What Does the Village Board Do?

The Village Board is elected by the community each April to advocate for residents, set policy, and uphold the covenants. The Board hires and supervises the Village Manager, approves the budget, and provides representation and is a liaison to the county, Columbia Association, and other community groups. The Village Board usually meets on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. The meetings on the second Monday of the month are virtual at The Hawthorn Center, the meetings on the fourth Monday are hybrid. The meetings begin at 7:30 pm and the meeting invitation is available on the Meeting, Minutes and Agenda page.

Annual Meeting/Election 2025

The nomination period for candidates to declare candidacy has ended. Hickory Ridge has a contested election for Columbia Council, so there will be an election for that seat.

The candidates for the Columbia Council are:

Skye Anderson – Candidate statement, Questionnaire

Jared Ball – Candidate statement, Questionnaire

Absentee ballots will start hitting mailboxes in early April. Ballots may be returned via mail, dropped at The Hawthorn Center, or returned during the Community Celebration in The Hawthorn Center parking lot on Friday, April 25, 2025, 5:30 – 7:30pm.

Election Day is Saturday, April 26, 2025, 9:00am – 12:00pm. The Board will convene the annual meeting at 12:15pm on Saturday, April 26th, at The Hawthorn Center.

Have questions? Call Laura at 410-730-7327 or email manager@hickoryridgevillage.org.

CANDIDATE FORUMS

VIRTUAL, scripted Candidate Forum –  Monday, March 31st at 7:00pm. Watch the recording of this Candidate Forum here!

IN-PERSON Candidate Forum – Monday, April 7th at 7:00pm at The Hawthorn Center. Residents may sign up when they arrive in order ask candidates extemporaneous questions during the forum. As many resident questions as possible will be allowed within the allotted time period.

Village Board

There are five people running for five Village Board seats. Per the Hickory Ridge Bylaws, Article II, Section 2.03, “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, if, after the deadline date for candidate’s statements has closed, the number of candidates meeting the requirements set forth in Section 2.03 is less than or equal to the number of vacant director positions, the qualified nominees shall be deemed to have been elected by the members and the Board of Directors shall appoint such nominees to the available director positions for the term provided for in Article 8 of the Association’s Articles of Incorporation.“

Because the election is uncontested, the Village Board candidates will be appointed to the vacant Village Board seats for 2026 fiscal year, which runs May 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026.

The Village Board appointees are (to read their candidate statements, click on the name):

• Kristine Amari
• Mark Covington
• Steve Hannan
• Mike McGarity
• Mariah Robertson

The Village Board meets on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at 7:30pm. The Columbia Association Council meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month. Candidate information is available on the website.

 

Currently serving members:

Columbia Council FY2024

Skye Anderson

Hickory Ridge Village Board FY2024

Kristine Amari

Jared Ball

Michael Campbell

Stephen Hannan

Samantha Link

Please Note: All written communication submitted to the Hickory Ridge Community Association, including the Hickory Ridge Village Board, is subject to disclosure pursuant to public information requests under The Maryland Homeowners Association Act.

All Board members are required to sign the Conflict of Interest policy. An updated prohibited entity list is below.

HICKORY RIDGE PROHIBITED ENTITY LIST

View the Annual Report on Village activities.

Email all of the Board members at board@hrvboard.org.