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The council meeting of the whole agenda contained a lengthy list of items and topics. Click on the box below to continue reading this article.

• Stef Stam and Judy Raub, Kiwanians, presented a set of concise statements about Kiwanis. They hoped to provide reasons why Columbia’s elected public servants ought to support the establishment of a Kiwanis chapter in Columbia. According to the Website: “Kiwanis International is a global organization of members dedicated to serving the children of the world. Each community’s needs are different—so each Kiwanis club is different. By working together, members achieve what one person cannot accomplish alone. Kiwanians believe that when you give a child the chance to learn, experience, dream, grow, succeed, and thrive – great things happen.” There are clubs in Lititz; Lancaster; New Holland; Elizabethtown and Norlanco-Rheems (Mount Joy). If you are interested in learning more about Kiwanis and helping children and their community benefit from the efforts of a dedicate group of caring and hands-on volunteers, contact Stef Stam, at 570,956.3388 or Judy Raub at 717.917.2741.
• A team representing St. John Herr’s Estate presented their request to re-zone the property at 1200 Locust Street to institutional residential. The intention acquire the property, the former Locust Heights swimming pool, and, while there are no immediate plans, expand St. John Herr’s by constructing more cottages. One councillor was unaware that St. John Herr’s Estate, while a registered not-for-profit entity, has been paying taxes and will continue to pay “the full taxes on all our properties.” The councillor, appeared dumbfounded but tried to recover by saying that the borough take an aggressive stance in trying to get tax payments from not-for-profit entities. Curiously, this same councillor appeared nonplussed in his support of a request from the Columbia Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) to forgo the Dumpster Permit Fee to remove unwanted personal property from the Hotel Columbia and Hotel Locust. Curiously, too, we were not able to find the Dumpster Permit Fee in the borough’s published fee schedule.

• LutherCare pays full taxes on the property at 200 Luther Lane, Columbia. And the team representing it says it will pay taxes on the former swimming pool property even though the pool will be dug up and the property will be landscaped until it decides to move forward with development.

• Several citizens expressed disbelief that the council would consider allowing the CEDC to put a dumpster on the main shopping street at the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. The request to place the dumpster on the street, taking up metered parking spaces “for roughly a week” was approved. Looks like it could be a “J-effed up” Christmas for downtown Columbia’s merchants.

• In the most heavily camera-ed borough in the county, the borough has purchased four more spy cameras for the new structure at the Columbia River Park. This, despite suggestions that the approved vendor has been less than satisfactory with its installation and “service after the sale.” Two of the cameras will be employed inside the building; two, outside. The cameras will join the other cameras in the park – the ones that apparently do not work. At least they appear to not help in prosecution of dog owners who allow their dogs to run off-leash and defecate freely in the park. Cole Umber captured this recently.

• The ribbon-cutting and open house of the Northwest River Trail Services Building, slated for December 6 at 10:00 am, evidently has pushed forward “fence repair” and, possibly, a new light standard, to replace the property damaged by crash earlier this year. This comment was blurted by a borough official, “We know how our town is; we have to lock the building.”
• The discussion regarding cost to purchase “memorial benches or picnic tables, with plaque in memory of someone” left those in the audience in disbelief. We are uncertain about what the benches will look like. We wonder whether a “request for proposals (RFP) “a solicitation made often through a bidding process, by an agency or company interested in procurement of a commodity, service or valuable asset, to potential suppliers to submit business proposals,” has been drafted and distributed. Somehow during the “discussion” we drew the impression that the borough’s public works staff would be building the benches. We wonder, though, whether there’s a grand design scheme for the public spaces in the borough or whether a “nilly willy” outcome will yield an appearance of utter confusion. We wonder whether the benches that are being offered for sale will look like these shown at Cole Umber’s Website.

• Who is behind the Christmas tree lighting in the Locust Street Park? Interestingly, one councillor did not know who was responsible for the decoration of the Christmas tree in the park at the corner of Route 462 and Locust Street. Then the discussion asked whether those decorating the tree had secured a “Facilities Use Request” and paid the stipulated $25.00?”

REMINDER: For those who were not at the meeting, the transmission of “who said what” and “what happened” is left to those who came to the meeting to document the night’s activities. Others in the borough will get verbal reports from those who attended or written interpretations from others. The only way to get a full report is to attend meetings. Again, Columbia news, views & reviews does audio record public meetings in accordance with state law. If you would like a copy of the proceedings, send an email to 17512@mail.com.