Restaurant Inspections - Columbia Borough - November 3, 2023

Lancaster Distilleries, 230 N. Fourth St., Columbia, opening, Oct. 26. Pass. The restroom does not have a covered waste receptacle for sanitary napkins. Food facility does not employ a certified food employee as required. The food facility has 90 days to enroll an employee in a state-recognized food safety course for managers.

Agenda - Columbia Borough School Board Committee Meetings - November 2, 2023

Attachments can be found using the links HERE. 

[LNP | LancasterOnline] USPS says placing unmarked material, like political literature, in mailboxes is illegal [Lancaster Watchdog]

Rob Misciagna, Columbia district leader for the Lancaster County Democratic Committee, said he believes many Columbia residents received illegally delivered political materials this weekend. Misciagna said Republican campaign literature was found in mailboxes across the borough as GOP candidates canvassed the area.

"These are all folks that really should know better," Misciagna said. "It's kind of just the latest instance of our local Republican campaign feeling like the rules don't apply to them."

Federal law prohibits anyone from putting materials into a mailbox without postage, according to the United States Postal Service — that covers anything from Christmas cards to cupcakes. Essentially, Postal Service staff members are the only people who can put things in mailboxes. Mail delivery without postage is a criminal offense.

"Any materials placed upon, supported by, attached to, hung from, or inserted into a mail receptacle must have postage," Postal Service spokesperson Mark Lawrence said via email.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/usps-says-placing-unmarked-material-like-political-literature-in-mailboxes-is-illegal-lancaster-watchdog/article_6515a41a-78ea-11ee-ae35-130babc22f30.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Lancaster Distilleries to open its doors in Columbia (TV star Taylor Kinney is an investor)

As part of plans to move its production to Columbia, Lancaster Distilleries will be opening a taproom later this month in a former auto garage in the riverside borough.

The new Columbia taproom at 230 N. Fourth St. will have seating for around 50, including at a small bar. The roughly 1,000-square-foot taproom is connected to a 7,500-square-foot warehouse that will eventually become the new production area for Lancaster Distilleries.

Currently, Lancaster Distilleries produces its vodka, whiskey, gin, rum and brandy in downtown Lancaster at Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse, 112 N. Water St.

Nate Boring, one of the managing partners of Lancaster Distilleries, said the owners had been eyeing a move to Columbia so they could expand their production area and secure future warehouse space.

The other managing partners at Lancaster Distilleries are Cheila Huettner, Leigh Lindsay, Todd Smith and Matt Hostetter. Taylor Kinney, a Lancaster native and star of NBC's "Chicago Fire," is an investor in the project.

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/business/whats_in_store/lancaster-distilleries-to-open-taproom-production-facility-in-columbia/article_e5623b72-78c4-11ee-90f8-979692e4992f.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share 

Grant for drone company set to anchor McGinness Innovation Park falls through

An anticipated grant for the drone company set to anchor McGinness Innovation Park has not been approved.

During the October 24 Columbia Borough Council meeting, Councilwoman Sharon Lintner inquired about the progress of DR1's SMART Grant application. (DR1 Group is a drone company looking to develop an aerial-technology business in the McGinness Innovation Park and is expected by borough officials to become a major endeavor there.)

In an update, Borough Manager Mark Stivers revealed that the grant application submitted last year was denied, because the proposal was deemed "too broad." 

The grant has now been resubmitted with a more refined focus. Instead of solely emphasizing the use of drones exclusively for long-distance purposes, the new proposal centers on urgent delivery of medical supplies, specifically AED units, to remote areas.

It is anticipated that a decision on the grant will be made early next year, according to Stivers. 

Background: According to the October 25, 2022 meeting minutes, council voted to authorize Columbia Borough to partner with DR1 and the Lancaster EDC to apply for a SMART grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the first phase of developing the drone program at the McGinness Innovation Park.

Columbia Borough finds itself in deep financial hole; taxpayers will need to pay up

Last year, Columbia Borough Council discovered it's in a deep financial hole. The cause: An $11 million debt from a municipal bond project undertaken by a previous council. (Additionally, there is the looming possibility of taxpayers owing millions for the McGinness Innovation Park project, further exacerbating the financial strain.) The burden of this debt has fallen directly on borough taxpayers.

The bond issue arose again (indirectly) at the October 24, 2023 meeting when a resident asked if there will be a tax hike for 2024. Borough Manager Mark Stivers said the municipal tax rate will stay at 8 mills for 2024, but Council President Heather Zink stated that council can't say that definitively, because the budget hasn't been finalized. (The plan is for council to vote to adopt the budget at the first voting meeting in December, according to Zink.)

Backtracking to the October 20, 2022 council meeting: Zink said that property taxes will go up, along with obligations.

Here's another reason for concern:

Last year, council had to resort to borrowing $1.358 million from reserves to balance the budget and avoid a tax hike. At that time, there was about $2 million in reserves.

The current financial crunch dates back to 2016 when council, with Kelly Murphy as president, voted to approve a series of general obligation bonds totaling over $9 million to pay off debt and for capital projects. Unfortunately, the debt has since been draining borough coffers, leading Stivers to admit at the 2022 meeting, "We've been borrowing money to pay the bond" and describing it as an "albatross."

Stivers asked council to consider a "16-year plan" to pay off the debt. As an option, Zink suggested a special tax levy, which could entail raising taxes 1.5 mills to make annual payments of $691,000 for 16 years. ($691,000 multiplied by 16 equals $11,056,000.) Currently, no plan has been enacted. Bizarrely, Stivers said council has been "blessed" with the opportunity to solve this problem.

A budget meeting scheduled for November 16 has been canceled. The budget will now be discussed at the November 9 work session.

Bridge inspection to begin next week on Wrights Ferry (Route 30) Bridge

 

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced that a bridge inspection is scheduled to begin next week on the Route 30 (Wrights Ferry) Bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between Hellam Township in York County and Columbia Borough in Lancaster County.

Weather permitting, there will be daytime lane restrictions on the Route 30 Wrights Ferry bridge from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Tuesday, November 7, and Wednesday, November 8.

[Source: textmygov]