The end of the Hometown Hero Banners - for now

Bob Smith (left) and Bob "Bull" Warfel finished out the Hometown Heroes Banners project today with a total of 635 banners hung.

Today marks the end of the Hometown Hero Banners project - for now. Bob Smith, who spearheaded the project, and Bob “Bull” Warfel, who hung the banners, are "hanging it up.” The last banner - number 635, of Charles E. Weigel, Sr., was hung at 9th & Locust today.

The project began in 2022 when Smith noticed that a few other area municipalities had hung banners recognizing military personnel past and present. Smith, along with Roger Wallace and Don “Granny” Arndt decided Columbia needed to step up and do the same. Smith then approached council, which gave its blessing, and the orders began coming in.

The first banner hung was that of Raymond C. Wallace Jr, who parachuted into Normandy on D-Day. His banner was hung on the corner of 3rd & Locust in September 2022. (Wallace passed away on Christmas Day 2023.)

Public Works Manager Jake Graham (now also serving as interim borough manager) helped with scheduling, manpower, and equipment.

“I want to give a big shout-out and thank you to Jake Graham,” Smith said. “Jake was very important in coordinating this whole thing. Without his help, I wouldn't have been able to do it.”

Bob Warfel finishes hanging the last banner, #635.

Smith also thanked Bob Warfel. “Bob's a tremendous help,” Smith said. “He handled the banners with respect and just did a great job.” Warfel said it was “an honor” to help with the project.

Smith thanked Robin Gamby, whom he called his “computer wiz,” for coordinating the orders.

He also thanked Roger Wallace for doing the financial work and for making the VFW available for storage of the banners.

Last but not least Bob gave special thanks to Donald “Granny” Arndt, who was with the project at the beginning. "Donny passed away on October 25th, 2023," Smith said. "Rest in peace."

Smith said the project could resume sometime in the future.

Thanks, Bob and Bob!

Who dropped the ball(s)? Why wasn't the Emergency Operations Center trailer used for the Tollbooth fire; and TextMy…what?

Columbia's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) trailer

"Why wasn't our incident command center used?" That was the question raised by Council Vice President Eric Kauffman at Tuesday night's Columbia Borough Council meeting in regard to last week's tragic fire at Tollbooth Antiques. Kauffman was referring to the borough's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) trailer for managing responses to emergencies in Columbia. Kauffman said the fire went to six alarms. Council President Heather Zink also wondered why the unit wasn't used and said that a lot of money was spent on the equipment. After a brief discussion, the question went unanswered by other officials present.

The EOC trailer, purchased for $40,200, has seen limited use since its acquisition in early 2023. Former Borough Manager Mark E. Stivers bypassed council to secure a grant toward the purchase, as documented by Columbia Spy HERE. Lancaster County Commissioners subsequently approved the grant of $28,140 in ARPA funds towards the project aimed at establishing a mobile Emergency Operations Center in Columbia.

In addition to the county's contribution, the borough's ARPA funds supplied $12,060 for the purchase, which includes the trailer and technical equipment. Ongoing costs for maintaining the EOC will fall on borough taxpayers. Currently, the trailer remains at the borough maintenance building along South Front Street.

TextMyGov

On a different note, TextMyGov was not used during the Tollbooth fire. Although it was discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, no explanation was given for why it wasn't employed for the emergency. Council President Zink noted on the night of the fire that nothing appeared on the service. "Shoot, we don't have anything on TextMyGov, and none of us have the ability to do that," she said. (It's unclear who has that ability.)

TextMyGov is an emergency alert system designed to inform the public about emergencies, road closures, etc. Council had voted in 2022 to implement the service, at a yearly cost of $5,500.

ARPA funding documentation for EOC trailer 

Workers provide maintenance for Shawnee Run

Workers from LandStudies, Inc. began maintenance on a stretch of Shawnee Run today.

Two areas have experienced bank erosion due to deposited sediment from upstream areas exerting pressure on the newly stabilized banks. These areas of erosion needed to be addressed to maintain the pollution reduction credits associated with the project.

Columbia Borough has been using LandStudies to complete the monitoring and maintenance of the site as required by the US Army Corps/DEP joint permit.

The borough, in collaboration with the Columbia Catholic Housing for the Elderly (CCHE), completed a stream restoration project along Shawnee Run between the Mill Street and 4th Street bridges in the spring of 2021 which served to provide credits towards the borough's MS4 required Chesapeake Bay Pollution Reduction Plan.

LandStudies, Inc. provided the quote of $21,885.00 and proposed to remove areas of deposited sediment and stabilizing stream bank sections with large placed stones. The borough and CCHE are splitting the cost of this maintenance work 50/50 consistent with their cost share agreement.

[Source: June 11, 2024 Columbia Borough Council meeting packet]

Two more Columbia Borough employees resign

The resignation of Finance Manager Tammy Bennett (above) was announced at Tuesday's Columbia Borough Council meeting. Highway maintenance worker Robert Warfel also resigned. 

During last night's Columbia Borough Council meeting, two more employee resignations were announced. 

Finance Manager Tammy Bennett, who also served as the borough's deputy tax collector, has tendered her resignation. Bennett has been with the borough since May 2021. Council voted to hire a temporary accountant to fill the finance manager role until a permanent replacement can be found. Council appointed borough employee Laurie Gerfin-Lutz as deputy tax collector.

Additionally, Robert Warfel, who joined the public works department in July 2022, has resigned. Council voted to advertise for the position.

The resignations follow the recent departure of Borough Manager Mark Stivers, who resigned effective July 3 of this year. Other office personnel have also left the borough since the beginning of the year.

When resident Frank Doutrich asked about the reason for the high turnover, Council President Heather Zink stated that personnel matters could not be discussed. No other explanation was offered for the recent departures. Doutrich said he heard that morale, especially in the office, is bad. “Why are we having such a big turnover of employees?” he asked. 

At the end of last night's meeting, council adjourned to executive session “to discuss personnel matters related to replacement of staff,” according to the meeting agenda.

Agenda (Revised) - Columbia Borough Council Meeting - July 23, 2024

 

The meeting packet is HERE.

Former Columbia borough manager, a state rep, and a candidate weigh in on the Tollbooth fire, but still no public statement from the mayor or council president, who are both Columbia residents

 

[LNP | LancasterOnline] Tollbooth Antiques owners work toward reopening; cause of fire unknown

The owner of a Columbia Borough antiques shop that burned to the ground last week said Monday that a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal told him they probably won't be able to pin down the cause.

David Doolittle, co-owner of Tollbooth Antiques, said a fire marshal listed among the possible causes fireworks, as empty firework containers were found behind the building. 

"They took a hard look at those and said they can't really say for sure that they were freshly lit off," Doolittle said. "They could have been a week old, two weeks old; they couldn't determine the age of the fireworks." 

Doolittle said the fire marshal told him that he expects the fire's cause to be classified as "undetermined." When Doolittle was asked if he thinks he knows what caused the fire, he said: 

"No, not any more than anyone else."

MORE:

https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/tollbooth-antique-owners-work-toward-reopening-cause-of-fire-unknown/article_9db47536-4896-11ef-af89-5f867dca78a7.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share