Village Officials

Community leaders hope to heal the strained relationship between the Columbia Association and its 10 villages by spelling out who does what for Columbia's 87,000 residents. A task force that spent the past year trying to define the association-village relationship presented its findings last night to the Columbia Council in the form of a 29-page report called "Administering the New Town of Columbia: A Cooperative Endeavor." If it is accepted by the villages and the council, the report will serve as the blueprint for how and why the entities should work together.

In a joint effort with the 10 villages, a Columbia Council committee is reviewing ways to toughen covenant enforcement in the community of 87,000.Covenant advisers and village officials have stepped up criticism in recent months of the enforcement system, which is driven by individual complaints rather than regular property inspections, saying it has no teeth."

The recent closings of High's convenience stores in Hickory Ridge and Owen Brown have left village officials and residents wondering what will replace them.Representatives at High's Baltimore office could not be reached for comment, and village officials said they don't have any information about possible new tenants."We've had people asking why the High's left [Jan. 4] and what might go there. We have not heard anything," said Ottilie Grim, Owen Brown village covenant adviser.Donna Mueller, a leasing representative of Hickory Plaza Associates, believes that a Starbucks-type store may lease the space left Jan. 25 by the High's in Hickory Ridge Plaza.

Oakland Mills village officials and Howard County police held the inaugural meeting last night of an anti-crime work group they hope will address issues such as drug use and destruction of property.About 10 residents showed up for the two-hour meeting at The Other Barn, sponsored by the village board and attended by Capt. Mike Kessler, the Southern District commander; Sgt. David J. Trapani, an area supervisor; and Lt. Sandra Regler, the village's police liaison.Participants identified 20 security issues in the village, including trespassing, burglaries and bicycle path safety.

To ease residents' increasing concerns about crime, Oakland Mills' top two village officials are promoting a plan that would change the way Howard County police provide security for Columbia's 87,000 residents.Officers patrol only a small part of the planned community's 3,100 acres of "open space" -- which includes pathways and playgrounds -- because the land is privately owned by the Columbia Association.After recent incidents in Oakland Mills, including gunfire between two unidentified men near the village center in November, David Hatch, chairman of the village board, and Earl Jones, the vice chairman, want to extend police patrolling rights throughout association property in Columbia -- a move supported by police and by Chick Rhodehamel, the assistant director of the association's open-space department.

One week after two men exchanged gunfire near the Oakland Mills Village Center, the vice chairman of the village board has renewed calls for a second satellite police office and funding for a comprehensive crime-prevention program.Before the incident, which is under investigation, Earl Jones had suggested to the village board that Howard County police open a substation in the newly renovated village center to ease some residents' growing concerns about loiterers and possible drug activity in the surrounding neighborhoods.

They were mostly idealistic twenty- and thirtysomethings with good careers and burgeoning families.They had heard that a new, different kind of community was being built in the wide-open farmland between Baltimore and Washington -- and they liked what they heard.They were Columbia's first residents -- pioneers, they called themselves -- and they began unpacking their boxes in the first Village of Wilde Lake three decades ago this month.As Columbia begins its 30th-birthday celebration this summer -- a party in Wilde Lake kicked it off yesterday -- many of Columbia's first residents are retired, and their once-modern homes need refurbishing.

In another big blow to Columbia's faltering village centers, the Giant supermarket in Oakland Mills village will close its doors in June because of sluggish business.The announcement Friday by the Giant grocery chain prompted cries of dismay from village officials, residents and merchants -- and raised the prospect that the east Columbia village center may face even tougher times down the road after the loss of its anchor."Oh my god, I can't believe this," said Eliza Chappelle, owner of the nearby Oakland Mills Village Dollar gift shop, covering her face with her hands.

A board member in Columbia's Wilde Lake village was ousted from office last month, and the board is now accepting applications to fill the vacant seat, village officials said yesterday.Kwabena Sabby, a board member who had been inexplicably absent from six consecutive meetings, was voted out of the office he had held since May, said Bernice Kish, village manager.Sabby failed to notify the five-member board of his whereabouts, did not return repeated phone calls and has yet to contact the board, Kish said.

The Village of Long Reach in Columbia is being slighted in favor of the new Village of River Hill, Long Reach Village Board Chairwoman Cecilia Januszkiewicz said last night."