August 2018
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY COVER STORY
Tuttle, Daly, Moroney, Diller win board seats Parks said to be interested in another term as OPA president
By TOM STAUSS Publisher here will be three new members of the Board of Directors this month, the result of this summer’s annual Ocean Pines Association election. Steve Tuttle, with 2,322 votes, and Frank Daly, with 2,048 votes, won three-year terms. Ted Moroney, with 1,809 votes, and Esther Diller, with 1,549 votes, each will fill one-year terms that expire in August of next year. Diller won despite a decision not to attend two candidate forums or to campaign, other than to place a fullpage ad in the Progress with bullet points describing her positions on issues confronting Ocean Pines. She edged out Paula Gray, with 1,526 votes, who did do some personal campaigning and who attended candidate forums. “I think I won because a lot of people agree with me on the issues,” she said. She pledged to work towards the goal of outsourcing management of the OPA, starting with the general manager position and including the finance department. “HOAs across the country are doing this, successfully,” she said. “There’s no reason why anyone should be afraid of this.” The top voter-getter, Tuttle, a former chair of the
T
Steve Tuttle 2,322 votes
Frank Daly 2,048 votes
Ted Moroney 1,809 votes
Esther Diller 1,549 votes
Ocean Pines Elections Committee, said he did a lot of door-to-door campaigning, listening to the concerns of Ocean Pines property owners. What he learned was that a lot of residents didn’t like the way that the OPA handled the geese euthanasia issue. “That was the number one issue,” he said. Tuttle said that the OPA had no option but to deal with the over-population the way it did, but he said he supports non-lethal efforts to keep the goose population down to acceptable levels. He also said OPA members are concerned about rising assessments. During the campaign, Tuttle expressed opposition to the $30 increase in the assessment in the current fiscal year. Daly was more definitive about his desire to deTo Page 45
Trendic critical of Parks, Bailey and Horn for ‘unapproved’ release of Country Club RFP ~ Page 36
Abi’s DINER
Bailey abandons Hill’s plans for admin building Although the Board of Directors has yet to take up the matter, General Manager John Bailey has his own idea on how to provide more space for the Ocean Pines Police Department. It’s not the same approach that former Acting General Manager Brett Hill, and retiring OPA director and president Tom Herrick, had in mind. They, with some implicit backing of previous boards, wanted to use the existing footprint within the administration building to expand OPPD space. ~ Page 8
Board proceeds with RFP for replacement of crabbing pier
Despite objections from a majority of property owners in Whitetail Sanctuary, the Ocean Pines Association is moving forward with a request for proposals for replacement of the derelict crabbing pier located in that section of the community. The Board decided during a July 27 meeting to continue with the RFP process as part of an information gathering exercise as they debate whether to replace the pier, build a new one somewhere else, or convert the existing site to a nature preserve. ~ Page 26
Herrick unhappy with way colleagues handled contract Director Tom Herrick, in the waning days as a member of the Board of Directors, issued biting criticism of three of his colleagues for a contract signed in December of last year with Mediacom, Ocean Pines’ primary Internet and cable television provider, for a dedicated, fiber optic connection between the Ocean Pines Police Department and Worcester County Emergency Services in Snow Hill. ~ Page 19
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