COLUMBIA SPY

Lutz: "You need a plan... Then you need to find the finances for it. You need to implement the plan." JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  Plan would prioritize school routes; PennDOT engineers to visit trouble spots next week Mayor Lutz told council on Tuesday that borough officials are assembling a street-safety plan, and he urged council to pursue grants and set aside matching funds to pay for it. Lutz said borough administrators, police, and members of the borough's safety committee have been meeting on ways to make streets safer "in the near future." He said he has briefed the school superintendent, who will be brought into the process, and that public meetings will be held as the plan takes shape. "Several things have to happen as you put a plan together," he said. "You need a plan... Then you need to find the finances for it. You need to implement the plan." Next week, borough staff and police will meet with engineers whom PennDOT contracts wi...

Borough Council on Monday ratified Mayor Lutz's emergency declaration making the 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street one-way, and took the first step toward making the change permanent. The mayor told council at its October 13 meeting that the street, which is part of a recent streetscape project, would reopen in the near future. He said the borough's street ordinance needed to change "in order to ensure safe travel for motorists, safe travel for bicyclists and pedestrians." In the meantime, he said, he issued an emergency declaration designating the two blocks as one-way. Council also voted to authorize advertisement of Ordinance 2026-968, which would formally designate the 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street as one-way.   Before the vote, Evan Gabel, borough solicitor,  noted that the draft's direction of travel had been switched from an earlier version. Gabel suggested the ordinance describe travel as running from Third Street to Front Street. "It gives yo...

The existing building at 1100 Ridge Avenue will be used mainly for vehicle storage and as a shop. 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," P...

Location of proposed shoot at Columbia River Park   A small film crew will shoot a scene at Columbia River Park later this month, after Columbia Borough Council approved the project at its October 13 regular meeting. Sarah Dewey submitted the application on behalf of "reverie," a full-service film and commercial production company located in Lancaster. The working title of the project is "Independent Short Film." Filming is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, beginning at 3 p.m. The scene involves two actors and about eight crew members in total. Organizers expect the shoot to take five to six hours, including setup and teardown. The crew has not requested any borough services and does not plan to use borough streets.

Timothy Sheaffer Jr. LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A Central Pennsylvania man was sentenced for possessing more than a dozen explosives inside a safe and causing a community-wide evacuation last year. Online court records show, Timothy Sheaffer Jr., 41, of Columbia Borough, was sentenced Oct. 7 to spend a little over a year to nearly five years by Judge Bradford Charles. He will be under active supervision for the first three years of his sentence. In August, court records show Sheaffer pleaded guilty to charges of weapons of mass destruction, risking catastrophe and recklessly endangering another person. He was facing more recklessly endangering another person charges but they were withdrawn. MORE: https://www.abc27.com/local-news/lebanon/central-pennsylvania-man-sentenced-for-possessing-explosives-that-led-to-community-evacuation/amp/  

NOTICE is hereby given that the Columbia Borough budget meeting scheduled for October 22, 2026, has been rescheduled to October 21, 2026 at 7 p.m. at the Columbia Borough Office, 308 Locust St. Columbia, PA 17512. COLUMBIA BOROUGH COUNCIL By: Evan M. Gabel, Solicitor

JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  Columbia resident Frank Doutrich brought a visual aid to the October 13 borough council meeting to make his point: a stick with a string tied to it, and a tin can dangling at the end. Standing at the podium, Doutrich held the stick out toward council members as the can swung from the string. His message was that council has a habit of postponing decisions, this time about hiring a borough manager.  "By doing what you're doing, you're kicking the can down the road," Doutrich told council. Jack Brommer is scheduled to retire as borough manager on November 13, and council has not announced a successor. Ron Youtz, a former West Hempfield Township manager, will fill in until the end of the year. Youtz assisted Brommer with borough duties last fall.

Columbia Borough Police Chief Holly Arndt addressed council Tuesday night. JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  Police Chief Holly Arndt told Columbia Borough Council on Tuesday night that her department is operating with too few officers, too little administrative support and almost no legal guidance. She said that "continued operation without addressing these issues would NOT be responsible." Arndt, who took command of the department May 1, delivered a lengthy prepared statement at council's October 13 meeting. She described a department in need of what she called "a foundational rebuild." Arndt said the department has 13 patrol officers, one of them on light duty. It has no lieutenant and no administrative sergeant. By comparison, the borough website, (which still lists Brommer as chief) describes a department of 19 full-time officers, three part-time officers and two full-time support staff.   Since August 25, officers have answered 1,784 calls for service, which Arn...

A worker uses a core drill to create holes for signposts. JOE LINTNER | COLUMBIA SPY  Crews installed signage Tuesday afternoon along the 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street, the final step in the Walnut Street project. To install the signs, a worker used a core drill to bore holes into the new sidewalk. The holes will hold the signposts. Among the signs installed were a one-way sign and a combination of a "No Right Turn" sign with a supplemental "No Parking" sign restricting parking on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The no-parking signs were posted along the street near the intersection with Front Street.  Workers with Atlas Flasher & Supply Co., Inc., carried out the work.  This sign was placed in a tree well. Some signs, like this one, stand well above eye level.

Mayor Leo Lutz has declared the 100 and 200 blocks of Walnut Street one-way westbound, according to an official notice from the Borough of Columbia dated October 8, 2026. The declaration follows completion of construction and line-painting on the two blocks that narrowed the roadway to a single vehicle lane and a two-way bike lane. In the notice, Lutz said the change was made so the corridor can be traveled safely. The one-way designation is temporary. It remains in effect until borough council ratifies it within seven days. The October 13, 2026 council meeting agenda lists " Ordinance 2026-968 One-way Walnut Street" under New Business. If council approves the ordinance, the one-way designation will become permanent.  In the meantime, drivers who use Walnut Street should expect westbound-only travel on the 100 and 200 blocks while the declaration is in effect.

CHRISTY RAE AMMONS | | For LNP | LancasterOnline When: Columbia Borough School Board committee meeting, Oct. 6. What happened: Board members discussed a prior request to name the football field and stadium after two former coaches, John “Jack” Yohe and Michael Burke. Member Thomas Zeigler spoke in support of the naming; however, President Charles Leader, Vice President Lauren VonStetten and other members opposed it, noting that other requests to name buildings and fields had been denied. Quotable: “I respect the work that Jack and Mike put into the program. There’s no question they should be honored,” said Leader, adding, “Once we do it (name a facility), then somebody’s going to want us to do it again and again and again …. There’s an end line somewhere and we’re trying to draw that now.” Details: Since a majority of the board was against the request, a consensus was reached. Rather than naming the football com...

The meeting packet is  HERE .

The estate of Grace E. Sholly conveyed 228 Cedar St. to Vero Homes LLP for $40,000. Desanctis Christopher, Morris Kylie L. conveyed 755 Locust St. to Aziz Samy Tawfik for $140,000. Tynes Sherie L, Weaver Cathy A. conveyed 314 Perry Street to Ewing Ashley N, Ewing Robert Russell for $160,000. Barley Matthew F, Barley Ellen R. conveyed 419 Chestnut St. to Jacqueline N. Morales for $270,000.

Photos of Columbia, PA Week ending 10/11/26 Walnut Street, Keystone, Halloween, and more Horse overlooking the Walnut Street project  Speaking of the Walnut Street project . . . And someone forgot their wheelbarrow.  ***************** The last of the Keystone photos . . . ***************** A state trooper pulled over a pickup truck hauling a shipping container — or two? ***************** Signs of the season . . . ***************** Bikes No pooping or peeing 7th Street & O Avenue  Canoemobiles VOTE FOR BRAD! ###