Fire call on the 700 block of Locust

The newly consolidated Columbia Borough Fire Company responded to a fire call on Locust Street this evening, joined by vehicles and personnel from Wrightsville and Mount Joy Fire Departments. The emergency reportedly stemmed from a grease fire in the kitchen at 729 Locust. The fire spread when an occupant threw water on it in an attempt to put it out.  After attending to the fire, crews used fans to ventilate the residence as well as the neighboring property at 731 Locust.

About Town

Recent shots from around town . . .

Neighbor helping neighbor

 Easy rider?

 Dressers dressing up the sidewalk

 Texter texting on the sidewalk

 Counter counting on the sidewalk

 New porch furniture

Territoriality

Agenda - July 27, 2015 Meeting of the Whole

Columbia Kettle Works gets OK for outside seating

Columbia Kettle Works, 40 North Third Street, recently received approval from Columbia Borough and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board to provide outdoor seating along a 6 x 55 foot section of sidewalk in front of the establishment. The area will also include wrought iron fence and awnings.

Bill Collister, the owner of the brew pub, approached Columbia Borough Council about the issue at the May 26 meeting of the whole (as well as a subsequent council meeting).  At that meeting, Collister asked council for a variance to allow sidewalk tables and seating. He stated that his enterprise has succeeded in bringing people into town and that his customer base is fairly well-off. He also stated that his business is more of an attraction than a bar and closes by 10 p.m. Council informed him that such seating must be at least 20 feet from any adjacent street (for example, Walnut Street or Avenue H) and that a number of parking spaces versus seats must be provided, according to ordinance. 

Columbia takes next step on Susquehanna Gateway agreement

Columbia Borough Council recently announced its intention to enter into a professional services agreement with the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area (SGHA) for the management of the Columbia Crossing trail services building at Columbia River Park.

At its July 27 meeting of the whole, council discussed details of the proposed agreement with Mark Platts, president of the organization.

Councillor Jim Smith said cost-sharing with other members of the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail, of which Columbia is a part, "should be part of this dialogue and part of this contract." He said those municipalities, which include Marietta, Bainbridge, Falmouth, and Middletown, should be contacted to see if they would be willing to share the cost of the proposed Susquehanna Gateway project. "I heard the argument where that's going to bring commerce to Columbia, but its going to bring commerce to other towns, also" Smith said. "I think it's a gift that keeps on taking."

Platts said his organization's approach to the process of creating a professional services agreement includes getting additional funding from other partners including the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Lancaster County, and Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority. "Those are the appropriate and key partners, because those are the partners that are encouraging developing and helping to facilitate and fund the whole Northwest Trail," Platts said. "This building [Columbia Crossing] obviously would be the signature gateway to that trail. We're going to work hard to develop the details of the agreement and come to the table with all the funding to provide the level of service we proposed in our overview."

Smith said he does not want management of the Columbia Crossing building to be detached from the rest of the park, to eliminate conflict in the planning and utilization of the park. Platts said that although SGHA did not plan to manage the entire park, in the future it could reassess where it stands and then decide if there would be a bigger role for it to play - at an additional cost.

More information on the agreement can be found HERE at Columbia News, Views & Reviews.

Information on the trail can be found HERE and HERE.

Budget and funding summary - from a Power Point presentation at the May 26 meeting of the whole.

The state of the bypass - and a likely delay

These photos of the Route 441 bypass project were taken this morning.  Although construction work continues there, completion of the project might be pushed into next year, according to Mayor Leo Lutz. 

"Completion of the relocation project will be pushed back, probably into next year," Lutz said at a recent borough council meeting. "The problem is there are so many bridges being rehabilitated and redone in the state that they're having trouble getting materials." The local portion of the Northwest Lancaster County River Trail might still be finished by the end of this year, Lutz added.

Osprey dines on fish dinner but has an uninvited guest

An osprey kept getting interrupted by a crow as he was trying to eat a freshly caught fish down at the railroad tracks near Columbia River Park this morning. Although the crow was persistent, the osprey kept the partially filleted fish firmly grasped in its massive talons, as it flew from post to post to elude the interloper.