December 2018
www.issuu.com/oceanpinesprogress
443-359-7527
Board eliminates L&N as financial services vendor
The consensus of the Board of Directors at the conclusion of a work session Dec. 7 is that Legum and Norman, one of two applicants that submitted proposals to take over or supply software for “back office” financial services for the Ocean Pines Association, is no longer in the running. With all seven directors in agreement, a rarity in what has been an arduous process that is still weeks if not months away from concluding, the board focus now shifts to a software solution offered by NorthStar Technologies. ~ Page 10
THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
COVER STORY
Parks signals new interest in replacing Country Club
Property owners sue OPA for failing to fix drainage defects
OPA president says option of smaller, ‘golf-only’ building should be compared to renovation By TOM STAUSS Publisher t’s back -- the option of tearing down and replacing the venerable Ocean Pines Country Club with a new building. Unlike the last time the replacement option was a political issue in Ocean Pines, during the 2016 Board of Directors election season, this time the idea is to replace the building with a smaller, single-story clubhouse geared to golf-related activities. Roughly two years ago, a board consensus emerged under the presidency of Tom Herrick that the Country Club would be renovated in phases rather than replaced. The first floor renovation occurred more or less as planned, but the second floor renovation became mired in problems under Acting General Manager Brett Hill and board resistance to Hill’s contractor of choice. Hill’s proposal to hire the contractor to do the renovation at roughly $500,000 did not produce a board majority in the summer of 2017. Since then, under General Manager John Bailey, the renovation process has moved glacially, with a first round of bid solicitation producing no bids. The latest round may or may not produce proposals; bids from a mid-November request for proposals are due back in mid-December. The replacement option, confirmed by OPA President Doug Parks, has reemerged in the context of estimates of a second floor renovation, along with exterior siding and
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roof improvements, that could exceed $1.2 or $1.3 million. Previously, replacement has generally been considered in the context of a two-story building replicating the square footage of the existing building, less than 10,000 square feet, and activities that traditionally have occurred there. Should a consensus emerge on the Doug Parks parameters of a smaller building, one possibility could be to build a new golf clubhouse on the footprint of the existing building, 4,700 square feet in size. That might make it possible to reduce costs associated with relocating utility lines into the building. Since roughly 25 percent of the ground level of the existing building is unusable because of the entrance level foyer and steps to the upper and lower levels, a new clubhouse on the existing footprint could actually increase the area devoted to golf activities. A smaller, one-story building whatever its square footage presumably would include a pro shop, Tern Grille, bathrooms, bag room, offices and, perhaps, locker rooms. Community functions that have been held on the second floor -- card games, OPA board meetings, dance classes, organizational meetings and the like -- would To Page 4
Property owners Michael J. and Rhonda J. Holson of 22 Moby Dick Drive are suing the OPA for what they say is failure to properly maintain drainage easements throughout Ocean Pines, causing flooding in and around their property and tens of thousands of dollars of damage. ~ Page 6
Bailey says OPA to continue ditch mowing next year Despite a legal opinion that says the Ocean Pines Association isn’t responsible for mowing grass between roadside ditches and the road, General Manager John Bailey says he does not intend to stop the practice of roadside mowing next year. During his General Manager’s Report delivered at the Dec. 1 meeting of the Board of Directors, Bailey confirmed that OPA attorney Jeremy Tucker continues to believe that OPA restrictive covenants do not require the OPA to perform this service. ~ Page 19
Treasurer, director of finance project $9,000 operating loss for 2018-19 ~ Page 26 The New
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