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

I was a little concerned that line might be misunderstood (I’m the author of the article). I totally agree with you that there are hypothetically possible ethics violations that would warrant dismissal. But I was trying to point out - as you did - that based on what we know it’s not reasonable and likely (I.e. plausible) that one of those hypotheticals exists in this case.

I included it because, in talking to several board members, they would have you believe that there is some super secret and awful thing that Lakey has done that they can’t talk about. It’s a bogus excuse they use because they know they can’t actually justify what they are doing. I was trying to highlight how silly it is.