Columbia council approves moving public works to Ridge Avenue, contingent on sale of riverfront properties
JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY
Vote clears the way for design work and for the sale of the old wastewater treatment plant and municipal services building
Borough Council voted 6-0 at its October 13 meeting to relocate the Public Works Department from its riverfront site to the Ridge Avenue property the borough has already purchased. The approval depends on the sale of the two riverfront parcels: the former wastewater treatment plant and the municipal services building that the public works department currently uses.
Officials said the two decisions are linked. A prospective buyer, working through the Columbia EDC, wants both riverfront parcels and won't purchase just one. "They are uniquely tied together," councilman Kelly Murphy said of the sale and the move.
The buyer has been waiting on the borough. "The buyers want an answer. They've been asking since July," President Eric Kauffman told the room. "So, the question they have is, are they going to buy both lots or not buy any of them?"
Appraisals put the two parcels at roughly $1.1 million to $1.2 million, and the EDC contract sets a minimum price. "1.1 million sounds great for waterfront property, but that's if it was uncontaminated and didn't have a large wastewater treatment plant on it that had to be decommissioned and demolished," borough engineer Derek Rinaldo said. An environmental covenant tied to the site's former gas plant use restricts ground disturbance, and officials said the contaminated soil (radioactive due to the plant) can't be remediated.
The latest estimate for the project is $2.362 million, down from an initial figure of more than $4.5 million. The design was pared back to hold costs down. "We kind of skinnied this project way down to keep the cost down," Council Vice President Heather Zink said. The plan reuses the existing prefabricated building for shop space and vehicle storage and adds a separate block administration building with two offices, a break room and storage area, and two locker rooms.
A $1 million Local Share Account grant has been secured. Officials also plan to seek about $750,000 from a state RACP grant that requires a dollar-for-dollar match. The borough's roughly $750,000 share would come from the riverfront sales. Officials estimated a net gain of $300,000 to $350,000 once the project is built and grants are reimbursed. A back parcel at Ridge Avenue is also slated for sale.
"1.7 million of it is being covered by grants and the rest of it is being able to be reimbursed by multiple different property sales," councilman Ethan Byers said. "I think financially it does make sense to move forward with it."
A standalone wash bay, about $54,000, would likely be bid as an alternate. Rinaldo said the utilities and pad could go in first and the building could wait.
Resident Frank Doutrich criticized the plan. "I feel sorry for the taxpayers of this town," he said, adding that the borough should turn its attention to income. "Let's talk about getting revenue back in and building the borough back up."
What happens next
Public Works will stay at riverfront during preliminary work and would have about a year to vacate after a sale closes. The access road and fence relocation at Ridge Avenue could proceed separately from the building, though the engineer said finishing them this year may be difficult.
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