Columbia Night Lights December 7, 2016

It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

At 15th & Manor . . .

When passing the house, tune to 107.5 FM to hear the music that triggers the lights.

Columbia moves to join land bank to handle troubled properties

Matthew Sternberg, executive director of Lancaster County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities, addressed a joint meeting of Columbia Borough Council and Columbia Borough School Board Tuesday night about the land bank. [File photo]

Columbia Borough Council and the Columbia Borough School Board voted to join forces with the Lancaster County Land Bank at a joint meeting Tuesday night. Columbia will be the first municipality in the county to do so. The land bank provides a means for remediation of blighted, vacant, and abandoned properties in the borough.

The agreement will not be binding until the land bank authority approves it and the ordinance is advertised. According to Matthew Sternberg, executive director of Lancaster County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities, the land bank authority plans to do so at its December 20 meeting. The ordinance authorizes execution of the inter-governmental cooperation agreement. Sternberg was present at Tuesday's meeting and presented information about the land bank.

The land bank does not have eminent domain powers (as a redevelopment authority does), but it can assemble funding for blight remediation and site upgrades, and can acquire, develop, demolish, or otherwise dispose of real property. A land bank also has the ability to buy a property prior to a tax sale to properly revitalize it and can even extinguish outstanding liens. The objective of the land bank process is to rehabilitate a property and get it back on the tax rolls at a much higher level. According to Sternberg, the land bank is hoping to have properties redeveloped for single-family use. 

The land bank can hold a property tax-free during redevelopment. For the first five years after redevelopment, tax revenue will be split 50/50 between the land bank - and the borough and school board. After the five years are up, all tax revenue will go to the borough and board. 

Joining the land bank requires an initial fee of $5,000, and $1,000 a year thereafter. The Lancaster County Redevelopment Authorities will staff the land bank. The borough will recommend qualified properties, and the land bank will then follow through with acquisition. Since the land bank does not have the power of eminent domain, a property owner will have rights to a negotiated sale. Developers will be selected by the land bank and could include private citizens. A property must be approved by the borough and the school board before it is permitted into the land bank. 

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Columbia moves forward on land bank plan

Columbia Borough Council and the Columbia Borough School Board voted to join forces with the Lancaster County Land Bank at a joint meeting Tuesday night. Columbia will be the first municipality in the county to do so. The move will give the borough more options in dealing with blighted properties.

The ordinance to join the land bank will be advertised, and the land bank must vote to approve the move at its December 20 meeting.

MORE TO FOLLOW

Columbia Crossing to be closed December 19th thru 27th for construction

Joint meeting of borough council and school board to be held Tuesday night

There will be a joint meeting of the Columbia Borough Council and the Columbia Borough School District at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, December 6, at the District administration Center, 200 North Fifth Street, to discuss a land bank proposal and other business. The legal notice for the meeting is shown below:

Legal Notice is hereby given that both the Borough Council of the Borough of Columbia, and the School Board of the Columbia Borough School District, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania will hold a joint special meeting on December 6, 2016, at 7:00 p.m. at the School District Administration Center, 200 North Fifth Street, Columbia, Pennsylvania for purposes of considering and taking action to approve an Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement between the Lancaster County Land Bank Authority, the Borough of Columbia and the Columbia Borough School District, to consider hiring two part-time park rangers, and to consider any other matters that may properly come before either body; it being noted that both the School Board and Borough Council may independently take any and all appropriate action to approve the matters set forth above which come before them at this joint meeting. Anyone with a disability needing accommodations to attend the meeting should contact Tom Strickler, Director of Operations for the Columbia Borough School District at 717-681-2616. Columbia Borough By: Barry N. Handwerger Borough Solicitor

Model Train Open House Saturdays and Sundays in December

The Columbia Historic Preservation Society will be presenting the Ed King Model Train Open House every Saturday and Sunday in December (Christmas weekend - Friday and Saturday). The exhibit is open 1-4 p.m. and is free of charge, but donations are accepted.

The Historic Society building is at 21 North Second Street.

Remembering 5 men who drowned near Columbia bridge | The Scribbler | lancasteronline.com

Four firefighters drowned. So did a man who tried to save them.

MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/the_scribbler/remembering-men-who-drowned-near-columbia-bridge/article_0f23c88e-b7d6-11e6-905e-27520624c868.html

Library Happenings - Jolly Old St. Nick - Monday at 10:30 a.m.

Pre-School Pals - Jolly Old St. Nick - 10:30 a.m. at the Columbia Public Library

Meetings for the week of December 5, 2016

Municipal Building (Borough Hall) 308 Locust Street

Tuesday, December 6 - Parks and Rec Committee - 6 p.m,


District Administration Center, 200 North Fifth Street

Tuesday, December 6 - Borough Council and School Board Joint Meeting - 7 p.m., More info HERE

Thursday, December 8 - School Board Meeting - 7 p.m.

New vision, more customers sought for Columbia Market House | Together | lancasteronline.com

http://lancasteronline.com/features/together/new-vision-more-customers-sought-for-columbia-market-house/article_96a8abe0-ba0f-11e6-930e-c7d07ce16b11.html

Santa Parade to be held Saturday, December 10

Christmas tree lighting Sunday, December 11!

Municipal Authority vs "Professional Services" - What's the bottom line?

Shown below is a September 8, 2016 letter from the Columbia Municipal Authority to Columbia Borough Council urging council not to dissolve the authority. The unanimous vote for dissolution subsequently took place at the regular council meeting on September 12. At the time, Council President Kelly Murphy said there was no animosity between the authority and the borough over the decision. According to an LNP article ("Municipal Briefs" 9/21/16), Borough Manager Greg Sahd said the entity was no longer needed because its chief responsibility was to manage the borough's sewer system. [The wastewater operation was sold to LASA in 2015.] The authority's letter, however, specifies numerous benefits to the borough in keeping the authority.

At a special meeting on Monday, November 28, 2016, council voted to fund a $75,800 study on the feasibility of converting the borough's wastewater plant to a facility that would produce natural gas. The authority's letter appears to assert the authority's expertise in advising council on just such a venture - at no cost to the borough. 

Shown below is the authority's October 20, 2016 meeting agenda that includes recent balances. All assets of the authority are to be turned over to the borough.

Columbia Library December Events Calendar

Residents question wastewater conversion venture

At Monday's special borough council meeting, residents questioned council's intent to fund a $75,800 study for conversion of its wastewater plant. Council is looking at converting the plant into a facility for producing natural gas from food waste. [See previous article HERE.] The plant has been idle since the borough sold its wastewater collection system to LASA.

Resident Ron "Ollie" Fritz opposed moving forward with the project, citing the cost of conversion. "It's going to be an enormous cost," he said. He asked council to "put a hold" on the project. Fritz read from a 2015 LNP article in which Public Works Director Ron Miller said, “We want to be the first. We like being first...We’ll be the guinea pig.” [Miller said the newspaper quote came from a phone interview with a journalist and implied that his words may not have been accurately reported.]

"I don't want to be the guinea pig," Fritz said in response to Miller's statement. "I can't see using all this LASA money for a project like this." [The borough sold its system to LASA for $8.6 million.]

Fritz recalled that when the issue was discussed last year, a 15-year payback on the venture was projected. He urged council to lease the plant instead. Fritz also noted unknowns about the venture. He told council that Miller had said the project could be lucrative, mediocre, or marginal. Council President Kelly Murphy explained that the purpose of the borough moving forward with the study is for risk assessment.

Fritz added that safety concerns exist due to bi-directional, full-speed trains that run past the plant. He noted the lack of even a simple crossbuck at the railroad crossing near the plant entrance and said lighted signals would be expensive: "Norfolk Southern would charge probably a half million dollars to put signals in there. They should be signaled properly."

Defending the venture, Miller said, "We didn't want to tear it [the plant] down. We were looking for alternatives." Estimates currently range from half a million to two million dollars to tear down the plant.

Resident Frank Doutrich asked if council had paperwork verifying demolition costs.  [Council did not have costs estimates available to view.]  Doutrich suggested that council turn the plant over to a private enterprise.

David Nikoloff, principal of AIM Advisors, the organization offering to undertake the study, said, "There's cost related to any alternative moving forward. We think there's a lot of promise in this alternative we're proposing." He also said tax credits are available for an entity undertaking such a project.

Council votes to fund $75,800 wastewater plant study

At a special council meeting Monday night, Columbia Borough Council voted 6-0 to contract with AIM Advisors and project partner Rettew Associates to undertake a study to determine the feasibility of converting the borough's wastewater treatment plant into a natural gas production facility. The study will cost $75,800 and could be completed by March 1 of next year.

David Nikoloff, principal at AIM, told council that the enterprise could be a "public-private partnership" and would entail restaurants and other businesses providing food waste as raw material (known as "feedstock") for conversion to gas. He said the study would determine if there is enough feedstock available in the area and whether there is enough of a market to purchase the gas. Nikoloff added that such a facility could be up and running in about two and a half years.

The issue was previously visited during a presentation at November's regular council meeting, when a motion was made to move forward with the study.  No vote was taken due to lack of a second. After the 2015 LASA agreement, options for reuse of the wastewater plant have been discussed by council.

Two residents raised questions and voiced concerns at Monday's meeting about the feasibility of such an operation, citing safety and financial concerns.

Absent from the meeting were Mayor Leo Lutz, Borough Manager Greg Sahd, and Councillor Stephanie Weisser.

MORE TO FOLLOW

Lighted garlands to brighten Locust Street

A worker hung lighted garlands on Locust Street light posts this afternoon. Christmas is less than a month away.

CHS students bring a message of holiday cheer

A group of Columbia High and Middle School students used their artistic talents to brighten a window at Stover's News Agency this morning in observance of the holiday season.  

The finished product

Meetings for the week of November 28, 2016

Special Borough Council Meeting

Legal Notice – Notice is hereby given that a Special Meeting of Columbia Borough Council will be held in conjunction with the monthly Finance Committee Meeting on Monday, November 28, at 6:00 pm in the Borough Hall, 308 Locust Street, Columbia, PA to discuss re-purposing of the Waste Water Treatment Plant into a Bio-CNG Facility and any other necessary Borough Business. If you are a person with a disability wishing to attend and require an accommodation to participate in the meeting, please contact the Borough Office at 684-2467.


Zoning Hearing Board Meeting

LEGAL NOTICE – The Zoning Hearing Board of the Borough of Columbia will meet on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, at 7:00 P.M., in the Municipal Building at 308 Locust Street, Columbia, PA, to consider the following application(s) and/or appeal(s):

Steven & Beverly Funk is requesting special exception(s) and/or variance(s) to convert a dwelling into a life skills house at 443 Union Street in a High Density Residential (HDR) zoned district.

Associates Properties PA, LP is requesting a modification of conditions from zoning decision #12-051 to obtain a building permit for self-storage unit development at 243 S Front, 319 S Front and 109 Perry Streets in a Riverfront Commercial (RC) zoned district.

Radiovision Cristiana Management is requesting a modification of conditions from zoning decision #14-289 to improve property by construction of a higher communications tower, fence, and accessory storage/maintenance structure(s) at 173 Deascenti Drive in a Light Industrial (LI) zoned district.

If you are a person with a disability wishing to attend this meeting and require an accommodation to participate in the meeting, please contact the Columbia Borough Office at 684-2467 to discuss how the Borough may accommodate your needs.

MetroPCS cellphone store coming to Columbia

A MetroPCS cellphone store will be coming to Columbia in the near future. A 2,100-square-foot office building that will house the business has been under construction recently at 846 Lancaster Avenue, next to Little Caesars Pizza. MetroPCS is leasing the building through Bennett Williams Commercial. The store is expected to open by the end of the year.

Police: Columbia man “charged” at officers, knocking officer off a porch

                    Joseph William Rineer

Walnut Street man said he wanted to go out with a bang.

MORE:

http://abc27.com/2016/11/26/columbia-man-charged-at-officers-knocking-officer-off-a-porch/

Small Business Weekend at Market Sat. and Sun.

Santa Claus is comin' to town December 10

"Ice Age: Collision Course" at Library Wednesday, November 30

SCCA Holiday Art Show Fourth Friday, November 25

(Poster design by intern Meg Brace)

From SCCA:

Please join us for our Holiday Art Show at the Susquehanna Center for the Creative Arts, opening Friday, November 25, 5-9 p.m.

We will have excellent gift items in a number of media produced by some of the area's best artists and craftspeople.

Our weekend Sale:

Friday, Nov. 25, 5-9 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 26, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 27, 12 p.m. - 5 p.m.

The show runs thru December 23, so if you miss the above dates, there will be other opportunities to view the work and purchase Holiday Gifts.

Regular Hours:
Wed. 1-5 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Thanks, and we hope to see you at the Show!

Susquehanna Center for the Creative Arts
224 Locust Street
Columbia, PA 17512

Tel. (717) 576-9628 or (717) 580-9031

www.sccaartstore.com

Small Works and Open House at Garth today, Fourth Friday

Zoning Notice for Front Street property and others

Could a life skills house, more self-storage, and higher radio tower be in Columbia's future?

Columbia Spy spotted the following notice on Front Street on Thursday:

The text of the notice is as follows.  (The Spy has included map information for reference.)

LEGAL NOTICE The Zoning Hearing Board of the Borough of Columbia will meet on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, at 7:00 P.M., in the Municipal Building at 308 Locust Street, Columbia, PA, to consider the following application(s) and/or appeal(s): 

Steven & Beverly Funk is requesting special exception(s) and/or variance(s) to convert a dwelling into a life skills house at 443 Union Street in a High Density Residential (HDR) zoned district. 

Associates Properties PA, LP is requesting a modification of conditions from zoning decision #12-051 to obtain a building permit for self-storage unit development at 243 S Front, 319 S Front and 109 Perry Streets in a Riverfront Commercial (RC) zoned district. 

Radiovision Cristiana Management is requesting a modification of conditions from zoning decision #14-289 to improve property by construction of a higher communications tower, fence, and accessory storage/maintenance structure(s) at 173 Deascenti Drive in a Light Industrial (LI) zoned district. 

If you are a person with a disability wishing to attend this meeting and require an accommodation to participate in the meeting, please contact the Columbia Borough Office at 684-2467 to discuss how the Borough may accommodate your needs. Jeffrey Helm, Zoning Officer

Municipal Brief for Columbia November 23, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving

Pennsylvania Has Your Back - A Message from Governor Tom Wolf

Recently, there have been several incidents involving racism and religious intolerance at Pennsylvania schools. As your Governor, I want you to know that this is unacceptable to me and my administration will do everything it can to end it and prevent it from happening in the future.
MORE:
https://www.governor.pa.gov/pennsylvania-has-your-back/