It’s easy to find new Columbia Association President Phillip Nelson in a crowd: Just look for the tallest guy in the room.

At 6 foot 5, Nelson stood well above most of the local residents who came out to meet him during a special event last Thursday at Historic Oakland in Town Center. To the sounds of a Celtic trio, guests mingled inside the manor house and stood in line for the chance to speak with Nelson, 59, who took over as CA president May 1.
 
Even though Nelson has been on the job for only two months, reviews have been positive. Residents who have met him or worked with him generally described Nelson as quiet, but assertive in his ideas, and a good listener.

“He’s very frank on his thoughts and ideas on where he wants to go,” said CA Board of Directors Chairman Phillip Kirsch. “He’s exceeded my expectations for someone new.”

In his first months in office, Nelson has met with CA staff, past and present board members and Columbia residents to hear their concerns and ideas. Within a few days of taking over from past president Maggie Brown, Nelson had a blueprint outlining some of his future goals, Kirsch said.

Some of the goals Nelson put forward for the year are implementing CA’s watershed plan, improving the accessibility and affordability of CA programs, refining ideas for Symphony Woods as it relates to General Growth Properties’ efforts for developing downtown Columbia and making the organization more cost-effective, according to CA documents.

“I like to listen half as much as I like to talk,” Nelson told the crowd at Oakland. “I’m here to work with everyone who wants to do good things for Columbia.”

The association is the nonprofit organization that runs recreational facilities, parks and other services for the roughly 93,000 residents of Columbia’s 10 villages and has a $60 million budget. The president is the chief executive officer of the association and oversees its day-to-day operations, managing some 1,300 employees.
 
A different style

Nelson, the former city manager of Troy, Mich., is a contrast in many ways to his predecessor Brown.

He is an outsider, while she worked her way up through the CA ranks before becoming president in 2001. His style is more reserved compared to Brown’s gregarious and outgoing personality.

Nelson was picked after a nationwide search and was signed to a two-year contract with a starting salary of $200,000.
 
Joel Yesley, who leads the Alliance for a Better Columbia, an organization that has been critical of CA’s use of money and its lack of openness, and two other members of his group met with Nelson last week.

“Our general impression was favorable,” Yesley said. “He seemed willing to listen and took notes while we were talking ... he seemed interested in what we had to say.”

Nelson made no commitments out of the meeting, but seemed open to the organization’s ideas about controlling spending and making CA more responsive to residents, Yesley said.

Barbara Russell, a former CA board member who remains active in Columbia issues, reported a similar experience. She said she has met with Nelson several times to highlight the positive and negative things she saw during her time on the CA board.

“I’m very hopeful from what I’ve heard from him and what I’ve seen,” she said.
 
The test will be whether he is able to stand tall for Columbia residents when their interests might diverge from those of the county or General Growth, which is planning a massive redevelopment effort downtown. He needs to be a good advocate for residents and make sure their money is used wisely, she said.

“We need him to be a good businessman,” Russell said.

‘He listened’

Portia Sterns, 35, who has lived in Columbia for five years, came to Thursday's event hoping to express her concerns about the state of Lake Elkhorn. A past complaint never received a response, but Sterns said she was satisfied after talking with Nelson, who told her about upcoming dredging efforts there.

“I felt he understood. He listened,” she said.
 
Past CA presidents and board members have not always gotten along with one another. Deborah McCarty, Brown’s predecessor, resigned in 2000 after only a year and a half on the job after facing criticism about her management style and lack of loyalty to the area.

Nelson, who lives in Hickory Ridge, told the crowd how pleased he was to be in Columbia, having moved away from economically depressed Michigan. “It’s a privilege to be here,” he said.

Scott Bickell, 65, who has lived in Columbia since the early ’70s, said Nelson is taking on a big responsibility, but seemed up to the task. One of the biggest challenges will be getting the next generation invested in the community, he said.

“He’s willing to understand the dynamics and culture of this concept of Columbia,” Bickell said after spending a few minutes talking with Nelson. “It’ll be a continuing challenge ... this is a treasure and a trust.”

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