Developer seeks interior access to medical complex Citing safety concerns and improved convenience for residents, developer Palmer Gillis is lobbying the Ocean Pines Association to support a second entrance to the medical complex he is developing off Route 589 adjacent to the North Gate. Gillis met with the Board of Directors during a special Feb. 5 session and presented a request for access via an interior connection from Ocean Parkway, but instead directors are pushing for improvements to the existing “right-in-right-out” only access point on Route 589. ~ Page 5
Thompson’s proposed food truck purchase still up in the air It’s only a $55,000 item in a capital budget of roughly $2.69 million, but General Manager Bob Thompson’s idea for a food truck to offer lunch items at the Mumford’s Landing pool, appetizers and other lighter fare at the Yacht Club in late afternoon and early evenings, breakfast at weekend Farmer’s Markets and food service at other events in White Horse Park consumed much of the available oxygen during 2016-17 budget deliberations in January and early February. In the end, however, the general manager’s initiative seems to be carrying the day, with a sufficient number of Ocean Pines Association directors apparently close to authorizing the expenditure. ~ Page 10
LU to allow members to walk golf course in the mornings In one of its first visible efforts to rebuild golf membership in Ocean Pines, Landscapes Unlimited, the Ocean Pines golf course management company, has announced a policy change for member golfers who prefer to walk while playing their rounds. Scott Nissley, LU’s regional manager, during a Jan. 21 town meeting called to discuss the company’s business plan for the coming year. ~ Page 27
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY COVER STORY
Assessment increase decision looms; directors grapple with 2016-17 budget Stevens, Collins propose reduction in reserve funding as a way to eliminate assessment increase or even lower it By TOM STAUSS Publisher Feb. 5 meeting that some Ocean Pines Association directors had hoped would wrap up deliberations over the proposed 2016-17 OPA budget did nothing of the kind, instead leaving several controversial issues open for decisions later in February. Chief among them is the amount of contributions the board will authorize for the OPA’s major maintenance and replacement reserve, which in turn will have a direct effect on whether the board will raise the base lot assessment for the 2016-17 fiscal year. Another decision that looms is whether to approve a roving food truck proposed by General Manager Bob Thompson in his draft budget unveiled in early January. [See story on page 10 for details.] Both issues could be decided by the board in another budget review meeting scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19, at 9 a.m. OPA Director and Treasurer Tom Terry has been aiming for a vote at the board’s regular monthly meeting Feb. 25 to finalize next year’s budget, including assessments and fees embedded in it. Terry had hoped that the Feb. 5 meeting would resolve most if not all of the outstanding issues, but instead the board spent most of the morning presiding over what amounted to a town meeting over a proposal by developer Palmer Gillis to provide internal access to his medical complex adjacent to the Ocean Pines North Gate from within Ocean Pines. [See story on page for 5 details]. After a short nature break, as it was dubbed by Terry, the directors conducted a 45-minute session on the budget, dealing with two issues – a proposed allocation to deal with the non-native geese issue in and around the South Gate and a suggestion by Director Cheryl Jacobs to eliminate a 2.6 per-
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cent merit pay increase in salary accounts across all departments. Thompson had to leave because of a prior commitment and that prompted President Pat Renaud to adjourn the meeting after roughly 45 minutes, leaving major issues to be resolved at Dave Stevens Jack Collins another time. The geese issue was dispatched relatively quickly, with the directors agreeing to a $15,000 allocation in the budget for non-lethal thinning of the number of geese at the South Gate. That number could be revised upward to $25,000 if Thompson subsequently comes back to the board with a higher cost estimate. On the merit pay increase, in the end four of six directors who attended the meeting, including Jacobs, opted to retain the 2.6 percent average merit pay increase, with not every employee guaranteed a raise. Among the issues not addressed during the Feb. 5 meeting is a proposal by Stevens, distributed to his colleagues and the media that day, to reduce a proposed $1.1 million supplemental contribution from assessments to the Major Maintenance and Replacement Reserve. His proposal is to reduce that $1.1 million to $626,160. Stevens’ proposed reduction in supplemental funding would not affect the separate $1.55 million in assessments that is scheduled to flow into this reserve in revenue attributable to funding depreciation of OPA assets. Combined, the two revenue streams would allocate $2.18 million directly from lot assessments into the replacement reserve next year. Stevens told his colleagues that if they accept his proposal, the replacement reserve would still contain To Page 35
OPA directors approve funds for Beach Club bathroom renovation ~ Page 8
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