About Town - February 7, 2021

This week's photos of Columbia 

(Click/tap on photos to see larger, sharper images.)

A storm dumped almost a foot of snow on Columbia this week, but no vehicles were towed. 

The photo above is from February 2014, when vehicles were towed (and ticketed).

Back then, vehicles along Locust Street (a snow emergency route) were removed so that snow could be cleared, as Columbia Spy reported HERE.

At the February 2, 2021 Columbia Borough Council work session, Mayor Lutz commented on snow removal in the borough: "We tried to be nice; it didn't work. We realize we have a problem," Mayor Leo Lutz told council members. "There are some things that need to be changed."

Here's one of the snow photos from this past week, as seen at the Columbia Water Company.

The rest of the snow photos are at the end of this post.

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Here's yet another clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk.

Tis the season

Back in the day

Window of toys

And another

Let freedom ring

Where eagles dare

An E-2 Hawkeye flying over

Historic plaque at the Historic Society 

Someone's watching.

Blocking the road

That planned Veterans Memorial Bridge reconstruction/rehabilitation project 

can't come a moment too soon.

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Does anybody really care?

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Meanwhile at the former Visitors Center:

Enjoy it while you can.

What could it become?

A strip mall?
A used car lot?

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Down by the tracks:

The mini-train was out for a spin again.

The engineer seemed to be enjoying himself.

And another train rolled by on a different set of tracks:

There are several ways to publicize your artwork.

One might be to use the internet.

Another might be putting it on the side of a railcar.

Especially if you can find a "gold" car like this one.

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And finally, here are the inevitable and obligatory snow pics:

A red, white and blue - and white, lots of white - bench

Snow fell for hours.

Despite the snowstorm, "Our flag was still there," 

flying in a decidedly leftward direction, just like the current mood of the country.

Snow-topped bollards

Glowing snow

Even though spaces were hard to find, parking this close to a fire hydrant is frowned upon (and possibly illegal).

Down the alley

A few looks around town:

Looking up Locust

Poking through

Don't trudge here.

So, who's supposed to clear the trail?

This sort of thing isn't particularly appreciated.

Sit a spell

A snowman who's seen better days

Agenda - Columbia Borough Council Meeting - February 9, 2021

 

Download the council packet HERE.

Columbia council weighs cracking down on parking violators during snowstorms

When: Columbia Borough Council work session, Feb. 2.

What happened: Borough Council needs to fill a vacancy after member Pamela Wilson resigned her position, effective immediately. Wilson, who joined the council in 2016, plans to spend more time with her son, who moved to Florida. Anyone interested in serving on council must be a registered voter and have lived continuously in the borough for the past year. Letters of interest, addressed to President Heather Zink, must be received by Feb. 22, at the borough office, 308 Locust St., Columbia, PA, 17512. Public interviews will follow, Zink said.

Parking in the snow: The recent snowstorm caused major traffic problems for the borough because some residents did not move their parked cars, as the borough requires. The borough didn't tow these cars, even though they caused delays for snowplows and blocked streets needed for emergency vehicles to access Route 30.

Quotable: "We tried to be nice; it didn't work. We realize we have a problem," Mayor Leo Lutz told council members. "There are some things that need to be changed."

Background: The borough code prohibits street parking during a declared snow emergency, but no cars have been towed. Council decided to slowly introduce the message that the borough is now enforcing the code. Drivers first found warnings on their vehicles Feb. 1. Vehicles still parked in the street Feb. 2 received citations. Although no car was towed this storm, Borough Manager Mark Stivers said residents now know their cars will get towed during the next declared snow emergency.

Improving parking experiences: Council members also discussed how to improve parking in the borough after reviewing results from a 2020 parking study. Topics discussed included using a hybrid parking-meter system that would accept cash but also allow people to swipe credit cards. Or, the borough could move existing parking meters and use signs to better direct drivers. Council members briefly mentioned building a parking garage and then discussed the pros and cons of residential parking permits.

The cost: Stivers told council members they can use about $1.7 million, if they choose, to improve parking.  Council also discussed how to handle handicap parking permits —whether to assign certain license plates to a particular space or whether to just offer handicap parking. Stivers said the borough wants to offer specific handicap spaces, based either on a vehicle's license plate number or handicap parking tag number. The borough plans to contact the company that handles Lancaster city parking for advice and possible prices.

What's next: The borough will hold a council meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 16, and the meeting will be streamed on the borough's Facebook page.

Columbia Borough Council focuses on 'policy and cutting costs' in 2021

GAYLE JOHNSON for LNP | LancasterOnline Feb 1, 2021

When: Columbia Borough council meeting, Jan. 26.

What happened: Council President Heather Zink told members she wants each of them to prioritize goals for the new year and then shared two of hers: cutting unnecessary spending and overseeing the borough’s financial areas.

Quotable: “It’s kind of hard to spend your money when you don’t know what your priorities are,” Zink said after the meeting. “We have to set goals about what is important to the community.” Zink said she chose finance as her area of interest because she works with mortgage-lending and servicing software.

More information: Borough council member choose areas of expertise, according to Borough Manager Mark Stivers. Members used to form committees but soon realized that the number of weekly committee and council meetings took too much time, Stivers explained after the meeting. So, each council member now works with staff on at least one area of leadership. Those areas should be assigned in the coming meetings. “I need council members to focus on policy and cutting costs,” Stivers said.

Saving money: To that end, the council approved terminating its contract with current IT provider Easy Solutions to sign with Executive Image Solutions, which will save about $30,000 a year. In addition, council members learned that a recent AA- bond rating from S&P will recoup about $1 million. Zink said she also wants to update code violations to reflect current financial realities. For instance, the dollar amounts for some violations were written so long ago that the correct fines may not be reflected in the borough’s current fee schedule, Zink said.

Columbia Crossing: Despite being closed for 103 days due to COVID-19, Columbia Crossing managed to take in almost $183,000 in 2020, with expenses of about $133,000. About $115,000 comes from the borough, and other revenue came from loans from the Payment Protection Program and Small Business Administration, council members learned. In addition, the indoor/outdoor venue welcomed 10,972 visitors but had to cancel 22 weddings and private events.

What’s next: The borough will meet for a work session at 7 p.m. Feb. 2, and the meeting will be streamed on the borough’s Facebook page.

Columbia Borough Snow Emergency Lifted

The snow emergency is lifted as of Tuesday, February 2 at 5 PM.  Vehicles may not return to snow emergency routes until after the snow emergency has been lifted at 5 PM.

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