JANUARY 5, 2023
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BERLIN • NORTH WORCESTER COUNTY• OCEAN PINES
Berlin council has long list of 2023 goals Maintaining service level still priority, but inflation poses major challenge
PHOTO COURTESY PAT BENNETT
HIGH, DRY AND COLD
Numerous photos have been taken of this solitary remnant of a tree in the bay off Assateague, but few have caught it so exposed, as it was during the cold snap of two weeks ago at the time of an exceptionally low tide.
Parks, Viola look ahead at ’23 New year will concentrate on infrastructure upgrades, maintenance and repairs By Cindy Hoffman Staff Writer (Jan. 5, 2023) Infrastructure, amenities and staffing are big priorities for the board of directors and general manager of Ocean Pines for 2023. Infrastructure is a top priority: whether it be roads, drainage, or mailboxes. Currently, a number of roads are being repaved, although General Manager John Viola admits, “We have had challenges with weather and
the holidays, but if you were milled, your street will be taken care of soon. There are three roads we had planned to do repairs that will wait until the spring, when John Viola the asphalt companies start work again. We are in the middle of renovations for the administration building and work on the ceiling of the Yacht Club.” Boating is a big past-time in Ocean Pines and much is being done in preparation of the season. The replacement of bulkheads is ongoing. There are 90,000 linear feet
of bulkhead in Ocean Pines. The plan is to replace 2,300-3,000 feet each year. With bulkhead work only occurring during the off session, Viola assures boaters that this year’s work will be completed by Memorial Day. Viola said the association was able to keep the price for replacement the same as last year. The new bulkheads are expected to last 50 years. The marina will also get some updates, including new gas lines and docks. “The funding is there, the materials and the labor are not yet,” Viola said. All the materials should be delivered by February or March. The same company that is working on the bulkSee OPA Page 6
By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (Jan. 5, 2023) As the calendar turns to 2023, so too does the Berlin Town Council turn its attention to goals for the new year. For the most part, the councilmembers kept to goals that were either underway or planned in 2022. A skate park, Flower Steve Green Street community center, redeveloping Heron Park and continued focus on mitigating redevelopment in and adjacent to Berlin all made the cut with multiple councilmembers. But the council also broached other topics. Councilmember Steve Green said in an email that his top goal is continSee IT’S Page 7
Chief on leave as probe begins into OP burglary (Jan. 5, 2023) Ocean Pines Police Chief Leo Ehrisman was placed on paid administrative leave Sunday as county law enforcement authorities and the state’s attorney’s office began an investigation of a possible burglary at a department storage shed on Dec. 17. A statement from the association issued Tuesday said OPA General Manager John Viola See CHIEF Page 6
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Bayside Gazette
January 5, 2023
January 5, 2023
Bayside Gazette
Directors agree in principle to settlement with Janasek (Jan. 5, 2023) Former Ocean Pines Association director Tom Janasek and the OPA’s current board of directors ended their months-long legal dispute last week, as the board agreed in principle to settle the case against it. The case stemmed from an incident at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club in May, when Janasek accosted then-board member Josette Tom Janasek Wheatley and loudly berated her in highly offensive terms. The board, which was under different leadership at the time, responded by voting 5-2 in June to ban Janasek from all amenities for 90 days, a punishment he asserted in court that same month that the board had no authority to impose. Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Beau Oglesby seemed skeptical of the board’s defense and urged the litigants to seek a settlement, while also leaving the proposed ban on hold in the interim. The three-sentence statement issued by the directors last week said only that “The Ocean Pines Association has agreed in principle to a settlement in the Thomas Janasek vs. Ocean Pines Association, Inc., et al. case. Specific terms and conditions of a proposed settlement were reviewed by counsel for both parties. The
amount of the financial payout to the plaintiff was proposed and agreed to by the insurance carrier for OPA. The final details and related paperwork are in progress and will be finalized over the next several weeks.” According to a social media post by board member Rick Farr, the agreement cost the association $67,750 and included $18,750 for Janasek’s legal fees. Farr and current board President Doug Parks opposed the ban in the board’s June vote. Janasek had been at odds with the previous board since the summer of 2021 when the board declared that then-candidate Rick Farr was not eligible to run because his residence was not owned by him personally but by a family trust of which he was a member. Farr sued and eventually won, but Janasek’s animosity toward thenboard President Larry Perrone and Director Collette Horn continued. That culminated in a move by the board majority to expel Janasek from the board in October 2021 after he sent an accusatory email to Horn that Janasek later admitted was “inappropriate.” But rather than wait for the board to act, Janasek resigned. He accurately predicted at the time that the open seat his departure created and one other vacancy would be filled by Amy Peck and Wheatley, both of whom lost their reelection bids this past summer.
Worcester County Commissioner Briefs By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (Jan. 5, 2023) The Worcester County Commissioners discussed the following during their Dec. 20 meeting:
FY23 reallocation The commissioners approved the reallocation of $146,000 formerly approved in the FY23 Roads Division
budget to buy a six-wheel dump truck and a cab tractor with a mower attachment. The John Deer 6110M cab tractor costs $90,375 while the price of the Rhino DB150 rotary cutter is $19,963. Originally, Baker wrote in a memo, the Department of Public Works was requesting just the dump truck. Only one vendor responded, at about Continued on Page 5
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