In the upstairs of an old, rustic dairy barn decorated with string lights, sunlight shines through big windows. To get there, guests walk up a winding staircase carved out of the barn’s original silo.

The staircase is a popular background for wedding photos. Known as The Other Barn, this renovated barn in Columbia is now a community building managed by the Oakland Mills Community Association.

Since the planned community of Columbia was founded in 1967, the Columbia Association has overseen public amenities and services while its 10 village community associations have become responsible for many of the community buildings and centers in each neighborhood. That, however, could change under recommendations the association’s board of directors was to discuss Thursday night to assume management of some or all of those facilities. The item was later pulled from the board’s agenda, though board members heard testimony from residents concerned about the proposal.

Village leaders are questioning what would happen to building revenue that they rely on to hold festivals, flea markets, pool parties and other events.

Merely considering such a change to the way Columbia operates has prompted spirited debate.

“This plan puts these events in jeopardy,” wrote Eric Greenberg, River Hill’s representative on the board, in a letter to his community.

Greenberg said the plan “would not only shift control of these vital community spaces but also the revenue they generate — impacting the events, services, and sense of community we’ve built together.”

Bill Santos, chair of the Columbia Association board, said it asked staff to study the management of buildings like The Other Barn because the “unequal distribution” of neighborhood centers is creating “financial inequity among the villages.”

For example, Columbia Association staff noted that Oakland Mills, Wilde Lake and Long Reach each have a community building and three neighborhood centers, while Owen Brown manages just one community center.

Although many board members “did not fully endorse this view,” Santos said, enough believed it was worth investigating.

“This goal was never intended to imply a takeover, but instead a study to see if CA could first identify a financial inequity and secondly provide a means that the villages could agree on to correct this inequity,” said Santos, who represents Wilde Lake.

The Columbia Association, a massive homeowners group that in many ways functions like a local government, owns the two dozen community buildings managed by the villages, which pay no rent. Each village oversees one to four buildings.

The board will consider three options at its meeting Thursday, which starts at 7 p.m. If the board adopts one of them, it would take effect in roughly two years. The options are:

• The association would manage the 10 community buildings, while the villages would run the 14 community centers.
• The association would manage all two dozen buildings.
• The villages would handle customer-facing and on-site services, while the association would provide a centralized system for building reservations and administration.

Columbia Association staff is recommending that the board adopt the second or third option, stating in a February presentation that the first choice is “determined not to be a viable option.”

The latter two options, staff says, would improve services to the community, provide opportunities to reduce costs, and increase revenue and equitable opportunities for the villages to serve their communities.

Santos said the board could adopt a proposal or amend one of the options, ask staff for more data, endorse the current management structure or take no action.

“At this time, no decision is imminent,” Santos said.

Currently, the Columbia Association covers major repairs, maintenance and capital improvements for the buildings, according to the staff presentation. It also pays their real estate taxes and for snow and trash removal.

Villages pay for staffing, operating expenses, utilities, and any repairs and maintenance under $1,000 to $2,000, depending on the village.

The Columbia Association awards an annual facility subsidy to the villages to assist with building management costs and free or reduced rentals for organizations and community members.

Karin Emery, the board’s Oakland Mills representative, said she does not favor the proposal.

“It doesn’t seem like a good deal for the villages at all, and the majority of people really don’t want it,” Emery said at a meeting of her association Tuesday night.

Emery worries about funding for beloved village events such as the River Hill and Harper’s Choice July Fourth parades and Oakland Mills’ fall festival and Jazz in the Mill, and for the monthly newsletters put out by the River Hill, Dorsey’s Search and Owen Brown villages.

“These are all really, really nice things that kind of give [each village] a unique identity,” Emery said at the meeting. “I would like us to make sure that we’re funding the villages adequately for the things that they want to do for the residents.”

Greenberg said he intends to vote against the staff recommendations.

“This proposal not only undermines the fiscal autonomy of the River Hill Community Association (RHCA) and the other nine Columbia villages, but also adds an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy, distancing our staff from the community members who rely on these facilities,” Greenberg wrote in his letter.

The staff proposal suggests establishing a centralized booking system and that the Columbia Association collect all of the rental revenue.

“Yet, CA has provided no details on how — or even if — this revenue would return to the villages to sustain our community programs,” Greenberg said.

Another concern, he said, is that as the association has been collecting more in annual assessments, the portion returned to the villages shrank from 8% in fiscal year 2019 to less than 7% for fiscal year 2026, he said. For River Hill, the village receives $45,000 less annually, Greenberg wrote.

Brigitta Warren, the village manager for Oakland Mills, said all revenue from paid events now goes back into the village. Revenue is used to provide low-cost or free community events, such as the annual pool party or fall festival, or to reinvest in village facilities not maintained by the Columbia Association.

The Other Barn is rented out for weddings, Sweet 16 parties, quinceañeras, bar and bat mitzvahs, and other celebrations.

The Village of River Hill manages Claret Hall and The Meeting Room. A recent renovation added a new roof and catering kitchen to Claret Hall and updated the bathrooms.

The hall is predominantly rented out for family events, including birthday parties, celebrations of life, small weddings and graduation celebrations, manager Renee Dubois said.

The Meeting Room is used as a daycare center during the week and also rented out for events, including worship services for a variety of organizations.

Besides offering a venue, the village centers “are the face of Columbia,” Dubois said.

She fields a wide variety of resident’s requests. No matter what they ask, Dubois knows who to call, whether it’s the Columbia Association, the health department, animal control or anyone else.

“We are here to make things better,” she said.