Knox Box: WITF hosts discussion with councilman, fire chief, and business owner

This morning's Knox Box discussion on WITF-FM's Smart Talk is scheduled to be re-broadcast tonight at 7 o'clock. The discussion includes Councilman John Novak, Fire Chief Doug Kemmerly, and business owner Keena Soukup, and focuses on Columbia Borough's ordinance requiring business owners and others to install the boxes. The discussion can be heard online HERE and at 89.5 FM on the radio.

The following synopsis is from the WITF website:

Also, at the end of last year the Columbia Borough Council unanimously voted to enact an ordinance that requires Columbia businesses, apartments and nursing care facilities to have lock boxes, also known as Knox Boxes, installed outside their buildings. The boxes are intended to contain keys and building blueprints to be used by emergency personnel responding to events like fires.

Business owners are pushing back against the ordinance, citing concerns about cost, security and privacy. The boxes cost hundreds of dollars up front, and workers are also worried about who will cover the expense of repairing or replacing the boxes if they are tampered with. In addition, some Columbia residents and business people oppose the lock boxes because they fear they will be easy to break into and might give people unwanted access to their buildings.

We're joined by Columbia Borough Councilman John Novak and Fire Chief Douglas Kemmerly. Keena Soukup, business owner of Soukup Automotive in Columbia, created a petition opposing the lock box ordinance. She joins us on Friday's Smart Talk to discuss the legislation.