COLUMBIA SPY

The Columbia Borough Parks and Recreation Board will hold its monthly meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall, 308 Locust Street. The board is set to discuss several programs and upcoming events for the community. Night Wonder of Astronomy Program The board will discuss the "Night Wonder of Astronomy" program, which aims to bring stargazing opportunities to Columbia residents.  Upcoming Events for 2025 Planned events for the remainder of 2025 will be presented, including summer concert series, holiday celebrations.  Go Green Columbia Event Participation The board will discuss the "Go Green Columbia" event at Columbia River Park.  Makle Park Groundbreaking Ceremony The board will discuss the groundbreaking ceremony at Makle Park.  Digital Sign at River Park  The board will discuss an update on the progress of a digital sign at River Park.  Trail Front Program at River Park An update on the Trail Front Program at River Park will be discussed. Columbia's 300...

Crisis intervention counselor Jayne Miller will conduct suicide prevention training at the Columbia Catholic Mental Health Ministry event. LANCASTERONLINE | Staff Young people can gain suicide prevention skills and mental health awareness at a free training event hosted by the Columbia Catholic Mental Health Ministry. Set to take place May 10, the two-part event will provide education on common mental health conditions and will train attendees in suicide prevention, the ministry said. Children 12 and up, as well as adult counselors, can attend the training, which will run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Holy Trinity Church Parish Center, 404 Cherry St., Columbia Borough. Those under 18 must get parental permission if they want to participate in the suicide prevention portion of the day. “Our community has recently suffered the heartbreaking loss of two young lives to suicide, deeply affecting their families, friends and our local schools,” said the ministry’s Deacon Jim Doyle. “By learning t...

  234 Locust Street is on the April 9 HARB agenda.

The Columbia Borough Public Works Department has released its monthly operations report for March 2025. Paving Projects Face Rising Costs According to Jake Graham, manager of the Columbia Borough Public Works Department, 2025 paving projects are facing price increases. Co-Stars pricing through Heidelberg Materials, formerly Highway Materials, has increased significantly. The 2025 pricing for 9.5mm is $78.95 per/ton, compared to $69.90 in 2024. Pricing for 25mm is $66.55 per/ton compared to $58.55 in 2024. These streets are scheduled to be paved: Walnut St (Front to Third) Walnut St (900 &1000 blocks CDBG)  Chestnut St (800 block) *S 2nd St (Locust to Cherry) *S 3rd St (Locust to Cherry) *Maple St (500 block) *Poplar St (600 block) *13th St (Ironville Pike to Chestnut) *Locust St (600 block) *Tann Ave (Lancaster Ave to Elbow Ave) (*Indicates streets to be paved by Public Works staff.) Street Maintenance Activities Underway Crews have been actively performing crack sealing on bor...

  JADE CAMPOS | LNP Staff Writer A downtown Columbia bus shelter was removed in March after borough officials determined it had become a public safety issue. Police Chief Jack Brommer said the borough received multiple reports of human feces at the Locust Street shelter in addition to a growing amount of litter. Brommer contacted the South Central Transit Authority, which operates the bus route, to assess the state of the bus shelter. Ultimately, he said, officials agreed the shelter was in poor condition. An SCTA statement shared online by the borough resident who runs the Columbia Spy blog, noted Brommer requested SCTA remove the shelter because of “vagrancy, safety and hygiene issues.” “I think the shelter itself was limited in size and didn’t really accommodate the number of people using the bus stop,” Brommer said. He added that he told SCTA that one solution could be to relocate the shelter. The bus shelter was erected 20 years ago, Brommer said, and had not been properly mai...

 

Columbia Borough Council has approved a resolution to auction off a dump truck following recent updates to the borough's fleet. Resolution No. 2025-07, unanimously adopted during the April 8th council meeting, authorizes the sale of a 2001 Chevrolet 3500 dump truck that has been replaced through the borough's lease program with Enterprise Fleet Management. The truck's estimated value is $2,000 or above. The resolution formalizes the council's decision to dispose of the equipment through public auction instead of direct sale or disposal. The dump truck with snow plow was originally a wastewater treatment plant vehicle that was handed down to the public works department at 45,412 miles. The department recently received a 2024 Chevrolet 3500 dump truck with snow plow and salt spreader through Enterprise Fleet. Details regarding the auction date and procedures will be announced.