509 Locust Street - Who's responsible?

High grass and weeds at 509 Locust Street were cut today.

Yesterday, Columbia Spy posted reader-submitted photos of the property at 509 Locust Street showing high grass and weeds - possible code violations. Today, that situation has been rectified; as can be seen in the photo above, the grass and weeds have been cut. Our previous article may have implied that responsibility for maintenance of the property lies with the borough. To set the record straight, we are posting the following additional information:

According to Borough Manager Greg Sahd, Borough Council approved the Agreement/Addendum for the sale of Real Estate between Columbia Borough and the Columbia Economic Development Corp., CEDC, for 509 Locust Street. As of May 13, 2016, CEDC is responsible for the marketing and eventual sale (with Borough approval) of this property to a third party purchaser by January 1, 2017. Further, item number 8 of the Addendum reads, “CEDC agrees that it is purchasing the Property “as is” and that the Borough of Columbia shall have no obligation to correct any code violations or perform any maintenance of the Property.” [italics ours]

Sahd expects the property to soon be in presentable form, both for the public and for prospective buyers, sometime in the coming months.

The sale agreement and addendum are presented HERE, though the reader may have difficulty wading through the incomprehensible and interminable legalese.