Using e-mail helps the Columbia Association work quickly and efficiently, but the board of directors is debating whether its online communication excludes Columbia residents.
“When you send something out on e-mail, the public doesn?t have access,” board Chairman Tom O?Connor said.
The debate is key as the board works to mend its strained relationship with the community. The board was recently chastised by the community for holding closed business meetings and closing a playground without notifying the community, a decision it later rescinded.
Board member Phil Marcus said the group should post its discussions on a blog that is accessible to residents.
“There should be such a forum, where speed and convenience is available,” Marcus said.
He said the board is “not playing by the rules” when it uses e-mail to talk about issues such as selecting a consultant to form an energy cooperative.
O?Connor said he asks the board to stop e-mailing each other if they talk about anything other than clarifying an administrative fact, such as when a meeting is scheduled to begin.
However, at least one board member said the board uses e-mail as a forum for debate.
“Why bother to fight in front of people when we can look like we know what we are talking about, and be more comfortable with our position, if we talk through e-mail?” Board Member Cindy Coyle said.
Legal advice the board received two years ago stated the board should not use e-mail to debate issues, O?Connor said.
O?Connor said a lawsuit in 2000 by current Howard County School Board candidate Allen Dyer against the school board is fresh in his mind. Dyer said the board was violating the Open Meetings Act when it used e-mail to communicate among its members. The Howard County CircuitCourt and the state Court of Special Appeals dismissed the suit.
The Columbia Association is not subject to the Open Meetings Act, which states that a municipality can send e-mail, but not talk online in a chat room, said Maryland Assistant Attorney General Bill Varga.
The Columbia Association complies with state code for homeowners? associations, Varga said. He said the code states that homeowners? associations must hold open meetings in most circumstances, but does not define an open meeting or discuss e-mail use.
