COLUMBIA, Md. — Two of the three members removed from the Columbia Association Board claim the move was done in retaliation.
On Thursday, the board voted behind closed doors to oust Reg Avery, Karin Emery, and Eric Greenberg following a months-long ethics investigation.
In it, a panel of three independent attorneys found the trio had acted in “bad faith” when filing an initial ethics complaint against the Chair and another member of the board.
Ousted Columbia Association board members claim retaliation following closed door vote
The announcement of their removal came at the beginning of the meeting, and led to an outburst by the three and chair Collin Sullivan, in response, calling for a recess.
The move leaves the villages of Long Reach, Oakland Mills and River Hill without representation at the moment.
“I do believe that in doing my job as a board member, I am being retaliated against because of my advocacy for the residents,” Emery told WMAR-2 News’ Blair Sabol on Friday. “I’m going to keep fighting for the residents, that’s what I’m about. No matter what happens, I will find a way to advocate for and fight for the residents.”
“The board acted in accordance with CA’s bylaws and its process for considering alleged violations of the Code of Business Conduct & Polices,” director of CA media relations Julie Miller shared in an email.
However, Emery argues that’s not the case.
“You needed two-thirds of all the members to vote to remove a member, and only nine people were there, and only five people were there to remove us,” she said.
The CA owns and maintains recreation spots across the community, from parks to gyms and pools. It currently manages roughly $95 million annually, with about half coming from required fees for residents who live in the unincorporated community.
The drama began when Avery, Emery, and Greenberg filed a complaint last year against Sullivan and fellow board member Bill Santos, alleging that confidential information had been improperly released. That being Greenberg’s evaluation of the CEO.
"I think they wanted to alienate Eric from the leadership team, and especially from the president. We didn't have a choice," Emery said.
The ethics panel found, as stated in a publicly released 84-page document, that their complaint had been filed in bad faith. It further notes that a “frivolous complaint” could cost the organization substantial funds.
“The complaint certainly wasn’t frivolous,” Greenberg said.
“We had to file that complaint; it was clear that Collin had violated the policy, and yet when the report came back from the investigator, they turned it around on us and seemed to be blaming us for filing the ethics complaint in the first place, which I don’t understand at all,” Emery said.
The panel stated they were uncooperative in the investigation and recommended their removal.
They believe the issue stems from questioning the board’s efforts and decisions.
“We often vote in the minority in many votes and we’re the ones that ask questions. We’re the one that asked the question: Why did we need to raise people’s fees? Why do we need to raise the cost to use the pools?” Greenberg said. “I’m very concerned that we’re taxing our residents more and more and more, and yet they’re getting less and less.”
“I have people who can look out their windows and see a pool that they cannot afford to go to,” Emery said. “I think that’s ridiculous.”
While the CA collects mandatory fees every year, residents still have to pay to get into CA-managed pools and other recreational spaces. They have also pointed out that there are plans to replace three area pools, Bryant Woods, Jeffers Hill, and Talbott Springs, with splash pads. An effort that is more costly and less desired than renovating the pools, according to the pair.
Neither Emery nor Greenberg has said what their plan is moving forward.
There are elections on Saturday, April 25. Emery is on the ballot, running again uncontested for her seat.
CA reports that the three villages will have to submit a nomination to fill the vacancies.
