A Baltimore County Board of Recreation and Parks hearing has been set for next month to allow what's left of the Lansdowne-Riverview Recreation and Parks Council to appeal its decertification.
Programs under the Lansdowne-Riverview council umbrella were halted after the county board lifted the group's certification July 13. The action came amid a countywide review of recreation councils and their operations, which in Lansdowne were called dysfunctional.
While some Lansdowne-Riverview sports programs remain in limbo until an appeal is heard and decided, others have moved to join other area councils.
The Lansdowne-Riverview council, which dates to October 1978, runs 17 athletic programs for children and adults, including cheerleading, wrestling, football and softball, according to its website.
"There are programs that left and are not returning. There are programs that don't want to go anywhere," Dayana Bergman, one of the council's program directors. "We want our kids to play in our community. We need a council that's functioning and knows how to operate."
Keith Boone, who ran the Lansdowne council's adult flag football program, moved it to the Baltimore Highlands council about a week after Lansdowne-Riverview's decertification.
Timing had a lot to do with the decision, he said, as the program's season begins in late August. With too much uncertainty in Lansdowne, he made the move to ensure the season would take place. About 200 players are in the program, he said.
"They just have better leadership and better structure right now," he said about the Baltimore Highlands council. "A stronger foundation."
While the move is permanent, he said he'd be willing to help a Lansdowne-based council with other programs, if asked.
"It's just unfortunate. You have people that have a passion for the rec council and passion for what they do," he said about the Lansdowne-Riverview council's leadership. "But for some unseen reason they can't coexist."
A meeting of the Lansdowne-Riverview council's board was held Tuesday to prepare for the Aug. 9 appeal. Attempts to reach Donte White, president of the Lansdowne-Riverview council, for comment were unsuccessful.
The group was decertified due to dysfunction among its leadership, according to Eric van den Beemt, the chairman of the county's Board of Recreation and Parks, in a previous interview.
Twelve volunteers representing nine Lansdowne-Riverview programs are considering trying to start a new council, Bergman said.
The Lansdowne Warriors Youth Baseball and Softball group, which Bergman helps to run, is hosting a community meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, at the Arbutus Recreation Center to seek community input.
"We don't want to give our programs up," she said. "The kids shouldn't have to play in other communities."
Council treasurer Pat Kreitzburg hopes for a resolution that will result in programs staying in the Lansdowne area. Whether that happens through re-certification or creation of a new council, she wants to make sure the 75 to 80 volunteers involved with the council are still able to contribute.
"We don't want to be disbanded," she said. "We don't want to leave the community without recreational programs."