Tuttle, Perrone at odds over future Sports Core addition
February 2020
It was relatively polite in comparison to past public disagreements among members of the Board of Directors, but the sparring between OPA Vice President Steven Tuttle and OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone at a Feb. 18 budget meeting was noteworthy because it revealed a rift on what has been a mostly harmonious board since last August when the current board term began. The sparring involved Tuttle’s opposition to setting aside a $100,000 allocation for a future Sports Core pool room addition. ~Page 8
County commissioner critiques criticism of spray irrigation County Commissioner Jim Bunting has pushed back against the idea that spraying treated effluent on the Ocean Pines golf course as has been proposed by county officials and the Ocean Pines Water and Wastewater Advisory Board will indirectly promote development and more congestion in the area. ~Page 29
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
COVER STORY
Board adopts $13 million operations budget, keeps assessments at $986
OPA seeking state grants for drainage improvements With nearly 10 percent of properties in the community draining through Bainbridge Pond to a culvert under Beauchamp Road, the Ocean Pines Association is seeking state grant funds to make significant stormwater management improvements in the catchment area. Colby Phillips, director of amenities and logistical operations, provided an update on efforts to enhance drainage during the Feb. 5 Board of Directors meeting. ~ Page 18
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Bulkhead differential raised $50 to $515 By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors approved the 2020-21 Ocean Pines Association budget on Feb. 18, with six votes in favor and Director Steve Tuttle abstaining, reflecting opposition to the board consensus in favor of setting aside $100,000 on a future Sports Core room addition not yet formally approved by the board. As expected, the board kept the base lot assessment at $986, no change from the current year and $5 more than a second version of the budget that had been crafted last month after three days of review by the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee. The initial version of the budget unveiled in December by General Manager John Viola also called for a $5 reduction in the base lot assessment. The approved budget calls for a $50 increase in the waterfront differential paid by most owners of bulkheaded property in Ocean Pines, increasing it from the current $465 to $515. Owners of most bulkhead property in Ocean Pines will pay a total assessment for 2020-21 of $1,501. This is no change from the earlier versions of the budget.
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The reversal of the $5 decrease in assessments called for in the first two budget versions resulted from estimated costs of bringing redundancy to Internet services at the Yacht Club by employing networks offered by Mediacom, the traditional Internet service provider in Ocean Pines, and Comcast, the new ISP that has entered the Ocean Pines market. A working group that included OPA President Doug Parks and former director and OPA President Tom Terry has been hammering out details of redundant Internet and premium programing services above basic. Those details had not been known when the earlier versions of the budget had been crafted. The approved budget calls for $13 million in operational spending, a modest increase over the $12.83 million called for in the original draft budget unveiled this past December. The approved final budget for departmental operations is only .1 percent higher than the forecast budget results for the 2019-20 fiscal year ending April 30, and 4.13 percent higher than the 2019-20 budget approved a year ago this month. When non-bulkhead capital spending of $1,721,164 To Page 5
Viola says OPA can’t go back 20 years to segregate out bulkhead spending from dredging collections
BERLIN i.g. Burton www.igburton.com 10420 Old Ocean City Blvd, Berlin, MD 410.641.0444
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