Wow, would I love a gig working for the Columbia Association working as a consultant. Because these consultants never, ever seem to unearth what any resident who's kept their ear to the ground for more than 15 minutes don't already know.
The latest example of this has to do with the CA Aquatics department, and is chronicled for all time in this article by Luke LaVoie. The number one priority of CA aquatics is-- gasp! An indoor pool! Either a new facility, or an enclosure of an existing facility.
Who knew such a thing? Well, I did. It's been known for years that the inventory of aquatics facilities in Columbia and Howard County don't meet the demand. Campaigns to make swimming a high school sport fall short due to lack of facilities. The Columbia Clippers have complained for years about the lack of adequate space and time for practices and events. And several years ago, my own humble OM village board considered an enclosure over the Stevens Forest pool, which failed because it was to be used exclusively for the Clippers. If it had been open for public use, Stevens Forest pool would have been enclosed today! They used to have a board chair who had some visionary ideas like that. : )
So my only question about this consultants' report is: how much did they get paid to produce this? Because I coulda done better and been as professional, yet with much more entertainment!
This facility is needed now and I urge the CA Board to work with all possible dispatch on moving forward to making it a reality.
The Consultant produced schematics of indoor pool sites over existing pools. If you get a chance, you may want to read the Aquatics Master Plan. http://www.columbiaassociation.com/aquaticsmasterplan/
We projected the need for an indoor pool a long time ago. The Consultant was engaged to bring that plan forward and modify an existing pool.
Posted by: Tom Coale | January 12, 2013 at 05:37 AM