Tuesday, September 5, 2023
Monday, September 4, 2023
Council votes to spend $1.4 million to acquire property for public works department
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The purchase is necessary because a company, JG Environmental, wants to buy the borough’s wastewater treatment plant - and eventually the “borough sheds” next door to it, where the public works department is currently located. Moving public works and vacating the sheds will allow the company to complete the transaction and expand its operation. The company currently leases the wastewater plant from the borough.
Funding for the purchase of the 9.4 acres at Ridge Avenue will come from the borough’s investment account at Wells Fargo, according to Borough Manager Mark Stivers. Currently, there is $3,200,000 in the account, the majority of which is the “true reserve fund for the borough,” Stivers said. Selling off the borough's assets, including the wastewater plant, will reimburse the account. The sale price of the plant is $565,000, which the borough will receive by the end of September, when the plant will have been sold, according to borough solicitor Evan Gabel.
According to Stivers, selling off assets will allow the borough to purchase the land, purchase the right of way, build a road, and restore an abandoned factory there without dipping into the general fund or capital fund. At a previous meeting, Stivers estimated the cost of relocating to Ridge Avenue and subsequent clean-up and renovation of the existing building will be about $2 million, in addition to the purchase price.
Other assets the borough hopes to sell are:
* 137 Front Street (the former Columbia #1 firehouse, currently leased by KT Graham)
* 26 acres of the borough's Blue Lane property
* Residual Ridge Ave property (The borough will require only 3 and a half of the 9.4 acres and plans to sell off the remainder.)
At a previous council meeting, resident Frank Doutrich questioned officials' assertion that the move wouldn't entail any expense to taxpayers, since the assets the borough is hoping to sell were originally paid for with tax dollars.
At least part of the land is under Act 2 remediation, and there are test wells in place that are monitored by the DEP.
According to the Pennsylvania DEP website:
"The Land Recycling Program (Act 2) establishes environmental remediation standards for cleanups related to specific environmental laws. Remediation and the resulting liability relief provided by Act 2 is specific to the contamination identified at each specific site or sites."
Public documents show that RBLD Properties LLC purchased the properties for $1,000,000 from the Columbia Reduction Company in 2019. An abandoned factory, which sustained a fire on April 5 of this year, sits on one of the properties.
* 26 acres of the borough's Blue Lane property
* Residual Ridge Ave property (The borough will require only 3 and a half of the 9.4 acres and plans to sell off the remainder.)
At a previous council meeting, resident Frank Doutrich questioned officials' assertion that the move wouldn't entail any expense to taxpayers, since the assets the borough is hoping to sell were originally paid for with tax dollars.
At least part of the land is under Act 2 remediation, and there are test wells in place that are monitored by the DEP.
According to the Pennsylvania DEP website:
"The Land Recycling Program (Act 2) establishes environmental remediation standards for cleanups related to specific environmental laws. Remediation and the resulting liability relief provided by Act 2 is specific to the contamination identified at each specific site or sites."
Public documents show that RBLD Properties LLC purchased the properties for $1,000,000 from the Columbia Reduction Company in 2019. An abandoned factory, which sustained a fire on April 5 of this year, sits on one of the properties.
Initially, the plan was to move public works to borough-owned property on Blue Lane, but the move was deemed too costly - at around $5 million.
Deeds Recorded - Columbia Borough - September 4, 2023
Noah A. Johnson and Whitney R. Johnson conveyed 443 Cherry St. to Tatiana Catala-Galino for $185,000.
Zachary S. Brubaker and Emily M. Duggan conveyed property on South Eighth Street to John F. Kennedy for $235,000.
The estate of George R. Brommer Sr. and The estate of George R. Brommer conveyed property on a public road to Ofelia A. Munoz-Castro and Juan C. Rosabal-Pena for $251,000.
Melissa Shiel and Cheryl A. Scott conveyed 257 N. Second St. to Bernadette C. Cullen for $146,150.
Sunday, September 3, 2023
Short-handed Columbia records impressive win over Hanover | High School Football | lancasteronline.com
Columbia came into Friday night's football game with 20 players listed on its roster — and less than that dressed for the game — while Hanover came in with more than double the number of players.
Hanover drove deep into Columbia territory on its first two drives while the Tide could barely move the ball.
Yet Columbia held strong, weathered the early storm and delivered a convincing 40-27 nonleague victory over the visiting Night Hawks.
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Here's how to find free access to shelters, food and clothing in Lancaster County | Local News | lancasteronline.com
Emergency shelters and shelter beds
Restart Day Center, 360 Locust St., Columbia (8 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday)
Columbia Shelter, 360 Locust St., Columbia (5 p.m.-7 a.m.)
Food pantries
Columbia Presbyterian Church, 360 Locust St., Columbia (5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday and 10-11 a.m. Wednesday)
Community meals
Columbia Presbyterian Church, 360 Locust St., Columbia (11 a.m.-noon Monday-Friday)
Columbia Presbyterian Church, 360 Locust St., Columbia (4:30-6:30 p.m. first and last Sunday of the month)
Clothing
Columbia Presbyterian Church, 360 Locust St., Columbia (9-11 a.m. Monday and 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday)
Miscellaneous services
Some organizations offer services that are outside the realm of what is typically offered, such as showers and haircuts.
Showers: Columbia Presbyterian Church, 360 Locust St., Columbia (9:30-11:30 a.m. Monday)
2023 data shows homelessness is growing in Lancaster County as resources get tighter | Local News | lancasteronline.com
Dozens more Lancaster County residents have joined the homeless population over the last year, straining the services and resources available to help them.
Lancaster County Homelessness Coalition's annual winter count found 526 people across the county were homeless in January: 107 living on the streets and 419 staying in shelters.
The total number of homeless grew by 54 people, or 11%, in a year, but the number of people living unsheltered increased more than fivefold. Last year, only 20 people were living on the streets.
Justin Eby, executive director of Lancaster County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, which oversees the homelessness coalition, was not surprised by the increases. More factors contribute to homelessness than prevent it, he said, including the rising cost of living, low availability of affordable housing and the end of pandemic-era protections for low-income earners.
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