Saturday, October 3, 2015
Could this be why Bill Roberts didn't show up for his real estate deal?
Maybe this is why Bill Roberts didn't show up at the special meeting of council last spring regarding the conversion of the Columbia #1 building into a call center. Was he too busy wrangling cows?
Bill Roberts is the owner of a real estate development company, IBS Development, which focuses on inner city projects for adaptive reuse of older buildings.
The Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia, Pa., and the Crayola Center in Easton, Pa., are two of his company's projects. IBS has developed about 2 million square feet of older properties over the past 30 years, and continues to do so.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
FYI: A quick look at the codes department
Shown below is the Columbia Borough Codes Department Report for January through August of this year, showing the numbers for complaints, notices, citations, and quick tickets.
Currently, the codes department consists of the following enforcement personnel:
- Jeffrey Helm, code enforcement officer/supervisor. Helm also serves as zoning officer, planning officer, emergency management officer, and borough tax collector.
- George Weiss, part-time code enforcement officer
- Thomas Millhouse, part-time code enforcement officer
At Monday's meeting of the whole, Councillor Kelly Murphy announced that a full-time codes supervisor has been "budgeted-in" for the 2016 budget. This position will entail working "in the field" to handle notices and citations.
12 takeaways from Monday's borough meeting
Takeaways from September 28, 2015 borough meeting of the whole:
1) CBFD is offering to sell the Columbia Number One building to the borough. It has an appraised estimate of $865,000, according to a CBFD representative. Prior to a decision, Councillor Mary Barninger wants to see an estimate for cost of converting the building to accommodate the borough office. In the meantime, it will be listed with a commercial agent.
2) Halloween Parade October 22, 2015 with a rain date of October 26, 2015 (5-9pm).
3) Councillor Jim Smith stated that he wants less public concentration on the two condemned Bigler properties, as this is taking away from the great job that the codes department is doing. He said people keep "putting it out there" about these two properties.
4) A resident presented council with a petition regarding noise/nuisance at a garage to the rear of 124 South Ninth Street. The garage is rented by young people from out of town and they use it during late night/early morning hours to work on cars. Loud talking and air wrenches at 2-3 a.m. are part of the problem. The resident claims she has been sent back and forth by police and codes, with no resolution. The mayor states that he is aware, and it is going to be handled.
5) According to Mayor Lutz, there are 17 upcoming hearings at DJ Herman's office involving the codes department.
6) Last day for yard waste pickup is October 12, 2015. Leaf collection begins October 19, 2015.
7) On Wednesday, October 7, 2015, there will be an open house at the fire company 6-8 p.m.
8) A motion was passed to approve a position for school resource officer.
9) Milling and paving will be done in the area of Chestnut, Second, Locust Streets. Signs have been posted on parking meters.
10) Regarding the Route 441 bypass project, there was a discussion of a ribbon-cutting ceremony and possibly allowing the community the opportunity to walk onto the road and view the project prior to it being opened to traffic.
11) There was a 25-minute discussion about purchasing a backhoe and a small dump truck with a total cost of $167,000.
12) A resident asked how often private septic tanks are being inspected. Interim Borough Manager Ron Miller was unable to say if this was being done, but he was going to look into the matter. The cottages and/or cabins along the river were mentioned during this discussion. Apparently the state has requirements for periodic inspections.
Information on Sewage Inspection Officers can be found here: http://www.pa-seo.org/wp1/consumer-info/who-is-my-seo/
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