Howard County nonprofit skips another council meeting over community center

A nonprofit building a new community center in Columbia has again declined to meet with the Howard County Council, raising questions among some councilmembers about how $25 million in county grant funding is being spent.

Columbia Community Concepts, the nonprofit developing The Source, was invited to meet with councilmembers Tuesday but did not attend.

The absence comes as some councilmembers continue to seek more information about the project's finances and progress. Tuesday marked the final monthly meeting of the current council, leaving some members hoping their successors will continue the oversight effort.

Council Chair Opel Jones, however, said he does not share all of his colleagues' concerns.

Nonprofit declines meeting invitation

The meeting was expected to include representatives from Columbia Community Concepts and Howard County Executive Calvin Ball's team. Instead, councilmembers Deb Jung, David Yungmann and Jones faced empty seats.

Councilwoman Liz Walsh briefly attended the meeting virtually.

Jung opened the discussion by reading a lengthy statement, saying her concerns about The Source "have never been political or personal."

She said she began noticing red flags after reviewing the community center's first annual report in February. According to Jung, the report indicated the nonprofit had spent about half of its $25 million in county grant funding to date.

Jung said she wanted more information about how the money was being spent and an update on the project's progress.

"An average of 60 nonprofits get $10 million a year while one project got $25 million. That's a lot," Jung said. "That's the kind of thing where councilmembers should be providing oversight."

The grant agreement includes a monitoring clause stating that "the County shall have access to and the right to examine any books, accounts, and/or records" to ensure compliance.

Yungmann reiterated that most councilmembers want a closer look at the project.

"I still hold out the hope everything's fine with this project," he said. "But man, when you go to these lengths to not be here and not provide information for this amount of time, it's tough."

Nonprofit pushes back on council's concerns

Although Columbia Community Concepts did not attend Tuesday's meeting, its attorney, Gregg Bernstein, sent a four-page letter responding to the concerns.

Bernstein wrote that the nonprofit has always been willing to meet with the council "under appropriate circumstances."

The letter also criticized Jung's efforts, characterizing them as attacks and arguing that the scrutiny has come at a cost to the project.

"It diverts management and professional resources from construction and increases the cost of delivering the very project the County funded," Bernstein wrote.

The letter also addressed the project's status and raised concerns about the handling of information related to an audit.

Bernstein took issue with the county's acting auditor, who announced last month that Columbia Community Concepts had challenged an audit. The letter also referenced a subpoena issued by Inspector General Kelly Madigan.

Bernstein argued that the information about the audit should have remained confidential.

Council chair offers a different perspective

After the meeting, Jones said he would welcome additional information from Columbia Community Concepts but believes the annual report provides sufficient information for now.

"Whether it's $25 million or $250,000, sometimes nonprofit organizations go about things in a way that may not be similar to what corporate entities (do), but if the final product is good to go and is good for the community, then I'm all for it," Jones said.

With the current council's final monthly meeting behind them, the debate over transparency, oversight and the project's use of county funding could continue under the incoming council.