Mall in Columbia Defends Decision to Open During Hurricane Irene

A spokeswoman for the defended the decision to keep the mall open most of Saturday amid tropical storm warnings, saying mall officials kept in close consultation with Howard County government.

Mall manager Katie Essing said she spoke with Howard County emergency officials often during the storm and they did not object to the mall staying open until 9 p.m. Saturday, its normal hours, though it ended up closing early.

Essing said the mall closed at 7 p.m. because Howard County transit services were shutting down at 6 p.m.--a service many mall employees relied upon.

The decision by mall officials to stay open came under fire in a fierce controversy online.

The mall’s Facebook post Saturday mid-morning urged followers to “stop in and wrap up all your last minute back-to-school shopping needs today!”

“I am disgusted at the fact that you would risk safety of innocent people because of last-minute shoppers,” wrote Nikki Schlein.

“Greed, greed, greed,” posted Jennifer Holmes. “The mall is the worse [sic].”

Essing said, “It’s never an easy decision,” but the mall’s “No. 1 priority” was the well being of its employees and customers.

“The recommendation was we were okay to be open, and the worst weather wouldn’t happen until overnight,” she said. “We felt like we were doing the right thing overall.”

During an interview Monday, County Executive Ken Ulman did not criticize the mall’s decision to stay open.

Ulman declared a state of emergency within the county during the storm, which would have allowed county officials to make closing mandatory, he said, but the county decided not to require the closing of the mall.

“If we felt strongly that they should’ve closed, we would’ve told them to close,” he said.

Ulman said the mall, in a “collaborative effort,” decided to close at 7 p.m. Saturday rather than keeping its doors open until 9 p.m.

“They did it in consultation with us,” Ulman said. “Sears was very busy right up until 7 … because people were rushing in for supplies.”

The mall opened at its normal noon time on Sunday.

Many other business and government entities announced closings on Saturday.

The announced about noon Saturday that it would be closing most of its pools. Howard County Transit Services stopped operating Saturday around 6 p.m. Howard County Public Schools facilities and fields were closed on Saturday and Sunday, and the first day of school Monday was also canceled in response to the storm.

Even , which declared Saturday, “It's hurricane partayy [sic] time, “ and, “Irene's hosting,” told customers it would be closing at 5 p.m. so bartenders could find shelter.  

“The worst of the storm will hit beginning at 6 pm,” wrote Ulman on his Facebook and Twitter page at 5:34 p.m. Saturday. “We are asking that you limit all non-essential travel until conditions improve. “

Ulman said Monday he thought the process “worked out pretty well” since mall officials were in regular contact with county officials.

Still, he acknowledged that county officials heard from concerned parents about the mall’s decision to stay open as long as it did.

“We had parents of kids who work at establishments calling, asking why we had declared a state of emergency,” he said. “They didn’t want their teenager at work at the mall. As much as people want to rush to Sears and get flashlights, there’s people there that have to sell them to them.”