The Maryland National Capital Park & Planning Commission (MNCPPC) maintains the community building, though it sits on land owned by WSSC. There are two rooms in the building: the smaller room to the right, which is used mostly by community organizations such as WLCA, the West Laurel Recreation Council (WLRC) and Scouts, and the larger room to the left, which is rented out for private parties and other functions.

There have been periodic problems with rentals for years, but 2007 has been particularly troublesome. It seems that larger and larger events are occurring there which occupy not only the whole building, but spill out onto the lawns and into the park. There have been reports of alcohol consumption (which is prohibited) excessive noise, and trash and other debris such as charcoal littering the property.

WLCA and WLRC need to know about these problems when they occur — not weeks or months later — so we can communicate them to the MNCPPC manager, Craig Newell, who is responsible for the building.

WSSC PLAYING FIELDS (next to the dam)

Neighbors are complaining more often about excessive use of and heavy traffic associated with the neighborhood fields, mostly those by the WSSC dam, just before the I-95 overpass along Brooklyn Bridge Road. In response to complaints from adjacent neighbors, WSSC has now posted signs warning users of the field that they must have permits to practice or play.

PLAYING FIELDS BY WEST LAUREL COMMUNITY BUILDING

The fields adjacent to the community building also belong to WSSC; however, those are leased by MNCPPC, which issues permits for a variety of athletic organizations.