Columbia Borough Council applies for $1.75M state grant

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY 

Columbia Borough Council has voted on a long-delayed resolution authorizing a $1.75 million grant application to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). RACP is a Commonwealth program that funds the construction of economic, cultural, civic, recreational, and historical improvement projects across the state. 

Resolution No. 2026-13, passed unanimously by council at Tuesday's regular meeting, authorizes the borough to submit the application to the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget on behalf of the Columbia Economic Development Initiative. The resolution designates Interim Borough Manager Jack Brommer and Council President Eric Kauffman to execute all documents and agreements related to the application. The original resolution authorizing the application was never formally approved, requiring a retroactive vote to bring the borough into compliance.

The current resolution comes after a series of hurdles that kept the borough from collecting on the grant, including a $26,000 discrepancy and a missing Market House deed. 

According to a 2019 LNP/LancasterOnline article, Columbia Borough was approved to receive a $1.75 million matching grant from the state for renovations to the Columbia Market House and the creation of additional downtown parking. Borough officials submitted information several times, but state officials repeatedly requested more details. In the meantime, council voted to spend an additional $1.75 million, required to match the grant.

The grant itself underwent a significant restructuring last year. At council's May 27, 2025 meeting, members voted to reorganize the two-phase RACP package after state officials said that reimbursement for Phase 1 work was contingent on the borough moving forward with Phase 2. “If we do not do RACP Phase 2, we do not get paid for RACP Phase 1,” Steven Kaufhold, then borough manager, said. “This is really one big grant. It's just in two separate sections.”

The restructuring reduced the Phase 1 request to $1 million — covering work that was already completed on the Market House — while rolling about $300,000 into Phase 2. The move was designed to speed the state's reimbursement by simplifying the documentation. 

Phase 1 was originally assembled as a collection of several smaller projects — most pertaining to the Market House — under one “umbrella,” a structure that had slowed the reimbursement process. Phase 2 is expected to center on a single capital project — expected to be a new public works facility — rather than several downtown initiatives originally considered. 

With the resolution passed, the Phase 1 documentation is ready to be submitted, and approval will allow borough officials to request reimbursement more quickly.