Discussions in the Maryland General Assembly the past two weeks have focused mostly on addressing the state’s budget and energy usage, with Senator Mary Beth Carozza advocating for fair funding for the Eastern Shore and reliable, affordable energy sources.
By ROTA L. KNOTT Publisher/Editor
Property owners raised pointed questions about the Ocean Pines Association’s proposed fiscal year 2026–27 budget after discovering that funding remains allocated for a volunteer appreciation event, even though the Board of Directors has eliminated most of its
volunteer advisory committees.
The volunteer appreciation issue first surfaced during a Jan. 15 budget Town Hall meeting and resurfaced again during public comments ahead of the Board of Directors’ unanimous approval of the budget at its Jan. 24 regular meeting.
At the center of the discussion was a $15,000 line item designated
for a volunteer appreciation dinner, prompting residents to question who would be invited, how the guest list would be determined, and whether the event aligns with current Board priorities and fiscal stewardship.
During public comments on Jan. 24, Ocean Pines resident Amy Peck addressed the Board directly, citing
By ROTA L. KNOTT Publisher/Editor
The Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors unanimously approved the Fiscal Year 2026–27 budget at its January 24 Regular Board Meeting, adopting a financial plan that reflects increased costs tied primarily to the construction of a new fire station and higher water and wastewater fees from
Worcester County. The approved budget includes a rise in the annual assessment, which association leadership emphasized was necessary to support public safety and essential infrastructure while maintaining long-term fiscal stability, and the waterfront differential.
Under the approved budget, the annual assess-
When a caller asked to speak to Nathaniel Morris, his wife, Juanita, hesitated a moment then said, “Hold on just a minute, honey, and I’ll get him. I think he’s washing dishes.”
More than 20,000 visitors from surrounding states are expected to attend the 43rd annual Seaside Boat Show, sponsored by the Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club, this year, where they can admire, and maybe buy, colorful, accessorized boats and related items.
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From Page 1
concerns about both past spending and future plans for the event.
Peck recalled that last year the Board approved a $10,000 budget for the volunteer appreciation dinner. However, the final cost totaled approximately $30,000 for 185 attendees, an average of about $162 per person.
Peck said many of those who attended last year’s dinner were not volunteers at all. According to her remarks, attendees included OPA staff, paid first responders, politicians, corporate council members, select members of the press, and only certain club members.
She reminded the Board that the original intent of the volunteer appreciation event was to recognize Board-appointed committee volunteers, not to serve as a broad social gathering.
Since the last appreciation dinner, Peck noted, the Board has eliminated nine committees, removing roughly 50 volunteers from official Board-appointed roles and, in her view, disenfranchising them from eligibility for recognition.
Under the proposed fiscal year 2026–27 operating budget, the event is slated to cost $15,000 for an estimated 130 guests, or about $115 per person.
Peck questioned that math, stating that if approximately 50 volunteers and their guests are no longer part of the event, attendance should drop by closer to 100 people, not just 55.
She said this discrepancy raises concerns that non-volunteers may again be invited while some actual volunteers are excluded.
She also pointed out that many Ocean Pines residents volunteer extensively for organizations that directly benefit the community, including Maryland Coastal Bays Program, the Assateague Coastal Trust, Kiwanis, the Garden Club, and Parks and Recreation volunteer groups. Historically, she said, those volunteers have not been invited to the association-funded dinner.
There is also the question of whether a Board-funded appreciation dinner should include an open bar, Peck added.
“Optics matter. As structured, this event sends the wrong message about priorities and fiscal stewardship.” She concluded by asking that the line item be removed entirely from the budget.
The same concerns were echoed earlier during the Jan. 15 budget town hall. Resident Karen Kaplan asked General Manager John Viola directly how much was being budgeted for the volunteer appreciation event in the coming fiscal year. Viola re-
sponded that $15,000 had been allocated, noting that it was less than the prior year’s total cost.
Kaplan questioned the rationale, pointing out that the Board now has only three advisory committees. “So how do you rationalize that?” she asked.
Viola replied that the event was not limited solely to committee members. “It’s not just for committees,” he said. “The Board has made that clear. It’s also for volunteers.” He explained that he regularly relies on volunteers to assist with various projects and said the Board wants to recognize volunteerism more broadly.
Kaplan responded that if the intent is to recognize volunteers across the community, she hoped groups such as the Garden Club would be included, noting the significant contributions they make and the limited recognition they have received in the past.
Additional concerns were raised by former Board member Colette Horn during the same Town Hall meeting.
Horn said that volunteerism in Ocean Pines is widespread and that nearly everyone she knows contributes time or effort to the community in some way.
“If you’re going to have a volunteer dinner that honors the volunteers, it’s going to include almost everybody who lives in Ocean Pines; that’s not happening,” Horn said. She characterized the event as appearing to select certain volunteer groups for dinner with an open bar, funded by assessment dollars.
Horn cited groups such as Quilters by the Sea and Pine’eer Craft Club, noting that they do significant volunteer work, raise funds, give money back to the association, and support Parks and Recreation and public safety efforts.
She said hundreds of volunteers collectively contribute their time
and talents to Ocean Pines through these organizations.
While stressing that she was not criticizing the Board personally, Horn said she objected to what she described as “cherry-picking” which volunteers are honored. Drawing on her six years of experience as a Board member, she said the dinner previously focused on committee volunteers who worked directly for the Board on initiatives that ultimately benefited the entire community.
“I agree that that’s an appropriate use of association or assessment dollars to give back to those volunteers
who work tirelessly every month on specific initiatives and ideas that then percolate up and eventually benefit the whole community,” Horn said.
“But I object to our assessment dollars being spent on a volunteer dinner that is based on cherry-picking certain volunteers when almost everybody who lives here really falls in that category.”
In response, Viola acknowledged the importance of volunteerism and said he believed Board members shared his view. He emphasized that the dinner is a Board-sponsored event and that the purpose of the Town Hall was to hear resident feedback.
“I’m sure they heard you,” Viola said. “I’m sure they’ll talk about it and then they’ll discuss it among themselves. So that’s a Board decision.”
Despite the concerns raised during both the Town Hall and Public Comments, the budget, including the $15,000 allocation for the volunteer appreciation event, was approved unanimously at the Jan. 24 Board meeting.
From Page 1 ment for non-water lots will increase to $915, representing an annual increase of $40. General Manager John Viola explained that $25 of that increase is directly related to funding the new fire station, while the remainder reflects higher water costs and other operational adjustments. The bulkhead differential was approved at $665. Total operating revenue and expenses for fiscal year 2026–27 are projected at $13,441,823.
Membership dues are slated to see increases, including a 5 percent increase for Swim memberships; $5 and $10 increases for Racquet Sports; $100 for individual Golf memberships and $150 for family Golf memberships; and a $5 increase for Beach Parking. Boat slip rates are proposed to increase by 3 percent for residential slips and 5 percent for commercial slips.
Daily amenity rates will also see slight increases, including a $1 increase for Swim and a $5 increase for residents and $10 for non-residents for Golf. Racquet Sports daily rates are not expected to increase.
Treasurer Monica Rakowski presented the motion to approve the budget, which passed unanimously.
Viola told the Board that the budget was the result of months of work and collaboration and represents what he described as a fiscally responsible approach to managing Ocean Pines. He said the $40 annual assessment increase was carefully considered and largely unavoidable due to major cost drivers outside the association’s control.
“This was the culmination of many hours of hard work,” Viola said. The review has resulted in a budget that includes an annual $40 increase in the assessment, he said, adding this is a result of the increase
needed to cover the new fire station and the increased water costs from Worcester County.
Viola added that the Board’s recommendation reflects a balanced approach that spreads costs responsibly while limiting the overall impact on homeowners. He explained that while water and wastewater increases affected the budget, not all of those costs were passed directly through to the assessment.
“I believe it’s a well-represented, fiscally responsible budget that we’re bringing forward,” Viola said. Some of the impact was pushed into the pricing of amenities, and some was absorbed through food and beverage operations. “Touch of Italy absorbed a decent piece of that,” he said of the water and wastewater fees.
He noted that the overall effect of water-related increases amounted to roughly $21 when spread across the assessment, with about $15 directly tied to water costs. The $25 fire station component, he said, was a modest contribution toward a critical public safety project.
Viola also placed the assessment increase in historical context, noting that the last time the Ocean Pines
SUMMARY BUDGET 2026 - 2027
assessment was lower than the current $915 was during fiscal year 2013–14. Over the past six years, he said, the bulkhead differential has only been raised twice.
“You’d have to go back to 2013–14 to see where the assessment was lower,” Viola said. Historically, this is still a very restrained approach, he said.
The bulkhead differential, which was approved at $665, also saw only a modest increase of $25. Viola pointed out that the bulkhead differential future adjustments will be guided by long-term planning data.
The FY 2026–27 budget was developed using a bottom-up approach, beginning with Ocean Pines Association department heads. Those projections were reviewed with the Budget & Finance Committee before being evaluated by the Board of Directors. Viola said the process also included a DMA study, a comprehensive reserve study that is now required for all homeowners associations.
Ocean Pines was ahead of the curve, Viola said, noting that the association began conducting reserve studies in 2017, well before the mandate. He said it is a very valuable tool that, with periodic updates, will be used to manage the OP for the next 20 to 25 years.
He described the DMA study as months of work and one of the largest undertakings he has seen during his more than 20 years with the association. The study, he said, provides a long-term roadmap for maintaining infrastructure and planning capital investments, including bulkheads, roads, and major facilities.
Public safety continues to be the largest single component of the Ocean Pines budget, accounting for approximately 42 percent of total
spending. Viola said that emphasis reflects years of resident surveys identifying safety as the community’s top priority.
“Safety has consistently been number one in Ocean Pines,” Viola said. “We’ve certainly answered that with our police department over the last six or seven years, and now with the fire department as well.”
The approved budget includes funding for a new fire station, developed through what Viola described as a constructive and professional joint effort with the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department. He said the resulting contract and building plan are solid and represent a major investment in the community’s longterm safety.
“I believe it’s a very solid contract and a solid building that we’ll build,” Viola said.
Beyond public safety, the budget addresses a wide range of operational areas, including maintenance, infrastructure, amenities, aquatics, golf, racquet sports, recreation, and food and beverage operations. Viola highlighted the association’s continued focus on maintaining roads and bulkheads, noting that Ocean Pines conducts an annual road evaluation and resurfacing program that has been enhanced in recent years.
Drainage was another area of emphasis. Viola referenced last year’s efforts to mow drainage ditches, which were intended to improve water flow but drew negative feedback from some homeowners who felt the work damaged grassy areas.
“We heard that feedback,” Viola said. In this budget, the OPA will not be doing some of that ditch mowing. “That money has been reallocated to other drainage work.”
Viola also addressed concerns about the broader economy and its potential impact on Ocean Pines’ revenue-generating operations, par-
ticularly golf and food and beverage. Despite warnings about a possible recession, he said those operations continue to perform strongly.
“Viola said of a slowdown, “We haven’t seen that.”
Food and beverage operations are forecast to generate approximately $400,000 more in favorable revenue than the previous year, a result Viola attributed to strong management and improved operations. Golf has also continued to show positive results, contributing favorably to the
overall budget.
Those favorable variances, Viola said, are reinvested back into the budget process to help limit assessment increases.
He explained that retained earnings resulting from coming in under budget are intentionally used to offset future costs.
Viola said he hears a lot of feedback asking what the OPA is doing with that favorability, Viola said. “We reinvest it each year into the next assessment and that’s kept the assessment at modest increases.”
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By ROTA L. KNOTT Publisher/Editor
Director Steve Jacobs once again questioned the modest increase proposed for marina slip fees as the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors approved the Fiscal Year 2026–27 budget during its Jan. 24 meeting.
Jacobs said he would support the overall budget but reiterated concerns he has raised during prior budget discussions that the 3 percent increase in marina slip rates does not adequately reflect demand, inflation or the association’s revenue potential. He pointed to the marina’s persistent waiting list and comparatively low pricing as indicators that higher rates could be justified.
“There’s a couple of points about the marina that I think are worth keeping in mind,” Jacobs said. “One is we have a wait list for people who want to rent slips. We also have a pricing schedule that is below virtually every other marina in the area. Between the two, it’s basic economics that you have greater demand than you do supply, and that generally should lead to some sort of price increase.”
While a 3 percent increase may appear reasonable at first glance, Jacobs argued that much of that increase is effectively consumed by rising costs. He noted that 1.3 percent of the increase is attributed to higher county water and sewer charges, leaving only 1.7 percent to
account for inflation.
“If you talk about annual inflation rates, the lowest projection you’re seeing right now for this country is 3 percent,” Jacobs said. “It’s more likely to be a little bit higher, but it’s someplace in the 3 to 4 percent range. We’re not even covering inflation.”
Jacobs said the association can raise slip fees enough to keep pace with inflation and potentially generate additional revenue but chose not to do so this year. He recalled that staff explained during earlier budget reviews that the marina increase was intended as a “marker,” following an 8 percent or 9 percent increase the prior year that was meant to compensate for several years of relatively flat pricing.
“I had an amendment to offer,” Jacobs said, “but based upon what I was told and what I had heard at the Board review, there were not the votes for it to pass. So the budget is worth passing, but I do think going forward this is something we have to keep an eye on.”
He encouraged staff, the Budget and Finance Committee and future Boards to consider the marina as a flexible revenue source in coming years, particularly as the association faces rising costs across multiple amenities and operations.
“We have some flexibility to raise some additional revenue and offset what costs might come from other
From Page 8
amenities or just general expenses,” Jacobs said. He emphasized that his comments were not accusations or criticisms of Board members’ motives. “I’m not accusing anybody of anything. I’m not saying anybody voted out of personal interest. That’s not my point.”
Treasurer Monica Rakowski said she agreed there is room to revisit marina slip fees in the future but stressed that the Board must balance revenue opportunities with
overall financial stability and competing cost pressures.
She said she “agree there is room to look at the slip fees going forward,” Rakowski said. “But we’ve also had other cost increases to try to keep up. We are putting money in our reserves. We’re maintaining a healthy, healthy budget.”
Director Elaine Brady cautioned against focusing too heavily on percentages without considering the real impact on residents’ wallets. She said she does not support raising fees solely because the association can do so.
“I think sometimes we get wrapped up in percentages, which doesn’t always show the true story,” Brady said. “I also am not a proponent of raising stuff just because we can. You have to look at what the actual pocket dollars are for everything that we are working on in the budget.”
Brady noted that some amenities received only a 1 percent increase this year, including services that do not generate revenue, and said General Manager John Viola and his team carefully evaluated what would be reasonable after signifi-
cant increases in certain areas last year.
“There was a lot of bump up in certain areas last year, and this year it was going to be kind of modest all the way around,” she said. “When we get wrapped up in these percentages, I think we just lose the real picture of what’s going on out of people’s pockets. Just because we can, I don’t think it’s fair, and that’s my view.”
Concerns about marina pricing were also echoed during the public comment portion of the meeting. Resident Amy Peck urged the Board to revisit the slip fees, saying the current increase does not keep pace with inflation and fails to reflect market conditions.
A 3 percent increase, half of which is simply higher water costs, does not keep pace with inflation, Peck said. “There is a three-year waiting list, and our rates remain well below comparable marinas.”
Peck added that responsibly increasing slip revenue could help the association at a time when it is “pinching pennies elsewhere” and anticipating lower interest income.
Despite the debate, the Board voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2026–27 budget, with Jacobs supporting the measure while making clear he expects marina rates to remain a topic of discussion in future budget cycles.
The 2026 spring registration is open for the Ocean Pines Bocce Ball League’s second season.
A non-refundable membership fee of $25 per person is due at the time of registration. The fee includes participation in the Spring League season and tournament championship. Players may register in teams of two or four, with up to four substitutes permitted per team. Substitutes must be pre-registered; no dues are required for substitute players.
Matches will be scheduled on Thursdays, Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays, based on the number of registered teams and Yacht Club availability. Play will take place from 3–7 p.m. between March 12 and May 1 at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club Bocce Courts.
The registration deadline is 5 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28. For additional information, contact Michael Galello at mgalello@aol.com.
By ROTA L. KNOTT Publisher/Editor
Significant investments by
Touch of Italy are driving a series of food and beverage facility improvements across the dining clubs, upgrades that Ocean Pines Association officials say will deliver enhanced amenities while maximizing the association’s own capital investment.
General Manager John Viola reviewed the initiatives during his monthly report to the Board of Directors at its Jan. 24 meeting. The projects, which remain on track, include improvements at the Clubhouse Pavilion, Yacht Club kitchen, and Beach Club.
From the association’s financial standpoint, Viola said Ocean Pines is forecasting an investment of approximately $1.5 million across the three initiatives.
“If I take it in total—what we’re forecasting and what we’ll be budgeting—we’re talking about an outlay for Ocean Pines of $1.5 million,” Viola said. “A lot of that came from the DMA (reserve) study and rep-
resents work we would have had to do anyway.”
Viola explained that the bulk of the association’s investment is concentrated at the Beach Club, including deck replacements and other infrastructure improvements that were already anticipated.
What makes the projects especially beneficial, he said, is that Touch of Italy is also investing its own funds into all three facilities and is completing much of the work.
“Touch of Italy is also investing in all three structures,” Viola said. “They are doing a lot of the work, so what we will have at the end of the day will certainly cost way more than $1.5 million.”
As an example, Viola highlighted the ongoing renovation of the Yacht Club bar.
“They’re redoing the bar in the Yacht Club,” he said, adding “the structure and what they’re building is way better than what we had— way better,” he said. “We’re investing some money in it, but at the end of the day, that entire bar is ours.”
A similar arrangement applies at
the Beach Club, where some kitchen equipment may belong to Touch of Italy, but the overall facility improvements will remain with Ocean Pines. Viola noted that Touch of Italy’s long-term commitment strengthens the value of the partnership.
“They’re here for the long haul,” he said.
Project timelines vary by location. Engineering is still underway for the Clubhouse Pavilion and Yacht Club kitchen, with construction bids and Board approval as the next steps. The Beach Club project is also moving toward bids and Board approval, with completion expected next year.
The golf course irrigation project is continuing, with Phase II having begun in December. Crews are currently working on hole #4 and marking all new irrigation heads on holes #7 and #8.
Viola said while the OPA is currently in Phase 2 of the project, Phase 3 funding was included in next fiscal year’s budget as well. He said each phase is projected to cost
between $800,000 and $850,000.
“We are on track for the overall budget that we mentioned several years ago,” he said, adding that the total estimated project budget for irrigation improvements was about $4 million.
An additional facility improvement noted during the general manager report was the replacement of the Community Center kitchen floor by DCH Enterprise at a cost of $3,850.
Linda Martin, senior administrative director, said that type of work is usually done by OPA staff. However, she said in order to meet some health department requirements for leveling off the floor the OPA did hire a contractor to do the work.
With winter weather around the corner, she said the OPA has six snowplows, five additional pieces of equipment, and three salt spreaders can be deployed during storms. She noted the association also has 100 tons of salt available to use.
To Page 13
From Page 11
Also, a street brining machine was built by Public Works last year. To be successful, brine can only be used during storms that do not start out as rain, Martin said.
As of Dec. 1, there were 127 property violations outstanding with the Compliance, Permits, and Inspections office, and 26 violations were initiated in during the month, including 1 driveway, 2 driveway borders, 1 leaf maintenance, 2 maintenance, 1 multiple boat trailers, 6 no permits, 3 trash or debris, 3 trees, 5 unregistered vehicles.
CPI closed out 29 violations during the month, but there were still 123 remaining as of month end, including 44 maintenance, trash, or debris, 30 no permit, 2 trees, and 47 miscellaneous.
Martin said 83 of the 123 remaining violations are still with legal counsel. “I’ll have to give credit to the legal department this month. They were on it thanks to the new legal representative,” she said. “We have closed out a tremendous amount.”
Public Works had 211 open work orders as of Dec. 1., and received 30 new work orders during the month, including 4 bulkheads, 3 drainage, 2 grounds or landscaping, 4 roads, 1 signs and 16 general maintenance. It had 129 open at the end of the month, with 51 of those open work orders for drainage issues.
The OPA had 46 customer service contacts in December, including 7 for amenities, 6 for CPI, 25 in general questions or comments, and 8 for public works.
Ocean Pines Aquatics invites the community to a Valentine Swim at the Sports Core Pool on Saturday, Feb.14, from 12 to 3 p.m. Participants can enjoy crafts, games, music, and a Chocolate Kiss guess contest. Food will be available for purchase.
The event is open to the public. Admission is $8 for swim members, $10 for residents, $12 for non-residents, and $3 for non-swimmers.
Children ages 6 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian in the pool. Children who require flotation devices must remain within arm’s reach of their parent or guardian at all times.
Call the Sports Core Pool at 410641-5255.
The Atlantic Coast Sportfishing Association presented the 2025 Angler ff the Year Award at their January meeting. Top Angler was Brian Reynolds who caught the biggest fish of 11 different species in both ocean and coastal bays. ACSA Advisor John McFalls (left) presents both ocean and coastal bay awards to AOY Brian Reynolds. Looking on is Charlie, his four-and-a-half-month-old son and future angler.
BREAKFAST SANDWICHES
Served on Bagel, Roll or Bread (White, Wheat or Rye
Croissant or a Wrap
Egg & Cheese ..................................…
$7.55
Meat, Egg & Cheese …............................ $8.95
Your choice of Bacon, Sausage, Ham, Turkey Sausage,Ham, Taylor Ham or Morning Star Vegetarian Sausage
PLATTERS & OMELETS
Two Eggs Any Way with Meat ............. $7.80
Your choice of Bacon, Sausage, Ham, Turkey Sausage,Ham, Taylor Ham or Morning Star Vegetarian Sausage
Cheese Omelet .................................. $8.75
Veggie Omelet …................................... $9.50
(green peppers, onions, tomatoes, carrots, celery)
Quiche ................................................... $6.25
BAGELS WITH ...
Bagel with Butter ...….......................... $2.90
Bagel with Cream Cheese ….............. $4.50
Bagel with Cream Cheese and Jelly ..... $4.50
Bagel with Peanut Butter and Jelly ..... $5.25
Cinnamon Crunch Bagel
With Butter $3.40 With Cream Cheese $5.00
Bagel with Nova Cream Cheese ......…... $7.55
Bagel with Sliced Nova or Lox Salmon … $11.50
LUNCH SPECIALTIES
Homemade Soup Small ........................ $4.00
Chicken Pot Pie ..................................… $6.25
Pizza Bagel ~ Plain $6.75 - Pepperoni $7.50
Bagel Dog ............................................. $6.25
Served on Bagel, Roll, Sliced Bread, Croissant or a Wrap Includes a Side of Macaroni Salad
Ham …………............................….……. $9.45
Turkey ………...................................….. $9.95
Roast Beef …..................................…… $10.45
Cappicola …….................................….. $9.45
Genoa Salami …................................… $9.45
Italian Combo …...........................…… $10.45
(Roast Beef, Cappicola, Salami and Provolone)
Roast Beef & Turkey Combo ..............….. $10.45
Liverwurst …...............................……… $7.95
Bologna ................................................. $7.95
Chicken Salad ...................................... $10.50
Egg Salad ….............................………… $8.45
Tuna Salad ………..........................…... $10.25
Whitefish Salad ….................………… $10.50
Grilled Cheese ……........................……. $7.25
Add to any sandwich
Cheese $1.50 • Avacado $.80
FRESH PASTRIES
Scone (blueberry, cranberry or raisin) ..$4.25
Lemon/Pecan Bar …….....................…… $3.00
Muffin …….........................……………. $4.25
Brownie ….................................……….. $3.00
By ROTA L. KNOTT Publisher/Editor
The Ocean Pines Association is moving forward with a coffee table book that will document the community’s history and growth, marking the next major phase of work by the association’s historic task group.
Director Elaine Brady provided the update during the Board of Directors meeting on Jan. 24, describing the project as an exciting and meaningful step in preserving Ocean Pines’ past while sharing it with current and future residents. The book will be similar in style to the well-known Ocean City history books produced by Bunk Mann and is expected to take about a year to complete.
Brady said the decision to create a coffee table book follows the successful completion of the task group’s first stage of work, which focused on collecting and cataloging historical materials. Memorabilia, documents and photographs have all been gathered and carefully organized, a process Brady credited to the dedication of the task group members.
“We have a fantastic task group that has been working on this,” Brady said, adding that the volunteers have done a great job finding materials and cataloging everything.
General Manager John Viola assisted the effort by providing a dedicated room in the administration building to securely store the growing collection of historical items.
Brady noted that several members of the historic task group have been part of Ocean Pines since its earliest days, which proved invaluable in locating documents and filling in gaps in the community’s history.
With the archival phase complete, the association is now preparing to begin writing and design work. Brady said the project will involve a ghostwriter, and they are working on contracts. Unlike some similar projects where an author retains rights, the Ocean Pines Association will maintain full ownership of the book, an arrangement Brady said was especially important.
“We’re going to retain ownership,” she said. “He will be considered a ghostwriter on it because he knows how to write, but the association will own the work.”
While the book may generate some revenue once it is published, Brady emphasized that making money is not the primary goal. Instead, the focus is on education, storytelling and community pride.
“It’s to let people know—new folks and people who’ve been here a long time—the history of Ocean Pines and to be able to see the growth and what has happened with it,” she said.
During the research process, the task group also uncovered documents previously believed to be lost, including a copy of the original Boise Cascade agreement.
Brady said she was surprised to learn that Boise Cascade paid $1.7 million for what were then seven farms, laying the groundwork for what would become Ocean Pines.
“That was pretty fascinating,” she said.
Brady described the overall effort as both informative and enjoyable, noting that the discovery of long-lost records has added depth and richness to the project. If the timeline holds, work on the book could begin within the next month, with copies expected to be available in approximately a year.
“It’s kind of a fun project,” Brady said, adding that she is excited to see the next stage unfold as Ocean Pines’ history is brought together in a single, lasting publication.
By ROTA L. KNOTT Publisher/Editor
Resident Colette Horn questioned how the Ocean Pines Association allocates its retained earnings during the public comments portion of a January meeting, asking whether more of those funds should be directed toward reserve accounts rather than used to reduce the annual assessment.
Horn said she understood the association’s practice of reinvesting retained earnings to help keep assessments lower, but wondered whether that approach adequately addresses long-term infrastructure needs. She specifically pointed to the bulkhead and drainage reserves, which are funded through the assessment and are often drawn down each year.
“You’re reinvesting your retained earnings to lower the assessment, and I’m wondering if consideration has been given to reinvesting them
into reserve funds that are funded by the assessment — the bulkhead and drainage reserves,” Horn said. While she acknowledged that regularly depleting those reserves can reflect responsible cost management, she said she would like to see the possibility of bolstering them more intentionally considered. “I would like to see that possibility considered,” she added.
General Manager John Viola responded by explaining how the association’s reserve structure has evolved and how retained earnings are currently applied. He said most existing reserves are earmarked for specific replacement projects and noted that additional reserves, including drainage, roads and new capital reserves, have been established in recent years.
Taking the drainage reserve as an example, Viola said that when he began his tenure, no such reserve To Page 16
By ROTA L. KNOTT Publisher/Editor
The Ocean Pines Board of Directors unanimously approved revisions to Resolution M-06, which governs election and referendum procedures, at its Jan. 24 meeting, adopting changes intended to address challenges encountered during the summer 2025 election cycle.
Director Jeff Heavner presented the revisions, noting that the proposed amendments were developed based on feedback from the Elections Committee and were designed to improve the timing, clarity and administration of future elections.
“The topic is a revision to Resolution M-06, the elections and referendums procedures,” Heavner said. “The purpose and effect of these changes will correct difficulties encountered during last year’s election process.”
The resolution received its first reading at the Board’s Dec. 20, 2025 regular meeting, in accordance with Board procedures requiring multiple readings before adoption. Following the second reading at the January meeting, a motion to approve the revisions passed unanimously.
The amendments address issues related to candidate applications, voting deadlines, ballot preparation
language, a minor technical correction, and the timing of post-election meetings.
The first change amends Section 5 of Resolution M-06, which governs candidate applications. Under the previous policy, if the list of eligible candidates was fewer than two more than the number of vacancies to be filled, an extended solicitation period for additional candidates ran from June 1 through the third Friday in June. For the upcoming election, that deadline would have fallen on June 19.
Heavner explained that the Elections Committee found this time frame to be excessively long and disruptive to the overall election schedule. The approved revision shortens
From Page 15
existed. Before he started, the OPA didn’t even have a drainage reserve, he said. The association, he explained, reallocated resources to create one without increasing the assessment. “The assessment actually decreased during that period where we set up a reserve,” Viola said.
Viola acknowledged that the drainage reserve is typically depleted each year but emphasized that it is also replenished annually. Over the past four to five years, he said,
the solicitation period to seven business days. For the 2026 election cycle, this change moves the deadline from June 19 to June 9.
The second approved revision modifies Section 3 of the resolution, which sets the voting deadline. Previously, voting was required to be completed prior to the end of the association’s regular business hours on the designated day. Heavner said this requirement created logistical challenges, particularly when arranging overnight delivery of ballots to the voting contractor, including ballots collected from the secure drop box.
The revision changes the voting deadline to noon on the Wednesday before the annual meeting.
the association has invested well more than $1 million into drainage-related work. “We refund every year, and we’ve put more and more in there,” he said.
He noted that bulkheads are handled differently and said the association may need to better explain how those projects are funded. “The bulkheads are funded with a separate bulkhead differential,” Viola said. “That’s what funds that.”
According to Viola, the question of which bulkheads should be covered by that differential has been
Several changes were also made to Attachment A of the resolution, which provides detailed election procedures.
The third change revises Attachment A, Section 7, paragraph c, adding more explicit language regarding preparation of ballots placed in the association’s secure ballot box. The new language clarifies that ballots must be prepared using the same instructions provided for marking and returning ballots by other methods.
The lack of this detail last year led to ballot return preparation confusion when using the dropbox, Heavner said.
The fourth change is a minor technical correction, adding a miss-
To Page 17
debated for decades. He described longstanding disagreements over whether certain bulkheads should be considered public infrastructure, particularly in areas without homes directly behind them.
Using the bulkhead on Clubhouse Drive as an example, Viola said a bulkhead with homes behind it clearly falls under the bulkhead differential. However, he pointed to a bulkhead on the opposite side of a canal, adjacent to the golf course, as a more complicated case. “You have a bulkhead that we’re replacing with houses behind it. That certainly comes under the bulkhead differential,” he said. “But what about that bulkhead on the other side of the channel, the canal?”
Viola noted that while the golf course itself does not require a canal, all boaters who use that canal, and the connected waterways, benefit from the bulkhead. “All the people that utilize that canal with their boats, as well as every other canal that’s connected in there, benefit,” he said.
That shared benefit, Viola explained, is at the heart of the ongoing debate over whether such bulkheads should be funded solely through the bulkhead differential or through a broader funding approach. “So then would you say that is part of the bulkhead differential? So that’s the big debate,” he said. Viola said the association has attempted to strike a balance in how it allocates funds for bulkhead projects. “What we have done is we’ve kind of balanced it. I’ve tried to balance it,” he said.
By ROTA L. KNOTT Publisher/Editor
All equipment from the South Fire Station has been relocated to the Public Works Building in preparation for construction on the new station.
A construction contract for the new South Fire Station was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors during a Jan. 24 meeting.
OPA President John Latham thanked the staff team on their work to get the project to the contract stage.
“We’re very, very happy to get to the point today to put ink on this contract,” he said, adding “I know many, many people were involved in this and pulling this thing together and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.”
Latham additionally thanked the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department, specifically Joe Enste and Joey Widgeon, for their hard work in helping finalize the contract.
The contract was awarded to The Whayland Company. Construction is slated to begin in February, with an estimated 60 weeks to completion.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held in February, with an exact date to be determined.
General Manager John Viola said the project marks an important step forward for the community and thanked those involved in bringing the contract together.
From Page 16
ing comma in Attachment A, Section 9, paragraph g.
The fifth and final revision amends Attachment A, Section 11, paragraph c, sub-paragraph iv, which defines the timing of the post-election Elections Committee meeting. Previously, the policy stated that the meeting should occur on the day of the annual meeting or as soon as possible afterward, language the Elections Committee found to be too vague.
The approved revision establishes a clear deadline, requiring the post-election meeting to take place no later than five days after the annual meeting.
Following discussion, Heavner made the motion to approve the revisions to Resolution M-06. The motion passed unanimously, formally adopting the updated election and referendum procedures.
“This new fire station on the south side of Ocean Pines is much needed, and I’m proud of the team and the hard work they put into making this a reality,” Viola said. He also expressed gratitude to the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department, and the Board of Directors for their support and approval of the project.
Public Works Director Eddie Wells said relocating the fire de-
partment’s equipment to the Public Works Building will ensure emergency response times remain unchanged during construction.
“Public Works is happy to accommodate the fire department during the construction of their new building,” Wells said. “We had to make some adjustments, but this move will allow the fire department to maintain the same emergency response times for the south side of
Ocean Pines.”
Joe Enste, Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department president, echoed that sentiment, emphasizing the continued collaboration between departments.
“Through our partnership with the Public Works Division, we are able to continue providing uninterrupted, centralized service to this great community and the citizens we are honored to serve,” Enste said.
43rd annual Ocean City tradition brings hundreds of boats, 100+ vendors, student art and a $30,000 pontoon giveaway to a packed holiday weekend at the Convention Center
By PROGRESS STAFF
More than 20,000 visitors from surrounding states are expected to attend the 43rd annual Seaside Boat Show, sponsored by the Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club, this year, where they can admire, and maybe buy, not only colorful, accessorized boats, but also related items and enjoy works of art by Worcester County school students.
This year’s show is planned for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sunday, Feb. 15, at the Ocean City Convention Center on 40th Street and Coastal Highway. Admission costs $10 for adults and $1 for those 14 and younger.
“It’s a holiday weekend so people are traveling to visit family or to shop for real estate and they come and see one of the things the Ocean City area does best, which is the beach and boats,” Boat Show Chairman Bill Brown
said. President’s Day and Valentine’s Day are both that weekend. About 85 Optimist Club members will be working at the show where guests will find more than 50 boat dealers, hundreds of boats and more than 100 vendors.
“We will have all of our major dealers and brands in the area there, vendors that sell everything from boating insurance to sunglasses to custom jewelry, electronics, radios, boat cleaning, storage, fishing tackle, White Marlin Open T-shirts, things like that,” Brown said. The White Marlin Open deep sea fishing tournament, in its 52nd year this year and offering $121 million in prizes, is scheduled for Aug. 3 to 8 at Harbour Island Marina in the resort.
“The boat show is specifically for boaters but one of the vendors does cleaning and they clean boats or houses so there is some crossover to land-
based services but most of it is all boat stuff,” said Brown, who has sold his boat. He always enjoyed being on the water.
“It’s nice heading out east and seeing the sunrise. Then being out on the water. It’s just a different world. At night it gives you a much better view of the moon and the stars. You see shooting stars, all of it,” he said.
The Convention Center’s food concession will be open. Each admission ticket will be entered in a drawing for a pontoon boat valued at $30,000 and donated by the owners of North Bay Marina in Selbyville.
“It sure is a nice prize,” Brown said, adding the owners, Scott and Mary McCurdy, have donated boats for nearly 40 years to help the Optimist Club’s main goal of providing programs and scholarships that benefit youth.
“They are major vendors in our
show and they have been supporting our show since it started. At the show, you can see multiple makes and manufacturers all in one place. You can basically outfit or upgrade your boat from fishing lures to marine electronics, radar – soup to nuts, whatever you need,” Brown said, adding today’s boats are equipped with everything from internet, to showers to kitchens and restrooms.
Even those who don’t want to buy a boat can enjoy the boat show, he said.
“Everybody needs a good pair of sunglasses. Everybody loves all of those other items and whether you have a boat or not, you know somebody who has a boat and who needs boat stuff, popular accessories like rod holders, fishing lures, rods for a boat,” he said.
A variety of boats will be for sale and on display, from small boats in the $7,000 to $10,000 range to larger ones that can cost as much as $400,000 to $500,000.
“Half a million dollars. It’s not a yacht. You could call it a yacht, I guess. Some people would call it a yacht. It’s at least a big boat. Today, boats are all decked out. They have internet on them. You can get satellite phones. The larger boats have it and nowadays the way things have been miniaturized, you can get anything on them. TV sets. Otherwise, how you going to watch the ball game?
“Even pontoon boats, nowadays you can get pontoon boats with multiple engines and 30 feet or more in length and with a bar and a grill and a bathroom even pontoon boats. The new ones are decked out. You can choose he colors, inside and out. White. Blue. Green. Red. Turquoise. I don’t understand all of these names of colors they have for them, like sea mist green. The same thing with the upholstery. A lot of colors and even more options for the interior,” Brown said.
Financing options are available
at the show, with options to pay monthly, “unless you write a big check,” Brown said.
Optimists are known as friends of youth. Proceeds from the boat show, thousands of dollars every year, support youth, Brown said, adding the Optimist Club was named the No. 1 charity organization by the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce.
The Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club, chartered in 1972, is recognized as a member of the Maryland District of Optimist International, which began in the early 20th Century.
Throughout its history, the organization has maintained a focus on optimism as a philosophy of life, encouraging members to be “too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble,” according to the website.
Anyone interested in joining the Optimist Club,can see www.ocberlinoptimistclub.org
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By PROGRESS STAFF
Nearly every year, the Seaside Boat Show attendee who wins the door prize, a $30,000 Sweetwater pontoon boat, is thrilled, looking forward to cruising on the water, watching sunsets, sunbathing.
But, Scott McCurdy -- who, with his wife, Mary, owns North Bay Marina in Selbyville, the company that donates the boat every year –laughed as he said others have different reactions.
“It’s amazing. Some people are so excited and other people are like, ‘What am I gonna do with that?” an upbeat McCurdy said during a recent conversation with the Ocean Pines Progress.
“So we’ve had mixed reactions over the years. Most people have been very happy. We’ve gotten a few people who have become longtime customers after they win it, and then, just as many took the boat and we never heard from them again. We had one guy who traded it in for a bigger, more expensive boat,” he said.
Interestingly, the pontoon boat –available in popular colors such as blue, gray, teal and red, white and blue -- was invented around 1951 by a farmer in Minnesota who, wanting a stable, recreational platform, put a wooden platform on two columns of steel barrels, welded them and made a strong deck, according to internet reports. He named the first boat The Empress. Today’s pontoon boats are more powerful and have cabins and other amenities.
“We have been doing stuff with the Optimist Club for many years,” McCurdy said.
“We provide a boat for them to use in all the Christmas parades. We tow it with our truck. We’ve been doing that since the mid-’80s over the years, like for the Berlin Christmas Parade and the Ocean City Christmas Parade.
“We have always had a part in those. Anything we can do to help those guys, we do,” he said.
During covid, in 2021, and major renovations to the Convention Center in Ocean City, where the event is every year, there was no boat show, but even though the pandem-
ic caused it to be canceled, North Bay Marina still donated a pontoon and Optimists raffled it, realizing $20,000.
“It sure is a nice prize,” Boat Show Chairman Bill Brown said, adding the owners have donated boats for close to 40 years.
“Since 1987,” McCurdy said. Proceeds benefit youth programs.
The show started in 1983, then in 1986 “they came up with idea of a boat donation,” McCurdy said.
“The first year a boat was donated by a dealer who’s not even around anymore. He donated a little Runabout. And the next year we said, ‘We’ll donate a Sweetwater pontoon boat. We’ve had the show ever since, every year,” he said, adding his company doesn’t charge the Optimists.
“There are a whole lot of people in this town who have a lot more money than I do and they don’t give anything,” McCurdy said, fondly remembering working with former boat show chairmen Charlie Dorman and Don Hastings.
“They are a great bunch of guys and they do so much good. Running that boat show, it’s like a second job. There’s a lot that goes into it. It takes months and months of planning to put that thing on. And they’re working with the town of Ocean City and dealing with bureaucracy. They do a great job. It’s a great organization,” he said.
Ocean City–Berlin Optimist Club turns a weekend of boats and fun into millions for kids, spotlighting student art, speeches and the power of optimism
By PROGRESS STAFF
Proceeds from the annual Seaside Boat Show, sponsored by the Ocean City-Berlin Optimist Club, support youth in several ways, including with the granting of scholarships.
“We help sports teams, art leagues. We support Teach a Kid to Fish Day in Ocean Pines. We were named the No. 1 charity organization in Ocean City by the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce,” Boat Show Chairman Bill Brown said.
The Optimist Club’s major fund raiser is the boat show, at the Ocean City Convention Center on 40th Street and Coastal Highway. This year, it will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, Saturday, Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 15. Admission costs $10 for adults and $1 for those 14 and younger.
The club, which has awarded $3 million in college scholarship over the years, now presents a Kids Room, a fairly new addition to the boat show. All Worcester County schools submit one work of art that will be arranged in a room Optimist members set up, Brown said.
“We give them all a prize and we donate to their art departments. It’s pretty impressive some of the stuff the kids do. It’s unbelievable. We give them a theme like, ‘What brings out the optimism in you?’ They do something that picks up on that theme. Usually it’s something with word ‘optimism’ in it,” Brown said.
The club is nationwide and has contests for youth essays and speeches.
“For the speech contest, whoever wins our local contest goes on to the next event, which, last year, was in St. Louis. They get scholarships or money toward scholarships from the essay and the speech. Some of them have never given a speech to a large group. We’ve had a couple kids that
have been back a couple years in a row. We ended up last year, the person who came from our club finished second or third in the country for the speech,” Brown said.
The Optimist’s website, www. ocberlinoptimistclub.org, explains the club promotes “bringing out the best in kids” and states last year’s Kids Room theme was Why We Be-
lieve in Optimism. Worcester County schools submitted trifold poster Boards “that exemplified the many purposes of the Ocean City Berlin Optimist Club,” the website states.
By DAVID BOHENICK Contributing Writer
On Jan. 14, 2026, the 449th Maryland General Assembly convened allowing Maryland senators and delegates to meet for 90 days to discuss the state’s welfare and propose new legislation to state law.
One of those senators is working in the best interest of Maryland’s lower eastern shore and that’s Mary Beth Carozza.
Republican Carozza is the current senator representing Maryland District 38, which includes three counties: Worcester, Wicomico and Somerset. Discussions in the Maryland General Assembly the past two weeks have focused mostly on addressing the state’s budget and energy usage, with Carozza advocating for fair funding for the eastern shore and reliable, affordable energy sources.
As a member of the Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, she said she will be engaged in all of the energy bills that come before the Maryland General Assembly. Carozza is currently working to pass an energy bill requiring the Public Service Commission of Maryland to look at the full cost of energy generation, which factors in supplemented energy for intermittent sources such as solar or wind.
“If my bill passes, it affects energy policy across the Board because it’s saying you have to look at the full cost, and have the Public Service Commission make recommendations based on the greatest benefit to the consumers and the ratepayers,” Carozza said. “So again, that focus on affordability and reliability will be my primary focus when I consider energy legislation.”
Currently, 40 percent of Maryland’s energy is imported out of state and another 40 percent comes solely from the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. Carozza is also openly against the proposed offshore wind project, claiming it’s neither a reliable nor affordable solution for Maryland residents. She also said climate change mandates have pre-
maturely retired coal and oil generation facilities and have electrified Maryland’s energy grid.
“Maryland has an energy cri-
sis. If anything, this cold weather is underscoring the need for Maryland to generate more energy in the state,” she said.
Discussions have also focused on the state budget, with Carozza explaining the only constitutional responsibility of the Maryland General Assembly is passing a balanced budget. She said much of the budget is driven by mandated spending and she’s advocating for alternative spending to reach a balanced budget.
“I take the approach that whatever the budget ends up, that there should be fair funding for our shore priorities. I did outline in my weekly update some of those eastern shore priorities in my three counties that were funded in the government’s budget, so I want to protect that,” Carozza said.
Carozza used the Department of Education’s Blueprint Plan as an example of the mandated spending where costs would shift to the county level.
She emphasizes that she isn’t against the plan but wants to find an alternative solution that would be more affordable.
“In the past, I have proposed an amendment that would slow down and pause the blueprint education implementation and leave it more up to the locals on what they can afford to do in their own districts,” Carozza said.
“And again, it’s not rejecting the blueprint as a whole, it’s saying allow the local jurisdictions, based on the available funding, to work through what pieces of the blueprint work for them that is affordable as opposed to a ‘one size fits all.’”
Carozza has spent a lot of time working on a bill dedicated to applying training qualifications for child custody evaluators, and presented it in Senate Bill 222 on Tuesday, Jan, 20.
“The judiciary has a rule, and they’ve updated their rule to include a lot of the elements of my bill, with the qualifications of training, but we still want to put it in statute so the judiciary rule cannot just be waived, it’s actually in statute,” she said. “The judges training bill passed in 2022 and now there’s a recognition by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee that they really should’ve included child custody evaluators back in ‘22 but they did not.”
Carozza served in a work group in 2019 that observed child custody cases with allegations of domestic violence and child abuse. She said the group found 90 percent of the judges considered the recommendation of child custody evaluators but there were no consistent qualifications or required training for evaluators in place. Now, this is her sixth session advocating for the same training required for judges to be applied to these evaluators and in statute.
“We do not dictate the type of training that would be provided. That’s up to the judiciary and we respect that. But we do believe that it should be in statute,” she said. Stance on potential congressional redistricting
Carozza is opposed to the recent discussions about Maryland congressional redistricting, which has the potential to turn the Eastern Shore into a democratic district. District One is currently Maryland’s only republican district. Carozza is worried it could take away the voice of residents on the Eastern Shore.
“If you look at the map, it goes in and takes parts of Howard County as part of the Eastern Shore district. That makes no sense. There’s completely different constituent interests from Howard County and it’s a highly democratic area of Howard County that they put in this district.
“So, it definitely would minimize the Eastern Shore voice,” Carozza said. “From a standpoint of stop-
ping offshore wind, Congressman Andy Harris has used his leadership role to put us in a position that the offshore wind project is not going forward at the federal level. So when you talk about reworking the district map, putting more Howard County democrats in it and significantly changing that district, you are then looking at the possibility of [losing] that voice for the Eastern Shore– not just for stopping offshore wind but on issues like protecting our poultry industry.”
Carozza said the President of the Maryland Senate, Bill Ferguson, a member of the democratic party, is also opposed to the redistricting proposals. Carozza also said the senate president has no intention of bringing it up to the senate.
“The president of the Maryland senate, Senator Bill Ferguson, has opposed the governor’s redistricting map, which is significant because you have two of the most powerful democrats at odds with each other on the districting map,” she said. “President Ferguson has pointed out they’ve tried this type of map in the past and legally it’s been shot down.”
Carozza takes pride in her position on the Maryland General Assembly Veterans Caucus. Carozza is the daughter of a marine and worked at a senior level position at the Department of Defense under George W. Bush’s administration. She also works closely with veterans through the Worcester County Veterans Memorial and is a storyteller for fifth graders during annual field trips.
“Being a part of the Veterans Caucus but also being able to connect that service back home, especially right in Ocean Pines, has been a real highlight,” she said. “And it’s personally one of my favorite places in the entire world. Going up to the Worcester County Veteran’s Memorial, sitting on that bench, and thinking about our veterans that have sacrificed for us over the years and to have that interaction with the 5th graders gives you that energy that they’ll have a true respect for veterans and the military at a young age.”
Carozza shared her appreciation
By DAVID BOHENICK
Contributing Writer
The Stop Offshore Wind Coalition hosted a public hearing and information session at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center on Jan. 12 to present their arguments against the proposed offshore wind project.
Offshore wind development company US Wind first acquired an 80,000-acre federal lease area off the coast of Maryland in 2014, which has the potential to power more than 600,000 homes in Delmarva. Since then, the company has proposed a project, which includes 114 wind turbines more than 900 feet tall, as close as 10.7 miles from the shore.
While some believe offshore wind could be a source of renewable energy, many local officials in attendance argued the project would pose risks to local industries. Rick Meehan, the Mayor of Ocean City, was a key speaker for the event and has been fighting against the project for almost a decade.
“The first time I addressed this issue of the US wind project was nine
years ago. Nine years. At a hearing held by the Maryland Public Service Commission in Berlin, Maryland,” Meehan said. “As a matter of fact I was there with State Senator Mary Beth Carozza. I stated at that time my concerns when I saw the renderings of this project and what those turbines would do to our landscape. It would devastate the views off the coast of Ocean City and I expressed my concerns immediately at that meeting. They were ignored.”
Since that first meeting, Meehan has attended state and federal hearings with various concerns, all of which he says have been ignored. His concerns range from the quality of tourism and fishing industries to marine life to the overall quality of life for local residents. Meehan said Ocean City relies specifically on the tourism industry, as it’s a billion dollar industry with over 15,000 connected jobs in the local area.
“A study was done by the NC State University, which only included tourists that had actually stayed at ocean front properties– not someone online from Boise, Idaho– that
survey found that 50% of those surveyed would not return to those accommodations if those turbines were visible off the North Caroline coast,” Meehan shared at the information session.
Meehan’s concerns aren’t alone, as he was joined at the information session by other local officials, such as Senator Mary Beth Carozza, Delegate Wayne Hartman, Fenwick Island Mayor Natalie Madgeburger, Delaware State senator Gerald Hocker, Worcester County commissioners and Ocean City council members. However other local officials, such as Delaware Governor Matt Meyer are working to ensure the project comes to fruition.
Meyer is in support of the offshore wind project, as he believes it is a solution for climate change and sustainable energy. According to his website, his priority is to achieve net-zero emissions for state government operations by 2030 through the expansion of renewable energy sources like the offshore wind project.
In Dec. 2024, the Bureau of Ocean
Energy Management issued approval of US Wind’s final federal permit, with local permits still required for the project to go underway.
“This is a proud moment for US Wind. After more than four years of rigorous and robust analysis, we are thrilled to have secured this final BOEM approval,” CEO of US Wind Jeff Grybowski said in that press release. “US Wind’s projects will produce massive amounts of homegrown energy and will help satisfy the region’s critical need for more electricity, all while supporting good local jobs. America can achieve energy abundance and put many Americans to work building the power plants of the future.”
Shortly after this approval, Sussex County Council members voted against US Wind’s application to build an electrical substation for the project in Dagsboro, despite recommendation from the county’s planning and zoning committee. In response, Meyer signed Senate Bill 159 in the summer of 2025, retroactively approving the permits beTo Page 31
From Page 30
cause of the project’s size. The bill is expected to go into effect Jan. 31 and would permit the start of installation for the project’s required cables.
The Town of Ocean City, joined by more than 30 other co-plaintiffs, is currently in a lawsuit against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, alleging federal officials ignored the negative impacts the project would have on marine life, the commercial fishing industry and the tourism industry. US Wind filed a request for a preliminary injunction, which was denied by U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Gallagher in December 2025.
The Town of Fenwick Island is also currently challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 159 and has issued a restraining order on the state of Delaware.
From Page 29 for the Ocean Pines community and emphasized that her and her family are a part of it.
“Ocean Pines will always be a special place to me,” Carozza said. “My parents live in the park. My sister and her husband raised their family in Ocean Pines and are still there. I actually spend quite a bit of time there, staying quite a bit with my parents right now, so it’s very humble to represent Ocean Pines.”
Carozza is also a member of the Fire and EMS Coalition in the Maryland General Assembly and was happy with Ocean Pines’ success in developing a south side Fire Station.
She said her and Delegate Wayne Hartman worked to secure funding at the state level a few years ago and also credits Governor Hogan for putting significant funding into the station.
While Carozza spends weekdays in Annapolis during the Maryland General Assembly, she is proud to represent Ocean Pines and looks forward to returning to the Racquet Center when she finds time.
“I really appreciate the Ocean Pines Racquet Center. I’m a member. I’ve been attempting to make a tennis comeback the last couple seasons. I played high school and collegiate tennis and so having such a well-run, organized facility in Ocean Pines for tennis and racquetball and pickleball,” she said. “We’re very blessed to have that asset in Ocean Pines.”
Several Ocean Pines residents were recognized with the Good Neighbor Award at the Jan. 24 Board of Directors meeting.
The Ocean Pines Garden Club nominated Mr. and Mrs. Neal Hoffman for their donation of shrubs, roses, and other plants from their yard, which were planted in Pintail Park in October 2025. The donation totaled more than $700 in plants.
Bob and Kathy Hess were nominated for their cleanup and volunteer efforts throughout the community. During their daily walks, the couple car-
ries trash bags and picks up litter along both sides of Ocean Parkway near the South Gate. They also collect trash on the beach each week and volunteer their time with several programs, including Meals on Wheels.
Pat Kroger was nominated for her dedication to maintaining her cul-de-sac. Her efforts include weeding, sweeping, and gathering leaves, pine cones, and needles; removing mud that collects near curbs after rainfall; assisting part-time residents with yard maintenance; and mowing common areas and a vacant lot within the cul-de-sac.
By PROGRESS STAFF
When a caller asked to speak to Nathaniel Morris, his wife, Juanita, hesitated a moment then said, “Hold on just a minute, honey, and I’ll get him. I think he’s washing dishes.”
After 70 years of marriage, Nathaniel Morris Sr. still washes dishes?
“Oh, yes he does. Every night. I cook and he washes dishes. Every night. He vacuums sometimes, too” his wife said.
The Berlin couple, both in good health, active and still driving, observed 70 years together on Sept. 24, her birthday, and have celebrated each Valentine’s Day, with Morris never forgetting the holiday and presenting his wife with flowers, chocolate-covered cherries or nuts -- not just on Feb. 14 but for many occasions.
“We’re older now but he doesn’t
forget,” she said. Neither of them remembers where they went on their first date. “It’s been so long,” Mrs. Morris said. She does recall living in Philadelphia and that her grandparents had a home in Berlin. Morris, a Berlin native, knew the family and she caught his eye.
“I was just a kid,” she said.
“I remember when I met her, the first time I saw her. Yes, indeedy. She was pretty. She was compassionate. We didn’t live too far apart. She was here visiting, then she would go back home and go to school and come back in the summer. I didn’t talk to her during that time but I knew she was coming back. I couldn’t wait. I would count the seconds and the minutes and the hours,” he said.
“When I was just a kid, we came here every summer and we would spend part of the summer with our grandparents. That is how I met him. He used to come and visit. He
lived right around the corner from where my grandparents lived and he used to come over there to my grandparents’ house. I thought he was handsome. He was tall and slim and handsome and he started flirting,” Mrs. Morris said, adding he is three years older. Today, she is 87 and he is 90.
They married and had four children, Deborah Johnson and Diane Morris, both of Salisbury, Nathaniel Morris Jr. of Dover and Neil Morris of New Castle, Del., and so many grandchildren and great-grandchildren Mrs. Morris said she lost count.
Both of them disciplined the children, but Mrs. Morris said they claim she was harder on them than he was. “My husband is a people person. He loves to talk. He’d rather talk than eat. I’m not as talkative as he is but I like people,” she said.
Morris worked for Select Lab, which used to be in Berlin, doing maintenance and running errands and she worked as a nursing assistant for 30 years at TidalHealth in Salisbury. Sometimes she would go from her job, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the hospital then work as a caregiver for private clients until 11 p.m. and while she was occupied, he was home caring for the children.
“I couldn’t have done it if he hadn’t helped me so much. He used to cook and everything,” she said, adding the children were each two or three years apart.
“He was a hard worker. He worked to the lab 35 years then at one time he was working two jobs. He would leave from there and he worked for a lady who had a laundromat,” she said.
What has kept them together all these years?
“Communication. The secret is communication. She is jolly and compassionate and loyal. She’s the very best cook. I used to love her chicken and dumplings but I don’t eat that as much now,” Morris said.
“His tastebuds have changed a lot. His favorite is fish now. He likes fish,” his wife said.
“And soup beans,” he said, then, thoughtfully added, “I am still in love with her, yes I am.”
“Uh huh. I am, too,” his wife said.
“We made it 70 years. The best part was we didn’t leave home one day and take a break. No, we didn’t. No matter what, we stayed together and we raised our family and we stuck it out,” Morris said.
“That proves it. Us being together 70 years? It proves it.”
By PROGRESS STAFF
For Han Cechini, who covered Ocean Pines as one of many towns when he was anchoring WMDT-TV news, the community has always been an inviting “forest by the sea.”
“It’s hard to summarize why I fell in love with Delmarva over the last nearly six years but places like Ocean Pines are a great example of why I did,” he told the Progress as his final day on the air neared.
“Delmarva is full of amazing, tightknit communities and the people who make them up are where the special feeling comes from. In particular, it always amazed me how passionate community members are about everyday issues. I’ve lived in several places up to now, and I don’t think there are many other places like this where people truly care about each other, their histories, their futures and their communities,” the 29-year-old Cechini said, complimenting the Pines’ natural beauty.
Now, Cechini is busy at his new job as media specialist for the Maryland Department of Housing & Community Development.
“The new job is going well. My colleagues and supervisors are friendly and helpful and I’m excited to be working with them to both grow professionally and make housing and community development more accessible for all Marylanders,” he said.
His last broadcast on WMDT-TV was on Wednesday, Dec. 31, and that evening he posted a photograph of the outside of the news station, on Salisbury’s nearly dark Downtown Plaza, commenting, “And that’s a wrap. To the people who made my time at WMDT so special, thank you from the bottom on my heart. You know who you are.”
Faithful viewers wished him blessings and congratulations, with friend Jon Parks writing, “As you walked into the dusk of evening, you are about to step into a new spotlight of your career. Anyone standing in front of that light should know the wattage of power that is about to take center stage. Wishing you all the best in your future.”
Sen. Mary Beth Carozza responded that Cechini “always kept it local and community focused” and wished him, “all the best in your new DHCD position.” Cechini thanked her, replying it was a pleasure working with the senator and adding, “I have always admired your true commitment to the Eastern Sore and I look forward to any opportunities to work together again in my new role.”
Others commented that watching him broadcast the news every evening has been required viewing, that he has had a positive impact on the community and that he is “a natural journalist.”
Memories of interviews and stories broadcast will remain with him, he said, from covering crime to being at the Delaware State Fair every year to telling viewers about local and state politics and lawmakers’ decisions. There have also been environmental topics, including coverage of Wicomico County’s dissolved air flotation material storage tank, known as a DAF and usually containing sludge from poultry processing.
Fellow WMDT-TV staff members were valuable mentors who allowed him to gain experience, Cechini said. A native of New Jersey, he was raised about 270 miles from Boston but had some difficult moments growing up, not always being treated well because of his sexuality. When he settled in Salisbury, cruel, homophobic memes were sometimes aimed at him and although they were hurtful, his goal was always to be kind in return, as he was taught by his parents, who treated everyone with respect. Cechini’s father, Mark Cechini, lives in South Carolina and his mother, Hayley Fico, is a New Jersey resident.
As he looked back on his career in Salisbury, Cechini thanked “anyone who ever allowed me to tell their story or experience a piece of their life, the community leaders from whom I have learned so much and the wonderful mentors and colleagues who have shaped my time here … Looking ahead, I’m thrilled about new storytelling opportunities, getting to see more of the beau-
Afestive luncheon at The Atlantic Hotel marked the induction of 2026 officers and the start of the Ocean Pines Garden Club’s 50th year.
OPGC originated in 1976 to help locals with their gardening challenges, but new friendships were formed and strengthened through “digging in the dirt” and community service. Many hardscape items throughout Ocean Pines were gifts from OPGC.
The induction ceremony used flowers and their meanings for each of the officer positions. The 2026 officers are: (l to r) Maria Brown, treasurer; Laura Stearman, corresponding secretary; Joan Guerreiro, recording secretary; Shawn Lees, co-vice president; Susan Costanzo, co-vice president; Nancy Mulligan, co-president; and Ann Shockley, co-president.
The OPGC focus for the coming year includes highlighting the skills of its members, fun activities, and lighthearted outings.
The Feb. 12 meeting at 10 a.m. in the Assateague Room of Ocean Pines Community Center will include a presentation on the club’s storied history and a little bit of music. Guests are always welcome. Visit: bit.ly/OceanPinesGardenClub.
From Page 34
tiful, diverse state of Maryland and especially about working for Secretary Jake Day, someone else whom I deeply respect,” Cechini wrote on his Facebook departure post.
Day is former mayor of Salisbury and now Secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
“Delmarva is truly unlike any other place on earth,” said Cechini, a graduate of Suffolk University in Boston who lives in Salisbury with his two cats, Flora, who goes by the nickname Chicken, and a kitten, Biscuit, and who is in a relationship with Rachel Sawicki, press secretary for Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer.
“I never could have predicted the way living and working on this amazing little peninsula has helped me to grow and become who I am today. I will be staying on the Eastern Shore for the foreseeable future. But for now, here’s to new beginnings,” he said.
Brown,
Laura Stearman, corresponding secretary; Joan Guerreiro, recording secretary; Shawn Lees, co-vice president; Susan Costanzo, co-vice president; Nancy Mulligan, co-president; and Ann Shockley, co-president.
Denton sisters Aubrey and Paris Cummings offer freshly prepared, chef-crafted meals delivered to the doorstep, blending convenience, community care and bold global flavors
By PROGRESS STAFF
With a promise to take clients’ tastebuds on “an epicurean journey,” sisters Aubrey and Paris Cummings of Denton are cooking five meals – a full weeks’ worth complete with side dishes and bread -- and taking them right to the doorstep, including in Ocean Pines, for $125 plus a delivery fee.
The owners of Cast Iron Catering and Events LLC not only cook for individuals but for events such as weddings and company gatherings. Residents of Ocean Pines, and other towns between Denton and beach, can order with the Cummings’ slogan in mind -- “No grocery runs. No stress. Just good food.”
Prepared in a common kitchen in Caroline County, meals feed up to four adults. New menus are posted each week.
Selections for the week of Feb. 2 to 5, as announced on the website, include Island Queso Pollo, or marinated chicken smothered in queso over seasoned rice with sweet plantains and black beans; Caribbean Homestyle Meatloaf, glazed with a pineapple brown sugar sauce served with fried cabbage; Tropical Stuffed Shells, stuffed with ricotta cheese in marinara sauce with buttered corn on the cob; and Sunshine Cheese Enchiladas with Spanish rice and mango lime salsa.
Customers can also build their own bowls choosing from protein selections such as jerk chicken, pineapple teriyaki chicken, blackened
fish, pulled pork or tofu.
Other menu items include Lobster Seafood Risotto, Drunken Crab Stuffed Shrimp with Mushroom
Caps, Maryland crab soup, cream of crab soup, Caesar salad, iceberg wedge salad, tofu veggie bowls, lasagna with salad and garlic bread,
stuffed peppers, tuna bowls, crab cakes, fajitas and, for dessert, peanut butter and jelly bread pudding and key lime bars
Owner and executive chef Aubrey Cummings oversees the day-to-day operations and her sister, whose title is grazing specialist, “lives to make our clients’ palates happy,” the colorful website, at www.castironcateringgrazing.com states.
“As our grazing specialist, she designs each table with intention, layering textures, colors and flavors … she brings heart, dedication and a calm presence to every event. Working alongside my sister has been one of the greatest blessings of this business,” Cummings wrote.
Every week the company’s menu changes. For an adjusted cost, customers can also customize meals if they have special desires, needs, allergies or are vegetarian.
“We will also deliver if somebody is in need, during a snow storm for example, or an older person who doesn’t have anybody. We do a lot of community projects and help with the homeless. We are fully staffed so we cook for a lot of weddings, a lot of grazing tables, so big weddings,” Cummings said.
In a late January Facebook post, she announced she was looking for information about “any elderly who will be stuck in the house for the snow storm and have limited access to food.”
“Please message us so I can try to arrange food drop off,” she wrote.
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“Working alongside my sister has been one of the greatest blessings of this business,”
- Aubrey Cummings
From Page 36
Cummings got the idea to start Cast Iron Catering from her landlord, who asked the sisters to “make some dishes.”
“She was like, ‘Just try it’ and now it’s huge. It’s very competitive but she said we should try it and she thought we would really take off with it.
“I took my savings, got my credentials, got health department permits, inspections and you have to have insurance, all types of stuff. I love seeing people happy with food. It goes back to my Italian roots. I’m always the last one to eat. I’m always, ‘You eat, you eat.’ I’m single and I have four kids, 4 to 14, and do this on top of taking care of them. I went to EMT school … I’m not working at that job right now but I also do hospice care on the side,” she said. Her oldest child and only girl
helps with the business.
Delivering in Ocean Pines, she said is, “a fresh new idea, just to help people who don’t have the time to cook,” she said.
“I’ve heard people say they are sick of fast food and the price of food has gone astronomically high. They are going to be paying $125 for one meal vs. a whole week of meals. Everything arrives to you already cooked. It’s in a brown paper bag, with a side or two to go with it. Everything is dropped off at your doorstep. You don’t have to be at home when we deliver it. We deliver it and you just have to heat it up. Nothing is frozen. You can freeze what you are not eating for the week but everything is made the day it’s delivered so it will last all week,” she said.
Reach Cummings on the website, by e-mail at Aubrey.cummings89@ icloud.com or call 443-988-8315.
The Art League of Ocean City invites students in middle and high school in Worcester Co., Md. to enter their original artwork and be eligible to win cash prizes in the annual Shirley Hall Youth Art Show. The deadline to enter is Feb. 28, 2026.
The Art League is expanding this annual youth art in 2026, and entries will hang in Studio E at the Ocean City Center for the Arts for the entire March exhibition, March 6-28, 2026.
The Art League will accept entries in-person at the OC Arts Center, 502 94th St. bayside, from Sunday, Feb. 22 through Saturday, Feb. 28 during regular Arts Center hours, MondayFriday 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and weekends 11 a.m.– 4 p.m.
For more than 34 continuous years, the Art League has presented an annual youth art show for Worcester County students. Originally sponsored by the Women’s Club of Ocean City and coordinated by member Shirley Hall, a former Art League president, the Art League continued to coordinate the show after the Women’s Club disbanded, believing it central to its mission. When Shirley Hall passed away in 2006, the Art League renamed the show in her honor.
Hall’s daughter, Betsy Hall Harrison, will judge the show and provide $300 in prize money to the students in memory of her mother.
The show is open to all middle and high school students in Worcester County, including public, private, and homeschool students. Artwork must be original, and all two-dimensional art is eligible: paintings, drawings, photographs, mixed media, etchings, and more. The artwork must have been created in the past year. Artwork must be matted or framed and ready to hang.
Direct questions to Kacie Neeb, gallery manager, at the Art League, kacie@artleagueofoceancity.org.
Warm up this winter and try something new at the Clubhouse Bar & Grille.
Every Friday, enjoy a famous Original Arthur Avenue or try an Arthur Parmesan. Sink your teeth into Italian grilled sausage, topped with sauteed peppers, onions, and melted provolone, all nestled in a perfectly toasted roll, all for just $10.
Plus, the Clubhouse Bar & Grille features live music every Friday
evening from 5-8 p.m.
The upcoming live music for Feb. 6 is Two Pistols.
The Clubhouse is open Thursday through Monday, 9:30 a.m. to close. The Clubhouse is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the off-season.
Step inside a glitter-soaked, rhinestone-studded cocktail experience at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club on March 7 and 8.
Guests will sip their way through a high-energy evening featuring three over-the-top themed cocktails (or mocktails), each crafted as a sweet and sassy tribute to the Queen of Country herself.
Between drinks, enjoy dazzling performances, laugh-out-loud games, and interactive moments that make this event part party, part performance.
Costumes are encouraged. This is not a dinner event.
Cocktails on the menu include:
The Jolene: “Your beauty is beyond compare…” – fiery, sultry, and just a little dangerous. Spicy + seductive – a Southern twist on a margarita with a touch of burn.
The 9 to 5: “Pour myself a cup of ambition…” – bright, caffeinated, and keeps you going til quittin’ time. Coffee + cream + bourbon = working woman’s old fashioned.
The Backwoods Barbie (with cotton candy garnish): “Just a backwoods Barbie, too much makeup, too much hair…” – sweet, showy, and proud of it! Fun + flirty + unapologetically pink. Vodka, prosecco, elderflower, and a splash of cranberry.
The approximate runtime is 120 minutes, with doors opening 30 minutes prior to showtime.
Showtimes are: Saturday, March 7, 4 - 5:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 7, 7 - 8:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 8, 1 - 2:30 p.m.
Tickets are $50 plus box office fee and tax per person, which includes one cocktail and the performance. VIP Cocktail tickets are $95 plus box office fee and tax and includes three cocktails, performance, souvenir glass, premium seating, and photo with the cast.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www. opyachtclub.com/events/dolly-parton-experience-cocktail-party-2026-03-07-16-00
Ocean Pines Events at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club will hold a Wedding Showcase Open House on Saturday, Feb. 14, from 12 to 5 p.m. at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club, located at 1 Mumford’s Landing Road.
Guests are invited to explore the Yacht Club’s waterfront venue and consult with the in-house wedding coordinator about planning and personalizing their special day. Attendees will have the opportunity to tour the ceremony and reception spaces, experience the versatility and elegance of the event settings, and meet select local wedding vendors offering resources and inspiration.
Throughout the showcase, visitors can enjoy signature appetizers, desserts, and sparkling bubbly prepared by the Ocean Pines Yacht Club’s culinary team.
The event will feature Allison to the Altar and other local vendors.
RSVPs are requested at opyachtclub.com under the “Music & Events” tab or through the direct link: https://www.opyachtclub.com/ events/ocean-pines-events-openhouse/form.
For more information, email events@oceanpines.org or call 410641-7501 ext. 4.
The Art League of Ocean City announces a bus trip to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. to view a special exhibition, Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work.
The bus will depart the ACME parking lot at 94th St. and Coastal Hwy. in Ocean City on Monday, March 30, 2026 at 8 a.m. The bus will make a second pick-up stop at 8:30 a.m. in Salisbury at the Boscov’s parking lot facing Rt 13. The return time is approximately 7-7:30 p.m. The cost is $95 for Art League members, $115 for non-members and covers the bus and admission to the museum. Water and snacks will be provided on the bus.
Guests will experience an upclose and personal one-hour guided tour led by trained museum docents. The bus will depart the museum at 4 p.m. to return to Ocean City and will pass the Tidal Basin for a peek at the iconic cherry blossoms.
Grandma Moses: A Good Day’s Work sheds new light on a body
By PROGRESS STAFF
Worcester County residents can nominate educators for Worcester County Educator Hall of Fame for the Class of 2026, the third group of honorees since the Hall of Fame began in 2024, until April.
Nomination forms are online and can also be obtained from the superintendent’s office in Newark. See www.worcesterk12.org for information.
Inductee Gwen Freeman Lehman of Ocean Pines, who taught at Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin for 46 years before retiring in 2015, explained the Hall of Fame has what is referred to as classes.
“There are currently two classes of inductees. The class of 2024 honorees were inducted in September 2024 and included Gladys Burbage, Rick Chapman, Coralee Fraschetti, Fred Grant, Roxie Connelly and Elaine Spry.
“The Class of 2025 honorees were inducted in September 2025 and honorees include Tom Dorman, Willie Jackson, Dr. Frank Ruffo and myself,” Lehman told the Progress.
Former Worcester County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jon Andes originally suggested a Hall of Fame for teachers, Lehman said, adding Burbage was the first to be inducted and she was second.
Winners are honored during a ceremony at a Board of Education meeting and inductees receive commemorative plaques.
of work by Anna Mary Robertson, “Grandma” Moses (1860 – 1961). Grandma Moses used creativity, hope, and togetherness as tools for shaping a life she metaphorically likened to “a good day’s work.” A multidimensional force in American art who painted recollections of rural life, she earned a distinctive place in the cultural imagination of the postwar era.
The exhibition reveals how Moses’ art fused creativity, labor, and memories from a century-long life, introduces the artist to new generations, and examines her legacy in the context of America today.
For more information call the Arts Center at 410-524-9433 or at OCart.org.
Marylanders ultimately foot the tax bill
By CHIP BERTINO
Worcester County Commissioner
Who is a Maryland taxpayer? An individual or business that pays taxes to multiple levels of government: state, county and/or municipality. Taxation is not an optional exercise that allows Marylanders to pick and choose what taxes they will pay and to whom. Maryland taxpayers pay them all. That’s why again this year, Marylanders should beware.
The 2026 Maryland State Legislative session is underway, in an election year. As if that were not enough drama to make the session interesting, add in new House leadership, new committees, a no tax/no fee increase pledge from the Governor and a nearly $2 billion deficit.
Budget decisions made in Annapolis reverberate throughout the state and permeate decisions made by county and local elected officials who are also responsible for budgets, budgets that often have more impact on the daily lives of Marylanders. Think funding for law enforcement, public schools, parks and recreation and roads. Think planning and zoning codes.
For those of us responsible for governing at the county level, there’s significant trepidation as this ses-
sion rolls out. How will the state balance the budget this year, already starting in deficit territory? History reminds us that state legislators and the ex-
Chip Bertino
ecutive branch often balance the budget by pushing on to local county governments programs and initiatives costs the state legislates are necessary but are unable or unwilling to fund. And when more is required to close a budget deficit, they slash local allocations. Cuts to Highway User Revenue and Project Open Space funding come to mind.
It’s likely Maryland taxpayers will again take it on the chin as local governments will be forced to make the hard budgeting decisions glossed over by Annapolis lawmakers. State legislators and the Governor will claim they balanced the budget, in an election year, without increased taxes and fees. They will campaign accordingly. What is left unsaid in celebratory sound bites is that ultimately Maryland taxpayers are still going to pay in local and
The Ocean Pines Progress is a journal of news and lifestyles published monthly throughout the year. It is distributed to every occupied home in Ocean Pines and at newsstands in the community.
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county taxes for the left behind unfunded mandates and reduced state funding allocations.
Unless Annapolis legislators practice responsible budgeting, Maryland taxpayers will again pay the price.
If the past is prologue, Annapolis lawmakers will pass difficult
funding and tax decisions onto local government leaders to pay for Annapolis’ unfunded mandates, gubernatorial pet projects and reduced allocations.
Despite sound bites and press releases to the contrary, this legislative session may rely less on responsible governing than smoke and mirrors. And when the smoke clears, it will be the Maryland taxpayer – all of us – who will foot the bill.
