About a half dozen people were in the gallery earlier this evening as the  council “meeting of the whole” was convened to order at 6:01 pm by council president Michael Beury. The entire council was in attendance. Also seated around the table was the borough manager, the mayor, the code enforcement officer and the public works director. Councillor elect Stephanie Weisser attended last night’s meeting and observed from the gallery.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 pm following a final motion from outgoing councillor Mary Wickenheiser.

The agenda for last night’s meeting and a few meeting topics are summarized below.

• The council denied the “road opening request for Mr. Mark Fahnestock at 331 Walnut Street (see agenda item II., 8. a.). Fahnestock was not at the meeting.

• The council gave a go-ahead to contract with a “cloud based” digital codes tracking system from GovQA . According to the vendor’s Website, “One-stop portal for automating permitting, code enforcement, planning, and zoning functions. Give your staff the convenience of dynamic tools to effectively manage cases (in the office or from the field). Built-in State Building Codes and Local Ordinances to maintain compliance.” This platform which, according to the codes enforcement officer, costs $3,500 to install and populate with borough files and $3,600 a year thereafter. The platform will allow codes inspectors to use a tablet system for real-time codes inspections and citations.

• The mayor applauded the MedReturn collection point at the police station. He said it’s “amazing” how many prescriptions have been dropped off so far. The MedReturn Drug Collection Unit is one of many in police departments across the county.

• Council president Beury and officer with the Columbia K-9 Campaign has enough money to fund a police dog for “10 years.” He also intimated that many of the members of the organization are getting older and may have lost the zest for fund-raising.

• Randolph Harris, an independent consulting historian, presented a Power Point presentation about the Underground Railroad and Columbia’s connection to its importance in American History. He won council’s endorsement to submit a letter to the National Parks Service committing the Borough’s support to keep alive the historical relevance. His LinkedIn profile says he is “Currently engaged in several efforts on behalf of individuals and non-profit organizations to protect and preserve historic sites and natural resources through citizen engagement at the local government level. Recent work as a consultant for research and documentation projects for historic sites associated with the Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, with the orgs./agencies such as LancasterHistory.org., Lancaster County Convention Center, Pennsylvania Dutch Convention & Visitors Bureau, Franklin County (PA) Visitors Bureau and the Office of Tourism/Commonwealth of PA. Applications are reviewed by National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program.”

• “Between 1840 and 1860, before the American Civil War, enslaved Africans followed the North Star on the Underground Railroad to find freedom in Canada. It was not an actual railroad but a secret network of routes and safe houses that helped people escape slavery and reach free states or Canada. Sometimes there were guides available to help people find their way to the next stop along the way. Travelling on the Underground Railroad was dangerous and required luck as much as a guide.”The ‘railroad’ actually began operating in the 1780s, but became known as the Underground Railroad in the 1830s. The organization used railroad terms as code words. Those who helped people move from place to place were known as ‘conductors’ and the fleeing refugees were called ‘passengers’ or ‘cargo.’ Safe places to stop to rest were called ‘stations.’ Conductors were also abolitionists—people who wanted slavery abolished. They were Blacks and Whites, men and women. Many of them were Quakers or Methodists.” – (SOURCE: BlackHistoryCanada,com)

• Fire company consolidation is moving along, according to councillor Mary Barninger. A citizen had several comments concerning fire department debt; fund-raising and other issues. The borough manager stated that his most recent understanding is that the consolidation effort has indicated the new consolidated department will have one fire station.

• The mayor said that the police chief is investigating the instituting of a police department foundation along the lines of the Lancaster City Police Foundation. The foundation would allow for a separate “independent charitable non-profit corporation” that could raise funds for the police department. He said it would lift the cloak from police officers having to raise money.

• A councillor referred to a statement about the number of blacks living in Columbia made in the presentation about the Underground Railroad. According to the presentation, some 288 blacks lived in Columbia in 1820. This source claims, “According to the federal census of 1830, Columbia’s population had risen to 2046, of which 430 persons, or 21%, were designated as Negro.” The councillor then said he’d be hard pressed to believe there were that many blacks in Columbia today. The 2012 US Census Bureau estimate is that 5.1% of Columbia’s 10,381 people are black. By that measure, some 529 blacks live in Columbia today.