Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Curious Contribution

Call us nosy.

We're all for getting something for nothing, and all for remaking Symphony Woods. But it strikes us as odd that an anonymous nonprofit that does not hail from Howard County wants to donate $250,000 to CA to remake the downtown park (to be matched by public funds that a great number of politicians are taking credit for). Is anyone else just a little curious about what might motivate a group to do that?

From the Sun:

Columbia Association President Phil Nelson said the nonprofit is headquartered outside Howard County and insisted on anonymity or would rescind the gift. The CA has budgeted $1.2 million for planning and to begin construction in the year that began May 1 and $1.4 million more next fiscal year. Work should begin next spring, officials said.

2 comments:

Smirkman said...

This plan is the epitome of "Too little, too late." 1) This area was left to rot for years until GGP wanted to upgrade the park. 2) The plan that CA has come up with does not make this location a "destination." If the surrounding properties are a success, people may use this space but will not go out of their way.
Is the park better with this plan? Yes, but going from an "F" to a "D" is an improvement that I wouldn't brag about.

Freemarket said...

Hmmmm. Maybe a non-profit which benefits from the Symphony of Lights? Possibly a health care non-profit loosely associated with Howard County General hospital?

Such an entity would have an interest in Symphony Woods and an incentive to hide their contribution since it's not directly related to health care. Also, such a group would be large enough to bury a $250K donation in their books.