Columbia Association board members have decided that their meetings effectively become closed anytime they stretch into the wee hours -- not to mention that the board doesn't make its best decisions at those hours.

Last week, the board adopted the recommendation of its external relations committee that all Columbia Association and committee meeting agendas include a time duration for each agenda item and a precise overall adjournment time. The committee had recommended an ending time of 10 p.m., But the board decided to make it 11 p.m.

It would take a two-thirds vote to extend the meeting beyond the established time. The board meeting at which the vote was taken ended about 11:30 p.m. The new policy was to be in effect for yesterday's performance oversight committee and all future committee meetings. The next full board meeting that will fall under the new rules is scheduled March 27.

A recent analysis shows that most association and committee meetings end past 10 p.m., and many do not end until after 11 p.m. or after midnight.

"Anything that goes past 10 or 11 is a closed meeting," said board member Miles Coffman, who represents Hickory Ridge village. "This needs to be dealt with and not swept under the rug. It's a serious problem."

Board member Pearl Atkinson-Stewart, who represents Owen Brown, said it is clear that the public is concerned about the matter. "We had members of the public who complained that they came to the meetings and had to leave because of the lateness of the hour," Atkinson-Stewart said.

And not only is the late hour a problem for residents, the lateness of the hour also puts the quality of governance at risk, some believe.

"I think we do make bad decisions after 10 or 11'o'clock," said board member Cynthia Coyle of Harper's Choice.

If a committee meeting lasts nearly 5 1/2 hours, as research has shown they do, then it would not end until about 12:30 a.m., according to the External Relations Committee's recommendation.

"The scheduled length of this meeting does not allow the average Columbia resident to attend for an entire meeting," the committee wrote in its recommendation to the board. "Board and committees would therefore be conducting their business at a time that could not be considered transparent and open to the average Columbia resident."

In addition to the problems of residents missing out on the meetings, there is a further risk.

"Members of the press frequently leave meetings due to time constraints, further restricting the public's access to information that should come from an open and transparent meeting," said the committee recommendation.

Meanwhile, the board continued to discuss the best plan for scheduling a meeting with Gregory F. Hamm, General Growth Properties regional vice president and general manager of Columbia, who is handling downtown redevelopment.

"What we're doing now as a board is absolutely criminal because we're doing absolutely nothing," said Coffman.

Board members disagreed on whether an invitation extended verbally by the board when Hamm visited last month was sufficient or whether he should be sent written correspondence from a committee or the board.

"We can't hogtie them and rope them and force them to come talk to us," said Barbara Russell, board chairwoman, who represents Oakland Mills. "I'm trying to figure out what the magic is of having the external relations committee invite them instead of the full board."

The board decided to direct staff members to investigate potential dates for a meeting with GGP. It then will formally extend an invitation. Board members also discussed the need to get answers to Hamm on matters he raised when he attended a meeting last month.

General Growth Properties is to present its master plan on downtown redevelopment to the public April 28.

june.arney@baltsun.com