On Roads, Marriage, and Housing

Drove in to Columbia’s City Core from the leafy ‘burbs of Wilde Lake this morning.  Took the Twin Rivers Expressway from the Faulkner Ridge Exit.  Not much traffic, unless you count the squirrels.

This post might not have a cohesive narrative thread.  So it may be more like an old Larry King article…or a flashback scene from the Family Guy.  Either way, let’s begin.

I read a tweet from Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary last night regarding her sponsorship of a bill that would raise the marriage age in Maryland.  It was one of those, my-God-how-is-this-not-the-law-already? moments that occasionally arises when an out-of-sight/out-of-mind issue slides back into the public consciousness.    Helpful background information can be found here: http://cnsmaryland.org/2016/03/03/bill-would-increase-marriage-age-in-maryland/

This is a fundamental human rights issue. Delegate Atterbeary’s bill deserves serious consideration, passage through the General Assembly, and to become law.

While this author prefers to focus on Federal and state issues, I strongly encourage my readers to take a close look at the Downtown Development/Housing Plans being advanced by the Administration and by Councilwoman Jen Terrasa. A helpful compare/contrast document can be found on Ms. Terrasa’s County Council website:  http://cc.howardcountymd.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=vBNhExPoVu0%3d&portalid=0

Others can dissect the granular elements of both plans.  And others will.  On an admittedly visceral level, Councilwoman Terrasa’s plan seems more dedicated to basic concepts such as equity, neighborhood diversity, and community control over its own destiny compared to the Administration’s proposal.  Her plan represents a vision of Columbia which seems more aligned with the values and priorities of our residents.  That is why I support the Terrasa Proposal.

Over 250 words and not one obscure reference, that, of course, is what made Pericles’ Funeral Oration a nifty little speech.  But this is the written word, and my readers expect more!      

But my cup requires replenishment before I head back out onto the mean streets of the Downtown District…there might be a pigeon jackknifed on Little Patuxent and I have appointments to keep.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Waxing Crescent

The plan outline for Parcel A of Columbia’s Crescent property (the patch of land located near the corner of Little Patuxent and Broken Land; north and west of Merriweather) has been unveiled, via renderings, by Howard Hughes.  News coverage can be found here.

  

Overall, I am encouraged by the proposals.  There is a commitment to reforestation in the general vicinity, which is very important.  I have seen developments (Alexandria, Virginia’s West End comes to mind readily) where little to no attempt was made to restore the natural beauty of the lands surrounding new multi-story buildings.  The Crescent plans appear to be consistent with Columbia’s values, of finding a way to create something that exists harmoniously within the larger environment.   

Will that particular swath of Columbia be recognizable in 2020?  No but that is a good thing. While some might wax nostalgic for a certain time and place, there is a way to move forward that is far more beneficial to our residents and those who visit our community. 

For example, while the Wilde Lake Village Center looks much different than it did a few years back, the ongoing revitalization effort is producing a development that still retains a Wilde Lake-ness; a familiar and improved village center that will attract more residents, businesses and customers.  To not embrace change would have resulted in continued decline, followed by a failed center. Foresight, a thoughtful and respectful vision, and hard work are helping recreate Wilde Lake…and it seems as though the same general approach is guiding the process for that which will become Columbia’s Crescent neighborhood.  At least I hope that is, and will remain, the case.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

“We are connected, we foster opportunities to connect with others”

The title of this post, of course, reflects one of the five stated Values of the Columbia Association.  These words were very much top of mind as I strolled toward the CA building, where, at the stroke of three o’clock Saturday (12/13/14), the inaugural meeting of the Haiti Sister City Planning Committee Meeting was gaveled to order.

Columbia, as you may be aware, has three Sister Cities – two in Europe and one in Africa.  Today, the discussion of forming a similar relationship with a city in the Western Hemisphere, specifically with the city of Cap-Haitien, Haiti, took a step forward.

Intuitively, this potential arrangement makes a great deal of sense.  Haiti’s geographic proximity to our corner of the States (relative to the other three locales) should help facilitate exchanges and other interactions between residents of our two communities.  We even share the same time zone.  Moreover, there are many Haitians and those with family in Haiti who reside and/or work in Columbia.  Cap-Haitien is known for being a center of artistic activity; Columbia celebrates the arts.        

We are both going through times of transition.  Our unique community is evolving while Cap-Haitien is undergoing significant changes as well.  The University of Haiti – Campus Roi Henri Christophe in Limonade (which is part of the Cap-Haitien Arrondissement) was just completed in 2012.  Tourism is growing in the city that has been called “the Paris of the Antilles.” 

But I am not yet on expert on Cap-Haitien, and I may never be.  Moreover, j’ai oublie la plus part de la langue francaise depuis l’ecole secondaire (I hope I am in the ballpark there).    I also don’t speak a word of Haitian Creole but I have always been interested in the history of the Republic of Haiti.  So I am elated to be part of a group that is working to formalize a relationship, via citizen diplomacy, with Cap-Haitien.

I am encouraged based on the intellectual firepower of those who attended today’s meeting.  There were some smart discussions on next steps as well as key challenges and considerations, and some on-the-nose questions were raised.  Overall, we are off to a promising start.

There are many steps remaining in order to move this process forward.  To that end, I encourage my readers – particularly those who reside in Columbia – to attend the next meeting of the Haiti Sister City Planning Committee, which I believe is scheduled to occur on January 13, 2015 at 7 pm at the CA Building (in the Board Room).  I will re-confirm that day/time/location in the days ahead.

And while international relations may not be a centerpiece of CA programming, there is a deep and abiding commitment to diversity, to building bridges, to learning from one another.  To those vital ends, among others, this author believes that the uniqueness of Cap-Haitien, combined with the special nature of Columbia, would make for a long and mutually beneficial association….hopefully, a Sister City relationship.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

The Wincopin Steamroller

The deal went down last night. 

Mr. Reg Avery sits, officially, as the Columbia Association Representative from Oakland Mills. 

The Code of Ethics provision that fueled the controversy [about a Board Member not being able to be a candidate for public office while serving as a CA Representative] was changed to limit the applicability to a “Board Member sworn into public office.”  It is noteworthy that the new Harper’s Choice CA Rep, Alan Klein, pushed to strike the original, apparently controversial, language from that provision entirely but his motion was defeated by a 5 – 4 margin, with the minority position held by the three new Board Members and Ms. McCord. Mr. Swatek abstained. 

So Mr. Swatek suggested amending the language to cover a CA Board Member when he or she actually assumes office.  His motion passed by an 8 – 2 majority, with Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Schwind in the minority.

There were some hard truths spoken and tough questions asked.  One of the Board Members in the aforementioned two-person minority, joining the discussion via telephone, wondered aloud if some future Board Member, seeking elective office, might jeopardize the Association’s 501(c)(4) status. Bill Woodcock, graciously congratulating Mr. Avery on his election, also raised concerns about the possible future implications of allowing Board Members to be candidates for office simultaneously.

Meanwhile, there was a heated debate occurring directly behind my seat.  The janitorial service was just outside the door of the meeting room, making the sounds one would expect of a cleaning crew…a bit annoying but sporadic…and not 120 decibels.  A former CA Representative sitting in the audience wanted the glass door to be closed, to help shut out the noise.  Another person (according to my sources, a CA employee) insisted that the door stay open, in keeping with the spirit of an “open” (read: not closed) meeting.  So voices were raised as tempers flared.

Frankly, their debate made as much sense as anything else last night.  Many of the arguments in favor of seating Mr. Avery or revising the Code of Ethics had much to do with the circumstances surrounding the election of a specific individual….and not the application of a specific policy.  Remember the whole, “a government of laws and not men” philosophy? Not many people did in the Columbia Association Board room last night.  One gets the feeling that – had a candidate with a perspective different from theirs been elected – some members of the audience who supported seating Mr. Avery without the need for a waiver and/or the Swatek Amendment - would have instead pushed for a rigorous adherence to the existing policy. 

Am I saying there was a certain paucity of intellectual honesty and an abundance of disingenuousness in the room? Absolutely.

Oh yes, and Mr. Stack is going to be the Chair for the first six months of the year, and Mr. Swatek will assume the Chair for the second six months.  This came following a 5-5 split on the election of the Board Chair.  I left before this vote occurred, but my understanding is that there were no surprises regarding the composition of the two voting blocs.

I have a feeling we will see the same coalitions emerge on other issues over the course of the next 12 months.  The calendar says 365 days, but it will seem longer.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

2014 Columbia Village Elections Re-Cap (with Suggestions)

While not always the case, participating in Columbia Association politics is akin to playing soccer with a satchel full of anvils.  Progress may be slow, it may hurt a bit, but grit will get you where you need to go…eventually.  And even then, sometimes you score an own goal.

This past weekend’s village election outcomes were disappointing, but not entirely unexpected, at least in two out of the three contested CA races.  Based on the resident votes (excluding the CA votes), Fontaine and Schwarz kept it close.  Klein’s machine – more Rube Goldberg than Tammany Hall – managed a narrow 52% - 48% victory once the parcel votes are removed from the equation.  No one will be calling him Landslide Alan anytime soon.  Schwarz obtained 44% of the vote in Hickory Ridge, that is a respectable showing in any book.  The Waller defeat was a bit of an upset, particularly in light of her record of community service in Town Center.  Well Ms. Ketley, check your calendar because it is time to govern like it is 2014.

A good friend (and future Delegate) penned some thoughts on increasing voter turnout in these elections.  The post can be found right here.

  

I thought I would offer up some suggestions of my own:

“Vote Columbia” community gatherings, held in the Village Centers in April, one week before Election Day.  Candidate forums are great but they tend to occur on weekday evenings and they can be sparsely attended.  Hosting Election Day community gatherings is fine, but I think such events – ideally - should launch a week of reflection and discussion of relevant CA and village issues.  So I would have them occur on the Saturday before the traditional Election Day.

Why not host a family-friendly event in each village, with food and entertainment, where residents can visit with their neighbors and receive information about the candidates…prior to Election Day itself.  Frankly, and this is very important, they should be able to vote at such events too, which leads me to:

Early/extended voting periods.  Beyond the mail-in ballots, it would be helpful to have more than just one formal window of opportunity to cast one’s ballot in-person.  Kings Contrivance allows residents to vote on Friday evening as well as Saturday.  I recommend formally opening the polls at the aforementioned “Vote Columbia” event….and then either keeping them open for a full week, or at least for the kick-off event as well as Thursday and Friday in addition to Election Day Saturday.  And advertise this expanded window.  Yes, voters can walk-in with mail-in ballots, but how many are aware that this is an option?  How many know where to go?    

An incentive.  While participation in the electoral process is its own reward, voting in village elections is slightly different than casting a ballot for a state or federal office.  In Wilde Lake, and I assume other villages, we receive a slip of paper with a number on it that identifies our specific ballot.  What if a drawing was held where the holder of that number received a discount on a CA program or service?  Nothing too extravagant of course, but enough to encourage more residents to take more of an interest in village elections.  I hear some villages hold raffles, so this suggestion is a variation on that theme…and it should be done in all of the Villages and Town Center.

Electronic voting options. This should absolutely be explored.

Design changes with the mail-in ballots. I think they can resemble junk mail.  Perhaps another look should be taken at them…to consider how to make them more eye-catching, more likely to be opened and read, and acted upon by the recipients.

Anyway, this is a start.  Although the ground is wet and I am sans cleats, I am just trying to kick this ball down the field a bit. 

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

All Quiet in Wilde Lake?

Hardly.  That said, the Village election is only days away (April 26) and our races for the Wilde Lake Village Board (WLVB) and the Columbia Association (CA) Representative are uncontested.  All five WLVB candidates appearing on the ballot will be elected.  The CA Rep is running unopposed for another one-year term. 

So I will focus on the three contested CA Representative races. 

In Harper’s Choice: Bob Fontaine stands out as the far superior choice.  He has an impressive background in community service.  As a current member of the Harper’s Choice Village Board and in light of his skill-set, he is well-equipped to represent the Village and help facilitate the “civil discourse” he mentions in his candidate statement (Columbia Flier, April 17, 2014).  The Board needs consensus builders like Fontaine, not firebrands. 

In Town Center: Suzanne Waller has served on the CA Board capably.  In comparison, her opponent’s resume and platform seem rather thin.

In Hickory Ridge: Harry Schwarz has a positive, forward-looking vision and a long-track record of community involvement.  He has some solid ideas on enhancing community engagement. If elected, he would be an excellent Columbia Association Representative.

That is all for today. 

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Skulduggery in Oakland Mills?

Subtitle:  Open (Village) Covenants...Openly Arrived At

For the record, I am not stating that there was any illegal or otherwise nefarious goings-on involved in the decision by Alex Hekimian to not seek re-election as the Oakland Mills Representative to the Columbia Association Board of Directors, and the...presumably 11th hour... decision of current Oakland Mills Village Board Member Reg Avery to seek said post.

But secretive? Perhaps. Hence the use of the word "skulduggery" and the question mark.

Neither person was under any affirmative duty to disclose their electoral intentions in advance of the filing deadline.  Their actions, neither technically nor physically, prevented other candidates from filing for that position. 

However, as they say in the public relations business, the optics are bad.  Moreover, Mr. Avery's decision to run for another office, the Howard County Council, puts the Columbia Association...specifically the Board of Directors...in an awkward position.

In recent years, the CA Board in general (and certain members of the Board in particular) have adopted "transparency" as a watch-word.  A letter to the editor of the Baltimore Sun from April 2013 touts Mr. Hekimian as the candidate of "openness and transparency." [The letter can be found here.]

So it does seem incongruous for such a person - someone committed to such values - to inform another person, privately and shortly before the filing deadline, "Hey, I am not going to run, but why don't you go ahead and put your paperwork in?" Because, from the outside, that looks exactly like what went down.

Would other candidates have run if Mr. Hekimian announced that he was not running for re-election? I am not a resident of Oakland Mills, but I am inclined to believe there would have been a contested race.

At this point, there is no apparent wrong-doing.  Even if there was a matter of collusion - which has not yet been proven - well, they played within the rules, right?  It might be neither just nor fair but politics is politics.   Not exactly what one expects in civic-minded Howard County, but "oh well," right? Or no?

So now Mr. Avery, as the sole candidate for the office, is poised to win election....however....

This brings us to the second major point of contention.  Mr. Avery is also a candidate for the Republican nomination for the Howard County Council (Second District).  The Columbia Association's Code of Ethics would seem to indicate that Mr. Avery, as a candidate for another office, would have to make a choice: either forgo your campaign for County Council between now and the election/the beginning of the new CA Board term, give up your quest to sit on the Columbia Association Board of Directors this time around, or apply for a waiver that would allow you to be seated.  However, that third option doesn't resolve the issue that the Columbia Association's Code of Ethics is intended to prevent: eliminating the possibility of a conflict of interest or the appearance of impropiety.

Mr. Avery's statements regarding the ability of other candidates to seek multiple offices (found in this article) are...disingenuous at best.  In those circumstances, the relevant state statutes permitted those candidates to run for two federal offices simultaneously.  Here, we have a case where the Columbia Association, a nonprofit service corporation that exercises quasi-public functions, seems to have clear rules in place that would prevent a member of the Board from running for another office.

Mr. Avery's interpretation of his attorney's perspective on the matter is not dispositive. 

If he continues with his course of action, running for County Council after being elected to the CA Board, he will require the Columbia Association Board of Directors to decide whether or not to seat him...or whether or not to grant him a waiver.  Beyond rewarding a decided lack of transparency, how will it look for the Board to ignore its own clear rules in such cases?  When others faced a similar situation, they did the right thing and stepped down from the Board. 

If elected and seated, how can Mr. Avery - with a straight face - extoll the virtues of transparency given how he arrived at the Board?

The answer seems to be clear: he should either vacate his current candidacy for one position or the other.  If he opts to give up his long-shot County Council race, he can take his seat on the CA Board (granted, he got there in a somewhat unseemly manner, but that matter can be addressed in a future election).  If he decides to end his candidacy for the CA Board, it appears as though there would need to be a new election for CA Rep from Oakland Mills.  Then, Mr. Avery can proceed with his quixotic and ultimately doomed District 2 campaign.

Definite shenanigans, which is too bad, given the energy that needs to be spent solving real issues.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.


  

 

 



 

Thunderdome on the Little Patuxent

I wanted to stay home the other night.  Michigan State was playing North Carolina in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.  A fifth seed versus a fourth seed, with the winner likely to face off in the next round against a formidable University of South Carolina team coached by Philadelphia’s own Dawn Staley.  The game promised two solid hours of hoops-centric entertainment.

But as a member of a local village board, a civic organization designed to promote the “health, safety, common good and social welfare of the owners of property in, and the residents of…the Village of Wilde Lake,” I found myself instead at a community hall with around 100 of my neighbors, all of whom had braved a late March snow-fall to attend an event called the “Columbia Market Analysis and Economic Development Services” presentation (the second of a planned three public meetings on this topic). It was shaping up to be the Empire Strikes Back of the Market Study trilogy.  A must-see.

I sat in the back, close to the entrance of the theatre room in the Slayton House.  Doors provide a natural choke point.  Like the Greeks at Thermopylae, I knew any numerical advantage any crazed attackers might possess would be diminished by their need to come through single-file.  This was a comforting thought.

However, as most of my primarily middle-aged neighbors were ensconced in their seats, facing front and showing no overt signs of imminent physical hostility, I turned my attention to the presenters, who were calling the meeting to order.

The PowerPoint deck was displayed on the screen.  Our Director of Community Building and Open Space Services Bureau ably provided a succinct introduction to the evening’s proceedings.   Essentially, we would be glimpsing into the future of Columbia as an economic entity.  We would hear from the Experts regarding what businesses could work, and where, and why.

[I feel as though a brief digression is in order for those who are unaware of Columbia’s history.  What follows is a bit reductionist, so please bear with me:

Columbia is what is known as an unincorporated “census designated place.”  Contrary to appearances, we are not a city in the traditional sense.  With a population of around 100,000, Columbia is the second largest community in the state of Maryland (Baltimore being the largest).  However, not being an incorporated municipality, most local government functions reside with either the county government (Howard County) or with a curious local entity known as the Columbia Association.  The Columbia Association, or CA for short, would be the rough equivalent of a city council…with powers more closely aligned with that of a parks and recreation department of a mid-sized American city, with some notable exceptions and responsibilities unique to our planned community.

Within that community are 10 villages, really nine villages and an embryonic urban core called the Town Center, at the center of the center is our Mall and an area known as Symphony Woods, within which is a popular outdoor concert venue known as Merriweather Post Pavilion.  The population of the 10 villages ranges from slightly north of three thousand to over 14,000.] 

This demographic information is important to bear in mind, given the findings that were presented last night.  What follows is my interpretation of the key takeaways. 

Groceries:  When Columbia was founded, the idea was that each of the villages, within what is referred to as their village centers (places that would include retail outlets as well as community facilities), would have its own grocery store.

Given the emphasis the presenters placed on the developments in the space traditionally occupied by supermarkets (the rise of hypermarkets (most notably Wal-Mart), the entrance of pharmacies into the food and beverage retail marketplace, and the growth of niche or specialty players, ranging from Trader Joe’s to “ethnic” supermarkets), it is clear that the old model is now considered, as Ron Ziegler might have put it, inoperative. 

In short, you want a new traditional grocery store like Giant (or Heaven Forbid, Safeway) within walking distance of your abode?  Hard cheese, my friend.   Seriously, if you want to buy some hard cheese, you will need to burn some gasoline.

Village Center retail outlets:  Are you a Mom and Pop store? Fantastic…as long as you are selling shawarma.  With Xers and Millennials more willing to spend their hard-earned dollars dining out compared to other age cohorts, the presenters believe that the village centers are ideal locations for restaurants and other food and beverage service-centric establishments.  

Hotels:  given our proximity to Washington D.C., our hotels are geared towards Federal Government contractors.  In short, don’t expect five-star accommodations anytime soon.

Growth/Development:  It is clear that the presenters believe that a section of our community, located in the southeastern quadrant of Columbia, is primed to be the Next Big Thing, at least from a commercial/retail perspective.  Many shopping centers already exist in this area, which was referred to by the efficient yet clunky acronym GEDS (GE Appliance Facility – Dobbin Road – Snowden River Parkway corridors).  This area could very well develop into Town Center II, but we will leave that for a future discussion.  

At this point, my notes get sketchy.  Several elected officials were seated in the row immediately behind me, and they were talking amongst themselves, presumably discussing the findings.  Either that or plotting the best means for Howard County to secede from the State of Maryland…and debating if the new state capital should be housed closer to the Victoria Gastro Pub in Columbia or The Rumor Mill in Ellicott City. 

Following the conclusion of the presentation, a Q & A session broke out.  The first three questions from the audience nailed the source of the menace I noticed in the room earlier that evening: the Specter of Apprehension…about subsidized housing and safety in the villages, about change, about the future. 

One would think that more area residents would express a feeling of confidence about the days ahead.  On paper, there should be a greater sense of security. Howard County is, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the “second wealthiest county by median household in the United States.”  Of course there is poverty here too…many families in our neighborhoods are struggling to get by.  But the folks at this forum were, primarily, solidly middle-class. Not 1%ers, but people who were doing OK…all things considered.  Yet they were anxious.  What does this say about Columbia? About the American Dream?

Heavy questions, which remain unanswered on this bright Thursday morning. Time to go forth and launch into the day.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.

Quiet Storm

Yes, an evening post.  Mixing it up. Change is good for the humors.

When I started this blog, I promised to talk about my local community.  Not tonight.  Not at length anyway.  The week ahead is chock full o’menace and I need some time to reflect, to enjoy the silence that Dave Gahan talked about.  Embrace the tranquility before the thunder.

I serve on the Wilde Lake Village Board.  I was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Board for the 2013 – 2014 term back in May of last year.  The filing deadline to run in the April elections draws near.  This Thursday, in fact.  At 9:00 pm local time.

I have made my decision as to whether or not I will run for a full-term. I would go ahead and tell everyone my plans but the keyboard seems to be resisting.  Perhaps it is relishing in the peacefulness of the night too. So, I will just post the “news” tomorrow.

Stay tuned, as more will follow.