JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
The Columbia Market House costs taxpayers more than the revenue it generates because it operates as both a market and an event venue, according to borough officials.
Columbia Borough Council discussed the financial viability of the market house during its August 7 workshop, with several members questioning whether the facility should continue functioning as both entities.
Councilman Eric Kauffman expressed concerns about the market house's profitability. "I've tried so many different ways to justify the market house actually being profitable. Quite honestly I think it's very hard," Kauffman said.
Kauffman noted that the borough employs a full-time market manager (Bonnie Link) to cover events that often cost more than what they generate in revenue. He pointed to weddings as a particular example, explaining that while events require setup and teardown time, the borough only charges for about four hours of actual event time.
"We're paying a full-time market manager to do events, and the events are costing us more than what they're worth," Kauffman stated. "If you start raising the value of events, you're going to lose customers."
As an alternative, Kauffman proposed scaling back operations to employ only a part-time market manager and focus solely on running the facility as a market rather than an event venue. "I don't see it being a venue and being successful," he said. "I think it's very costly to be a venue."
In May 2022, council was poised to vote on creating a part-time market manager position for 28 hours a week at $20 an hour, but Kauffman voiced concern that 28 hours was not enough to do the job successfully and $20 an hour was too low. Kauffman persuaded council to go with a full-time manager instead, which it did in a 6-1 vote. Councilwoman Sharon Lintner was the only no vote.
Councilwoman Barbara Fisher supported the part-time manager idea, recalling that she had originally suggested this approach when the position was first discussed. "I do think it could possibly work part-time," Fisher said. She also voted to hire a full-time manager in 2022.
Mayor Leo Lutz agreed with Kauffman's assessment, stating, "You're right. We're probably losing money on this." Lutz also concurred that wedding events were causing staff burnout due to the long hours required.
Councilman Todd Burgard questioned the feasibility of the current model, saying, "I don't understand how it can be both [market and events venue]. I don't think it's conducive to be both things at one time."
Kauffman suggested limiting events to no more than four per month at four hours each, which would keep staffing within part-time parameters and keeping Saturdays for market operations.
Councilman Peter Stahl proposed a different approach, suggesting the borough enter into a commercial agreement with a restaurant or company that would rent and manage the space independently. However, Kauffman expressed reservations about allowing an outside entity to run borough properties.
Resident Sharon Lintner suggested that the borough hire two part-time managers instead of one full-time position to avoid paying benefits while ensuring adequate coverage.
Kauffman and Lutz noted that the market house is also unfairly competing with local businesses. "I have a problem with the market house trying to be a market and being an event holder - then we're taking business from our other businesses," Kauffman said.
Council President Heather Zink reminded council that financial losses were anticipated from the beginning. "I just want everyone to keep in mind that we knew going into this, it was never going to be profitable," Zink said. "We were always going to lose money on this, that's why CHI was willing to give the borough $65,000 a year because they knew that's how much it was going to lose."
Columbia Spy previously covered the CHI (Catholic Health Initiative) agreement HERE, which commenced in March 2019 and was initially set to run for five years. However, CHI terminated the agreement early, ending their involvement at the end of June 2022.
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