Meetings: Who Needs ‘Em?

This is not breaking news. More like five days ago. You may already have seen it.

Task Force to Help Guide Columbia’s Future Growth , Kristin Danley-Greiner, Columbia Patch

The County announcement and further information is here.

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced the formation of a New Town Task Force, a collaborative effort bringing together community members, industry professionals, and planning experts to recommend zoning updates in Columbia New Town. The executive order signed today establishes a 20-member committee to craft recommendations for future zoning and development.

- - from Howard County Government Facebook page

The officially nameless, faceless folks at HoCo APFO have already found the time to cast aspersions on this announcement and whatever work is accomplished going forward. I guess it’s a time saving measure on their part. They are planning ahead to discredit the results.

But this post isn’t about the topic that the task force members will be addressing. It’s about task forces. And committees. And commissions. And one more thing - - the thing that strikes terror into my heart - - going to meetings.

I can’t be the only relatively engaged person in our community that dreads going to meetings. When I looked at this announcement this morning I thought of all the people who aren’t available to serve on committees but probably have a good deal to offer. For instance:

• People with young children
• People who work in the gig economy 
• People who care for the elderly or disabled 
• People who are elderly or disabled 
• People taking night classes
• People who would rather have dental work than go to meetings!!!

It’s okay to laugh. I know that last one is kind of ridiculous. 

Community members who are willing and able to give their time to serve in this capacity are very much needed and I am grateful for them. But, in addition to being selected for having specific knowledge/life experience, it’s also true that an unspoken qualification is that they must be good at/willing to go to meetings. Multiple meetings. Sometimes long meetings.

No, I haven’t given a whole lot of thought as to how else this could be accomplished. We’ve always done it this way, as they say. Well, that’s not true. There were plenty of times that the white men in charge just made the decisions and that was it. But now, at least in Howard County, we have a number of ways to get community input and I appreciate that.

On the other hand, there are some people who absolutely love going to meetings and have all the time in the world. They are willing to to sit there as long as it takes to have their say and get their way. In my opinion you do not want too many of them in one group. There is such a thing as being too good at going to meetings.

So, here’s my question: if we look at the list of people who can’t/aren’t serving on these committees, does it make a difference that they are not in the room? Is the end result altered by their absence? Are we perceptive enough to even recognize that?

What do you think?

Village Green/Town² Comments