Columbia Municipal Authority votes YES on LASA sale

At its June 19 meeting, the Columbia Municipal Authority voted to sell Columbia's sewer system assets to the Lancaster Area Sewer Authority (LASA). In a four-to-one vote, the Authority approved the sale. William Kloidt, Michael Schober, Raymond McCarty, and Norman Meiskey voted for the sale, while Breneman Shultz voted against it. Authority members conceded that adjustments to existing agreements, such as those with West Hempfield, will be needed.

For the sale to be complete, Columbia Borough Council must also approve it.  That vote will take place at the Committee of the Whole meeting this coming Monday, June 23.

William Kloidt said he based his decision to sell on two main factors: the future cost of sewer lines, and economies of scale. He also urged the borough to negotiate for a position on the LASA board. Kloidt proposed that funds from the sale be used for other projects, such as placing windmills on the borough farm to generate electricity for the borough.  He projected that one windmill would cost $2.2 million and added that workers displaced by the sale could be employed in this endeavor.

Norm Meiskey said the sale will eliminate a significant number of liabilities and that employees have kept the plant running as efficiently as possible with old equipment.  He cited the borough's antiquated infrastructure as another factor in his decision to support the sale.  He also said that expenses incurred by LASA for maintenance and upgrades will be passed on to over 30,000 ratepayers, rather than only 3,700 in Columbia. He added that there will be a five-year integration to LASA's minimum rates and that since their inception, LASA has averaged a 2% per year increase.

Breneman Shultz voted against the sale over concerns that $50,000 per month will be required for three years during the transition period, with no revenue being collected during that time.

What I Saw - Thursday, June 19, 2014

Forklift rodeo?

CCFD Carnival

Police ask for help finding suspect in 3 business burglaries in Columbia

Police are asking for the public's help to find a man they say burglarized three businesses in Columbia.

Borough police on Wednesday obtained a felony arrest warrant for 30-year-old Scott Allen Zercher, Det. Matt Leddy said in a press release.

Police say he broke into the Turkey Hill Experience, Pizza Hut, and Mike's Diner, all of 301 Linden St. in Columbia, on June 11.

MORE:
http://m.lancasteronline.com/news/local/police-ask-for-help-finding-suspect-in-business-burglaries-in/article_fe559486-f7ae-11e3-95dc-0017a43b2370.html?mode=jqm

Municipal Authority meeting today

The Columbia Borough Municipal Authority will meet today at 4:30 p.m. at the borough office, 308 Locust Street.

Columbia Sampler on Vimeo

GO HERE:
http://vimeo.com/m/98500567

What I saw - Tuesday, June 17, 2014

I hope he remembered to plug the meter.  

The borough needs all the revenue it can get.

Hempfield resident wins suit to obtain district budget information

Hempfield School District must open its books to a resident who sued for more detailed budget information from the district administration.

The state Office of Open Records on Monday ruled in favor of Stephanie Rittenhouse, of Woodlyn Farm Way, who had requested individual budgets for the district's individual schools, academic departments and operational divisions.

The district had refused the request, saying only the final budget — Form 2028, which must be filed with the state Department of Education — is public record.

In fact, Hempfield's chief financial officer, Mary Lynne Kniley, told Rittenhouse at school board meetings that those budget documents do not exist.

MORE:
http://m.lancasteronline.com/news/local/hempfield-resident-wins-suit-to-obtain-district-budget-information/article_01e99248-f64f-11e3-a805-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

Radio issue complicates fire merger in Columbia

The need to order new radios has dialed up the urgency surrounding the planned consolidation of Columbia borough's three fire departments.

But it has also brought specifics about the consolidation — including whether all three departments will participate — into question.

MORE:
http://m.lancasteronline.com/news/local/radio-issue-complicates-fire-merger-in-columbia/article_1b7ad68a-f641-11e3-887e-0017a43b2370.html?mode=jqm

Re: LASA - Council must do the right thing - Sell!

The time has come to consider a final decision on LASA. It's not an exaggeration to say that the future solvency of the borough may be at stake. Simply put, the ad hoc committee's final report recommends selling Columbia Borough's sewer system assets to the Lancaster Area Sewer Authority (LASA). I hope the council will abide by the findings of the report - which it commissioned - and vote for the sale. I hope any council person voting against it will explain why, publicly. I don't understand why the council would commission a report only to ignore it (if that, in fact, proves to be the case). Doing so would be a waste of taxpayers' money.
I won't rehash all the facts and figures here. That information is contained in the final report, which I posted previously HERE.

In regard to rates, we are competing with LASA, which comprises seven other surrounding municipalities.  This is a competition we cannot win and which may pull us under financially.
The borough's debt, the empty storefronts, the property taxes that continue to go up and up and up are evidence enough of the need to regionalize and share costs. Selling to LASA could be the beginning of that process. Columbia can't continue to bind itself to yesterday's ideas in the foolish and outdated belief that we are self-sufficient. Let's face it: it's not the same town it was even 50 years ago. 

Regionalizing does not mean losing our identity. We're talking about selling a sewer plant. That's all. We'll still have our rich history. Nothing can take that away.
We should cherish our history but look to the future. We are now at a crossroads, and the outcome of this decision will affect generations to come. Let's affect them positively. Let this be the point where we turned things around for Columbia. 

With all that in mind, I, a lifelong Columbia resident, respectfully ask council to do the right thing. Look to the future. Sell the plant.



(Citizens can make their voices heard at the Municipal Authority meeting this coming Thursday, June 19 at 4:30 p.m., when a vote by the Authority on the LASA sale is expected to take place.

Citizens may also speak at the Committee of the Whole meeting this coming Monday, June 23 at 6 p.m., when a vote might take place.
Both meetings will be held at the Borough Office, 308 Locust Street.)

How to beat the heat

Locust Heights is closed . . . 

but the river is open!

Columbia Cones and More now open

Columbia Cones and More at 411 Locust Street is now open. Manager Scott Creek (pictured above) offers a wide variety of Hershey's ice cream to help cool off during the hot summer days. 

Store hours are Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.;  Friday & Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Flag Day Commemoration

Columbia Borough celebrated Flag Day on Saturday with the help of the Elks of Lancaster County, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts from Troops 35, 66, and 181, and a fife and drum corps from the First Regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps.  Participants carried a 20- x 30-foot flag from 3rd and Locust Streets to Locust Street Park where the flag was folded.  The commemoration continued at the park with several speakers as well as a display by the scouts of several historical American flags.

Turkey Hill Experience burglarized in Columbia

COLUMBIA, Pa. (WHTM) -
Police are trying to identify the man who burglarized The Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia and two other businesses that lease space in the same building.

Columbia police said the man forced his way into the back of the building at 301 Linden Street around 6 a.m. Wednesday by prying open two steel doors.

MORE:
http://www.abc27.com/story/25760309/turkey-hill-experience-burglarized-in-columbia

LASA - Yes or No?

At recent public meetings and in the local media, much has been discussed about the pros and cons of Columbia Borough selling the assets of its current sewer system to the Lancaster Area Sewer Authority.  At the May 27 Columbia Borough Council meeting, the matter was again discussed, and the final report of the borough's ad hoc wastewater management committee was presented. 

In summary, the committee recommended "moving forward with an asset purchase by LASA."

(From the committee's report)

The committee's final report can be found HERE.

This blog will present further information (and opinion) on this matter over the next few days.

Thunder on the River

Barry Doutrich's legacy lives on.

SUBMISSION

The first Thunder on the River car and motorcycle show will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 21, in Columbia.

The show will feature more than 300 vehicles, including antique, classic and custom cars, muscle cars, lead sleds, street rods and motorcycles.

Show organizers — Rivertownes PA USA, Columbia Lions and the Susquehanna Valley Chamber of Commerce — will award more than 100 trophies, including Best of Show and People's Choice. Oldies music will serve as a backdrop for a fun-filled day. Admission is free for spectators. The show will be held rain or shine.

In 2005, Columbia resident Barry Doutrich held the first Cruisin' Columbia Car Show. Since then, the car show has grown to include more than 400 cars and motorcycles and has become an annual tradition for residents and visitors alike. The show brings thousands of visitors to the area to explore local history, visit local museums and shop in local businesses.

A few months after the 9th annual Cruisin' Columbia in 2013, Doutrich passed away after a courageous battle with ALS. Upon his passing, Doutrich's family requested that the Cruisin' Columbia name be retired and that any future car show not be named in his memory. Consistent with those wishes, the three nonprofit organizations have teamed up to continue the event under a new name: Thunder on the River Car Show.

With the support of Doutrich's wife, Barb, Ed Jones of Maytown, a family friend, will present a trophy in memory of Doutrich.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to the ALS Association to support the fight against Lou Gehrig's Disease, Columbia Borough police initiatives, Columbia Food Bank and the three presenting organizations.

Car and motorcycle owners can call 684-5249 or go to parivertowns.com to register.

Drug bust

Bridge lighting project brought counties together

The decade-long project is mostly completed, and those who contributed funding and their hard work were honored Saturday night during a fundraiser for the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area at the John Wright Restaurant in Wrightsville.

MORE:
http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_25921084/bridge-lighting-project-brought-counties-together

Columbia grads celebrate community spirit

http://m.lancasteronline.com/news/local/columbia-grads-celebrate-community-spirit/article_32bbc3e6-edfd-11e3-998b-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

Free lunch for kids this summer

Youth Bicycle Safety Event on Saturday

The River Experience - Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area

The River Experience

Join us for our 6th Annual River Experience Event!
Back to the River

Benefiting the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area

Saturday, June 7, 2014
The River Room

John Wright Restaurant
North Front Street, Wrightsville, PA
5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

MORE:
http://www.susquehannaheritage.org/Learn/OurWorkAlongtheSusquehanna/TheRiverExperience.aspx

"A Night At The Gallery"

                                      Summer is finally here and you are invited to a very special ...
                                                          
"A Night At The Gallery"
                                                                Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at Jonal Gallery/Alverta Arts Shop
Located in the historic Mount Bethel District of the Borough of Columbia at 653 Locust Street, 17512
717.681.9400                                                           jonalgallery.com

Getty Images: The 70th Anniversary Of The D-Day Landings Are Commemorated In Normandy

http://www.google.com/hostednews/getty/article/ALeqM5gWgjKj5SkMN7UY04mugiFZ6JuXnQ?docId=450154146

A few final bridge light photos

A few new lights have been installed on the Columbia end of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.  They differ in style from the ones that line most of the bridge.

Sinkholes fixed at last?

The small, recurring sinkholes in the Columbia Plaza parking lot have apparently been fixed - finally.  A drain pipe has been installed to carry away the excess ground water.

Store employee helps police nab suspect after armed robbery in Columbia

An alert convenience store employee helped officers nab a suspect a few hours after an armed robbery in Columbia Wednesday night, police said.

The suspect went to the store after robbing a man earlier in the night and the employee recorded his license plate number and called police.

"The Turkey Hill employee's actions led directly to the arrest," Columbia Borough police Det. Matt Leddy said.

MORE:
http://m.lancasteronline.com/news/local/store-employee-helps-police-nab-suspect-after-armed-robbery-in/article_b6dbf916-ecc2-11e3-83e9-0017a43b2370.html?mode=jqm