Columbia Borough Council approves fee schedule, appointments and several routine measures

Columbia Borough Council on Jan. 14 adopted a package of routine resolutions and administrative actions, including a new borough fee schedule, appointments to several local positions and authorization to advertise bids for a demolition project.

The council voted unanimously on a series of items on the agenda after brief discussion. The most substantive votes: adoption of Resolution 2025-1 setting the borough fee schedule for fiscal year 2025; adoption of Resolution 2025-02 appointing Michelle Jenkins as deputy tax collector; adoption of Resolution 2025-03 appointing Chris Vera to the parks and recreation board for a four-year term; appointment of Borough Manager Steve Caulfield as the borough’s Open Records Officer and Michelle Jenkins as alternate; authorization to renew the TextMyGov messaging contract with refined, limited use; authorization of routine bill payments; and authorization for staff to advertise a bid packet for demolition at 700 Franklin Street.

Why it matters: the fee schedule sets fines and administrative charges the borough uses for code enforcement and rentals; appointments and the open-records designations affect who handles tax and records requests; renewing TextMyGov determines the borough’s primary mass-notification tool.

Council actions at a glance:

- Resolution 2025-1 — Borough fee schedule for FY2025: Motion by Councilperson Kaufman, second by Councilperson Giese. Council clarified that code-violation “quick ticket” fees are $25 for a first offense and that continued enforcement is handled as a Notice of Violation (NOV). Motion carried; vote recorded as voice vote with all in favor.

- Resolution 2025-02 — Appoint Michelle Jenkins as deputy tax collector: Motion by Councilperson Kaufman, second by Councilperson Murphy. Reported that an exhibit attaching the deputy appointment exists though it was not included in the meeting packet. Motion carried; all in favor.

- Resolution 2025-03 — Appoint Chris Vera to the Parks & Recreation Board (4-year term): Motion by Councilperson Kaufman, second by Councilperson Giese. Council discussed the board’s need for active volunteers and that employees may serve on volunteer boards if there is no conflict of interest. Motion carried.

- Appointment of Steve Caulfield as Open Records Officer and Michelle Jenkins as alternate: Motions carried (movers and second recorded on the floor); council discussed how record requests will be routed to the relevant department (police, finance, codes) when appropriate.

- Renew TextMyGov with limited/refined one-way use: Motion by Councilperson Brigard, second by Councilperson Giese. Staff described options that would expand annual message capacity while restricting two-way Q&A and said a one-way emergency configuration would lower projected costs to approximately $27,100 per year while keeping a larger message allotment; motion carried.

- Authorize bill payments: Motion by Councilperson Kaufman, second by Councilperson Giese. Council approved the presented bill list; discussion included a question about payments on the Walnut Street (Smart Growth) project.

- Authorize staff to advertise bid for demolition at 700 Franklin Street: Motion by Councilperson Stahl, second by Councilperson Kaufman. Council discussed salvage options and whether borough staff should remove usable items before demolition; motion carried.

Also approved without extended debate: a special-event permit for the Merchants Association “Hearts on Locust,” and two certificates of appropriateness for work in the historic district (114 N. Third Street and 12 N. Second Street).

What the council did not vote on tonight: no ordinance adoptions or budget amendments requiring a separate reading were on this agenda.

Votes and motions are recorded as voice votes in the meeting minutes; when individual tallies were not read into the record the minutes report motions carried with unanimous voice votes unless otherwise noted.