Monday, May 16, 2022
Deeds Recorded - Columbia Borough - May 16, 2022
First Choice Home Buyer LLC, First Choice Home Buyers LLC and Brandon Knoess conveyed 408 Poplar St. to Joanne C. Veit and Victoria R. Veit for $250,000.
Israel Paz Sanchez conveyed 901 Houston St. to Edward Fanous and Ebram Fanous for $100,000.
Israel Paz Sanchez conveyed 901 Houston St. to Edward Fanous and Ebram Fanous for $100,000.
Sunday, May 15, 2022
About Town - May 15, 2022
Recent photos of Columbia
(Click/tap on photos to see larger, sharper images.)
A law enforcement convoy rolled through town on Tuesday, May 10 on the way to Washington, D.C.
National Police Week (NPW), held May 11 – 17 each year in Washington, D.C., honors the service and sacrifice of U.S. law enforcement officers. On May 11 and 12, surviving families and co-workers begin arriving in Washington, D.C. for the events.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 designating May 15 as Peace Officers' Memorial Day, and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. The law was amended by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322, signed by President Bill Clinton, directing that the flag of the United States be displayed at half-staff on all government buildings on May 15 each year.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy signed Public Law 87-726 designating May 15 as Peace Officers' Memorial Day, and the week in which May 15 falls as National Police Week. The law was amended by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322, signed by President Bill Clinton, directing that the flag of the United States be displayed at half-staff on all government buildings on May 15 each year.
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YouTube Certified!
Flag at full staff
And one that's too shy to open so far
For all your NO PARKING needs
Uh-oh, where's Mr. Haney?
Lined up at Mount Bethel
Meanwhile in Wrightsville . . .
Guys getting their wires . . . UNcrossed?
On the Wrightsville water tower, which is visible from Columbia
Nectar-gathering
Flower basket
New look at the Buddhist temple
Signs aren't supposed to be placed at the bridge plaza, next to the commemorative bricks.
Down by the riverside
All broken up
Have the Russians invaded?
Columbia Borough is putting this lot up for sale at 4th & Locust.
Mount Bethel
Graffiti near Rotary Park - on the back of someone's garage.
The wheels on the north cannon at the bridge plaza are going to be restored, but the panel in the carriage tail might need some attention, too.
Here's a longer view.
Nest-building time
Columbia man to restore bridge plaza cannon that the U.S. military wanted
One of the cannon wheels that need attention at the bridge plaza
Columbia resident Butch Morrison is offering to restore a cannon at the Veterans Memorial Bridge Plaza for a $1,000 commitment from the borough. He offered the proposal at last Tuesday's Columbia Borough Council meeting.
According to Morrison, the wheels on the northernmost cannon need to be restored, a project that will take about 3 months and cost an estimated $1,800. He said he'll also paint the cannon on the south side of the plaza.
Morrison said he restored the wheels 20 years ago (along with former Lancaster mayor and cannon enthusiast Charlie Smithgall) and installed concrete pads to keep them off the ground, but moisture from mulch has damaged them again. $800 that's left over from the previous restoration will supplement the requested $1,000. Morrison is volunteering the labor for the restoration and said any funds left over from the project will be returned to the borough.
Council kicked around a few ideas on how to get the funds, but in the end nothing was decided.
A representative of the Pennsylvania National Guard was interested in acquiring the cannon in 2014. It currently sits on the north side of the Veterans Memorial Bridge Plaza.
Eight years ago, the cannon was an object of curiosity for the United States military. At the July 14, 2014 Columbia Borough Council meeting, a representative of the Pennsylvania National Guard told council he was interested in obtaining the cannon for the Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum at Fort Indiantown Gap. SGT Damian J.M. Smith of the PA Guard said if he couldn't obtain a similar artillery piece from Arizona, he would take Columbia's, adding that he has the authority to do so, since the cannon is federal property. To soften the blow, however, he said he could replace it with another piece, possibly a tank. In 2014, Columbia Spy reported on the issue as follows:
"SGT Damian J.M. Smith, a historian for the Pennsylvania National Guard, expressed interest in acquiring the 3-inch artillery piece that currently rests near the entrance to the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Smith asked that the borough consider a mutually agreeable arrangement for obtaining the piece, which would ultimately rest in the Military Museum at Fort Indiantown Gap. He also stated that the military could simply take it without the borough's consent, since it is still considered federal government property, but they prefer not to do so. Smith stated he is currently in pursuit of a similar but more valuable piece in Arizona and said if unable to acquire it, he would then be more inclined to take Columbia's. When asked by council how he found the piece, he replied that newly installed lights near the bridge allowed him to see it as he drove past. Council agreed to research how the borough had originally acquired the piece. One resident estimated it had been at or near its current location for about 60 years. Councillor Barry Ford directed Smith to the local 11-11-11 Club for assistance in the meantime."
The link to the article is HERE.
Columbia Borough launches search for full-time market manager in 6-1 vote
Council was originally poised to vote on creating a part-time market manager position for 28 hours a week at $20 an hour, but councilman Eric Kauffman voiced concern that 28 hours was not enough to do the job successfully, and $20 an hour was too low. Kauffman proposed hiring a full-time manager instead.
There were concerns about funding the new position, however. Borough Manager Mark Stivers said revenue from stand holder leases will cover the cost of some of the salary, but noted "We are spending more than we are generating right now, and that's not uncommon." He added that operating the market will cost more than what it makes for several years but believes the market is an investment and an asset to the community. Currently, the market is open to the public one day a week.
Council President Heather Zink said stand holder revenue for the rest of the year will be $57,399 if all stands (including 4 not yet created) are rented out - which they are not. Finance Manager Tammy Bennett estimated there will be a $25,000 to $28,000 shortfall this year, but Kauffman didn't agree with the figures, noting there will be a lot of things that will change, including foot traffic and events. He conceded that not all stands have been rented out, but said he believes market house events generate more revenue than stand holders do.
Zink said, "I'm not ready to let the market house die. We haven't even gotten the RACP money [for] it yet. [We] cant just let it die."
Stivers said the borough won't receive the $1.75 million RACP grant until 2023, most of which is allocated for the market house renovation. [RACP stands for Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. The 1:1 matching grant was awarded to Columbia Borough in 2019, but the borough likely won't get the funds if it pulls the plug on the market.]
Mayor Leo Lutz, who said the market is in a problematic state, was in favor of the new position. "Do this now, or forget about it," he said. "I don't vote, but I would bite the bullet and say give it a shot."
Bennett was concerned about funding the position. “We've just got to figure out where the money's coming from,” she said. “I know there's none there yet.”
Resident Frank Doutrich questioned the need for a full-time manager, as well as the proposed salary. "Where did this come from?" he asked. "What are you people smoking? Where'd you get that figure from?" Doutrich noted that the proposal jumped from the original 28 hours to full time, seemingly out of nowhere. "Down the road I think I'm just going to see a big tax coming, but I hope not," he said.
Councilor Sharon Lintner was the only no vote. She said she had planned to vote for a part-time position, but did not agree with the need for full time.
A new market manager will need to be installed by July 1, 2022, because CHI, which currently manages the market, has announced it's terminating its agreement with the borough on June 30, 2022. In addition, it will no longer provide $65,000 a year towards operation of the market, so adding that amount to the $79,803 proposed salary will be a "double whammy" for the borough. (CHI stands for "Catholic Health Initiative.")
Although council expressed a sense of urgency in finding a new manager, Columbia Spy could find no advertisement for the position as of May 15, 2022.
Friday, May 13, 2022
Married couple wanted for fleeing from police
A Pennsylvania married couple had been wanted by police for more than two years, according to court records and a recent release by police.
Randall William Butt, 45, and his wife Rebecca Shenk, 44, both of Lancaster, led police on a chase and have eluded capture ever since June 19, 2020, court records show.
MORE HERE.
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