COLUMBIA SPY: Weekend Wrap-Up

Recent photos of Columbia

(Click/tap on photos to see larger, sharper images.)

Painting the District Administration Center

Replacing the spindles

Here are more spindles.

Using a leaf blower on the roof

It's the choice of professional roofers everywhere.

A scarecrow - in a cemetery?

(Mount Bethel)

123 North 5th Street - It's worse.

The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Lancaster condemned and acquired the property in 2019. Little or nothing has been to it done since.

Anyway, here's a doorknob.

Many hands make light work (but too many cooks spoil the soup).

At the apartment project (128 Locust Street)

The pink hats have arrived.

Must be a Monday.

About that Route 441 bypass that was supposed to direct trucks like this away from the downtown...?

Right next to the office of Dave Hickernell, who allegedly represents Columbia

Once again, the ADA access ramp was not made for this.

Under his 19-year reign, taxes have gone up and population has gone down. Recently, he actually said this:

Some private developers are investing in Columbia, said the borough’s mayor, Leo Lutz. They’re repurposing some former industrial buildings to add new higher-end rental units in the borough, catering to young adults and empty nesters who are able to afford rents that are more than $1,000 a month.

But that’s not enough to relieve the demand for housing, Lutz said. As a result, older and wealthier buyers are pricing young families out of the market in Columbia, he said.

“You have that young family (that says), ‘I don’t want an apartment, I don’t want a condo, I want a house – I like mowing the lawn, I like working on the house, sitting on the patio and entertaining guests. I can’t do that in Columbia, I can’t afford that in Columbia, so I’m going to move elsewhere,’” Lutz said.

[Source: lancasteronline]

Neighbors have noted that trash has been piling up for weeks at 647 Walnut Street, on the sidewalk and in the yard. Allegedly, the new owner of the multi-unit property failed to get a contract for a trash hauler.

A neighborhood resident has informed Columbia Spy that borough officials were notified of the trash problem via email on September 17, 2021 - a month ago. In addition to the trash shown here, there are about 40 bags of trash in the backyard. The accumulating trash has now created a rodent problem. In a text message, the resident said, "The mice in this neighborhood are running rampant. Not to mention the smell coming from all the trash."