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The council of the whole meeting began at 6:00 pm with all the councillors present; also in attendance around the horseshoe table arrangement was the mayor, the interim borough manager (though the agenda clearly states that Ronald Miller is the borough manager) and the borough’s financial officer. In the gallery there were, perhaps as many as eight persons were there to watch or speak on behalf of topics pertinent to some.

Councillor Mary Barninger left the meeting at 6:45 pm.

The meeting concluded at 8:56 pm.

Columbia news, views & reviews reminds readers that the only way to get the real picture of what transpired at the meeting is to attend the meeting. Failing to attend meetings where decisions are made that impact the folks who live and work in the borough, lets the transfer of information rest with others who report, rightly or wrongly, what happened. Those reports can come in written form or, more often, verbally.

We’ll have more about some of the specific items discussed and acted upon in the next few days, including:

• the mayor’s pitch for a new police vehicle reprised;
• the mayor’s letter to the Columbia Water Company protesting the high increase in water rates;
• the mayor’s carrying of a plea from a prospective new owner of a guest house on Cherry Street;
• citizens’ complaints about an alley that may not be an alley and another about water coming into his basement (is it coming from the next door property?)
• QRS chief’s pitch for borough financial support and his plan to buy gas for the fleet of three vehicles via the borough’s plan;
• “crime mapping”
• a safe haven transfer point at the police station for Craigslist transactions.
• “chunks” of concrete falling from The Bridge and the purported most expensive bridge make-over that’s coming and
• the borough gets a deputy fire chief.

Take a look at agenda item II, 9, d. Someone actually wanted to have signage placed on borough streets providing parking for the Turkey Hill Experience. Mostly, the councillors, figuratively, were shaking their heads while trying to get their heads around the idea. The mayor provided very logical commentary about the unwise nature of even considering the thought.