Village Manager

A former nurse and special events coordinator at the Family Life Center in Columbia has been named the village manager of Columbia's Town Center Village.Kathleen Liparini, 52, of Columbia's Hickory Ridge village was chosen from about 30 candidates, said Donna Rice, chairwoman of the Town Center Community Association.Liparini, whose new duties include coordinating events at Town Center and managing its budget, replaced three-year village Manager Wendy Todd on May 15."She has a very keen commitment to Columbia and the Columbia concept," said Rice of the new manager.

The Columbia Council is considering a proposal to remove financial autonomy from Columbia's 10 village centers amid questions of possible financial mismanagement at one center and an audit that is examining the books at all centers.Anne Darrin, village manager of Dorsey's Search, resigned Feb. 27, a few weeks after the Columbia Association launched an audit of her center's records, according to Pam Mack, a CA spokeswoman.In a written statement, Darrin, who had been the center's manager since 1989, said, "The village ran very well under my management, and the results all support this."

Residents in Columbia's Oakland Mills village can voice their concerns about what's happening in their village at a community-wide meeting Nov. 29.The 7:30 p.m. meeting at the Other Barn is a follow-up to similar meetings that community leaders attended Wednesday and this summer in the east Columbia village.As one of the new town's earliest villages, Oakland Mills is showing signs of aging. Residents also have expressed worries about growing crime problems."It's a chance for people to talk about whatever concerns they have and whatever their dreams are for community-building in the village," said Erin Peacock, the village manager.

About 200 residents gathered at Oakland Mills Village Center on Saturday to discuss their village's problems and to hash out a plan to solve them. With a laptop at each table and a wireless, handheld voting gadget for each resident, the group created a prioritized list of projects to improve the community. The meeting was part of an revitalization effort funded by United Way, Columbia Foundation, Horizon Foundation and Enterprise Foundation. The consortium hired the nonprofit group America Speaks to coordinate the technology-laden meeting.

County Executive James N. Robey and officials of the Department of Citizen Services' Office on Aging will break ground on a new Glenwood Community Center at 11 a.m. Wednesday at 2400 Route 97, adjacent to the Glenwood library. The center, which will be in Western Regional Park, will include activity rooms and classrooms for fine arts and crafts, continuing education, computer training, dance, exercise and meetings. Also planned are a gymnasium with a three-lane jogging and walking track, basketball and volleyball courts, fitness rooms, lockers and showers.

Local politicians, officials and residents will discuss the fate of Columbia's Oakland Mills Village Center at a village board meeting tonight. Village board officials have designated the meeting as a public forum to tackle issues that have arisen since the February announcement that the village center's Giant grocery store will close in June.County Executive Charles I. Ecker is expected to attend, along with Democratic state delegates Shane Pendergrass, Elizabeth Bobo and Frank S. Turner, said Erin Peacock, village manager.

Concerned about rising energy costs, Columbia village officials are urging the Columbia Association board to consider an energy contingency fund and other possible solutions as it moves toward a final vote on the association's proposed 2007 and 2008 fiscal year budgets next month. "We don't have an extravagant budget," Bill Woodcock, chairman of the Oakland Mills Village Board, said of his village's finances. "It's just enough to do what we have to do, and utilities are a major concern in the budget.

One of Columbia's longest-running village events could be discontinued because of lack of interest. Officials of Owen Brown village recently distributed 3,800 questionnaires to its residents, asking if they would like to see the Lake Elkhorn Festival continue. The annual event started in 1974. The event was canceled because of bad weather in 2003 and 2004. Village officials said last year's event suffered from a lack of volunteers and low attendance and lost $1,100. "We want to get a feel from the community to see if they really want us to continue the event," said Neil Dorsey, chairman of the Owen Brown Village Board.

Karyn Entrop thought her family escaped the hazards of big city traffic when they moved to Columbia from Pittsburgh two years ago. But the youngest member of the Dorsey Search Village board found her community has traffic problems of its own.Shortly after joining the village board last May, Karyn, 16, staked out the intersection at Route 108 and Columbia Road and found a pedestrian nightmare."

OWEN BROWN residents who missed the deadline to apply for the April elections now have a second chance to serve their community. Two village board vacancies were created because board member Wanda Hurt was elected to the Columbia Council and Catherine Hester is resigning June 28.Residents are asked to bring or mail a letter of interest to the Owen Brown Village Board, 6800 Cradlerock Way, Columbia, before 5 p.m. June 20.Village Manager Ruth Bohse and the...