Meeting Minutes – May 27, 2014

Regular OMCA Board Meeting

Mr. McCormack called the regular meeting of the OMCA Board of Directors to order at       7:31 pm.

Present: Sandy Cederbaum, Village Manager; Brigitta Warren, Programs & Administrative Assistant; Bill McCormack, Jr. Board Co-Chair; Ginny Thomas, Board Co-Chair; Jonathan Edelson; Liz Smull; Paul Verchinski; Tawania Williams; Kay Wisniewski

Absent: Jervis Dorton, AC Chair; Reginald Avery, CA Board

Also Present: Desirae Williams, The Columbia Bank Manager; See Resident List

Mr. McCormack announced the walk from the Bridge to Blandair this Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 10:30am. Mr. Dorton requested a head count of who will be attending the walk.

Opening of Meeting

• Ms. Wisniewski motioned for the agenda for May 27, 2014 (ATTACHMENT “A”) be approved with amendments. Mr. Verchinski seconded and the motion passed (7-0-0).

Old Business

• Mr. McCormack called for a revote for the OMCA Board Co-Chair position due to the proxy clarification. Ms. Thomas had 4 votes and Mr. Edelson had 4 votes. Mr. Edelson declined the nomination for Board Co-Chair. A vote was taken for Ms. Thomas to be elected as Co-Chair of the OMCA Board (6-0-0).
• Ms. Thomas asked the Board if they would like to reinstate Ms. Smull to the OMCA Board, change the OMCA Board to 7 members or advertise for the open Board position. Ms. Thomas nominated Ms. Smull to be reinstated to the Board. Ms. Smull stated due to personal business, she declines the nomination. Ms. Thomas thanked Ms. Smull for all that she has done for OMCA.
• Mr. Verchinski made a motion to table any decision regarding the number of seats on the OMCA Board. Ms. Wisniewski seconded and the motion passed (6-0-0).
• Ms. Thomas made a motion to approve the minutes dated May 13, 2014 (ATTACHMENT “B”). Mr. Edelson seconded. Mr. Verchinski asked for an amendment of the May 27, 2014 minutes due to some needed clarification regarding the last page. Mr. McCormack motioned to table the approval of the May 13, 2014 minutes. Mr. Edelson seconded and the motion passed (6-0-0). Ms. Cederbaum and Ms. Warren will listen to the audio kept of the May 13, 2014 meeting and clarify.

Resident Remarks

• Desirae Williams, Manager of The Columbia Bank, was present to reintroduce herself to the OMCA Board. She is the Branch Manager of the Columbia Bank. She stated she is available to help with the business development and revitalization of Oakland Mills.

New Business

Reports from Committee Representatives

• Watershed Advisory Committee: Daniel Kirk-Davidoff, Chair, was present to give an update to the Board. The WAC works with John McCoy, CA Director Watershed, to increase Columbia’s contribution towards the viability of the Chesapeake Bay. Mr. Davidoff invited the Board to provide comments regarding water management issues and he will bring them back to the committee, the Columbia Association and John McCoy. Ms. Thomas asked Mr. Davidoff for a list of current projects the WAC is working on. Mr. Davidoff said he would be able to provide that.
• Public Space Committee: Gerry Witte, Chair, distributed copies of his PowerPoint presentation. (ATTACHMENT “C”) The committee is currently working on: Open Space beautification pilot project at Patriot Pond, acknowledging the legal obligation of the Columbia Association to help with invasive vegetation and the coordination with other villages to make them aware of current open space issues.
• Senior Advisory Committee: Mr. Verchinski provided background information about the Senior Advisory Committee. Mr. Verchinski handed out the “Identifying Plan Priorities” included in the “Older Adult Comprehensive Plan” that was approved by the CA Board on April 26, 2014. (ATTACHMENT “D”) He announced that The Village in Howard and the AARP is hosting an information session on May 28, 2014 at 5:30pm and 7:30pm at Union Jacks in Columbia. The Senior Advisory Committee is working on adopting some charter changes that CA had not revised since 2006. Each CA advisory group will have to 1) submit an annual report, 2) each committee must attend a CA meeting once a year, 3) each committee will be charged an annual charge, and 4) each CA committee will need to provide budget testimony. All advisory meetings will be posted on the CA’s website, including minutes, agendas and any other relevant information. Resident Gerry Witte asked if CA would be providing reduced memberships for older adults. Mr. Verchinski stated that initially there was talk about a reduced rate for new older members. Currently, there is an income based rate reduction, but many seniors are reluctant to do that.
• Tennis Advisory Committee: Jim Alvey, Chair, distributed his 2013-2014 Annual Report (ATTACHMENT “E”). The Tennis Advisory Committee meets the third Wednesday of the month and serves as the gatekeeper of all activities in CA related to tennis. Some additional information not on the report: If the the Owen Brown bubble comes down for any reason it will not be repaired which will mean the loss of five indoor courts. The Advisory Committee is working on insuring that there will be enough indoor tennis facilities and are pursing a new indoor facility near the SportsPark in Harpers Choice The new CA Tennis General Manager wants to make sure the general public is involved in tennis.
• Special Projects Report: Mr. Edelson distributed the Stevens Forest Elementary School/Neighborhood Center Update (ATTACHMENT “F”). Howard County school redistricting added 100 more children to SFES this year and next year, pre-K will be added. No additional outside accommodations were made. Safety issues were of biggest concern. The committee was informed today that the crosswalk that was requested would be installed by the end of 2014. Ron Morris, Principal of SFES, stated that there has been some concern regarding the security cameras and there view of private property. Without further information, Mr. Morris assured Mr. Edelson and wanted to assure the community that no cameras are viewing private property. If a resident has concerns they can contact the HCBOE central office. Other issues that are still of concern are: there is no crossing guard at Kilimanjaro Road crossing; SFES is the only school where the front view of the school is blocked by the forest of trees; and the standing water that is by the school.

Acceptance of 2014 Election Results

• Ms. Cederbaum submitted the 2014 Election hard copy of the results to record on behalf of Barbara Heazal, Chairperson of the OMCA Election Monitoring Committee. (ATTACHMENT “G”) Ms. Wisniewski motioned to accept the 2014 Election Results. Mr. Verchinski seconded and the motion passed (6-0-0).
• Ms. Thomas asked the Election Monitoring Committee to submit any changes that they think are needed in the election process.

Board Co-Chair Remarks

• Mr. McCormack thanked all of the residents who were in attendance for coming to the meeting.
• Ms. Thomas seconded what Mr. McCormack stated and wanted to ensure open communication and transparency. All committees will be getting minutes of what is going on with the OMCA Board and community input will be sought. Ms. Thomas announced the Task Force meeting that will take place on June 3, 2014 at 7pm at The Other Barn. An agenda for this meeting will be posted soon.

Manager’s Report

• Ms. Cederbaum distributed her report (ATTACHMENT “H”). She also distributed a Memorandum regarding the Oakland Mills Bridge Feasibility Student Meeting (ATTACHMENT “I”) and Bridge Columbia Core Group Meeting Summary dated May 14, 2014 (ATTACHMENT “J”). Resident Witte asked what the relationship was between Bridge Columbia and the Oakland Mills Community Association. Ms. Cederbaum responded that Bridge Columbia started as a separate entity. The previous OMCA boards have supported Bridge Columbia and the Bridge Columbia Committee looks forward to making a presentation to the current board.

Multi Use Pathway Discussion

• Mr. Verchinski distributed copies of the email he had sent to David Boellner, Howard County Department of Zoning, regarding the Multi Use Pathway. (ATTACHMENT “K”) Mr. Verchinski asked the Board where they want to go with their input regarding the pathway. Ms. McCormack requested that, following the walk on Saturday, could Mr. Verchinski and Mr. Dorton put something together to propose to the County. Mr. Verchinski stated that yes, he could do that, but the walk on Saturday would not be able to provide the type of information that is necessary to make recommendations to the County, that type of information can be found in the HC drawings of proposed pathways. Mr. Verchinski stated he will follow up with Mr. Dorton. Mr. McCormack recommended notifying residents who live by the proposed pathways to get their input. Eric Johnston of Emerson Hill would like to join in on the discussion of any issues relating to the pathway.

Donation Policy

• Ms. Cederbaum distributed a draft of OMCA Donation Policy along with examples of previous donations given. (ATTACHMENT “L”) Ms. Thomas asked where OMCA gets the money to fund the donations. Ms. Cederbaum stated it is a line item in the budget and the the budget revenue is comprised of funds from CA in the village’s assessment share as well the revenue we generate from renting The Other Barn. Ms. Thomas asked what the process has been. Ms. Cederbaum responded that a letter is written to the Board requesting the donation, it is brought to the Board at one meeting and the following meeting the donation is voted on. Mr. Verchinski recommended having a deadline for all donation requests. Mr. McCormack stated he wants to ensure the donation policy is perceived as fair. Ms. Cederbaum will “tighten up” donation policy and send to the OMCA Board members before the next meeting.

Revitalization Grant from CA

• A discussion of whether to accept the grant donation from CA as submitted ensued. Ms. Cederbaum provided clarification of the grant request specifications. Ms. Thomas asked for clarification of tasks Mr. Eiland has performed as the Community Organizer. Mr. Eiland and Ms. Cederbaum described many of the tasks that Mr. Eiland performs. Ms. Thomas asked what the community’s needs were regarding revitalization. She requested meeting with CA and finding out what Oakland Mills options are relating to the money being discussed. The concern was that the money will eventually run out and how will OMCA proceed from there. Ms. Cederbaum stated that CA gave out grant money based on the six pages that were provided describing what the OM Community Organizer does. Ms. Williams and Mr. Edelson gave examples of how Mr. Eiland as the Community Organizer is vital to the community. Ms. Thomas motioned to accept $10,000 and another look at the tasks listed in the grant and whether the OMCA Board thinks these tasks will benefit the community best or whether the OMCA Board wants to change some of these tasks. Mr. McCormack seconded and the motion passed (5-1-0). Ms. Thomas and Mr. Edelson will work on issues of beyond funds given to OMCA by CA.

Board Bulletin Board

• Ms. Warren announced the upcoming Columbia Home Tour to take place this Sunday, June 1, 2014 from 11am to 5pm. Tickets can be purchased at Amherst house on Saturday and Sunday.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:12 pm.

Respectfully submitted: Brigitta Warren, Event and Administrative Coordinator