'CIA' Taking Active Role in Colgate

For anyone driving around Dundalk last Saturday, it must have seemed like National Yard and Garage Sale Day. At least five yard sales on Dundalk Avenue, between Liberty Parkway and Boston Avenue, were taking place and several other sales were going on in Old Dundalk.

One organization taking advantage of spring weather and folks wanting to sell the unwanted after-effects of spring cleaning was the Colgate Improvement Association. The “CIA”, as it is known—and emblazoned in yellow on their purple T-shirts—held a neighborhood flea market Saturday, drawing 15 vendors from the Colgate community.

While CIA leadership admitted the flea market was more of an excuse to bring the community together than a fund raising mechanism, members of the association stood with signs on the Eastern Avenue median strip trying to draw in more foot traffic.

The flea market is part of a concerted effort by the 150 member association to get people involved, create awareness of community events and issues, and establish a forum where the community may solve its own problems without relying so heavily on government.

Monthly meetings now have an education program component in their agenda. In the past three months, meeting attendees have learned about gangs and gang activity, homeland security, and emergency preparedness.

A website has been established (http://www.mycolgate.org). According to CIA president David Bricker-Hyland, website traffic has increased substantially in recent months, reaching 11,000 hits in April.

Hyland also emphasized the CIA’s use of the Community Law Center (CLC), based in Baltimore, an organization that provides legal help to community associations and nonprofits. The CLC is helping the association apply for 501(c)3 status, the IRS tax exemption designation that would make the CIA eligible for grants as well as open up other fundraising opportunities.

“Our goal is to attain self-sufficiency through our own efforts. The (tax exemption) enables us to get grant funding so we can lessen the burden on Baltimore County for funding,” said Bricker-Hyland.

Bricker-Hyland went on to say that while the association is not flush with cash, when it sees a need, it finds a way to raise money.

This past holiday season, the CIA “adopted” a family whose mother and sole caregiver was battling cancer and unable to provide a traditional Christmas for her children. The CIA also raised money to equip the Streets of Hope homeless shelter with telephone, internet and computer capability.

However, the fact that the Streets of Hope shelter had to close due to lack of funding in April is indicative of the challenges Colgate faces, even with a vibrant and proactive community association.

Among the conversations among Colgate neighbors at the flea market, held on the St. Peter Lutheran Church parking lot, many were about code enforcement and the relative high number of rental properties in the area, as much as 40 percent, according to Bricker-Hyland.

“We treat owners and renters the same. We all live here. It’s just difficult to get someone who knows they are moving out in a few months to take care of the property,” he said.

Baltimore County Code Enforcement Bureau will be conducting a code enforcement sweep in Colgate May 17.

Colgate, like many communities in Dundalk, faces challenges brought on by years of neglect, drug activity, and transient residents. The 150 members of the Colgate Improvement Association, however, are not standing idly by and watching their own demise.

“We’d like to rebuild Colgate back to the splendor it once had, one little mission at a time,” said a hopeful Bricker-Hyland.

To contact the Colgate Improvement Association, email them at mycolgatepride@gmail.com

May is membership for the CIA. Expect a CIA member to knock on your door if you live in Colgate.

Colgate Community “Spirit Night” is May 23 at Chick-fil-A Eastpoint. Chick-fil-A will make a donation to the CIA if you bring in the form. Get your form by contacting the CIA.