Sunday, October 2, 2016
Columbia High School Principal sought
The following ad for a high school principal in the Columbia Borough School District was recently posted on monster.com.
The link to the job posting is HERE.
The Land Bank: A new way to tackle troubled properties
Matthew Sternberg, executive director of Lancaster County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities at last Monday's meeting
There's a new way for Columbia to confront vacant, abandoned and blighted properties: the Lancaster County Land Bank.
Matthew Sternberg, executive director of Lancaster County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities, gave an "information only" presentation about the Land Bank last Monday night at a joint meeting of the Columbia Borough Council and the Columbia Borough School Board.
Sternberg described the concept as a collaboration of the borough, the school district, and the Land Bank, providing a means for remediation of blighted and other troubled properties. The entity does not have eminent domain powers (as a redevelopment authority does), but it can assemble funding for blight remediation and site upgrades, and can acquire, develop, demolish, or otherwise dispose of real property. A land bank also has the ability to buy a property prior to a tax sale to properly revitalize it and can even extinguish outstanding liens. According to Sternberg, the objective of the land bank process is to rehabilitate a property and get it back on the tax rolls at a much higher level.
Columbia Borough currently has 26 properties in various stages of blight.
Sternberg said that no other municipalities have finished the process of joining the Land Bank yet, which entails a one-time membership fee of $5,000 and an annual fee of $1,000.
Sternberg described the concept as a collaboration of the borough, the school district, and the Land Bank, providing a means for remediation of blighted and other troubled properties. The entity does not have eminent domain powers (as a redevelopment authority does), but it can assemble funding for blight remediation and site upgrades, and can acquire, develop, demolish, or otherwise dispose of real property. A land bank also has the ability to buy a property prior to a tax sale to properly revitalize it and can even extinguish outstanding liens. According to Sternberg, the objective of the land bank process is to rehabilitate a property and get it back on the tax rolls at a much higher level.
Columbia Borough currently has 26 properties in various stages of blight.
Sternberg said that no other municipalities have finished the process of joining the Land Bank yet, which entails a one-time membership fee of $5,000 and an annual fee of $1,000.
Council interviews three for market house
Borough council heard proposals from three market manager candidates at a special meeting Monday, September 26. Renee Sears, Beth Troxell, and Chris Vera answered questions from council and borough consultant Rebecca Denlinger about their respective plans for the Columbia Historic Market House, if hired. Troxell previously submitted a written proposal to council, which is published with this article. Vera gave a power point proposal at the meeting. His proposal was also posted on Columbia Spy HERE. Both Sears and Troxell managed the market house previously. Vera is president of the Columbia Historic Preservation Society. Teresa Allen has managed the market house since Troxell's resignation earlier this year.
At the conclusion of the interviews, Borough Manager Greg Sahd announced that council would not make a decision that evening. Instead, a decision will be made later at a public forum. If council does not choose one of the three candidates, the opening could be reposted to invite other applicants.
At the conclusion of the interviews, Borough Manager Greg Sahd announced that council would not make a decision that evening. Instead, a decision will be made later at a public forum. If council does not choose one of the three candidates, the opening could be reposted to invite other applicants.
Renee Sears
Beth Troxell
Chris Vera
Beth Troxell's proposal to council:
River Trail on track to completion in 2018
The 11-mile Northwest Lancaster County River Trail is nearing completion.
MORE:
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/rail-trails-in-lancaster-county-on-track-to-completion-in/article_50138288-870e-11e6-95c6-f3154ef7db60.html
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Man arrested in stabbing death of boy with clown mask | PennLive.com
READING (AP) — Police say a dispute over a mask like one featured in the "Purge" horror movies contributed to the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old Pennsylvania boy.
MORE:
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/09/man_arrested_in_stabbing_death.html
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