As the new Columbia Association board chairwoman, Barbara Russell wants to encourage a more positive culture on a board that can be acrimonious at times.
“I would like to engender more openness and more respect among members,” said Russell, of Oakland Mills.
But at least one member isn?t convinced.
Pearl Atkinson-Stewart, of Owen Brown, took issue with committee assignments given Wednesday, saying the three senior members were placed on the committee that focuses on community relations, rather than committees covering weightier issues pertinent to their experience, such as preparing the budget.
This created a rift on the board, Atkinson-Stewart said.
“I see the same old hatred is going to exist, because it was demonstrated last night,” she said of the Wednesday meeting.
The board changes come on the heels of often-heated debates among a board evenly split over CA President Maggie Brown?s contract.
One area where most members do agree is on the length of the monthly board meetings. Starting at 7:30 p.m., they can run until well after midnight, with debate seeming to stretch for hours.
This could be fixed on the board operations committee, which sets the agenda, said Russell, who is chairwoman of that committee. The board has to balance addressing the important issues with keeping to a reasonable agenda.
“I certainly will be looking for efficiency at the board meetings,” Russell said.
It could also depend on the board sticking to the new policy of holding most debates in the committees, rather than the full board. This is intended to add efficiency, Atkinson-Stewart said.
Newcomer Evan Coren, of Kings Contrivance, said he too “very much wants to see shorter meetings,” and has an idea that might help. He wants to create a searchable database of all board decisions, which would bring members up to speed and cut down on some discussion time.
