Planning Commission meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 21 at Borough Hall, 308 Locust Street.
Monday, November 21, 2016
Sunday, November 20, 2016
School Board Quick Notes - 11/17/16 Meeting
Columbia Borough School Board Meeting November 17, 2016:
Absent: Superintendent Dr. Robert Hollister (due to PASA Board of Governors meeting in Harrisburg), President Cole Knighton (but "present" via phone for the first part of the meeting), Director Leo Lutz Jr., and Director Iris Garrido.
Present in addition to board directors were ELANCO Business Manager Keith Ramsey, Board Secretary Deb Smith and Nathan Saxton (legal counsel). Ramsey is currently taking over business manager duties for Columbia School District, since the board recently voted to terminate the employment of Business Manager Amy Light, as Columbia Spy reported HERE.
After a brief intermission following the student recognition ceremony, the meeting resumed at about 7:50 p.m. Vice President Kathy Hohenadel led the proceedings. President Cole Knighton voted on items via phone until about 35 minutes into the session when he became unresponsive for the remainder of the meeting.
During citizen comments, resident Don Groom asked the board why the crosswalk lines at the top of the high school hill were not painted. The issue was originally brought to the board's attention in June of this year. Director of Operations Tom Strickler said that lines would be painted on Friday, November 18. Strickler explained that the borough was doing the work without charge, so it would be done according to their schedule.
Resident Fran Resch congratulated Jordan Haberstroh for placing 13th overall in the Class A cross country state championships (out of about 250).
Mayor Leo Lutz urged the board to vote in favor of both the Thaddeus Stevens Trade School program and the "land bank." Lutz said he was told the school has more jobs available than students and he was asked what he could do to steer more students towards the program. Lutz said exposing students to the program via a youth aid panel could help reduce absenteeism and dropout rates for students who currently do not have a path.
Lutz said the land bank program allows a municipality to speed up the process of dealing with blighted properties. It also allows the municipality to have a say in what happens to such properties. Columbia Spy previously reported on the land bank program HERE.
The board briefly discussed the land bank issue before tabling it with plans to examine it further at a joint school board/borough council meeting in early December.
Absent: Superintendent Dr. Robert Hollister (due to PASA Board of Governors meeting in Harrisburg), President Cole Knighton (but "present" via phone for the first part of the meeting), Director Leo Lutz Jr., and Director Iris Garrido.
Present in addition to board directors were ELANCO Business Manager Keith Ramsey, Board Secretary Deb Smith and Nathan Saxton (legal counsel). Ramsey is currently taking over business manager duties for Columbia School District, since the board recently voted to terminate the employment of Business Manager Amy Light, as Columbia Spy reported HERE.
Students of the month were honored during the first part of the meeting.
After a brief intermission following the student recognition ceremony, the meeting resumed at about 7:50 p.m. Vice President Kathy Hohenadel led the proceedings. President Cole Knighton voted on items via phone until about 35 minutes into the session when he became unresponsive for the remainder of the meeting.
During citizen comments, resident Don Groom asked the board why the crosswalk lines at the top of the high school hill were not painted. The issue was originally brought to the board's attention in June of this year. Director of Operations Tom Strickler said that lines would be painted on Friday, November 18. Strickler explained that the borough was doing the work without charge, so it would be done according to their schedule.
Freshly painted lines were evident at the top of the high school hill Saturday morning.
Resident Fran Resch congratulated Jordan Haberstroh for placing 13th overall in the Class A cross country state championships (out of about 250).
Mayor Leo Lutz urged the board to vote in favor of both the Thaddeus Stevens Trade School program and the "land bank." Lutz said he was told the school has more jobs available than students and he was asked what he could do to steer more students towards the program. Lutz said exposing students to the program via a youth aid panel could help reduce absenteeism and dropout rates for students who currently do not have a path.
Lutz said the land bank program allows a municipality to speed up the process of dealing with blighted properties. It also allows the municipality to have a say in what happens to such properties. Columbia Spy previously reported on the land bank program HERE.
The board briefly discussed the land bank issue before tabling it with plans to examine it further at a joint school board/borough council meeting in early December.
Final agenda
Friday, November 18, 2016
Senate dismisses without funding Pa. jobless centers
This is how Republicans are "helping" the working class, and Trump's not even in office yet.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Municipal Authority meeting cancelled
An informed source tells the Spy that the Municipal Authority meeting scheduled for 4:30 p.m. today (Thursday) has been cancelled.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Five takeaways from Monday's Borough Council meeting...
1) Council voted unanimously to accept Ordinance No. 880 which, through the issuance of a series of bonds, allows the borough to obtain nearly 10 million dollars to pay off certain debts while saving money on interest.
Part of the bond project will be used to pay off the fire station building located at 137 South Front Street. The borough owns the land, but not the building.
An existing debt from 2006 in the amount of approximately two million dollars will also be paid using funds from the bond project.
Remaining bond funding will be used to finance "Capital Projects."
2) David Nikoloff with AIM Advisors gave a presentation about reuse of the borough's wastewater treatment plant into a natural gas production facility. Part of the plan required $75,800 for a study to determine feasibility of this reuse. A motion was made, but there was no second.
3) Jeanne Cooper was selected to fill the remaining seat on the new Market House Advisory Committee. Cooper is a former Trust member.
4) The proposed 2017 budget will be advertised, and council will vote on its approval at the December meeting. The tax rate will stay at 8 mills.
5) Karl Kreiser and Dave Mountz both submitted letters of resignation from the Parks and Recreation Committee effective immediately.
Part of the bond project will be used to pay off the fire station building located at 137 South Front Street. The borough owns the land, but not the building.
An existing debt from 2006 in the amount of approximately two million dollars will also be paid using funds from the bond project.
Remaining bond funding will be used to finance "Capital Projects."
2) David Nikoloff with AIM Advisors gave a presentation about reuse of the borough's wastewater treatment plant into a natural gas production facility. Part of the plan required $75,800 for a study to determine feasibility of this reuse. A motion was made, but there was no second.
3) Jeanne Cooper was selected to fill the remaining seat on the new Market House Advisory Committee. Cooper is a former Trust member.
4) The proposed 2017 budget will be advertised, and council will vote on its approval at the December meeting. The tax rate will stay at 8 mills.
5) Karl Kreiser and Dave Mountz both submitted letters of resignation from the Parks and Recreation Committee effective immediately.
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