A Columbia Association board member plans to weigh higher insurance costs when deciding whether to install a fence or buffer around the Lake Elkhorn tot lot.
“Once you put up a fence, our insurance is three times higher,” said Pearl Atkinson-Stewart, association board representative for Owen Brown, where the playground is located.
“If someone climbs over that fence and gets in the water, we will be held totally liable for it.”
Atkinson-Stewart said she learned about the increased liability from a Community Association Institute conference she attended last week.
“They do not advocate fences. They said it causes insurance to go up, and gives a false sense of security,” she said.
“More accidents happen because parents get relaxed and are not paying attention to their children.”
The Columbia Association staff will present plans for a fence or buffer around the Lake Elkhorn tot lot to the association?s board.
“It certainly sounds like a fence is going to be one of the options, but I don?t know what they are going to propose,” said Jen Terrasa, a Columbia resident and Democratic candidate for the District 3 County Council seat, who leads a group of parents lobbying CA for the fence.
However, the tot lot?s proximity to the lake and the busy road of Cradlerock Way prevents parents from adequately supervising their children, Terrasa said.
“Lake Elkhorn is different because it has multiple hazards. It makes it a much more challenging place to supervise children,” she said.
“We need to help parents supervise children. When you have multiple hazards, it?s not just challenging; it?s impossible.”
What happened
The tot lot became a concern for some Columbia parents when 23-month-old Alex Ferrera, of Laurel, wandered from the playground and drowned in Lake Elkhorn on Sept. 2, 2005. The playground is about 160 feet from the lake.
What happens next
The Columbia Association will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at CA headquarters on Wincopin Circle in Columbia.
