Leo Lutz resigns from school board

School board member Leo Lutz has resigned from the board, effective December 9, 2016, it was announced at Thursday night's meeting. Board President Keith Combs thanked Lutz for his service on the board and wished him well on his future endeavors.

Combs said that anyone interested in filling the vacancy should send a letter to Deb Smith, the board secretary, by January 2, 2017.

The final meeting agenda is shown below.

The urge to merge is considered at joint meeting

Talk of a merger is in the air once again. At a joint school board/council meeting Tuesday evening, Councillor Cleon Berntheizel brought up the controversial - but not so new - idea.

Berntheizel listed all the reasons Columbia needs to merge with another school district, chief among them the high tax rate placing a burden on citizenry. He said older residents are losing their homes, and homes are being sold at low prices and turned into rental units. More rentals, he said, brings in families with children, thereby placing an increased burden on schools. He asked the board where it will end. He said people will continue to move out.

"I think the school district needs to start that discussion. We're the only borough in Lancaster County that supports the school district, and we know what that's done to us," Berntheizel said. 

Mayor Leo Lutz said it's time for the borough council and school board to join together and start discussions with our senator and representative. He said local legislators have not had a unified conversation with all the officials of the municipality and school district. "I think the time is probably right to do that," he said. "I don't think anybody's made enough noise, jointly - school and borough - to really catch their ear. Instead of asking for something to be done, maybe we need to jointly start getting together and pushing something to be done."

Newly elected Board President Keith Combs said that there are no current discussions on plans for a merger. 

Lutz presented an additional idea to ease the tax burden. He said that the municipal building is commercially valuable and has a potential to be sold, rented or leased. He said that the borough is running out of space and suggested housing the borough offices in the district administration building along with the school board, for additional space, and as a cost-saving measure. Lutz said he would like to see a study done to see if the idea is feasible.

Combs said he welcomes residents to attend and participate in meetings. He said that attendance was strong a few months ago but dropped off dramatically. Many residents attended previously out of concern over the shared services deal with ELANCO, and a physical assault in a classroom, as well as other bullying. 

New report points out Lancaster County's most congested intersections

Columbia made the list:

http://lancasteronline.com/insider/new-report-points-out-lancaster-county-s-most-congested-intersections/article_c50f7dd0-13c8-11e6-a8bf-07728684b288.html

Taylor Funk of Columbia signs national letters of intent | CSN Philly

Taylor Funk, a 6-foot-8 forward from Columbia, Pennsylvania, signed a letter of intent and plan to enroll at Saint Joseph's in Fall 2017. As a junior, Funk averaged 21.3 points and was a PIAA Class AAA All-State Third Team selection.

MORE:

http://www.csnphilly.com/ncaa/st-joes-basketball-hawks-sign-two-players-national-letters-intent

1,300 playground slides, manufactured in Columbia, are recalled after 2 children lose fingers

About 1,300 steel playground slides made by a Columbia manufacturer were recalled Wednesday after two children lost fingers because of a broken weld.

MORE:

http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/playground-slides-manufactured-in-columbia-are-recalled-after-children-lose/article_d090775c-bcad-11e6-add4-13833dfc3b44.html

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.