[LNP | LancasterOnline] Columbia Council considers rewriting codes surrounding rental properties

Council President Heather Zink: The borough may consider fining property owners up to $600 a day until they comply with a violation. [File photo]

What happened: Council members have started work on changing the way the borough deals with residential landlords who fail to fix property issues, such as trash accumulation, pest infestation, overrun weeds and more.

What's new: The borough may consider fining property owners up to $600 a day until they comply with a violation, Zink said in the call.

What would change: Council members approved a "quick ticket" ordinance in 2014 that allows employees to issue tickets to property owners for neglecting routine upkeep. Fees start at $25 for the first violation, $50 for the second violation for the same incident and then $100 for the third time.

Problems: Some property owners, however, would rather pay the fines than perform maintenance, Zink said Aug. 28. In addition, landlords may appeal each quick ticket, which could draw out the process.

Quotables: "It can stretch out over a period of months," Lutz said Aug. 28. "In the meantime, the residents in the area are putting up with the problem." Borough Solicitor Evan Gabel offered a similar opinion. "The quick tickets, I think, are clouding up the process of getting a property into compliance," he said. "It's entirely unworkable."

What's next: Council will discuss the matter at the meeting Oct. 1.
MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-council-considers-rewriting-codes-surrounding-rental-properties/article_5d57ba82-6710-11ef-b7e6-eb100c208f1a.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

[LNP | LancasterOnline] Columbia school board OKs superintendent's new contract

When: Columbia school board meeting, Thursday, Aug. 29.

What happened: The school board approved a five-year contract with current Superintendent Ashley Rizzo, effective July 1, 2025.

By the numbers: Under this new contract, Rizzo will earn a salary of $199,000 for the first year, plus a $7,000 stipend if she fulfills the responsibilities of the human resources director. The contract includes potential annual raises based on her workload and performance, Keith Ramsey, business manager, said Friday. Rizzo's current salary is $178,652.

Details: Columbia Borough and Eastern Lancaster County school districts share some personnel positions, including the technology director, business manager and human resources director, Ramsey said Friday; however, the agreement between the districts is up at the end of 2024-25. Donna Prokay, human resources director, will only continue with Columbia if the board renews the contract with ELANCO or if it passes a new one, Ramsey said.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/regional/columbia-school-board-oks-superintendents-new-contract/article_2978978c-671e-11ef-880a-172cdaf51a0b.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Columbia fire chief says recent fires are not suspicious

Photo of a fire at an apartment building at 209 Walnut Street, August 21, 2024.

Columbia Borough Fire Chief Scott Ryno said recent fires in the borough are not suspicious in nature. "It's an unfortunate chain of events," he said at Tuesday’s borough council meeting. He said the fires were due to unsafe practices rather than arson. Ryno added that although the fires were accidental, they were also preventable.

Ryno highlighted issues at fire scenes that contributed to fires, including hoarding and electrical problems. He noted unsafe practices such as connecting an air conditioner to a power strip, then to an extension cord, and finally to an outlet.

Ryno also noted a growing hoarding problem in some rental properties. "We're seeing deplorable living conditions," he said, in which there are “too many people” living in a particular property. He also cited "doubling up," where one family moves in with another, adding to the fire load situation.

Police crack down on e-bike and e-scooter riders

At Tuesday night's Columbia Borough Council meeting, Mayor Leo Lutz said that police have stepped up enforcement of ordinances governing e-bikes and e-scooters. Riders have been cited for various traffic infractions.

“The guys are stepping it up, and there have been citations,” Lutz said.

Currently, bicycles aren't permitted on sidewalks, according to borough ordinance. Councilman Peter Stahl noted Police Chief Jack Brommer's recent reminder that e-scooters are prohibited on borough streets and sidewalks. Stahl said scooters are permitted only in designated areas such as [certain] parks.

The Pennsylvania Vehicle Code "prohibits the use of electric scooters, electric skateboards, and electric unicycles on public roadways."

Columbia Borough, PA ALERT

 Columbia Borough, PA Alert:   

The Columbia Water Company will replace a water main on South Third Street Between Locust and Cherry Streets beginning September 3, 2024.  The work is expected to be completed by October 11th.  Parking and traffic flow disruptions are expected.   

Columbia man charged with kidnapping, threatening woman: police | Local News | lancasteronline.com

Police have charged a Columbia man with kidnapping a woman in Lancaster city Saturday.

Lancaster city police charged Jvian Mendez-Gonzalez, 18, with felony kidnapping for trapping a woman in his car and driving at a high speed while threatening her.

According to a criminal complaint, the woman told police she met up with Mendez-Gonzalez in Holly Pointe Park, near the Conestoga River in southeast Lancaster, around 1 a.m. Saturday.

The woman told police that, after conversing in Mendez-Gonzalez's car for several hours, he became irate after seeing a promise ring on the woman's necklace. The woman told police he pulled the $200 necklace from her neck and threw it out the window into the park. She then got out of the car to look for it.

Police say that Mendez demanded the woman get back into the car and threatened to follow her if she tried to walk away.

When the woman got back in the vehicle, Mendez-Gonzalez refused to take the woman home and drove over 100 mph on Route 30 west, according to the criminal complaint. During this time police say he took the woman's phone from her and threatened to kill both himself and the passenger.

The woman told police that she knew Mendez-Gonzalez had access to firearms and feared for her life.

Police say that Menez-Gonzalez eventually stopped his vehicle in Columbia and allowed the woman to run out of the car.

In December, Columbia police arrested Mendez-Gonzalez on charges of marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license. 

Mendez-Gonzalez is not listed in custody. Police did not respond to requests for additional information.

He faces a felony kidnapping charge and four misdemeanors for unlawful restraint, reckless endangerment, making terroristic threats and property damage.

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/columbia-man-charged-with-kidnapping-threatening-woman-police/article_d639ce88-6402-11ef-be71-43d4e2978d53.html 

Agenda - Columbia Borough Council Meeting - August 27, 2024

 

The meeting packet is HERE.

Columbia Council reschedules hearing after failing to publicize it in advance

When: Columbia Council meeting Aug. 13.

What happened: Although council unanimously approved two zoning exceptions for a proposed residential project at 750 S. Ninth St., members discovered three days later the borough failed to comply with its municipal planning code by not notifying nearby property owners or advertising and holding a public hearing on the matter.

[Note: The issue came into question when former council member Sharon Lintner asked how the neighbors had been notified.]

Quotable: “A mistake was made,” Heather Zink, council president, said during an Aug. 19 phone interview. “We have since rectified it.”

Solution: A public hearing will happen during the Sept. 3 meeting, after the borough notifies property owners and advertises the matter twice, Zink said during the phone call.

Details: The company planning the rental development could have proceeded to build, but Eli King, who owns Valley View Capital LLC in Strasburg, said in an Aug. 21 phone interview that he wanted to be open with residents and business owners.

Quotable: “We believed it to be in the best interest of all parties to reschedule the hearing, allowing the public to hear what the project is all about and to weigh in with any feedback,” King said.

Project: Valley View Capital applied for two conditional uses to build nine rental town homes on just under half an acre on South Ninth and Avenue X. One two-story building would contain five town homes, while the other two-story building would house four. The 1,500-square-foot units would have two or three bedrooms and two or three bathrooms. Plans include 19 parking spaces.

Changes: The property, zoned for medium-density residential use, must consist of separate lots or have a condominium association, according to the planning code. Since King plans to offer town homes for rent, he asked council members to let him retain ownership of one large lot because doing so would save the borough and his company paperwork.

More: In addition, Valley View seeks a waiver to plant five trees on the property instead of the required eight trees due to a lack of space.

What went wrong: The borough’s planning and zoning board recommended the development, but neither borough officials nor the contractor handling Columbia’s zoning issues noted the project needed a public hearing, Zink said Aug. 19.

Quotable: “We are outsourcing our zoning assistance, and we don’t have a borough manager who has that kind of experience,” Zink said. The person hired for the zoning officer position is obtaining certifications, Zink said Aug. 19. In addition, council members continue to search for a borough manager after Mark Stivers resigned in July.

[Source: LNP/LancasterOnline]

Deeds Recorded - Columbia Borough - August 26, 2024

McBride Michael P, McBride Erica J. conveyed 128 N. Eighth St. to Giger Tylor Scott for $255,000.

Fritz Ronald W. Jr., Fritz Michelle M. conveyed 434 Manor St. to Edwin P. Daughenbaugh Jr. for $75,000.

Valley View Capital LLC conveyed 216 S. Fifth St. to Proverb Realty LLC for $120,000.

Andreas Heisey conveyed property on Poplar Street to Tmmt Holdings LLC for $685,000.

Benjamin E. Otterbein conveyed 123 N. Eighth St. to Wandell Faith, Dunn Andrew for $280,000.

Mannino Guiseppe, Mannino Filomena conveyed 429 Locust St. to 429 Locust St. LLC for $150,000.

Vera Carol A, Benedict Scott D. conveyed 220 River Front to Carol A. Vera for $90,000.

About Town - August 25, 2024

 This week's photos of Columbia 

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

At least four people climbed across a stopped train to enter or exit Columbia River Park Friday morning. A woman leaving the park narrowly avoided tragedy when the train began moving as she was crossing.

Here's why you shouldn't try to cross a stopped train. Another train could be traveling on the track beside it, as happened here.

The train was stopped for about an hour. According to a post by the Columbia Borough Police Department, the train became disabled and stopped for repairs.

Police arrived to monitor the situation.

Adding to matters, a second train had stopped behind the first.

At about the same time the train incident was happening, a tree in front of the Lloyd Mifflin House up the street was damaged by a vehicle. According to witnesses, a moving van delivering furniture hit the tree. The photo above shows the result after the Columbia Borough Public Works crew cut the damaged tree trunk.

Workers also removed the debris shown here and below.

Here's the final result.

Earlier in the week, the doors and part of the facade at Tollbooth Antiques still remained.

By Friday morning, that part of the building was gone, too.

On Sunday morning, things looked like this.

Meanwhile, near South 4th and Manor, these two car carriers have been squirreled away in the weeds for about a week.

Bridge inspectors were back yet again at the Veterans Memorial Bridge this past week.

Traffic on Front Street was delayed when the bucket from the inspection truck hung under the bridge for several minutes.

Speaking of the bridge, it's not looking too healthy in several spots.

Super ego or superego? Some people have super egos without justification.

Why park your FedEx truck in or at that open parking space when you can park it at the turn on Route 462?

Work continues on the billboard project at the former visitors center.

Meanwhile, at the National Watch & Clock Museum . . .

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Cloudy skies

Memorial at Rotary Park

This sign might become useful again, since Covid is making a comeback.

Two items at Columbia Curiosities on the 300 block of Walnut

Be happy.

A "squirrel" guarding the squirrel trap

Late afternoon sun

At the same time firefighters were fighting the fire at 2nd & Walnut on Wednesday, other emergency personnel covered a river rescue. Personnel staged at Columbia River Park.

 

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Here are a few more photos from the fire.

The day after the fire, the scene looked like this . . .

 

 

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