Diminished Expectations?

Currently cloudy, 70 deg-F, possible showers today. How many CA pools will open?

CA Pools Close for No Good Reason?

There may have been. There might have been a strike by lifeguards. Pumps could have failed. Chemicals not delivered. I’m just not sure.

For all accounts, yesterday was a typical Maryland/Columbia day in June. Temperatures in the mid-80’s; muggy, humid air; partly sunny or partly cloudy, depending on your disposition. My son and I had a lot of fun during the day. Morning drizzle gave way to outdoor fun in the backyard.

After lunch, we decided it would be great to cool off in the pool. We began a long trek around Columbia looking for relief from the heat. Clad in our swim trunks and towels, we first set out to Running Brook Pool. Closed. Gates locked, no one in sight, no sign, no reason.

Puzzled, we jumped in the car and headed over to Thunder Hill. Different Village, same story. Back in the car, doubts were being raised. “Are there any pools open daddy?”

We figured we would try our luck at a “super pool.” Off to Dickenson. When we arrived we found more locked gates and only birds on the lounge chairs. “Daddy, it’s not fair,” was what I heard from the back seat.

Circling back to casa de Santos, we made one more detour in hopes to find one pool that bucked the tide – Clary’s Forest. Clary’s has everything: hot tub, beach entry, fountain, diving board, and beach volley ball. The silence was humbling. “Will the pools ever open again?” I heard from my little swimmer who had no place to swim. “I’m sure they will, just not today.”

Now I know that thunderstorms were predicted for yesterday, but they never came. It seems that CA has been caught in the equivalent of a public school snow day declaration to see less than an inch accumulate on the grass. For me, this does not wash. Snow day declarations and closing pools due to thunder both are related to safety, but the snow day is often called because it can take a significant amount of time to plow the snow and make things safe. Thunder at the pool will cause the water to be vacated in usually less than three or four minutes, and the pool shut down (if needed) within half an hour.

I would imagine that beside the safety standpoint (which I believe all parties would place as the highest concern), some may try to marginalize this decision to shut down the pools by saying there are inclement weather pools that stay open. I say great, if there is inclement weather. The sun was shining most of the day yesterday.

Others may say that closing the pools would save money. I might agree with that, but in saving money, CA has degraded the value of my membership. Without value, I could care less how thrifty the organization is.

Bottom line: In my mind, CA dropped the ball on Saturday June 20, 2009.

Quote

"A great city has two hallmarks: tolerance for strangers and intolerance for mediocrity."

Bonnie Menes Kahn, Cosmopolitan City

Church Awarded Expansion Over Residents Concerns

Today in the Columbia Flier, Jennifer Broadwater has a piece on the Columbia Presbyterian Church expansion that was approved by the Howard County Board of Appeals. One of the uses that was talked about extensively during the hearing was the rental of the space to homeschooling groups during the week. Expected attendance is more than 200 children a week.

Local resident Bruce Corriveau is quoted in the article as follows:

"They are not building the church they promised to the community," said Corriveau, the spokesman for the neighbors who also is an attorney. "Regardless of what you call it, it has the feel, function and features of a school."

Dick Talkin, representing the church, had this quote in the paper:

"Complaints about existing conditions and mere speculation about future use are simply not enough," Talkin said.

Oh really? Here is a picture of the traffic on Ten Mills Road (which is immediately adjacent to the church) taken the Friday before closing arguments of the case:

And yes, the intersection of Ten Mills Road and West Running Brook Road is failing:

It seems to me that transporting more than 200 students through this "existing condition" will be problematic (there is not an abundance of pedestrian access to the church, and they have indicated that no school buses will be used to transport students).

In closing, let me make one thing clear: Children are precious, and educating them is a worthy, noble, and necessary endeavor. However, which children are being given preference, those that sit in car seats to get to the church, or those that LIVE on Ten Mills Road and West Running Brook Road?

Beyond the Numbers on Columbia Election Day

I would like to take a moment and thank everyone that ran for either a Village Board or CA Board of Directors position this spring. Although there were many non-competitive races this year, those that where competitive certainly made this election season interesting. For those that won, congratulations! For those that did not win, please continue to participate, I believe this year we will need everyone to be involved.

Looking a little deeper, I would like to thank the following people:

Kevin Preston – Harper’s Choice
Ed Cosentino – Owen Brown
Summer Romack – Owen Brown
Evan Coren – Kings Contrivance
Nina Basu – Long Reach
Trevor Greene – River Hill
John Bailey – Hickory Ridge
Brian Donoughe – Oakland Mills
Christopher Huza – Oakland Mills

What do all these people have in common? They, like me, grew up in Columbia (or at least Howard County). Collectively, we represent almost 20% of the Village Board positions (Oakland Mills has a board of 7, to the best of my knowledge, all other boards elect five).

There may be more. Given that some Villages stagger their elections, there may be some additional “I grew up in Columbia” folks that are not up for election. Lastly, there are some open seats on Village Boards. If you grew up in Columbia, please consider volunteering.

We should all get together sometime soon. In the meantime, friend me on Facebook.

We are Good for Business

Thinking about starting up a small business in Maryland? Business Week has named Columbia as the best small city in Maryland for business startups. Columbia also compares favorably to other small cities across the United States. Particularly similar sized communities such as Sugarland, Texas and Provo, Utah.

Worth a Look

A quick shout-out to my friends over @ Columbia 2.0.

Their latest video is a little look at downtown Columbia last week and worth a look. The mock interview with James Rouse is a little hokey. Otherwise, some intriguing questions.

BZ to C2.0