No, I don’t think anyone knows. Months ago, it was speculated that some members of the board already had a replacement in mind (current head of Inner Arbor Trust) but she has denied interest in the position.

Agreed but this isn’t the first time people have paid attention. A couple years ago an organization tried (through deceptive means IMO) to generate increased interest in CA elections - it didn’t work. I’m not sure this issue or there blog articles will make much difference either… but here’s hoping!

It’s a brewery but there are TVs at Black Flag that often have sports on them.

Doesn’t help you now but there is a Bark Social dog bar coming in a couple years.

Bill is great.

Completely agree. Thanks for watching - it’s hard to understand the dysfunction without watching it yourself. And this meeting - setting aside the buzzard decision to avoid talking about the elephant in the room - was relatively smooth compared to others.

I’ll also add that, if there are multiple challengers to an incumbent, please talk with the other challengers and consider bowing out of the race. You don’t want to split the opposition vote.

You should contact your village manager for specifics. But generally speaking, you will be able to pick up a candidates packet from your community center in early March. It will outline some requirements (like getting ten signatures) to submit your candidacy. You will need to submit that packet by around March 20. Then the election will be in April.

The specifics vary from village to village. Again just reach out to the staff at your community center for the specifics for your village.

Maybe but that’s not my interpretation.

She very clearly didn’t “resign.” I believe she is saying “The ‘plan’ the board presented me is a breach of my contract. If you want a president to follow it, find a different president and be prepared for a lawsuit.”

I could be wrong.

The elections are in late April but most (all?) villages have voting online and/or mail-in voting throughout most of April. Candidate applications are made available at the beginning of March and are typically due in mid March. The exact dates for all of this vary from village to village and the villages are pretty good about communicating the details.

Three villages (Owen Brown, Harper's Choice, and Town Center) have two year terms with the CA Reps up for election in even years. Seven CA reps are up for election in 2023:

• ⁠Long Reach • ⁠River Hill • ⁠Oakland Mills • ⁠Kings Contrivance • ⁠Hickory Ridge • ⁠Dorsey Search • ⁠Wilde Lake

Local leaders have also started petitions to recall five of the CA Board members most opposed to Ms. Boyd. So if you live in Oakland Mills, Dorsey, Harper’s, River Hill, or Town Center you can consider contacting your village board and asking them to recall your CA rep.

The board hasn’t said which, itself, is part of the problem. They are supposed to represent and talk with their neighbors not act in secrecy.

Long answer: https://www.themerriweatherpost.org/post/how-poor-judgement-ego-and-miscommunication-have-led-the-ca-board-to-consider-firing-ca-president

TLDR: the board doesn’t understand their role, has tried to micromanage Lakey, and she has pushed back on those attempts.

CA provides a whole bunch of services and amenities to Columbia. Columbia Association offers a vast array of recreational, cultural and community services.
CA maintains nearly 3,600 acres of open space as a permanent asset for residents. Neighborhood amenities include lakes, parks, tot lots, basketball and tennis courts and 95 miles of walking, jogging and biking pathways. Gyms, outdoor pools, after school programs for kids, art center, Columbia archives, etc.

The board has never explained why they are treating her like they are which is a major part of the problem. But its because they don't understand how a volunteer board of directors should properly oversee a professionally run organization and instead have been trying to micromanage her and the rest of the staff - she pushed back on those efforts and they responded negatively.

And consider encouraging your village board to try and recall your CA Rep if you live in Dorsey Search, Oakland Mills, River Hill, Town Center, or Harper's Choice.

And if you live in King's Contrivance, make sure your village board appoints someone who supports Ms. Boyd.

You can attend virtually or in person. To be allowed to speak, you needed to have signed up by 5:00 PM earlier today.

https://www.columbiaassociation.org/about-us/leadership/board-of-directors/resident-speakout/

To be honest though, I have no idea how the board will handle resident's speak out tomorrow. I imagine it will be heated and expect people who didn't sign up in advance will demand to speak anyways.

I don't think there's any magic bullet but there are several small actions that you can take and if enough people do these things, the situation will improve:

• Participate in "Residents Speak Out:" that's the portion near the beginning of each board meeting that residents can use to raise issues they are concerned about. They generally limit speaking time to three minutes. You have to sign up in advance which you can do here: [https://www.columbiaassociation.org/about-us/leadership/board-of-directors/resident-speakout/]
  If you do speak out, you might consider a couple things: Ask them to release "the plan" they referred to in their press release, Ask them to publicly commit to keeping Lakey employed for at least the remainder of her contract, and Ask that they adhere to the Audit Committee's recommendations and hire a mediator (rather than a lawyer) to help resolve their conflict with Lakey
• Make sure your neighbors know about these issues and encourage them to participate in the elections. Seven of the CA Board positions (all except Town Center, Owen Brown, and Harper's Choice) will be on the ballot in April. Candidates will need to submit applications to those positions by mid March.
• Since it seems like there is a Maryland law being violated here, you can also file a complaint with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General. I used to think this was overkill but, since it seems like the most recent press release was a deliberate attempt to deceive the public (or at least omit critical information to our understanding), I think it may be warranted now. If you're interested, you can do that here:
  https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/CPD/Complaint.aspx

I also think its important to remember that the board are people (flawed like all of us are) who volunteer a lot of their time trying to serve the community. I think it's fair to criticize their performance as a board member but please don't forget they are our neighbors and should be treated neighborly.

TLDR: The CA Board (a majority of them but not all) is deceptively attempting to spin their conflict with the CA President as a responsible thing. In reality, the conflict is driven by petty issues and the fact the board doesn’t understand its own role. The conflict is sucking up CA’s money, time, and resources - all of which would be better spent on providing amenities and services to the people of Columbia.

Everyone should vote in coming elections and tell the CA Board to let Lakey do her job.

I appreciate you saying that!

When I was that age I worked at the East Columbia Library (in Owen Brown) and worked as a summer camp counselor for Howard County. The library was a very chill relaxing job. Being a camp counselor was super fun.

Lots of my friends were also CA lifeguards as many people suggested above.

As a point of reference, Annapolis is an incorporated city. It has less then half the population of Columbia (40k) while its annual budget is about 6.5 times CA's budget.

The responsibility and power you would want the city, mayor, and council to have; and how those responsibilities and powers would be funded can't be afterthoughts - those questions are the fundamental thing that you would need to answer before making the case to incorporate as a city. I call it a "pipedream" (genuinely sorry if that comes off as dismissive) because I've never heard those aspects defined in any detail nor an explanation of how that would result in a better quality of life for residents. But, despite the lack of rigor, "becoming a city" is treated like a panacea that would solve all Columbia's problems... meanwhile people aren't taking the readily available actions that would improve the status quo: stay informed about CA and vote in village elections.

So I don't think there really is an argument to dissolve CA and replace it with a city government. My sense is that when people say they "want Columbia to be an incorporated city" it's really just an expression of exasperation with CA and an expression of pride in Columbia as Maryland's second largest city with a unique heritage (both of which I appreciate). They aren't actually outlining an affirmative vision nor executable plan to do something different. So without a coherent plan to do achieve incorporation, it's impossible to have the type of coherent counterargument that you are asking for.

I'm not trying to dodge a comprehensive response here… just saying the burden of proof really needs to be on the people who support incorporation to develop a concrete plan instead of asking people who are skeptical of nebulous idea to explain their point of view. I can say that divorcing the a hypothetical city from the services the county provides (fire, water, sewer, schools, roads, etc.) sounds like something that would inevitably end up worse for both Columbia and non-Columbia residents.

But I also I want to respond to one specific thing you said - that incorporating Columbia would "flatten the layers of government and increase accountability." This demonstrates a common - and harmful - view that CA and/or the villages currently exists as a layer in between the county and people living in Columbia. This is absolutely not true but way too many people act as if it is. People who live in Columbia that have an issue with roads, schools, utilities, etc. can and should go directly to their county representative, BOE representative, and/or appropriate government agency. The fact that many people go to CA or their village on these issues - who have zero authority over these issues - instead of their county representatives is a self-inflicted problem based on a misconception of responsibility. Even worse is when CA or village representatives themselves pretend like they have some authority over those issues - it’s a major disservice to the community for the representatives to LARP like they can fix those issues but it regularly happens.

I should note that many CA/village representatives do the right thing when a resident comes to them regarding a county issue and simply serve as a knowledgeable source of information and point their neighbors people in the right direction towards the appropriate county point of contact… but way too many of them start LARPing like they have power and authority they don't actually have. This is a disservice to everyone.

PS - Glad to hear you like CA's facilities! Me too!

It’s up to voters to get the board back under control!

You’re really making two separate suggestions: 1 - dissolve CA and 2 - incorporate Columbia. Both are technically possible but not plausible.

You’re definitely not the only person to express this opinion so my apologies in advance if the following seems an over-the-top reply - it’s a reaction to what I see as a cynical response that proposes an impractical solution to a problem we don’t have.

CA doesn’t act like a government (nor should it). CA doesn’t pass or enforce laws nor provide utilities, emergency response, schools, maintain roads, sewer service, etc. Instead, it provides a bunch of amenities and services to make the community a better place to live and owns and manages a bunch of property towards that end as well. It is governed by a board of directors chosen from the community who should be representing all of their neighbors to provide the needed input from the community. It also has several advisory committees where the community can engage directly with CA staff without going through the board of directors.

I believe a major part of the community’s problem is people thinking CA acts (or should act) like a government. This perception results in board members that don’t understand their role nor the role of CA, creates unrealistic expectations of CA, diverts attention away from holding the actual local government (Howard county) accountable, and confuses issues in a way that drives informed participation down.

Instead of advocating for an impractical pipe dream (Columbia should be a city), please just have an informed opinion on the amenities and services you think CA should (and shouldn’t) provide, vote in your village elections, and politely encourage your neighbors to do the same.

You are correct that this is a recurring problem with the Board and not unique to Lakey's tenure. Her predecessor (Milton Mathews) seemed to accept Board dysfunction as an inherent part of CA and just roll with it while Lakey is assertively trying to make a positive change in the community and keep the Board's BS from rolling down hill to the rest of the staff.

I don't have a history beyond ~2018 but unfortunately, the problem definitely isn't limited to this Board. Even with different Board members there have been issues with micromanagement, lack of understanding of the Board's proper role, and lack of strategic vision. The problem perpetuates itself because most residents take incorrectly assume that CA functions effectively, the often toxic nature of the Board discourages people from volunteering to serve, and because the Board has a self perpetuating culture of dysfunction. Unless you change those things, this will continue to happen.

I don't think its fair to call the Board corrupt though. Its not like they are embezzling money or getting any substantial material benefit (they do get free CA memberships) from their current course of action. They are mostly just old people looking to get "credit" for serving the community that they legit love and are upset with a person that is more interested in making changes for the better than stroking their ego.

Thanks for highlighting it. I’m sure if it confused you it confused other people.

Haha. Relax guys. Not a “banana-republic mentality.”

Anyways, I agree that line was poorly worded and updated it to avoid confusion.

My sense is that Janet Evans in Long Reach also supports Lakey but I’m not aware that she has explicitly said so.

The table in this earlier article tries to describe the positions of the various board members as best as I know it. https://www.themerriweatherpost.org/post/how-poor-judgement-ego-and-miscommunication-have-led-the-ca-board-to-consider-firing-ca-president