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www.oceanpinesprogress.com
February-Early March 2013
Vol. 8, No. 11
Casper Golf fills dining void by Yacht Club closure The Tern Grille and more recently the second floor of the Ocean Pines Country Club has been quietly filling a void created by the closure of the Yacht Club immediately after the New Year’s Eve party. The Country Club’s second floor, including a small bar, a small kitchen, and seating scattered throughout, is more of a bistro or lounge than a full-service restaurant. In recent months, it’s been the venue for occasional meetings of the board of directors and advisory committees, along with card games and a small troupe of tap dancers./Page 8
Board toughens stance against delinquent owners Property owners who owe the Ocean Pines Association $5,000 or more in annual dues, fees, interest or other charges may soon be sued by the OPA in small claims court and read about it in the news. The board of directors during a Jan. 23 meeting voted unanimously to initiate a process whereby the OPA will take legal action against property owners who owe the OPA a significant amount of money and make sure everyone in the community knows who those debtors are. Page 18
Demographics could have impact on safety in Pines While Ocean Pines remains as Worcester County’s safest community with respect to property and violent crime, demographic changes in nearby Selbyville, De., and Salisbury pose risks, Ocean Pines Chief of Police Dave Massey told members of the Ocean Pines Association’s Budget and Finance Advisory Committee in early January. Demographic changes in Ocean Pines itself also poses risks, Massey said, citing a growing number of homes that are rented out rather than used as second homes by non-resident owners, even pointing out the presence of Section 8 subsidized housing in a community that is perceived to be affluent and stable./Page 25
THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY COVER STORY
Sole sourcing of contracts expedites pool, drainage fixes Segment of Yacht Club pool project given to Harkins non-competitively
Beauchamp Road improvements address flooding for Section 3 residents
By TOM STAUSS Publisher on’t worry; it’s only money. And the Ocean Pines Association apparently has enough of it to handle unexpected, unbudgeted big-ticket capital projects without wiping out its well-stocked reserve funds. A few years ago it was a $500,000 repair to the Swim and Racquet Club pool decking. Last year and this year it was $850,000 or so for new greens on the Ocean Pines golf course. More recently, it’s somewhere close to $800,000 for a new Yacht Club pool, new concrete decking, and a new elevated pump room. Add to that the planned new Yacht Club – another $4.3 million— and pretty soon you’re talking real money. Some critics call all of this spending an uncontrolled binge, while others call it taking care of aging infrastructure when the unexpected happens. In the case of the Yacht Club pool, it’s community leaders wanting to do whatever it takes to ensure that a key Ocean Pines amenity is back into service for at least part of this coming summer, if not by the traditional Memorial Day weekend launch. The new Yacht Club itself was planned, budgeted and ratified by property owners in a referendum. Ordinarily, OPA management will seek competitive bids for big ticket capital items, or even smaller expenditures such as new vehicles, but in the case of one segment of the Yacht Club pool project, OPA General Manager Bob Thompson deviated from that practice and had that choice affirmed by the board of directors in a special meeting Jan. 24. Not seeking competitive bids for a large project ordinarily is frowned upon at all levels of government. The practice is called sole-sourcing, and two OPA directors, Marty Clarke and Dave Stevens, voiced objections to it in a special meeting To Page 20
By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer fter years of complaining by residents and finger-pointing by officials, drainage problems in Section 3 of Ocean Pines are finally going to be addressed. The project should be completed by the end of February, weather permitting. Worcester County has reached an agreement with developer Lou Meltzer for the installation of a drainage pipe extending from Beauchamp Road to a pond in his development, River Run. The Worcester County Commissioners on Feb. 5 waived the bidding process and awarded a $38,126 contact for the drainage work. Public Works Director John Tustin said the county has been working with Meltzer, owner of River Run Development Corp., to allow the county to install 156 lineal feet of 24-inch piping from the Beauchamp Road right-of-way into a pond on the River Run golf course. With the design documents complete and an easement for the improvements signed off on by Meltzer, for $1 in consideration by the county, work on the project is now ready to proceed. In anticipation of receiving approval, Tustin had already solicited prices from local contractors for the project. Because only two contractors actually submitted prices and only one of them, Bunting and Murray, submitted a complete bid with a cost of $38,126, Tustin recommended waiving the formal bidding process and awarding a contract for the project to that company. “I believe it would be in the best interest of the county to award Bunting and Murray the contract as they have the manpower and equipment to complete the project in a timely manner as required by the easement agreement,” Tustin said. The easement agreement mandates that the work be completed during the months of December, January To Page 18
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