February 2022 Ocean Pines Progress

Assessments now on path to $925, a $71reduction

The revised, second draft of the proposed Ocean Pines Association budget for 2022-23 shows an assessment decrease of $71, down from the current $996 to $925.

General Manager John Viola unveiled details of the revised draft Jan. 19, in the first and only budget review meeting conducted by the Board of Directors in this budget cycle.

Previous reviews were conducted by the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, with OPA directors attending.

The first iteration of the budget unveiled this past December had a nominal decrease in the assessment of $1.

There is no increase planned in the waterfront differential paid by owners of privately-owned bulkheaded property, Viola said. It would remain at $615, for a total assessment of $1,540. The assessment for non-bulkhead waterfront property would be set at $1,015.

The Board of Directors is expected to approve the budget and formally set assessments for the coming year at its Feb. 23 regular meeting.

At the same that the assessment seems headed for a significant decrease, the second draft of the budget shows increases in beach parking, aquatics and racquet sports membership fees. No increases had been included in the initial draft, while dues increases in golf memberships had been initially budgeted.

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COVER STORY

Proposed by-law revisions target Farr, Lakernick eligibility to run for Board Directors to review 28 possible revisions to governing document in Feb. 7 special meeting

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors will be meeting in an open special meeting Feb. 7 to consider 28 separate motions to amend Ocean Pines Association bylaws, including proposals by OPA President Colette Horn, Vice President Frank Daly and Director Doug Parks.

Three proposals by Daly are already generating bad reviews in local print and social media, including the Get Involved Facebook Page, oceanpinesforum.com and the Ocean City Today editorial page. The proposals have been construed as targeting two Ocean Pines property owners, Richard Farr and Stuart Lakernick, making it difficult if not impossible for either to seek re-election or election to the Board of Directors.

T

Farr is an OPA director after waging a successful case against the OPA board that was a decided in early January with a court order that he be seated as a director. Lakernick has been a candidate for the board the last two summers, coming up short by 60 votes in the contest for second place in 2021. Farr led the slate of candidates on the 2021 ballot followed by Daly, who was re-elected to a second three-year Frank Daly term on the board.

In addition to 14 separate motions to amend the bylaws, Daly is also offering a motion to convene a speTo Page 3

Viola rescinds resignation as General Manager, agrees to stay on at least through mid-September ~ Page 10

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COVER STORY From Page 1 cial meeting to consider a proposed election-related change to the OPA Charter, which can be approved by a super-majority vote of the directors. By-laws changes can only be approved by a majority of those voting in an OPA referendum of property owners.

The board has the authority to recommend changes to the by-laws but it’s the OPA membership that decides.

Horn is offering nine motions to amend the bylaws and Parks five. There has been somewhat of a rush to approve these by-laws motions so a referendum can be prepared to send to OPA members so that at least some of the changes could apply to this summer’s board election.

The package of changes has been vetted by OPA attorney Jeremy Tucker and include some proposals prepared by members of the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee. One proposal drafted by the committee to require board candidates to have their names on the deed to an Ocean Pines property to qualify as a candidate apparently did not survive the vetting process.

In recent meetings of the committee, to which she is board liaison, Horn has mentioned that any proposed by-laws amendments approved by the board would allow OPA members to vote on them individually, rather than as a take-it-or-leave-it

package. That decision has not been made by the directors.

Two proposed motions when taken together would set a new requirement to run for the OPA Board. One of Horn’s motions would amend Article 1, Section 1.11 to say that “eligible to vote refers to a member who has paid the annual charge,” which is the annual assessment levied by the OPA on property owners. One of Daly’s motions would amend Section 5.02(a) to say that “any candidate shall have paid the annual assessment by May 15 of the year of the election.”

A Daly motion that could be construed as targeting Farr should he decide to run for reelection in 2024 would amend Section 5.02(a) by saying that candidates “must be owners of record of real property for a minimum of three years prior to the first day of January of the year of the election and eligible to vote to vote under by-law 3.0(c).”

If Daly’s motion is construed narrowly to exclude an equitable owner of property from the term “owner of record,” Farr would be prevented from running for re-election in 2024 even if the home he lives in is transferred into his name. He would have needed to have done that before Jan. 1 of 2021.

Daly offers an exception to three-year rule. He suggests that it could be waived for a candidate “who has served on an advisory committee for no less than 12 months prior to May of the year” of the election.

The term “owner of record” played a key role in the Farr litigation against the OPA, with Judge Sidney Campen ruling that the term includes both conventional legal owners, those whose names appear on a deed in the land records of Worcester County, and equitable owners, including beneficiaries or trustees of a family trust.

Farr lives in and has paid annual assessments on a home on King Richard Road in Section 6 which is owned by the Farr Family Trust, making him an equitable owner of property eligible to run and serve on the board, according to the judge.

Nowhere in any of the Daly motions is there a definition of “owner of record,” but it could be narrowly defined in the future by OPA officials as requiring a name on a deed, the OPA position rejected by the court in Farr vs. OPA. The Daly motions do not seem to offer any clarity on that point, however.

Farr attorney Bruce Bright contended in the litigation in which his client prevailed that language in the Declaration of Restrictions for Section 6 can be interpreted as allowing both legal and equitable owners to run for the board. He also has argued that the same is true of the OPA Charter.

None of Daly’s motions attempt to overrule the DRs, which would require a referendum vote and a majority of property owners in that section approving such a change.

To Page 5

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COVER STORY By-laws revisions From Page 3 A statement of purpose and intent of all of Daly’s proposed by-laws changes is “to provide clarity and precision to our by-laws,” but the lack of definition of “owner of record” in his proposals seems to be at odds with that.

Another potentially contentious Daly motion proposes that “the candidate may not have been convicted of a felony within ten years of May 1” of the year of the election, or, according to the language of a related motion, “if the spouse by legal marriage, civil union or any recognized cohabitation arrangement has been convicted of a felony offense ...” in federal or state court.

These two proposals taken together seem to be targeted at Lakernick and his wife, former OPA Director Esther Diller, who was convicted of a felony last year in a case that received attention in local media.

According to a comment by Horn in a recent meeting of the by-laws committee, Tucker, the OPA counsel, “doesn’t like” the spousal reference in the related motion.

Nonetheless, it survived the vetting conducted by Tucker prior to

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 5 the posting of all the motions on the OPA Website on Jan. 28.

Daly is also offering motions that would add to Section 5.12 of the bylaws pertaining to the resignation and removal of a director to add to the definition of cause as a basis for removal by majority vote of the board.

The new causes for removal would be conviction of a felony within ten years of May 1 of the year of an election and also conviction of the director’s wife of a felony.

Another Daly motion would amend the by-laws to preclude candidates if they are a plaintiff in an active lawsuit involving the OPA. Had it been in place this past summer, Farr would have been precluded from continuing his candidacy, but he only sued because he had been disqualified as a candidate by then Secretary Camilla Rogers, with board concurrence.

The special meeting Daly would like to call for the purpose of amending the Ocean Pines Charter seems to have an election-related objective.

He would delete the reference to member [of the Association] in Section 5.01 of the Charter to “owner of record of real property within the u

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6 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022 By-laws revisions From Page 5 sub-division eligible to vote. Additional qualifications for candidacy and election to the Board of Directors shall be governed by Section 5.01(a) of the by-laws.”

In addition, Daly would add language to the Charter that says “notwithstanding, and for clarification purposes, the qualifications for candidacy and election to the Board of Directors and for service on the Board of Directors are separate from the rights of members.”

Finally, he would add language to the charter that says “qualification for candidacy, election and service on the Board shall be as provided by the by-laws.”

Daly again does not define the term “owner of record.” Nor does he address language in the Declaration of Restrictions which seems to confer the right to run for the board both on legal and equitable members of the association.

In a recent meeting of the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee, chairman Jim Trummel advised Horn and his colleagues that in his view any reference to “owner of record” should be avoided in the by-laws, in part because the term does not appear in the charter or in the DRs. Horn advised Trummel to send an opinion to the board to that effect. How much influence it might have on how a majority of directors vote on the Daly proposals remains to be seen.

Some Daly motions seem less controversial

I

Horn offers nine proposals. Parks five for by-laws changes

n addition to controversial motions that critics say target Rick Farr and Stuart Lakernick, Director Frank Daly is offering motions on proposed by-laws changes that would: • offer new rules for valid signatures on petitions. For actions not requiring a referendum or to have an agenda item added to the annual meeting of the association, 100 valid signatures would be required. For referendum issues or removal of a director, 10 percent of the votes in the association would be required on a successful petition.

To call a special meeting of the members, 15 percent of the total votes in the association would be required.

• amend Section 5.02 to say that “the candidate may not be an incumbent director completing a second consecutive full term of office.” This proposed change would seem to ratify policy and practice already in place.

• declare that the “lack of a [candidate] Search Committee or the Committee’s inability to acquire at least two more candidates than the number of vacancies will not affect the validity of the election.”

• require that candidate applications must list the full legal name, first, middle and last, as well as prefixes or suffixes and provide all supporting documents to OPA staff or the Search Committee.

• amend Section 5.02 to give the OPA secretary sole responsibility for determining the eligibility of a candidate, a provision that would seem to remove the board from any involvement in the process following a disqualification.

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8 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022 By-laws motions From Page 6

The proposed change would require the OPA to publish a public notice explaining the disqualification. The proposed amendment also says that ‘if ballots have already been printed when the disqualification occurs, the candidate will remain on the ballot, election balloting will continue and all votes tallied and recorded.

Votes for the ineligible candidate would “not be counted towards determining the candidates who are to be elected.”

The same would apply to deceased candidates, those who cease to be an owner of record, or who withdraw.

• require an OPA secretary to resign as secretary if he or she is “running for re-election, no later than when a candidate application has been filed.”

This proposal might need to add “or running for election,” since some secretaries, including the current one, Josette Wheatley, would be seeking election for the first time were she to file as a candidate later this year. She along with Amy Peck are appointed directors.

Colette Horn’s proposed amendments

Colette Horn’s motions for by-laws amendments would:

• declare that the term “eligible to vote” refers to a member who has paid annual charges (assessments) to the OPA. • specify that only one meeting notice is required to be sent when there are multiple owners listed on a property deed, a clarification of policy elsewhere in the by-laws.

• declare budget transfers by the general manager, or management company if the OPA ever decides to outsource, would have to conform to “guidelines and limits established in OPA financial policy or manuals.”

• clarify in Article IV, Section 4.07 that the OPA secretary is responsible for certifying a petition for referendum.

• adds language in Article IV, Section 5.14 referencing petitions as determined to be “valid by the secretary.”

• preclude two individuals with “familial relationships” to serve on the Board of Directors at the same time.

• require “informal action” by the board between meetings to be taken by unanimous consent of the directors, including “electronic transactions,” provided that the “informal action” is disclosed to the membership at the next regular meeting.

This provision seems to make it mandatory that both a call for action via email and the action itself must be unanimous.

Horn noted in her explanation for this amend-

ment that it would bring OPA practice into conformity with state law.

• specify that the board “shall establish the limits and guidelines applicable to the checks, controls and purchases made by the officers of the Association, Board of Directors, and the general manager in applicable financial policy and procedures manuals.”

She noted that Article V, Section 5.14 duties could be construed as allowing “the board to change guidelines, procedures and even financial institutions from one session to another.”

Doug Parks’ proposed amendments

Doug Parks’ motions for by-laws amendments would: • amend Article IV, Section 5.14 to require at least 40 percent of “total votes that can be cast” to be voted in a referendum, either pro or con for the referendum question. In addition, a majority of those voting in the referendum must affirmatively for a referendum to pass.

The 40 percent minimum participation threshold was recommended by the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee, Parks noted in his published explanatory remarks.

• revise language about use of proxies in annual meetings of the OPA to give the OPA secretary the authority to confirm that the member is eligible to vote and that any proxies are valid.

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Viola to stay on as GM ‘at least through second week of September’ GM rescinds resignation after he’s asked to do so by unanimous board

By TOM STAUSS Publisher t the request of all seven members of the Board of Directors, John Viola has agreed to rescind his resignation as general manager of the Ocean Pines Association and extend his contract “at least through the second week of September,” OPA President Colette Horn announced in Jan. 25 press release.

Viola abruptly resigned at the end of this past November, giving the board until Feb. 28 to find a replacement. Although Viola’s announced departure gave the OPA three months notice, his employment contract was not set to expire until June 1.

OPA President Larry Perrone in a Dec. 1 announcement said that Viola had “decided to resign to begin his well-deserved retirement.”

Viola’s resignation came not too long after he had received the results of an annual performance review, in which directors rate the GM on how well he performed fulfilling various performance goals.

The directors met in closed session in late November to review Viola’s performance over the last year, the results of which probably would have been delivered to Viola by Perrone and possibly Horn, then the OPA vice-president, in one of their regular Monday meetings.

A

Viola has been asked by local media to explain his resignation, but he’s been tight-lipped, almost as if he’s been told to say nothing other than what was in the Perrone statement, and that was relatively little.

“Ask Larry,” Viola told the Progress, the same two words he used when asked by other local media to explain his reasons.

There has been rampant speculation that Viola and Perrone had some sort of falling out after the performance review, in which six out of the seven directors gave Viola glowing accolades for his stewardship of the OPA during a tumultuous couple of years.

He reportedly received a four out of five rating, the same as the previous year.

Horn’s statement said the board unanimously agreed to ask Viola to stay on.

It became clear in the run-up to Horn’s announcement that the board wasn’t making much progress on finding a replacement for Viola and wouldn’t have a new hire in place by his announced departure date of Feb. 28.

The rumors were running wild that Perrone was interested in serving in an interim role as acting GM during a search for a new GM. When that rumor seem to die down with reports that Perrone’s wife was opposed to him taking on the role, similar rumors began to circulate

that Horn was also willing to step up and take over on an interim basis.

According to sources, the consensus was that any director moving into the role of acting general manager was problematic, harking back to the days when another OPA director, Brett Hill, served as acting general manager for about a year, with poor financial results for John Viola the OPA occurring during that time.

In addition, there’s a large bloc of Ocean Pines members unhappy with the board for its complicity in a decision to disqualify Richard Farr as a candidate in the 2021 board election, embroiling the board in political controversy.

Farr sued, and months of litigation ensued. In deciding the case in favor of Farr, the judge in the case criticized the board for what he said was improper interference in the board election.

Farr subsequently was seated as a director.

There were reportedly some directors who hoped the OPA would appeal the court decision, but the votes weren’t there to make that happen.

Appointment of either Perrone or Horn would no doubt have created more division in the community, and they probably would have become election issues this summer.

Thus the obvious choice to persuade Viola to stay on.

It apparently didn’t take a lot of persuasion.

His support in the community is wide and deep, and a behind-the-scenes effort was launched, probably not too coordinated, to persuade directors to ask Viola to stay on, at least until such time as a replacement is hired.

To Page 12

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Parks’ proposals From Page 8 Proxies are to be delivered to the Election Committee no later than 48 hours prior to the beginning of the meeting.

• authorize the Elections Committee to require identification to verify voter eligibility • specify that a special meeting can be called by an OPA president, a majority of the Board of Directors, or by written petition of the members.

• Adds a new section to Article V, Section 5.14, Board Duties, specifying that the “board shall designate depositories for Association funds and designate those officers, agents and employees who shall have the authority to withdraw funds from such accounts on behalf of the Association in applicable financial policy and procedures manuals.”

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 11

12 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

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Janasek announces OPA board candidacy Issues scathing critique of director ‘dysfunction”

By TOM STAUSS Publisher reviously having indicated that he would be running for election to the Board of Directors this summer if former Ocean Pines Association President Larry Perrone would seek re-election to the board, former Director Tom Janasek removed that condition in a fiery denunciation of the board in a Jan. 12 special meeting.

He thus became the first candidate in this year’s board contest to announce, also making it abundantly clear that he is making the board itself a campaign issue. Perrone is thought to be unlikely to run for a second three-year on the board.

Janasek, who resigned last August after mak- Tom Janasek ing an off-color reference to the close working relationship between Perrone and Colette Horn, recently elected OPA president, in scathing remarks during the Jan. 12 special meeting called his year and a half of service on the board “one of the craziest I’ve ever seen.”

Janasek survived two previous attempts to remove him from the board before throwing in the towel himself, unwilling to to go through the process of seeking four votes among the directors to preserve his seat.

In his Jan. 12 statement delivered during Public Comments, Janasek criticized the board for complicity in departures of key personnel.

“We’ve lost one of the most productive people we’ve ever had in Ocean Pines,” he said, referring to former department head Colby Phillips, and “we’ve three board members in less than a year,” referring to himself and former director Steve Tuttle and Camilla Rogers.

Janasek also noted that General Manager John Viola had announced his resignation (since rescinded).

“I have no idea whether it has anything to do with the board,” Janasek said, adding that “this regime has done nothing but create divisiveness “and you [the board} just re-elected them for the next eight months,” referring to Horn as president, Frank Daly as vice-president, and Perrone as treasurer.

Janasek said he “hope and pray that you know what you’re doing. I was in this for a year and a half, and never saw such dysfunctionality,” adding that “I implore you to try to work together, all seven of you.”

To Page 14

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From Page 10 As of the end of the work week on Jan. 28, no announcement had been made about a search firm to assist the board in finding a replacement.

That apparently is still on the table.

“After consulting with John Viola regarding his recent resignation as General Manager, and discussing transition planning with the Board, I am pleased to announce that the Board unanimously agreed that it is in the best interests of the Association to request that John rescind his resignation and continue in his position as General Manager via an extension to his existing contract, at least through the second week

of September to facilitate a smooth transition for the entire organization upon the hiring of his successor,” Horn said.

“This request was conveyed to John via our corporate counsel, Jeremy Tucker, along with a proposal for adjustment in responsibilities during the period of transition. I am pleased to announce that John has agreed,” she said.

The proposal for adjustment in responsibilities apparently is a reference to what happens once a replacement is found and on the scene.

Until that time, there would be no diminution in Viola’s authority as the OPA’s chief executive officer.

The Progress has been told it’s not certain that the board will go outside to hire a replacement for Viola.

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 13

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From Page 12 He charged that this past year “it’s been a board of four. Three people weren’t included” in board decisions. “It’s been about personal egos. I was there. I felt it. I had the brunt of it.”

Referring to the off-color comment about Horn and Perrone in an email to his colleagues that was leaked and posted on oceanpinesforum.com, Janasek said “you could say it was my fault, but I know it wasn’t. A few weeks after I left they went after another board member,” who has been identified as Doug Parks.

The incident that snagged Parks reportedly occurred at the Golf Clubhouse, in which he is said to have engaged in a testy encounter with General Manager John Viola over an issue having nothing to do with OPA policy.

The incident did not prompt an attempt to remove Parks as a director.

“So it wasn’t just me,” Janasek said.

The former director went on to thank newly certified director Rick Farr for waging his successful lawsuit against the OPA to gain a seat on the board, “this dysfunctional board, for spending more money than some board members thought he would spend ... they thought he would run out of money.”

Janasek also referenced former director Slobodan Trendic’s effort to pass a referendum curbing board capital spending authority after a petition drive narrowly gathered enough signatures to force the issue to referendum.

“They (the board) thought he wouldn’t spend the money,” but that judgment, too, proved to be faulty, he said.

Janasek then said he would “formally announce my candidacy for re-election,” running for one of three seats on the board to be contested this summer. The seats are currently occupied by Perrone and appointed directors Amy Peck and Josette Wheatley, the latter of whom is expected to seek election for a three-year board term. Peck is a possible candidate.

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 15

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Board rejects appeal of Farr vs. OPA Judge delivers a strong refutation of OPA arguments

By TOM STAUSS Publisher cean Pines Association President Colette Horn in a terse announcement Jan. 22 after a closed meeting of the Board of Directors said the board would not be appealing the decision by Judge Sid-

O

ney Campen in the Richard D. Farr vs. OPA candidate eligibility case.

Horn said that the decision had been made in consultation with association attorney Jeremy Tucker.

Judge Campen late in the afternoon of Jan. 5 issued a decision in the case, declaring that Farr won

the 2021 Board of Directors election and should be immediately seated on the board.

He ruled that Farr and incumbent candidate Frank Daly “shall” be installed on the board in a special meeting or at the next regular meeting of the board for three-year terms

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backdated to Aug. 15 of last year.

Farr was certified as an election winner and seated on the board in a special meeting Jan. 12.

Judge Campen ruled that Farr, as an equitable owner of property in Ocean Pines, “at all relevant times was qualified as a candidate for election” and that the “Board of Directors ... acted improperly, mistakenly, and without good faith, in contravention of the By-laws, the Charter, and Declarations, by attempting to invalidate” his candidacy.

These attempts occurred after his candidacy had been certified by former OPA Secretary Camilla Rogers and he had been permitted “to be included on all distributed ballots, and after many votes had already been cast and received by the Ocean Pines Association,” the judge said.

In his ruling, he ordered that the Elections Committee count all votes cast for Farr and other candidates and that the “OPA board shall by appropriate means disseminate and publish the results of the 2021 Election for Board of Directors.”

The 33-page decision by Judge Campen effectively dismantled all arguments made by Anthony Dwyer, the lawyer for the OPA’s insurance company, on behalf of the board majority.

He affirmed the arguments made on Farr’s behalf by his Ocean City lawyer, Bruce Bright, but with a hint of his own folksy judicial spin.

Judge Campen ruled against the OPA on the business judgment rule, which precludes judicial review of legitimate business decisions of an organization, absent fraud or bad faith.

The efforts by the board “to exclude a popular candidate for election to the board have been conducted in bad faith, and are therefore not protected,” he said.

According to the judge, the “OPA maintains that the decisions of its Board, with respect to the 2021 election, were legitimate, reasoned, based on advice of counsel, and consistent with the OPA By-laws.

“Specifically, the OPA maintains that regardless of the correctness of the Board Secretary’s interpretations, the rule of non-intervention constrains the court from substituting its judgment for that of the Secretary (and the Board). There-

OCEAN PINES fore, according to the OPA, the court should not intervene, because there has been no showing of fraud or bad faith.”

The court, Campen said, “does not agree,” citing a relevant case in which a court “noted that if an organization acts inconsistently with its own rules, its actions may be sufficiently arbitrary to invite judicial review.”

He also said the court in that case “also observed that the policy of minimizing judicial involvement in private organizations does not mean that members have no guarantee of procedural fairness.”

Judge Campen said Farr’s candidacy was derailed despite his participation in a candidate forum, a campaign of door-knocking, media contacts and making the “community aware of his positions regarding OPA issues.

“However, based on the anonymous telephone ‘tip’ two weeks before the deadline for casting ballots, the Board called the Special Meeting of July 30, 2021, at which time Mr. Farr was declared ineligible and “de-certified,” the judge said.

He said the decision to boot Farr from the ballot was based on a flawed interpretation of the by-laws by the OPA. This decision “not only deprived a previously qualified candidate of the opportunity to continue his campaign, but clearly disenfranchised the OPA members who had already voted for him, and thwarted potential votes in his favor by members who had not yet returned their ballots,” Judge Campen said.

On the meaning of the term “owners of record” referenced in the OPA by-laws and who is eligible to run for and serve on the board, Judge Campen came down in favor of the Farr position, after initially acknowledging that the term is not defined in the by-laws.

He rejected the OPA position that only owners of real property specifically named on a deed of conveyance are permitted to run for the board.

He said that equitable owners of property are bonafide members of a homeowner association and are eligible to run and serve on the board if elected.

Farr, he said, was an equitable owner of property in Ocean Pines on Jan. 1, the date when a candidate must be an owner of record to be eligible to run.

“If the term ‘owners of record’ is meant to be interpreted in such a manner as to require a candidate’s

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 17 name to actually appear as grantee on the deed to the property, as suggested by the OPA, then it would follow that a qualified equitable owner would not be permitted to be a candidate for election to the Board,” Judge Campen reasoned.

But he noted that OPA witnesses were divided as to whether or not a member of an limited liability corporation (LLC) or a beneficiary of a trust or a principal of a professional corporation owning Ocean Pines property could qualify to run for a seat on the board.

After dismissing the relevancy of

two cases cited by Dwyer on the issue, Judge Campen then introduced an argument by OPA attorney Jeremy Tucker, who “has suggested that the common meaning of the term refers to an owner as shown in the land records but offered no authority to define the term, other than a Black’s Law Dictionary definition.

“He interpreted the By-law language by engrafting the word ‘public’ so that to him the term means owner of public record,” Judge Campen said.

He then cited three OPA officials who in testimony stated that they

do not rely on land deeds to determine candidate eligibility but on the OPA owner database and the State Department of Assessments and Taxation records for candidate information.

“They were inconsistent in their interpretation and application” of Section 5.02a of the OPA by-laws with respect to eligibility, Judge Campen said.

When by-law language is unclear or invites multiple interpretations, Judge Campen said it’s up to the court to avoid ambiguity or a conu

18 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022 Farr case

Rick Farr statement:

Once again, I want to thank you all for your support during the past 10 months with this election process. While the judge has ruled in my favor, the majority on this board are not happy with the outcome of this trial. Even after the ruling, the board majority was investigating how they could appeal this ruling.

Not one time had the board President or Vice President reached out to me advising me that I will be seated as a director on Wednesday [Jan. 11]. I had to see it on social media and from Rick Farr friends.

Ocean Pines Forum continued to lie and defame my character even after the judge’s ruling until we took action against the forum [a cease desist letter] for spreading the lies. This election lawsuit was very expensive for me, but I believed in my heart it was the right thing to do.

We all have to hold the majority on this board accountable for their actions.

Remember, the board works for us……and as I now become a director, I will work for you !!! It truly is a shame that the board has spent our association dollars on legal fees with this case when it could have been very easily resolved by the recommendations of the OPA attorney; but the board majority didn’t want to settle due to their self interest.

Anyway, the trial is over, the judge ruled and it’s time to heal and move on to serve our community. It is important that everyone stay involved - this is OUR community and the board represents the community - hold them accountable.

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From Page 17 struction “that is illogical, unreasonable, or inconsistent with common sense.”

Citing the text of by-laws and charter, their purpose and “the circumstances of the parties,” Judge Campen said that “a reasonable person may interpret the phrase ‘owners of record’ to mean an OPA property owner who is a voting member of record within the meaning of [Charter] Article 1, Subsection 1.07 definition of member.

That definition refers to the “owner of a residential lot, condominium unit, single family attached dwelling or other real property in the Subdivision, as specified in the Declarations of Restrictions and Charter, which confers voting privileges on the owner,” he said. “Without additional language, the meaning of the concept ‘owners of record,’ as written in the By-laws, does not necessarily mean the recorded deed grantee in the land records as suggested by OPA.” Judge Campen noted Tucker’s conclusion that there are two “entirely different qualifications for a person to be appointed as opposed to a candidate wishing to run for election to fill a Board vacancy. Construing the By-laws in such a manner produces a totally illogical and arbitrary inconsistency within the same Article.”

He added the OPA has effectively conceded that this interpretation “would have permitted Mr. Farr to be appointed to one of the open seats on the Board, during this litigation, but he cannot be allowed to have his votes counted as the front runner in the 2021 election.

“The application of the By-laws

in such a manner leads to a logical stretch contrary to the intent and purpose” of the Articles of Incorporation, he concluded Judge Campen also found that the OPA adopted an “overly restrictive meaning of the term “owners of record” within the “context of this case and further, that a reasonable interpretation of Section 5.02(a) [of the by-laws] includes an equitable owner of family trust property, who had become a resident, dues-paying member, eligible to vote, on the roster of the Association.”

That definition fits Farr to a tee.

Judge Campen said that if it’s the desire of the OPA to require candidates to be named as owners in the land records of Worcester County, it should amend the by-laws to clarify the term “owners of record.”

In the decision’s final pages, Judge Campen took on the argument by some within the OPA that Farr, in completing his candidate form for the 2021 election, made mistakes.

Then OPA Vice President Colette Horn made that allegation in at least one public forum, as did Cheryl Jacobs, a former board member who’s currently listed as chair of the OPA’s Communications Advisory Committee.

Judge Campen in a separately titled section of his opinion determined that Farr had made no mistakes in his candidate filing.

Proposed changes to the OPA bylaws that will be considered and voted on by the board before they are assembled in a form that can be put to OPA members in a referendum would appear to be responses to Judge’s Campen’s rulings. However, it’s not clear that the proposals clarify the term “owner of record” or whether an equitable owner is declared ineligible to run for the board.

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20 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

New OPA officers elected, face some opposition venting in start to abbreviated term

Horn shuts down Public Comments speakers for deviating from meeting agenda

By TOM STAUSS annoyed many of the attendees, who Publisher wanted to comment before the ext was not a friendly start to the pected election of Horn as president. eight-month term of Colette Perrone said that anyone trying Horn as Ocean Pines Associa- to comment before the election oction president. But by the end of the curred would be deemed “out of orJan 12 special meeting of the board, der” and denied the right to speak. called for the specific purpose of ac“I’ll have you removed,” he told cepting the 2021 board election re- one objector early in the meeting. sults, seating Richard Farr as a duly Elections chairwoman Carol Ludelected director, and electing OPA wig announced election results from officers through August of this year, the 2021 board election, in which decorum had settled in and there Farr was the top vote-getter with was a hint of comity to come.

1,629 votes, followed by Frank Daly The first discordant note occurred with 1,511 votes. Daly was re-electwhen Larry Perrone, then OPA Pres- ed for a second three-year term, ident and presiding over the meet- while Farr begins a three-year term ing, announced an agenda change, back-dated to August. that the Public Comments segment When Perrone offered a motion of the (Name meeting would be scheduled to approve the election results, DiΊΙΙΛΘΟΎ΍ ψϟ ΎϊϝχϘϊ ΕϏχϔ Prince Georges Md of MuniCnty Bond) after the election of officers. That rector Doug Parks said that isn’t ΍χϚϋͧ йрͿкйͿлйкт the protocol, that the board doesn’t ΎϞϖ ϊχϚϋͧ йрͿкйͿлйлй Price: 98.500 (00.00) “accept” election results but certifies Ί΍и them when a quorum isn’t available Coupon: 3.25 (00/00/00) at the annual meeting of the associWhen should you07/15/2036 start receiving Social Security? ation in August.

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come to join” the board as a duly elected director, albeit a director that a board majority had spent months trying to deny a seat.

After seating Farr was accomplished, Perrone then moved to the next agenda item, election of officers for the remainder of the 2021-22 board term. Director Josette Wheatley nominated Perrone for the position. He declined, and nominated Horn. Farr nominated Doug Parks.

The vote was 5-2 in favor of Horn, who then took over as presiding officer from Perrone.

Daly was elected vice-president by acclamation, and Wheatley was re-elected secretary, also by acclamation. Her role will be short-lived if she decides to run for a three-year term this year. She’s an appointed director. An OPA secretary is very much involved in the OPA election process, tasked with certifying candidates in OPA board elections. Secretaries resign when they become a board candidate.

In a contested elected for trea-

OCEAN PINES surer, Perrone beat out Parks, 5-2.

Wheatley nominated Perrone; Farr nominated Parks.

Other appointments made during the meeting include Linda Martin, the Public Works officer manager, as assistant secretary, and Steve Phillips, the OPA Controller and Director of Finance, as assistant treasurer.

Jeremy Tucker of the Lerch Early law firm was reappointed general counsel and TGM will remain as the firm that conducts the annual audit of OPA finances.

After those chores were completed, the meeting descended into acrimony.

Former Director Tom Janasek launched a fiery speech announcing his candidacy for the board this summer and excoriating the board for dysfunction [see separate article in this edition of the Progress for details].

OPA member Kelly Miller went after appointed director Amy Peck, calling the way she treated him on social media “abominable.” He said that Peck had “doxed me three times in a public forum. I asked you to stop, and you did it two more times.”

Miller provided no details and Peck didn’t respond.

But Horn did, telling Miller that “this is not a topic for discussion,” reminding him that special meeting Public Comments are confined to agenda items.

To Page 22

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22 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022 New OPA officers From Page 21 Miller responded that the 2021 election was “on the agenda” for the meeting. Horn said he was “out of order, sir,” trying to keep it polite, but Miller was not having it.

“You’re out of order,” he told Horn.

“You’re all out of order,” prompting raucous applause.

Next up was Slobodan Trendic, a former OPA director who waged a successful petition drive and referendum effort reducing board of directors spending authority, over the opposition of the board of directors at the time.

Several directors from that battle remain on the board, and it’s clear that the wounds from the protracted conflict have not completely healed.

Trendic commended Farr for his successful effort challenging his board-ratified disqualification as a candidate in last summer’s board election. He then urged the board to start following the by-laws, citing the Farr case as an example of where by-laws were not followed.

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“I don’t know why it’s so difficult,” he said.

When Horn told Trendic he was out of order, he then cited provisions of the by-laws that say the board is supposed to hold separate meeting to certify election results and to elect officers for the coming year.

“An agenda item for today’s meeting is election of officers,” he said.

“You did not follow the by-laws. 5.05 says the board is to hold an organization meeting. This is a special meeting. The board should hold a [separate] organizational meeting.

What’s so difficult to understand about that.”

Trendic suggested that Farr submit a motion revoking the appointment of officers and to schedule a new organizational meeting. Farr didn’t act on that suggestion, knowing that he wouldn’t have the votes to make that happen.

Perrone then jumped in, defending the Jan. 12 meeting “because there was no quorum at the annual meeting. At this meeting, we do the organizational thing. You may think you know the by-laws, but you

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don’t.”

When Trendic again said “all you have to do is follow the by-laws,” Horn said the meeting was combining certification of election results and election of officers. Trendic said the by-laws require stand-alone meetings.

“Nothing in the by-laws says it needs to be stand-alone,” she told Trendic. “You’re out of order.”

Trendic said he wasn’t out of order because he was commenting on the agenda.

“You can’t change the rules on the fly,” he told Horn.

A frustrated Trendic said the only remaining option is for OPA members to take action to “remove directors for not complying with the bylaws. Nothing else we can do.”

That elicited a “you’re out of order” comment from Perrone, which prompted Trendic to throw it right back.

“You’re out of order,” he told Perrone. “She (Horn) runs the meeting, not you.”

OPA member Tom Schwartz then suggested that Stuart Lakernick, third place finisher in the 2021 election, be appointed to replace either Peck or Wheatley, both appointed directors, on the board.

Horn said the recommendation was not on the agenda and should be deferred to the next regular meeting

Larry Perrone

Josette Wheatley

of the board.

“You’re welcome to bring it up at the next meeting,” telling Schwartz that he was “out of order” for bringing it up at the special meeting.

He responded that Horn should “stop shutting people down. This is getting very irritating,” prompting applause from the spectators. “You need to understand that we’re frustrated and you need to let us vent.”

Horn said there’s a time and place for that, again mentioning the next regular meeting of the board.

Roelof “Dutch” Oostveen was next up. He tried to clarify that it “was six people” that Perrone and Horn as the president and vice-president of the OPA had driven out of the association, contrary to a previous statement he had made.

Horn told Oostveen that he, too, was out of order, that his topic “was not a topic for this meeting.”

Oostveen accused Horn of sending “police to my house, and now you’re president. Shame on you, shame, shame.”

Horn said that she would “call the police when I’m threatened with assault.” She did not provide details.

The negative tone of the meeting shifted into a more positive vibe when individual directors spoke of the need to work together despite the political divisions of recent months.

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OCEAN PINES

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 23

Contrasting messages in Jan. 22 public comments Oostveen renews call for Horn, Perrone resignations, others express hope for board comity

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer hile one long-time resident renewed his call for the resignation of two members of the Board of Directors, others who spoke during the Public Comments section of a Jan. 22 live-virtual hybrid meeting urged members of the governing body to work together for the benefit of the community.

They all expressed sorrow that General Manager John Viola had announced he would be taking an early retirement from his position with the Ocean Pines Association and thanked him for his work.

A few days later, Viola rescinded his resignation, which had been set for Feb. 18. Now he’s planning to stay on at least until mid-September as the board conducts a search for a replacement.

Roelof “Dutch” Oostveen, a longtime Ocean Pines resident and regular attendee of Board meetings, once again urged OPA President Colette Horn and Larry Perrone, immediate past president and current treasurer, to give up their board seats.

For the third month in a row, Oostveen called for the resignations of Horn and Perrone, saying they have not acted in the best interest of the OPA and have driven away other directors and employees.

In December Oostveen agitated for a change in leadership on the board for the coming year.

Indeed, there is a new leader, with Horn stepping up from vice president to president, Frank Daly to vice president, and Perrone to treasurer.

But that wasn’t what Oostveen was hoping for – he wants Horn and

W

Perrone gone.

“I want the president and the president from last year to quit the job,” Oostveen said. The board has been “run like a dictatorship” for the last two years, he said. “We cannot have people run the board like a dictatorship.”

Oostveen said nothing has changed under Horn’s new leadership. He said within 20 minutes of assuming the president’s role, she called in the police department to quell public comments during a meeting.

“People like to talk and it’s wrong what is done to us,” he said.

He previously alleged that eight people had been forced our of OPA leadership by Perrone and Horn.

During the Jan. 22 meeting, he corrected his comments by saying it was only six people, three OPA directors and three employees who he believes left or are leaving the association because of interference by Perrone and Horn.

Oostveen listed former OPA directors Steve Tuttle, Tom Janasek, and Camilla Rogers as those who left the board because they were unable to work with its leadership.

Regarding Rogers in particular, he said “she was just a perfect lady on the board.” He said she would have made “a perfect president for Ocean Pines.”

Rogers’ resignation actually had nothing to do with a fraught relationship with Perrone and Horn,

with whom she was often aligned.

They were in agreement on Roger’s controversial decision to disqualify Rick Farr as a candidate in last summer’s board election.

Her resignation had more to do with the contentious climate that resulted from that decision, including threatening phone calls.

Oostveen also accused Perrone and Horn of forcing out former OPA employees Colby Phillips and Michelle Bennett. And now General Manager John Viola is set to retire early, he said.

Oostveen thanked Viola for his service.

“I feel sorry you leave us,” he said.

“The reason you leaving early, someu

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OCEAN PINES

24 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022 Contrasting messages From Page 23 thing went wrong. That’s what I got to say.”

Horn did not respond to his comments other than to say “thank you.”

In contrast to Oostveen’s comments, Jackie Kurtz sent in written comments congratulating the new board leadership on their roles, and welcoming new and returning directors.

“It’s a new year and a new board so a perfect time for all of you to make a commitment to prioritize being kind and respectful and to focus on the positive,” she said.

Kurtz said this is the year to listen respectfully even when directors don’t agree with each other.

“It’s time to leave behind all the bad behavior and time wasted dragging us all into the muck and mire and really commit to this being the year you are role models for our community on how adults should behave, especially with people you disagree with.” she said.

She issued a challenge the new board to consider making a pledge to do just that.

She even included the language of a pledge for the board’s consider-

ation.

“I hope this will inspire you all to leave behind bad feelings and remember why you are on the board, to do what’s best for our community and that means being a positive role model and treating everyone with respect,” she said.

Kurtz proposed the directors pledge: “I agree to take the pledge to think before I speak. Before you speak or post ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid.”

Horn said all of the board members received the proposed pledge from Kurtz and they all responded to her individually, endorsing the sentiments in her email.

“I wanted to share it with the public because I think it applies to all of us and I would hope that we would all in our attendance and participation at our meetings also take this pledge,” she said.

Resident Pam Ferinde also called on the board members to be kind to each other and to work together.

“That’s your job is to work together.

And you’re working together for the good of the association, not for whatever agenda you have.”

Ferinde said the last time she had emailed the board it was because of the previous dysfunction and squabbling among members. “I said this is not adults working together. This is crazy,” she said.

She expressed hope that the new board will move forward for the betterment of the community. “We’re doing wonderful things. We need to keep doing that and not having squabbling among us,” she said, adding “I thank you so much and I beg you from the bottom of my heart quit squabbling.” She said she is hopeful that this year “we’re going to see even more progress.”

Ferinde encouraged the board to improve its public relations efforts.

“The one thing I think you’re not doing well at and you should do better at is you’re not getting your PR out there,” she said.

She said the board needs to do a better job of sharing information about its activities and positions.

The criticism did not seem targeted at the OPA’s Marketing and Public Relations Department, which does a yeoman’s job in sending out press releases to local media about everything related to the OPA, usually steering clear of anything controversial that might put the board

in an unfavorable light.

Local newspapers often publish them verbatim because of their detail and consistency with standard journalism.

The staff also is diligent in updating the OPA Website and sending out e-blasts to the OPA membership But actual pronouncements from the board are a different matter.

They are often little more than one or two sentence statements from the board president on matters of importance, with little context or explanation. They’re simply forwarded to the local media.

Ferinde echoed both Oostveen’s and Kurtz’ comments regarding Viola’s announced retirement and thanked him for his work as general manager.

Directing her comments to Viola, she said “I would like to say wow to you. We’ve been in Ocean Pines for I think 30 years now. You are the best that we have ever had and I f eel terrible you’re leaving because you’re a gem. Absolute gem.”

“Thank you for what you’ve done,” she told Viola.

Not too many days later, Viola had rescinded his resignation, perhaps uplifted by the strong support he had received during the meeting.

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February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 25

Board hits pause on electronic signage Initial proposal of two signs may increase to five or six

W

sory Committee for further study.

Complicating the board’s discussion about whether to move forward with the long-debated shift to electronic signs is a Worcester County requirement that all of the decades-old marquee signs that decorate Ocean Pines would need to be removed.

“If we do these electronic signs,

Parks accepts board vote removing him as treasurer

By TOM STAUSS Publisher cean Pines Association Director Doug Parks, treasurer of the OPA from August of 2020 through January of this year, and OPA president for five years before that, took a relatively laid back attitude when his colleagues elected Larry Perrone as treasurer of the OPA for a term that ends in August.

Perrone was elected treasurer in a 5-2 vote during a Jan. 11 special meeting. Parks was nominated for trea- Doug Parks surer by newly elected colleague Rick Farr.

Changes in officer ranks are typical as a new board takes over from the previous board. This year that transition was delayed because of the Richard Farr vs. OPA candidate eligibility case, in which a judge order the board to seat Farr in a decision handed down in early January.

In a statement at the Jan. 11 meeting, Parks said “it’s been no secret there’s been a lot of dysfunction on this board” for the past 18 months, a reference to political controversies involving former Director Tom Janasek and Farr. “I’ve have had disagreements with several members of the board,” and he’s said that the board under Perrone excluded him from board conversations held by the majority bloc.

“Despite that, as a professional, even when there’s been a change in officers, as someone who’s committed to the association, it doesn’t diminish my commitment to the association.” He pledged to serve out his last years on the board working with his colleagues for the betterment of Ocean Pines.

“No officers have any more authority than any of the other members [of the board],” Parks said. “I urge you to forget the animosity and move forward.”

Director and OPA Secretary Josette Wheatley echoed Parks, acknowledging that the community is “upside down on the Farr case.”

She mentioned that she had voted for Farr in the recent election. She said that “right-wrong, a judge made a decision [to seat Farr]. I agree with Doug. We need to move on.”

She said that board service “is not about us ... We need to get past this. We just have to help each other out.”

Farr referenced the legal challenges of the past year, that he was not there to boast [about his legal victory], but that he had done what he thought was right. He said he had run for the board “with the intention of serving the community to the best of my ability ... I’m here to work with this board.”

Director Amy Peck urged those attending the Jan. 11 special meeting to attend regular meetings.

She noted that she had given up a job with the OPA to serve an appointed one-year term on the board.

“Try to come to meetings to help have a productive meeting,”she said.

O

part of the agreement with the county was that we would take down all those other signs that are there,” General Manager John Viola said referencing a county code amendment that allows communities like Ocean Pines to have electronic signs for internal messaging to its residents.

That requirement was a game changer for some board members.

Directors ultimately sent the proposal back the committee for further exploration regarding member communication preferences and the number of signs necessary to information.

Director Doug Parks said he was ready to support the committee’s recommendation to move forward with purchasing and installing two signs until he learned that every other marquee sign would have to go.

“It harkens the question of how people consume information. I think

we’re making somewhat of an assumption that their primary source of information are those signs. I would argue that maybe that’s not a valid assumption to base a very costly decision on,” Parks said.

During the meeting, Viola presented three quotes for electronic signs of sizes ranging from four feet by five feet, to four feet, five inches by eight feet, three inches and in cost from $34,399.50 to $45,000 each.

Viola said the Communications Advisory Committee recommended installing two of the larger signs from Phillips Signs of Seaford, Del., at an estimated cost $38,446.76 each, for a total $76,893.52.

He said there would be additional costs of $1,500 per sign for permitting and $7,500 per sign for labor, bringing the total estimated expense for two signs to $94,893.52.

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By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ithout a clear vision for what type of information will be posted on them or how many are needed, the Board of Directors at a Jan. 22 meeting sent a costly proposal to install electronic messaging signs in Ocean Pines back to the Communications Advi-

26 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022 Electronic signs From Page 25 each, to replace all of the marquee signs in Ocean Pines would total about $255,489.

“I don’t have it in the budget. To be honest with you I didn’t think it was as hot as it is,” Viola told the board. “If you’re looking at two signs, electronic signs, you’re probably looking at all in I would say $80,000 to $100,000 range.”

He said the committee recommended going with the bigger signs,

which also increases the cost per sign. He pointed out that per the Worcester County code, if Ocean Pines installs any electronic signs then all of the existing marque signs must be removed regardless of whether they are being replaced.

While the general assumption was that the two new electronic signs would be installed at the South and North gates, Josh Davis, marketing and public relations director, said the exact locations have not yet been determined. He said sites at the Sports Core and Community

Center are under consideration, as are the entrance gates.

“We have put a lot of time and effort into advancing the proposition of going into the 21st Century with electronic signage,” Cheryl Jacobs, chairman of the Communications Advisory Committee, said. She said the proposal received the support of the entire committee and hopes the board will move it forward.

OPA President Colette Horn said the committee collaborated with Worcester County to pass a text amendment that allows electronic

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OCEAN PINES signs within the boundaries of communities like Ocean Pines. The object was to replace as many as eight of the older signs but to start with two, she said.

“The problem with the old signs is they require manual insertion of the letter for the messages, it’s inefficient, time-wise and manpowerwise. It places physical risk on the individual doing that job because of the way those signs are constructed.

And the goal is to make it easier to maintain current information on the signs through the use of the electronic transmission,” she said.

She added that from a public safety standpoint the signs will be useful in sharing timely information with the community.

Director Larry Perrone said more than two electronic signs will be needed if the OPA must remove all of the existing marquee signs in the community. “For us to consider doing two I don’t think is appropriate,” he said. “After hearing that my thought is that we would need at least five and maybe six.”

He cited potential locations at The Point, South Gate, North Gate, Yacht Club, Golf Club and administration building in White Horse Park as needing signs. “If we’re going to rip the rest of them down, I don’t think two is adequate. And that changes the math on this thing tremendously.”

Jacobs said they need clarification from the county on “if we put in one or two signs all rest had to come down immediately,” she said.

“It can be a process as I understood it. But we need to get clarity on that because that’s an important point.”

Davis said he had recently spoke with Jennifer Keener, county planning director, and was told that if the OPA puts up a single electronic sign then all of the old ones must be taken down.

Director Frank Daly said he sees four reasons why the OPA would consider replacing the existing marquee signs. “One reason is they’re old. They were designed in the 70s.

We live in 2022. We live in a digital age. We just want something new.

I’m OK with that. Second is improved messaging. The third is cost.

And the fourth issue is emergency notification.”

Daly said on his recent drive in Ocean Pines he saw three different signs with three different messages.

But he would have seen no signs at all following county requirements to take down all existing signs if the OPA installs any electronic ones.

OCEAN PINES

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 27

He argued that if maintaining tion of residents as there are other the existing signs takes one person additional means of communicating one day a week and they are paid with the community.

Parks agreed and said the OPA $50,000 year, the payback on the electronic signs is 26 years. “And should evaluate the best ways to disthere are other projects in the com- seminate emergency notifications to munity quite frankly demanding members including the signs, email capital payback lot less than 26 blasts, and the OPA Website. “That years,” he said. “It’s not a showstop- we’re considering such a large investment,” he said. “We should realper but it is an issue.

Daly also wonder how many resi- ly do a little bit more homework …”

If multiple electronic signs are dents will actually see the signs particularly for emergency notification installed throughout Ocean Pines, as compared to 9-1-1 system cell Director Any Peck wanted to know if they would all have the same mesphone and radio notifications.

Viola agree that two signs will not sage or each could have different be sufficient to serve the community. messages. She asked who and how “It has some benefits but there are the messages would be changed and a lot of things to look at. Two’s not if there are additional subscription going to cut it. The number’s going costs.

Davis said there is software that to be well over $200,000.” would be used to place messaging on Director Josette Wheatley said Dental Services she was initially supportive of two the signs and that would be operatsigns but agreed that not everyone ed in-house by the marketing and will see them if they are only at the public relations office. “Our intenentry gates, as many people do not tion would likely be to have just a leave the community every day. She rotating series of messages,” he said Parks asked if the OPA could use suggested more study of the number of signs really needed. She suggest- the electronic signs for advertising D.M.D., P.A. ed that the OPA further explore op- to generate revenue and was quickly portunities for emergency notifica- told no by Horn.

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Peck, committee push for new warming hut at racquet center

ing hut, Viola recommended dressing up the existing structure by adding outdoor heaters, more seating, and a fire pit. “What I’m recommending is this, that hut is good.

Let’s try this. You need more space.

You need more space for people to be Viola wants to keep existing building, add outside heating warm. Why not do this on the out$80,000 in 2022. fences, court repairs and expansion side?”

By ROTA L. KNOTT “Giving the center a new bigger of pickleball.

Contributing Writer Viola’s proposal calls for install“We did things that hadn’t been ing heaters under the eaves of the ith limited developable hut is what’s needed to keep pushland left at the Manklin ing this membership revenue drive,” done down there for seven years if current hut, outdoor tower heaters, Meadows racquet sports she said, adding that Ocean Pines’ not longer,” he said. and a fire pit at a cost of $6,000 to The warming hut had extensive $7,000. center, the Ocean Pines Association demographics and recent surveys may not be able to expand an exist- support growth in interest in rac- repairs made in 2009, including “Let’s give this a shot,” he told the July 20 OPINION a new roof, siding and soffits, win- board. ing warming hut to accommodate quet sports. fession reportedly sets a range of 30 to 70 percent as Clarke points to “I think if we give the facility dows, and doors.

Election Commentary growth in membership.

He funding. said some within acceptable limits for ACC The additional OPA Club space deficits. Clarke whatPage they52need, which is more space, None of those items are its listed in may currently funds replacement reserve at the low edition of the Prog Instead, staff is recommending From be achieved byend removing cabiby the multitude of candidates. of the “acceptable” range. should be used for a gonna see those numbers keep the OPA’s capital replacement prothe addition of outside seating and we’re nets and reconfiguring the interior.

Supik is seen as a Thompson cheerleader, and For what it’s worth, Thompson reportedly has Let’s look at the t up in and up andofup,” she said. a former gramboard until 2029 or 2059. 50 percent funding someone the mold Pete Gomsak, recommended of the the existing ACC, to be An OPA mem heaters that will allow more mem- going He said hut open. does have 30, 2016, (end-of-fi and current assistant OPA treasurer very achieved over ten years; the recommendation is conA new warming hut is a smart “It’s a solid hut.

But I’m being bers to stay warm when they are not member baseboard electric heat, lights andto conclu statement much aligned with the Terry-Jacobs faction. tained in a document that the board majority won’t investment in the told that theyletneed more space,” Vi- membership. notair performed well Both Gomsak and racquet Supik are sports retired accountants, him release to the OPA on the courts. electrical outlets but is not conThe statement is both are identifi ed with the notion that OPA reserves A 50 percent funding level still would require a sigshe said, adding “this is a ola said.

But General Manager John Viola amenity, ditioned. site (under forms an are underfunded, and both are wedded to the idea nificant increase in the lot assessment, over a number in the community.

They’re The challenge according to the Operational statem that the OPA’s reserve levels shoulddobe tied to someof years, and talking about assessment increases is committee’s has made it very clear: He’s not say- gem Peck argued that the appear in departme thing called the to annual component cost (ACC), a comnever is popular, especially during election season. their part get the word out,” general manager that OPA may ing no to a larger footprint, only that ing proposal is not to increase the sizeaudited of annual fina putational confection conceived and embraced by the The rationale for keeping the document secret, acsaid ofprofession. the members, adding, not be able cording to acquire the county August.hut The unaudit accounting to Thompson, is thatthe it iscement a working document there is some resistance to the idea she pad for the warming the “official” ones a Gomsak and Terry persuade to run involved updating completion of the OPA’s “I feel strongly thattried theytoneed the Supik permits necessary forin athe new build-andbut in Worcester County government. to use a gravel platform for Yacht the Club’s The for the board last year, failing to do so, but they sucongoing reserve study. ing because of That’s site absurd, constraints in the The Racquet Sports Advisory space.” $76,219; a year earli ceeded this year. because documentspace. itself is comadditional Granted, the yea If anyone is the anointed candidate particuplete and has been referenced in one or two board seemed reluctant to em-of this Manklin Meadows.

Committee recommended removing larViola She suggested that maynifi help the cant, but a loss faction, it’s Supik in spades. meetings. Property owners paid for that document, the “If Iand understand youto correctly, the existing warming hut, which brace hefty funded depr Supik hascommittee said that, asrecommendachairman of the Budget and it ought be released immediately.

OPA acquire permits for an expanding) this past year s Finance Committee, shethat is used navigating willing to release it, but he’s befor Advisory two primary reasons, it tothat has to do Thompson with the seems total footwas re-purposed from its initial tion ed facility. through the annual in very roiled waters, forging a consensus in a group ing stymied by some of his board overseers, who in unlikely thesharply OPA confl will icting be able to print for thethis property ofprefer land secrecy that over function as the South Gate Guard is could have with, at times, views. instance disclosure and transShe said the proposed Supik facility had she indulged i Other candidates over permits the years that inparency. they the Thompson recomWorcester County forhaveis said covered asphaltPerhaps because it’sfear a that House, and replacing it with a larg- obtain would “fit nicely” at the existing site, most recentl numbe they, like Supik claims now, can end board factionalmendation could become an election issue, adversely another in the racquet sports wetland,” President er structure. adding that she measured the area Supik also seems ism and project infighting.

It continues, despite the best ef- OPA affecting certain Colette candidates, particularly Supik, who (rather than repairin forts of those they can end it. hasViola. been open herthat viewpoint that OPA reserves are and who the say good condition of Horn asked of “You in feel The existing hut is 11 by 15 feet complex with a tape measure to gauge the nities, with the Coun Factional infighting will probably continue regardunderfunded. hut.year. It goes with we the mayterbe closeWhat to maxed withseem the tosize or 165 square feet in size, but the the of the hut. by keep- current minority fact less existing of who iswarming elected this they don’t realize is that it’s not certain wher It becomes ugly when the ghting becomes ing it secret, it could also have the effect of adversely Viola said maintenance ofinfi the county?” committee wants a new 14 by 20- ritory.

Peck liked Viola’s proposal of addpart of the majorit personal, such as when one director says he’s going to affecting certain candidates, particularly Supik, even sports center hadthe been responded county foot or 280 square foot building. The racquet ing heaters and a fire pitstrongly but only biased in th throw a colleague through wallnefor the Viola temerity more sothat than“the if they had allowed Thompson to release The candidates m of seeing issues differently. recommendations, and their rationales,to to the the OPA for many years. told us withhis the pickleball courts, new warming hut is estimated to glected as additions overall proposed continued tenure a Ocean Pines’ ACC has been estimated at roughly membership. he which took on themean role that of genthat was muchalso it. has That’s the cost about $25,000, including labor, $14When expansion. mon, Daly, Ray Unge million, could OPA reserves areprettySupik come under fire from former board Those who like th underfunded $10 million if 100 percentfeedback funding of member Clarke for her public statements to the the effect eral manager,byhe said he prioritized we received.” permits and materials.

She urged board to support tions. Perhaps too m the ACC is the goal. that the OPA and the Ocean Pines Yacht Club is doing at itthe amenity, Instead building a new warmDirector Amy Peck championed repairs u – Tom S tion season.

Actually, doesn’t have toincluding be; the accounting pro- of well financially. replacing the warming hut with a bigger building during a Jan. 22 Board of Directors meeting.

“The size of the hut is very, very The small,” she said. “The new dimenof n sions for the hut are much wider.” lishe It is She said the space is needed and lobOce bied for it by calling racquet sports a Lett revenue generator for the OPA. sion Lett “But right now with the size of sive the hut that we have right now atnum tracting tournaments is very, very difficult,” she said.

Peck said the racquet sports members have an initiative to grow membership, adding 31 new players last year.

“These players are passionate and they take care of the facility. They want it to continue the growth,” she said.

The OPA has invested in improveLeaf Removal * Snow Removal * Aerating * Landscaping ments and expansion of the racquet Mulching * Shrub Maintenance * Power Washing sports center and it, too, has generated new revenue, Peck said.

She cited growth in pickleball revenue from $35,000 in 2021 to

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February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 29

Viola favors kayak launch in Pintail Park Target date is September of 2023, but rec committee would like it sooner

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer recreational pier and handicap accessible kayak launch in Pintail Park should be available for members to enjoy late next year.

The project, as recommended by the Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee and endorsed by Ocean Pines Association staff, carries an estimated construction cost $40,000 to $50,000.

“I did not put this in the proposed [2022-23] budget. I kinda thought this was on the back burner but we have discussed this in the past,” General Manager John Viola said during a Jan. 22 meeting of the Board of Directors.

He said within the past few weeks the project had resurfaced via a committee recommendation to move forward.

Violas said that his staff reviewed other possible locations at the Grand Canal, Swim and Racquet Club marina, and White Horse Boat Ramp

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Warming hut From Page 28 pursuing permits for the larger structure.

Director Josette Wheatley said the county isn’t necessarily concerned about the size of the building’s footprint but rather its impact on stormwater management.

“Once you’ve maxed out your percentage of how much you can develop on your land,” she said adding “…it’s truly for stormwater management and I think that’s where they’re having a difficult time getting a bigger footprint.”

Director Larry Perrone said the board has focused quite a bit of attention on improvements at the racquet sports center over the last few years. He said the board “recognized it is a gem” and acknowledged that improving conditions at the amenity has resulted in improved revenue.

“I would fully support giving them a bigger space down there, but I think at this point we let John find out what we can and can’t do.

Because I don’t think we know at this point,” he said regarding the permitting issue. He said acquiring permits for the addition of pickleball courts was a challenge.

but felt Pintail Park is the best spot for the amenity.

“We have been looking at four locations. One of the locations the committee is recommending,” he said, adding, “we did have that one kinda at the top also.”

Even if Pintail Park is chosen as the site for the new pier and kayak launch, Viola sad the structure would not be installed until September 2023, after the bulkhead in the area is replaced.

He said the bulkhead is on the schedule for replacement this fall as part of the OPA’s routine project list.

The Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee also supported the Pintail Park site because of the availability of parking, portable bathrooms and handicap access.

“Right now I have a recommendation from the committee for Pintail Park,” Viola told the board. “We do have some type of pier there now.”

But, he said, that existing prier would be removed and not incorporated into the proposed project.

If the OPA is not able to build a larger structure, Perrone said he supports Viola’s proposal to install heaters outdoors. “I think his approach to putting heaters under the eaves is probably the best way to go or even one of those stand-up heaters that you see at restaurants all the time.”

Given the limits of footprint and that none of the warming hut assets are up for replacement at this point, Horn said she would like to see an overall business plan to grow the racquet sports amenity.

“We do recognize that is an untapped gem, and we do want all of our amenities to get to the point where they are contributing to the bottom line and helping fund some of the operations for the rest of our non-revenue generating portions of our organization.

“What I would like to see happen is certainly for John to find out what is possible permit wise but also to look at the overall facility,” she said.

Viola agreed, saying “It’s a process. Let’s go methodically through this.”

He said the OPA needs a better understanding from the county of what it can do at the racquet sports center.

“That pier is old. It’s probably 30 years old, 40 years old. So it is time for replacement,”he said.

The pier is listed in the OPA capital replacement program and funding for it is included in the replacement reserves, Viola said.

However, the project was not included in either the current budget or proposed fiscal year 2023 budget.

“The pier that we have now is in replacement so I am looking at this as a replacement reserve. I do not have it in the proposed budget,” he said again.

Viola said the cost is approximately $40,000 to $50,000 to replace the existing pier with a new ramp and a kayak launch.

He said the pier would be a different design than the one currently in place.

“This is a little different than the pier we have. The pier now is locked into the bulkhead. This would be a floating pier,” he said, adding. “We wouldn’t have the problems we had years ago when we had a portable dock.”

Director Larry Perrone said he sat in on some of the committee’s meetings regarding the project and the handicap accessibility of the ramp and launch at Pintail Park was an important point.

“This ramp and dock also is handicap accessible and that appears to be a huge consideration for usage going forward and currently actually,” he said. “So this whole system will make the use of kayaks in the community accessible to everyone.”

When asked by OPA President Colette Horn whether the OPA had initiated the permitting process yet for the project, Viola replied that it has not.

“We would have to go for the permitting. This just came to me. I wasn’t aware of it,” he said regarding the proposed pier and kayak launch.

He said staff will begin working on the necessary approvals for the project.

Horn then asked if the project would be included in next year’s budget.

“We would not be able to do this until September of 2023, which then would be that next budget, you’re right Collette,” Viola replied. “We are doing the bulkheads there. That’s

coming up in this next year. So we would be looking at somewhere around September 2023.” He said the timing of the project will also be subject to availability of materials.

During the Public Comments segment of the meeting, Patti Stevens, chairman of the Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee, asked if the bulkheads can be prepared for installation of the pier and kayak launch when they are replaced this year.

She wanted to know if the base and framing for the structure could be built with some economy of scale while the marine engineering contractor is on site to replace the bulkhead even if the actual launch itself were not placed at that time.

“Is that possible?” she asked.

Viola responded since there is a pier on the Pintail Park site now he will work with staff to determine if some of the work can be completed in conjunction with the bulkhead replacement program.

Matthew Lloyd spoke during Public Comments in favor of the proposed new pier and kayak launch at Pintail Park.

Having moved to Ocean Pines last year, he advocated improved access to water sports and promotion of the community’s water sports facilities.

He said information about the water accesses in Ocean Pines is “hidden away” on the OPA’s website.

He pressed the board to include the proposed pier and kayak launch in the next year’s budget and “take action now and not in some undefined time in the future.”

Lloyd said Pintail Park is a good location for the amenity because the site is centrally located in the community and easily accessible by residents.

“The water’s calm. And this area’s really underutilized for providing safe access to the water for Ocean Pines community members without riparian rights,” he said.

He added that the proposed handicap accessible structure would be a benefit to the community as it would provide access for residents who may otherwise not be able to engage in water sports.

“The easy launch would be extremely beneficial to people who want to spend time on water,” he

30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

OCEAN PINES

Viola details progress on capital projects Permits finally in hand for pickleball courts

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ith permits finally in hand, the Ocean Pines Association is preparing to build long-awaited, new pickleball courts at the Manklin Meadows Racquet Sports Complex.

General Manager John Viola said during his monthly report to the Board of Directors on Jan. 22 that the OPA is currently soliciting bids for the project from contractors.

“This is one that’s been out there for a while,” Viola said of the pickleball expansion to four courts. He added that the board approved moving forward with the project in on January of 2021 but it took almost a year to acquire the necessary county approvals.

Viola said the original cost estimate for the project was $180,000 and that should still be a valid estimate. “We believe that number is still good in spite of raising inflation and situations like that,” he said.

Viola said the bid packet was sent to contractors and bids are due back by Feb. 18. Bids will be leveled within a week of their receipt with the contact award following immediately. The contractor’s schedule and availability of materials will determine the project timing.

The OPA is hoping the courts will be completed and available for play by the end of May. “That’s the plan. I’ll know more by next board meeting,” he said.

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Lights to attach to bridge

Light poles Lights to attach on four corners to bridge

North Gate bridge

Ocean Pines public works crews are dismantling and removing the North Gate guard house and it should be completely gone within a week or two of the Jan. 22 meeting, according to Viola.

Doing the work in-house saved the OPA money with the cost at about $2,500.

In response to resident complaints about the shabby condition of the North Gate entrance, particularly the guard house and bridge, the OPA is removing the structure and planning changes to the bridge.

Viola said the work includes removing the guard house and old decking, moving power that feeds the lights on the bridge, relocating the flagpole and entrance signs to new location. He said he is currently reviewing options to improve the area including extending the guard rail on both sides of the bridge to cover openings where the guard house was removed.

Viola is working with former OPA director

Frank Brown to develop sketches for new lights on the North Gate bridge. The sketches and cost estimates will eventually be submitted to the Board for approval. “This is a step in the right direction to start improving that bridge,” he said.

Viola shared with the board photos of the type of lights under consideration. He said four lights would be installed on high poles at the outside corners of both lanes of the bridge.

The OPA is no longer able to get replacement globes for the existing bridge lights. As for the existing globe lights, Viola said the will have to go.

“We would remove them. We would cut down the wooden poles that are there and then back it with this new pole that would match the four larger poles at the beginning and the end of the bridge.”

He said the timing of the lighting project depends on type of lights selected and the availability of materials.

Clubhouse renovations

Construction is under way on a wall that will enclose the currently open meeting room at the clubhouse and a new entry door. The project is designed to help improve acoustics in the building.

“There was too much noise,” Viola said, often interfering with board meetings and other events in the building’s community room.

Viola said the project is being completed inhouse by Public Works Department crews and includes building the new separation wall, installing a new glass entry door, walls and a solid door for a closet, moving lights, relocating HVAC and fire alarms. The estimated project cost is $15,000.

He said the wall should be completed within three weeks pending the availability of materials and the new doorway and glass panels have been ordered. Doors for the closet will not arrive for about four weeks. “There is a back order on the closet doors but we don’t believe that will stop us from having this room operational in a couple weeks,” Viola said.

The OPA is also moving forward with plans to install new audio visual equipment at both the clubhouse meeting room and Assateague Room at the Community Center. A similar system is already in use in the board room at the Administration building and was used for the Jan. 22 hybrid board meeting.

“I use this for all my meetings and it works really well,” Viola said of the audio visual system in the board room.

For the clubhouse meeting room and the Assateague Room installations, the OPA will work with same preferred vendor, Mid-South Audio.

The company will install the hybrid meeting system to include a custom table with built-in microphones and cameras that will be integrated into the existing audio system to work with Microsoft Teams.

The estimated cost is $15,000 for the clubhouse where a projector and screen are already

in place and $23,000 for the Assateague Room which needs a projector and screen.

Previously, Directors Larry Perrone and Amy Peck had differed on which of the two rooms should be outfitted with the new equipment. Peck preferred the golf clubhouse while Perrone preferred the Assateague Room.

The compromise seemed like it was a rather obvious solution.

Admin building renovations

The OPA’s administration building in White Horse Park is scheduled for a long-awaited makeover. The total project cost is $125,000, including new HVAC, flooring, ceiling system, lights, and painting. Much of the work will be completed in house by public works.

Viola said when the OPA moved forward with the new police station the plan was to renovate the administration building at a later date. “It is later,” he said.

The improvements are included in the proposed budget as all of the items are up for replacement as part of the association’s capital plan.

Viola said the HVAC needs to be corrected one side of the building because it is all connected to a single thermostat and is not able to be regulated.

“The systems are old.”

While the project involves extensive renovation, it does not include structural changes. “If we want to move walls or do something different in here, that’s not included,” Viola said of the project specifications and cost.

Mailbox repairs

The OPA is evaluating the scope of repairs and replacement necessary for a first phase of a major project to upgrade the aging mail cluster boxes throughout the community. Staff is evaluating the condition of the concrete pads and cluster box pedestals at all mailbox sites and will prioritize them for repairs and replacement.

Viola said the concrete pads will be reviewed to determine which need to be replaced as a priority due to cracked or crumbling concrete. Many of the pads are still in good condition, he added. “If we have a situation where the concrete pad is no good we’ll obviously fix that at the same time we do the pedestals.”

There are a significant number of cluster box pedestals, the bases that hold the mailboxes, in need of replacement and others that could do with a good cleaning, Viola said. “We believe there’s at least 100 pedestals out there that need replacement,” he said.

The OPA intends to identify ten locations as priority sites at which to begin work and is contacting the fabricator regarding an estimate for getting replacement pedestals. The cost per pedestal is $500, for a total estimated cost of $50,000 for 100 pedestals. u

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 31

OCEAN PINES

OCEAN PINES BRIEFS

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Procedures outlined for hybrid meetings

cean Pines Association President Colette Horn in comments Jan. 22 addressed public participation in meetings and thanked those who volunteer to help further the mission of the community.

“I wanted to say to the public that it is my goal for the remainder of this Board year, which runs through the annual meeting in August, to increase member attendance and participation in our meetings,” she said. “And to that end, we have agreed as a Board to hold our meetings virtually to accommodate people who cannot be here physically. We’re happy to have people here physically.

Welcome to all of you, and welcome to those of you who are participating virtually.

“And if there are people in the public who would like to participate virtually, but have difficulty accessing the virtual environment, please email us [at info@oceanpines.org] ... and we can set you up with the help you need,” she added.

Horn also went over guidelines for public comments. Under the hybrid setup, she said those participating in person may go first, followed by homeowners participating using Microsoft Teams, then dial-in participants, and finally text comments sent to 443-377-1079.

“I’ve also included … in our agenda the Ocean Pines mission statement, to remind us all as to why we’re here,” she said. “The mission statement is to ‘Provide the governance, administration, facilities, services, and amenities that are necessary to make Ocean Pines an attractive, affordable, safe, and enjoyable place to live and work.’”

“Basically, anything … having to do with Ocean Pines and its mission are acceptable for public comments,” Horn continued. “As our General Manager, John Viola, often says, this is a team effort to achieve that mission.”

Horn said that team includes staff, the board, and community volunteers.

“We appreciate people who show up in attendance. We appreciate all the many volunteers on our advisory committees and work groups, and certainly the volunteers in this room who sit at the Board table,” she said. “So, thank you to ev-

Capital projects

From Page 30 In addition to replacing pedestals, the OPA is obtaining bids for cleaning of each mailbox cluster. Viola said the mailboxes can’t be power-washed for fear of damaging mail inside them.

Viola said the mailbox repairs will be paid for through the OPA’s maintenance budget. The association owns the pad sites but not the cluster boxes so the project can’t be covered through the reserve funds. “They are not on our asset register,” he said of the cluster boxes.

Adding canopies over the clusters would be considered new capital and are not part of the current restoration plan.

eryone here for participating in person and virtually, and for the support that you provide this Board and our staff for the work that we do in furtherance of our mission.”

The next regular Board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m. in the Clubhouse Meeting Room on 100 Clubhouse Drive.

Executive assistant named

Ocean Pines General Manager John Viola has announced that Rosanna Montalvo has been hired as the OPA’s new senior executive assistant, effective Feb. 14.

“Rosanna has a wealth of administrative experience in the nonprofit, public and private sectors,” Viola said. “Her strong customer service and communication skills will be an invaluable asset to the Association.”

As senior executive assistant, Montalvo will hold a dual role as a confidential assistant to the general manager and the Board of Directors.

She will also serve the board as the Association’s assistant secretary.

Linda Martin, Public Works office manager, has been fulfilling those duties pending the hiring of a new senior executive assistant.

Montalvo, who is new to the Ocean Pines area, most recently worked as the executive administrative assistant/marketing, research and development coordinator for a nonprofit organization serving adults with behavioral health and developmental disabilities and their families.

Having spent several years prior working at resort facilities, Montalvo’s additional professional qualifications include revenue and expense management, marketing and advertising, and creating workplace efficiencies.

Payroll/HR manager retires

Kathy Stryjewski, the Ocean Pines Association’s Payroll/Human Resources manager, has announced her retirement.

Her last day will be Feb. 18.

“The time and support that Kathy has provided OPA is greatly appreciated. She has been a part of many projects, including the compensation study, the development of employee self-assessments, and re-development of performance evaluations, to name a few,” General Manager John Viola said in an OPA press release.

“Kathy’s hard work, professionalism and friendliness will be missed. We wish her quality time with her family and an enjoyable retirement,” he said.

The OPA “will be posting to fill this position immediately,” Viola said.

Wheatley steps up to help OPVFD

During a meeting with the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department Jan. 19, Ocean Pines Association Director Josette Wheatley proposed a commercial promoting membership in the volunteer organization.

She was meeting with board colleagues in review of the OPVFD’s budget request for 2022-23.

“I’d like to share some material,” she said. “We need a commercial running in Ocean Pines to help promote [new} volunteer, eight weeks on the Comcast and Mediacom” channels.” She said signage at the South Side firehouse asking for volunteers is not adequate to get the word out.

While she said that television advertising might appeal more to older potential volunteers, she said that younger potential volunteers gravitate more toward digital streaming platforms.

She volunteered to help with effort to craft a video that could be used on multiple platforms.

While her time and skills would be free of charge, television stations and other platforms require payment for ads, with services and ad placement ranging in cost from $4500 to $35,000.

She did not offer suggestions on where that kind of investment would come from.

Fire department officials reacted favorably to the suggestion and Wheatley’s offer to help with a recruitment video.

Angler of the year awards John McFall,left, secretary of the Atlantic Coast Sportfishing Association (ACSA) recently presented the Angler Of The Year awards to Ron Smith (Ocean) and Shaun Flaherty (Bay). The Atlantic Coast Sportfishing Association is having its next meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the American Legion of Berlin, Post 123 on Old Ocean City Blvd, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Guest Speakers are from the US Coast Guard stationed in Ocean City, speaking on new regulations, navigation, safety issues and answering questions.

32 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

OCEAN PINES

Parks objects to proposed changes in M-09 election procedures Expresses concern that candidates will be disqualified ‘through no fault of their own’

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer n an effort to improve the Ocean Pines Association’s application and verification process for candidates seeking election to the Board of Directors, some revisions to Resolution M-09 and its associated candidate registration form are under consideration.

During a first reading of the amendments during a Jan. 22 board meeting, Director Doug Parks expressed concern that language included in the proposal could disqualify some candidates for reasons beyond their control.

In introducing the proposed

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amendments, OPA President Colette Horn said “it has become evident to the Board that we need to improve our processes for candidate verification for our Board of Directors elections. The proposed revisions to resolution M-09 and the candidate registration form aim to do this.”

One change would add language that the OPA secretary “shall use the Worcester County land records and or state Department of Assessment and Taxation records” to verify property ownership for anyone who applies for candidacy.

The proposed revisions state that the secretary may seek informa-

BUSINESS BRIEFS First Shore Federal announces promotions Diane M. Turner, president and CEO of First Shore Federal Savings and Loan Association, has announced the promotion of Richard A. Ashley, formerly the controller, to the office of vice president and chief financial officer, effective Jan. 3.

He joined First Shore in 2018. He holds a Bachelor of Science, business administration from Richard Kristen Towson University and a bachelor of Science, Ashley Pilchard accounting, from Salisbury University’s Perdue School of Business. Ashley has held the designation of certified public accountant (CPA) since 2016.

She also announced that Kristen Pilchard will assume the role of controller, effective immediately. Ms. Pilchard joined First Shore in August 2021 as assistant controller. She brings an extensive background in tax, finance and accounting experience. She holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting and Bachelor of Science in finance from Salisbury University Perdue School of Business. Pilchard has held the designation of certified public accountant (CPA) since 2015.

Avery Hall Insurance donates to Foundation

Avery Hall Insurance Group has partnered to support the efforts of the Make Delmarva Foundation through a $500 grant. The Make Delmarva Foundation was selected by Avery Hall Insurance Group for the grant as part of the Selective President’s Club Matching Gift initiative.

The initiative is run by the Selective Insurance Group Foundation, which is a philanthropic affiliate of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. The Foundation has supported thousands of community-based and national nonprofits in regions across the country since its inception in 2002.

The grant represents a $250 donation from Avery Hall, matched by a $250 gift from thefoundation. The grant will help the Make Delmarva Foundation’s efforts to support their M4Reactor initiative, which is Delmarva’s only makerspace. Their workshop is a place where community members can create and collaborate while learning about new technologies and tools made available.

The donation was presented to Make Demarva Foundation President, Jim Leether.

tion from an applicant regarding the registration form but may not grant time to complete the form or correct information on the form once it has been submitted. The secretary would attach to the application supplemental information that resolves any questions.

The revised resolution calls for the secretary to notify applicants of the acceptance or rejection of their applications prior to submitting the list of eligible candidates to the Election Committee. The reason or rejection would be included with the candidate notification not later than June 1.

Parks was concerned about the section stating the “secretary may seek information from an applicant ...”

He called “may” an ambiguous term that ties into the timing for acceptance or rejection of candidate applications.

He cited as an example a candidate needing to acquire information from Worcester County to prove eligibility. He wondered what would happen if the county did not get that information to the candidate in a timely manner when that information does indeed allow them to be eligible.

“But yet they passed the timeline and therefore you say they’re ineligible,” Parks said.

He said that language is incongruous because the intent is to verify that a candidate meets the eligibility requirement and yet they may still be deemed ineligible through no fault of their own.

“And if they didn’t have any particular fault on their part for not getting the information in a timely manner we are discounting people for what I consider an unreasonable reason,” he said. “I can’t support that.”

Instead, Parks said he will offer an amendment to the proposed language at a second reading of M-09.

Director Larry Perrone said the language must be clear that candidate eligibility will be based on the county land record showing ownership, not OPA membership rolls.

“That’s not the case. Membership rolls may not accurately reflect who

in fact is the owner of the property,” he said. “I would like to see added to this resolution that the membership rolls are not determinative of ownership. That the secretary will rely on the county land records and not the membership rolls maintained by Ocean Pines.”

Director Frank Daly informed the board that he intended to submit a series of about 14 changes to the OPA bylaws, many of which will have an impact on the election requirements and process. Legal counsel is vetting the proposed bylaws amendments and the he will call for a special Board meeting to discuss them, Daly said.

Horn said at the time she submitted the revisions to M-09 for first reading she was not aware that Daly felt his by-laws changes would be ready for discussion so soon. She questioned whether they could be implemented in time to have an impact on the summer 2022 election.

“We can certainly delay the second reading of this until we’ve had a chance to get that input from counsel,” she said. She also suggested delaying consideration of the candidate registration form pending review of Daly’s by-laws amendments.

Jim Trummel, chairman of the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, pointed out that Daly’s proposed bylaws changes may not be put in place until after the upcoming election. “But this resolution will affect the election if you proceed with it. You’ve got a time-frame on the by-laws changes. That’s out in the future,” he said. “This affects candidate application and that can be today. There’s no reason why a candidate can’t go out and fill out a form and put it in today.”

Jeremy Tucker, OPA legal counsel, agreed with Trummel saying the board can proceed with adopting the revised resolution and application form now. Once the by-laws changes are also adopted, then the resolution can be updated again.

“The bylaws being adopted is not known whether they are going to be adopted or not. So I would think moving forward with what is known and then revising with what may happen would probably be the best course of action,” he said.

Parks concurred and said there is no reason to hold up the changes to the resolution waiting for the revised by-laws. “I think there’s a safe assumption that says no matter what with all these changes to the u

OPA FINANCES

Revised budget calls for $71 decrease in base lot assessment

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 33

Directors set to approve document at Feb. 23 regular meeting

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he second draft of the proposed Ocean Pines Association budget for 2022-23 shows an assessment decrease of $71, down from the current $996 to $925.

General Manager John Viola unveiled details of the revised draft Jan. 19, in the first and only budget review meeting conducted by the Board of Directors in this budget cycle. Previous reviews were conducted by the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, with OPA directors attending.

The revised draft was a result of those committee meetings, in which Viola was advocating for an assessment decrease with numbers to justify it. The decrease was green-lighted by the committee, with Larry Perrone, then OPA President Larry Perrone and now treasurer, indicating he was in favor of a reduction.

The first iteration of the budget unveiled this past December had a nominal decrease in the assessment of $1.

There is no proposed increase in the waterfront differential paid by owners of privately-owned bulkheaded property, Viola said. It would remain at $615, for a total assessment of $1,540. The assessment for non-bulkhead waterfront property would be set at $1,015.

The Board of Directors is expected to approve the budget and formally set assessments for the coming year at its Feb. 23 regular meeting.

At the same that the assessment seems headed for a significant decrease, the second draft of the budget shows a ten percent increase in beach parking, aquatics and racquet sports membership fees.

No increase in these fees had been included in the initial draft, while dues increases in golf memberships had been initially budgeted.

The B&F committee recommended the increase in these fees so that all amenities would be treated consistently.

The one-time assessment decrease would be funded out of the $1.1 million operating fund surplus recorded through April 30 of last year. It could be construed as a payback for the assessment increases used to reduce an operating fund deficit of about $1.6 million accumulated a period of operational and financial challenges known as the Brett Hill era, named after a former acting general manager and OPA director.

Although Viola said that this year’s operating fund surplus should be well north of $1 million, it’s not been officially recorded and thus was not available for use in

an assessment decrease in 2022-34.

But in an aside that may not have been picked by those attending the the Jan. 19 meeting, Viola hinted that some of the current year’s projected surplus might be available for another “one-time” assessment decrease next year as well.

According to a graphic presented

by Viola at the meeting, $450,000 would come out of the operating fund surplus to fund the assessment decrease, the equivalent of $53 on the assessment.

The difference between that $53 and the $71 now proposed is the result of additions and subtractions to the budget affecting the assessment.

The proposed $319,000 increase in operating support for the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department is the equivalent of a $38 increase in the assessment. Total projected wage and salary increases of $267,000 translate to $32 on the assessment.

Property and liability insurance increases are costing another $6, and there’s a potential referendum cost that’s the equivalent of $1 on the assessment.

But those increases are offset by subtractions to the assessment reflecting robust revenue growth in the amenities, most of it from increased daily fees and membership rates.

M-09 revisions

Feb. 9.

Another new addition to the resolution is language stating that once a list of eligible candidates is submitted to the Elections Committee, that information and the registration forms will be released to the association members and public.

“The new concept there is the release of the registration forms which we have not done in the past,” Horn said.

Parks suggested the information simply be released at the same time it is sent to the Election Committee.

“Because that does infer that the Elections Committee will have to do something and then it gets released to public,” he said, adding that by releasing it to members and the public concurrent with the committee “it’s just more clean.”

Other changes include a language adjustment for consistency is that the form candidate complete to apply for the election will be called the Candidate Registration Form.

Candidates will need to complete the form and provide the required attachments.

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From Page 32 by-laws we will definitely need to go back and look at the resolutions.

And we’ll have some homework to do to make sure there’s not conflicts.”

Perrone said it is all very timely.

He said when Daly calls a special meeting to review the bylaws, the board can also take up a second reading of the changes to M-09. “We could make adjustments right then and put the resolution in place.”

That meeting has been set for

The increased net revenue projection from amenities is $496,570, or equivalent to a $59 reduction in the assessment.

Other factors making it possible to reduce the assessment include a decrease in general replacement reserve contributions (-$14), a reduction in bad debt expense (-$12), a change in operating income for food and beverage operations (-$$72,193), and a decrease in projected legal expense (-$1).

During the Jan. 19 budget review meeting, Viola said that: • the proposed budget would shift $350,000 back into the roads reserve that previously had been shifted into drainage. This is in addition to $350,000 in casino funds that traditionally have been allocated to roads. Viola said he’s working toward meeting a goal of $1 million for the roads reserve as recommended by the B&F committee.

• $600,000 that had been parked as a kind of placeholder for golf course irrigation system replacement in the capital budget has been removed. He said funding for this project would still needed to be provided in the next five years or so, unless Worcester County and the OPA reach an agreement on a county-funded system.

• the revised budget shifts $60,000 out of the operating fund surplus to the New Capital Reserve to pay for new transient use t-docks at the Yacht Club.

• even after the t-dock fund transfer and the proposed assessment decrease, Viola projects $1,423,000 will remain in the operating fund as of April 30, the end of the 2021-22 fiscal year.

• the replacement reserve balance at the end of 2022-23 is estimated at $5.645 million, or 25.3 percent of the estimated, fully funded value of OPA assets as determined by the DMA reserve study.

Viola said the goal is at least 22 percent, with a range as high as 28 percent. Viola presented a replacement reserve graphic showing that for the next four fiscal years, the percentage will range from 23.6 percent to as high as 25.8 percent, well within the goal.

The year-end percentage in the current fiscal year is projected at 20.4 percent.

In response to an inquiry from Director Doug Parks, Viola said the proposed budget does include money for cluster mailbox maintenance, focused on concrete pad and pedesu

34 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

OPA FINANCES

Membership dues, daily fees revised on recommendation of Budget and Finance Committee Aquatics, racquet sports, beach parking rates proposed for increases

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he initial Ocean Pines Association budget proposal for 2022-23 unveiled by General Manager John Viola in December had proposed increases in golf membership dues and marina boat slip rentals, but none for Aquatics, racquet sports or beach parking.

That disparate treatment didn’t sit well with the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee. During its budget review, committee members suggested increases in all amenity memberships in the new budget year that begins May 1.

General Manager John Viola went along with the proposed increases in the revised proposed budget presented to the Board of Directors Jan. 19, with relatively little push-back.

Director Amy Peck on behalf of Racquet Sports Advisory Committee said the group didn’t like the pro-

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posed increases, but focused mostly on daily drop-in fees rather than the membership fees. General Manager John Viola went along with changes recommended by the committee for daily fees and these changes are reflected in the second iteration of the proposed budget.

Otherwise, the proposed increases sailed through the Jan. 19 board review meeting with no noteworthy discussion, suggesting that when the board meets in February to formally adopt the 2022-23 budget, the proposed amenity membership dues and daily fees will be approved.

The proposed increases in membership dues of about 5 percent in most membership categories are less than the $71 decrease in the base lot assessments proposed in the latest iteration of the 2022-23 budget.

Aquatics yearly memberships would increase from $600 to $630 for families and from $385 to $405

PROPOSED 2022-23 MEMBERSHIP DUES

for individuals.

Summer memberships would increase from $325 to $340 for families and from $195 to $205 for individuals, Winter memberships would increase from $460 to $485 for families and from $300 to $315 for individuals.

These rates would apply to Ocean Pines owners and residents, including longer-term renters.

For those who don’t own property

in Ocean Pines or live here, membership rates are significantly higher but the proposed increases are still roughly 5 percent.

Racquet sport membership dues would also rise by roughly 5 percent.

Tennis dues would increase from $400 to $420 for families and from $250 to $265 for individuals.

Tennis afternoon memberships would increase from $165 to $175 for families and from $105 to $110 for individuals.

Platform tennis dues would increase from $280 to $295 for families and from $170 to $180 for individuals.

Pickleball dues would increase from $280 to $295 for families and from $170 to $180 for individuals.

The committee did not recommend additional increases in golf membership dues over what was proposed in the initial budget draft. u

USER FEES

USER FEES PROPOSED 2022-23 USER FEES FISCAL YEAR 2022-23

FISCAL YEAR 2022-23 SWIM SWIM DAILY -- RESIDENTS RESIDENTS // OWNERS OWNERS DAILY ADULTS (18+) ADULTS (18+) CHILDREN (5-17) (5-17) CHILDREN

$10 $10 $8 $8

DAILY -- NON-RESIDENTS NON-RESIDENTS DAILY ADULTS (18+) ADULTS (18+) CHILDREN (5-17) CHILDREN (5-17)

$15 $15 $13 $13

TENNIS TENNIS DAILY -- RESIDENTS RESIDENTS // OWNERS OWNERS DAILY TENNIS TENNIS PICKLEBALL PICKLEBALL PLATFORM PLATFORM DAILY NON-RESIDENTS DAILY -- NON-RESIDENTS TENNIS TENNIS PICKLEBALL PICKLEBALL PLATFORM PLATFORM GOLF GOLF CART FEES FEES CART MEMBERS MEMBERS OWNERS -- GUESTS GUESTS OWNERS

$10 $10 $7 $7 $7 $7 $15 $15 $8 $8 $8 $8 18 HOLES HOLES 18 25 25 25 25

MEMBERS ONLY ONLY MEMBERS UNLIMITED CART PKG PKG -- FAMILY FAMILY UNLIMITED CART UNLIMITED CART PKG INDIVIDUAL UNLIMITED CART PKG - INDIVIDUAL GREEN // CART CART FEES FEES GREEN OWNERS & GUESTS OWNERS & GUESTS OWNERS & & GUESTS GUESTS -- AFTER AFTER 12 12 OWNERS TWILIGHT AFTER 3PM TWILIGHT - AFTER 3PM

HOLES 99 HOLES 15 15 15 15

2,200 2,200 1,500 1,500

18 HOLES HOLES 18 59 59 49 49 39 39

HOLES 99 HOLES 35 35 30 30 30 30

OTHER FEES OTHER FEES OTHER FEES FISCAL YEAR 2022-23

OPA budget From Page 34 tal repair and replacement. These expenses would come out of the replacement reserve, Viola said.

Should the Board of Directors decide to upgrade the cluster boxes with canopies, that would be considered new capital and a funding source would need to identified, Viola said.

TYPE TYPE

FISCAL YEAR YEAR 2022-23 2022-23 FISCAL

LOST PARKING PARKING PERMITS PERMITS LOST LOST PARKING PERMITS LOST PARKING PERMITS TRANSFER FEES TRANSFER FEES LOST PHOTO PHOTO // OWNER OWNER ID ID LOST

ANNUAL ANNUAL WEEKLY WEEKLY

AMOUNT AMOUNT 50 50 10 10 100 100 55

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 35

OPA FINANCES The golf increases are $100 across all categories.

Family golf memberships would increase from $2,400 to $2,500, individual memberships from $1,500 to $1,600, family afternoon memberships from $1,650 to $1,750, and individual afternoon memberships from $950 to $1,050.

Individual cart packages would increase from $1,400 to $1,500, and from $2,100 to $2200 for families.

Cart fees for members would increase from $22 to $25 for 18 holes and from $12 to $15 for 9 holes, with guests of members paying the same.

For non-members, combined cart and green fees for 18 holes would increase from $54 to $59, with no increase in rates for owners and guests after 12 or twilight, after 3 p.m. These rates would stay at $49 and $39, respectively.

Nine-hole green and cart fees remain unchanged, at $35 for owners and guests, $30 for owners and guests after 12, and $30 after 3 p.m.

Marina boat slip fees would be increased over the increases proposed in the original budget.

For boats 25 feet or less, rates would be set at $2,025, compared to $1,872 currently. The fees were proposed at $1,947 in the original budget draft.

For boats from 26 to 39 feet, rates would be set at $2,755, up from the current $2,548. This rate was $2,649 in the original proposal.

For boats 40 to 44 feet and liveaboard, the new rate would be $3,890, up from the current $3,594 and the $3,738 in the original proposal.

The slip rate at the Swim and Racquet Club would be set at $1,460, up from the current $1,352 and $1,406 in the original budget draft.

The second iteration of the budget did not make any changes in proposed daily fees at Ocean Pines swimming pools.

Ocean Pines Association members and Ocean Pines renters, adults 18 and older, would pay $10 for daily pool use, up from the current $8.

Children 5 to 17 would pay $8, up from the current $6.

The entry fee for non-swimmers remains at $3; an adult or guardian continues to be a requirement for children 1 to 4. New proposed rates for three- and four-year-olds were nixed for this summer.

Non-resident adult pool users would pay $15, up from the current $12, and children 5 to 17 would pay $13, up from the current $10. The

FROM THE BUDGET TRENCHES Items of interest from this year’s Board of Director’s budget review, held Jan. 19 in the Administration’s board room and Community Center’s room Assateague Room, with both in-person participation and remote viewing.

Marina rates get another boost

On the recommendation of the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, rates to moor boats at the Yacht Club would be raised even higher than what had been proposed in the original draft budget.

Harbormaster Ron Fisher said the slip fees would be raised 4 percent over the original proposal, and the math is in.

For boats 25 feet or less, rates would be set at $2,025, compared to $1,872 currently. The fees were proposed at $1,947 in the original budget draft.

For boats from 26 to 39 feet, rates would be set at $2,755, up from the current $2,548. This rate was $2,649 in the original proposal.

For boats 40 to 44 feet and live-aboard, the new rate would be $3,890, up from the current $3,594 and the $3,738 in the original proposal.

The rate at the Swim and Racquet Club would be set at $1,460, up from the current $1,352 and $1,406 in the original budget draft.

These rates would have to be approved by the Board of Directors before taking effect.

Fisher said there 85 boats on the waiting list for slip space at the Yacht Club.

He noted that his department is budgeting conservatively on the revenue side, as it’s always difficult to budget given unpredictable weather conditions. He told the board that the marina hopes to continue to bring in bigger boats for fill-ups of the OPA’s non-ethanol fuel, and that the marina building might be offering more tackle for sale this season than it has in previous years.

Cluster mailboxes to get some TLC

Ocean Pines residents in the coming year should notice some significant aesthetic improvements to the cluster mailboxes that dot the community, many of which date to the earliest days of Ocean Pines.

Public Works Office Manager Linda Martin during the Board of Directors’ 2022-23 budget review meeting Jan. 19 said that 100 pedestals repair/replacements are planned, at a total cost of $45,000 to $50,000. There are 13 concrete pads that need attention, at a cost of $36,000 or $40,000. Public Works crews will do most if not all of the repairs, having learned a pilot repair program launched some time ago.

Source of funding is the OPA’s Replacement Reserve.

Fewer bulkheads to be repaired in 2022-23

With the cost per linear foot of replacing bulkhead increasing like almost everything, conceivably the waterfront differential assessed owners of bulkheaded property in Ocean Pines would be rising as well when new assessments are mailed out in a couple of months. The 2022-23 budget avoids that scenario by cutting back the linear feet to be replaced from about 3,000 this year to 2,021 in the coming year.

Back in December, the board approved a new contract with Fisher Marine of Chincoteague, Va., for bulkhead replacement at a cost of $425 per linear foot, bringing estimated replacement costs to $850,000, all funded out of the OPA’s bulkhead reserve.

Public Relations Department takes on golf promotion

With Director of Marketing and Public Relations Josh Davis running the audio/video in separate locations, Assistant Marketing Director Julie Malinowski presented details of their department’s proposed budget for 2022-23.

Grant revenue has been reduced to reflect reality, ad sales in the quarterly newsletter continue to be robust, a printing cost increase has been avoided, and a decision has been made to shift about $15,000 in golf-related marketing expense to the marketing and public relations department.

For years, golf operations have absorbed their own marketing expenses while other amenity departments had their promotional expenses handled by the M&PR department.

The shift means all amenity departments are being treated the same with respect to promotional expenses, while golf operations will be a little lighter on the expense side than would otherwise by the case.

Parks mentions concept of ‘assistant GM’

Although not part of the proposed 2022-23 budget, Director Doug Parks mentioned the concept of an assistant general manager as something that the board “might want to consider” before approving the budget. And other item not included in the second draft of the budget, according to Viola: Funds to hire a search firm to assist in finding a replacement for Viola. u non-swimmer rate would remain at $5.

Because of objections raised by racquet sport members, some ad-

justments were made in tennis drop-in rates. The rate would be $10 for tennis and $7 each for pickleball and platform tennis.

For those who don’t own property or live in Ocean Pines, the drop-in rates would be $15 for tennis and $8 for pickleball and platform tennis.

36 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

OPA FINANCES

OPA banks another surplus in December Year-date-to operating fund positive variance rises to $1.468 million

By TOM STAUSS Publisher t may not have been the most robust operating surplus ever recorded by the Ocean Pines Association, but December’s $36,658 positive variance to budget can take some bows simply because it was not a deficit, which are normal for this time of year.

The December financial results were contained in a report to the Board of Directors and General Manager John Viola by Controller/Director of Finances Steve Phillips and posted on the OPA Web site late last month.

The operating surplus was not that far off from November’s surplus of $41,570. For December, revenues were over budget by $10,990 and total expenses were under budget by $25,668.

For the year through December, the OPA continues to be on a roll, with a positive operating fund variance of $1,448,830. Revenues are over budget by $1,291,155, while total expenses are under budget by $177,229.

New capital expenditures are over budget by $19,554.

The departmental summary released by Phillips indicates that for the year so far, all OPA departments are ahead of budget, with one exception, and that exception is hardly a rounding error.

Platform tennis is behind budget by $291, which is more or less break-even.

Of the amenity departments, golf operations lead the pack with a $300,000 positive variance to budget, followed by Aquatics with a positive variance of $207,643. Next is the Yacht Club with a positive variance of $99,996.

OPA NET OPERATING BY DEPARTMENT - DECEMBER 2021

I

Source: Ocean Pines Association Department of Finance

Another way of measuring operational success is to look at actual results by department.

Beach parking is the leader through December with $453,113 in net operations, followed by golf operations with a net of $438,582 and the Yacht Club with a year-to-date profit of $421,972.

Another perennial cash cow for the OPA, Yacht Club and Swim and Racquet Club marina operations, have netted $251,372 through December.

The Beach Club has earned $156,411, Aquatics $133,424 through December, Status of reserves -- OPA reserves as of Dec. 31 had a balance of $7.15 million, virtually unchanged from November.

The replacement reserve had a balance of $4.95 million, while bulkheads and waterways stood at $1.153 million, roads at $4,646, drainage at $791,388 and new capital at $254,372.

FROM THE BUDGET TRENCHES said that the proposed budget shifted $10,000 that had been allocated to legal expense into a possible referendum, which could involved changes to the declaration of restrictions as they relate to short-term rentals or possible changes to OPA by-laws.

Not an issue in the 2022-23 budget: Carry-over expenses related to unexpired pool debit cards that have been the source of controversy. No longer: The cards expired this past October and there was no interest by the board nor advocacy in the community to extend them another year. That means the OPA doesn’t have to employ an accounting technique that recognizes the value of unused visits recorded on those cards.

No pool fees for three- and four-year-olds

After Directors Larry Perrone and Doug Parks shot down the idea of charging three-to-four-year-olds for the use of Ocean Pines swimming pools, citing the lack of information on how many individuals would be affected and how much revenue that would bring, Aquatics Director Kathleen Cook withdrew the proposal for 2022-23.

The idea might come back for another spin in a year. Cook agreed to gather statistics on actual pool users who fit into that age demographic.

The initial proposal had been to charge a nominal fee of $3 for two-to-fouryear-olds, but Cook had amended it to three-to-four-years for board consideration.

She cited public pools in Talbot County and Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Ocean City where parents pay a $3 fee for two-to-four-year-olds.

Current practice in Ocean Pines is to exempt kids up to five years of age from user fees, although parents pay a daily access fee.

“I think it’s a bad idea,” said Perrone.

After General Manager John Viola said the issue was for the board to decide, Parks said he was “going to agree with Larry. The cost [would be] in public relations.”

He suggested that Cook and her staff track the younger demographic this summer. Cook said she would do so and would “yield to the board” on the issue for this summer.

Depending on the results of the tracking, the proposal could come back for reconsideration in the 2023-24 budget.

Police to start using body cams next year

Ocean Pines Police Chief Leo Ehrisman said officers in his department will be using Axon body cameras as soon as Jan. 1 of next year, at a cost of $150,000 or $30,000 per year for five years. The body cams will be leased, and Ehrisman mentioned the possibility of partnerships with other local police agencies that would include maintenance. He said he has hopes that “we’ll get a lot of [upfront costs] back” as body cams are part of the governor’s police reform initiative.

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 37

CAPTAIN’S COVE

CURRENTS

Developer proffers donation of land on Fleming Road for ambulance building

By TOM STAUSS Publisher CG Note, the declarant/developer of Captain’s Cove and of the planned 142-unit townhome project located on a parcel adjacent to the back entrance to Captain’s Cove, has made a proffer to Accomack County that might make it more difficult for county decision-makers to reject the townhome proposal in the face of organized opposition by local voters.

In a letter to the Accomack County Planning Commission, CCG Note principal Jim Silfee noted that the developer had proferred about oneacre of land on Fleming Road, the precise location to be determined, to the Greenbackville Volunteeer Fire Department.

He said the proffer was in response to complaints that the project would jeopardize the health and

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safety of Cove residents.

“This land would be proffered specifically for the development of a new ambulance station and associated building to help service the growing needs of northern Accomack County,” Silfee said.

But in addition to the proffer of land, Silfee indicated that the developer is willing to help with the construction of the new building and pay for a new ambulance.

“In addition to this land, CCG Note LLC is also exploring options to assist in financing this new ambulance station project up to a $430,000 level, anticipated to be $180,000 for a brand new ambulance and $250,000 for the associated building,” he wrote.

Fleming Road abuts Section 13, with about 20 building lots situated between Flying Dutchman Drive and Fleming Road. Some of those

lots are developer owned.

Tim Hearn, another investor in CCG Note, said the building would be roughly 1200 square feet.

In Accomack County, volunteer fire departments own ambulance equipment but staffing is provided by the county’s emergency medical services department, headed by C. Ray Pruitt.

The proffer of land on Fleming Road would facilitate the building of an ambulance building on what is now developer-owned property on Flying Dutchman Drive in Section 13. Details are yet to be worked out among CCG Note, the Greenbackville Fire Department, and the Accomack County emergency services department.

Snowy wonderland

Gavin Zubko of Captain’s Cove enjoyed the snow on the last weekend of January. So did the native wildlife.

38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS

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The Inlet ll, Elevation A. Piling home. Bay views, 4BR/3BA, 1,750 sq ft. First level owners suite, 2 BRs, laundry area, 21x10 open deck. Second level great room, open kitchen with center island, large pantry and a 4th BR and full BA.

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CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 39

Cove launches new Website Message board module awaits board greenlight

By TOM STAUSS Publisher aptain’s Cove association members were introduced to a new Website Jan. 28, with a sleeker, more professional appearance and updated features.

The plan is to have a new dues payment module active by Feb. 1, well before invoices are sent out for the last six months of the fiscal year.

The payment module will allow property owners to pay annual dues on-line using a credit card or an account that’s linked to their banks.

“Our members will be able to go online to pay their dues in a protected, private module accessible only to them,” Senior General Manager Colby Phillips said.

With the launch of the new Website, the old TOPPs and Frontsteps software is going away, replaced by the AppFolio application that the staff selected after an extensive process of demoing other software options.

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Among the rejected choices was NorthStar, a software suite that is being used by the Ocean Pines Association.

“It doesn’t allow for the interactivity that AppFolio provides and isn’t set up for payment of dues without a lot of customization,” Colby Phillips, the Cove’s senior general manager, said. “And NorthStar doesn’t really allow for a message board that gives residents a chance to comment or ask questions about community issues.”

There’s also the issue of cost. The OPA paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $400,000 for the initial NorthStar package, while AppFolio will be costing the Captain’s Cove association in a range of $2,500 to $3,000 a month, Phillips said.

It’s a lease arrangement, as opposed to a purchase. It’s also cloudbased, meaning the Cove hasn’t had to invest in server hardware to manage it or to provide back-up in the event of a power outage, or

deal with repairs when equipment breaks down.

Granted, it’s not a true apples to apples comparison. Troon Golf Management, the Cove’s out-sourced management company, handles back-office bookkeeping and accounting chores using software not part of AppFolio. Those functions are performed in-house by OPA staff.

“AppFolio can do back-office accounting, but we don’t need it, since Troon does it,” she said. Captain’s Cove also made no effort to integrate its POS (point of sale) systems with AppFolio.

“Food and beverage operations work better with their own POS systems,” she said. “There’s no need to integrate them with the main software.”

She recalls that the OPA tried that at venues operated by the Matt Ortt Companies. In the end the better approach is to work with familiar POS software with a track record of working well, she said.

Phillips said the Cove staff independently of the Website roll-out is in the process of adding new POS software that would be the same at all amenity venues, including the Marina Club, the golf course and the Town Center. Staff has been exploring options.

A new message board module is ready but won’t be launched until posting rules and procedures are approved by the Cove association’s board of directors.

That probably will happen at the scheduled board meeting Feb. 24, set to begin at 4:30 p.m.

Cove President Tim Hearn told the Cove Currents recently that under the proposed rules, the message board would allow for a vigorous exchange of viewpoints but that before a posting appears on the site, it would be reviewed to ensure that it does not include defamatory material or inaccurate information.

Cove General Manager Justin Wilder, who has been spearheading the Web site project with Phillips, would be tasked with reviewing posts before they go live, Hearn said.

Any posts that cross the line might be sent back to the poster for u

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Captain’s Cove Community Bulletin Board

1/25/22, 3:09Pines PM PROGRESS February 2022 40 Ocean

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CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS

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February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 41

CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS Website launch

From Page 39 editing and resubmitted, he added.

“What I love about AppFolio is that their people answer you right away with issues,” Phillips said.

“And any software upgrades will be done seamlessly, without loss of function.”

The new site will include a robust calendar function that will be make it easier for members to access board agendas and information prior to and after meetings.

After-the-fact audio recordings of board or general managers meetings are accessible by clicking the event listed on the calendar page.

“We understand that not everyone can attend our meetings,” she said. “But through the Website you will still have access to them.”

Organizations that want to reserve space in the Marina Club or Town Center building will be able to do so on-line, she said.

In a presentation at the Jan. 17 managers’ meeting, Wilder said this feature allows him to quickly review meeting submissions before they’re posted in the calendar.

Wilder said the site: • includes a way to sign up to the association’s newsletter • lists all the amenities and a link to the golf course Website. Eventually, the two will be merged, he said.

• retains the old Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) module from the old Website.

• lists departments heads, with contact information, as well members of the board of directors and advisory committees • includes a public documents page with a search feature. All the old files are retained but more accessible • adds a member-only module that will allow members to file Environmental Control Committee application and pay related fees online.

Members will be able to track the progress of the applications on-line in their individual modules. ECC violations will show up when identified, and the status of the case will be updated with new information as the case progresses.

Both Wilder and Phillips urged members to check out the site and let staff know of any errors or suggestions for improvements.

“Justin did a great job on this,” Phllips said. “We’re very excited to bring something so user friendly” to the membership.

Wolff declines to comment on townhome project rezoning

By TOM STAUSS Publisher upervisor Ron Wolff recently declined to comment on the pending application for a village overlay zone to accommodate a planned 142-unit townhome project near the back entrance into Captain’s Cove.

After spending much of Jan. 17 constituents meeting giving a progress report on a number of issues affecting Cove residents, Wolff opened the meeting up to questions. Not surprisingly, he was asked about the townhome project proposed by CCG Note that is currently before the Accomack County Planning Commission for review.

“Right now, the Board of Supervisors is awaiting a recommendation from the Planning Commission [on whether to approve or reject the village overlay rezoning[,” Wolff said. He said he attended the planning commission’s Jan, 12 public hearing on the application and “heard all the comments.” He noted that the planning commissioners carried over the public hearing to Feb. 9 and will be hearing additional testimony.

“I’d be remiss to comment,” he told his Cove constituents. “All the information isn’t in,”acknowledging that he had received “a ton of emails” on the issues from voters in Captain’s Cove.

When news of the project first surfaced, Wolff seemed supportive, noting that it seemed to serve a demonstrated need for high end rental housing in the county.

His more neutral position may reflect an awkward political reality: A lot of voters in Captain’s Cove don’t care for the proposed project and Captain’s Cove makes up a large part of his district.

S

VATI GRANT -- At the Jan. 17 constituents meeting, Wolff said the VATI (Virginia Telecommunications Initiative) grant of $15 million for the two Eastern Shore counties is great news. The county and the Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority is awaiting receipt of a contract governing use of the funds, he said, adding that it should arrive the first week of February.

“Once it’s executed, we can move quickly t[o begin laying fiber optic cable in areas of Captain’s Cove that don’t have it],” he said, noting that “the engineering is already done.”

GREENBACKVILLE HARBOR -- Wollf announced that Todd Burbage of the Burbage Companies of Berlin recently donated 16 acres in the vicinity of the Greenbackville Harbor, including the building that houses the Crusty Crab Restaurant, to the Greenbackville Fire Department.

“There’s a severe parking problem in the area,” Wolff said. “We’re now talking (with the fire department) to obtain some of that land (to expand parking) for the Greenbackville Harbor.” He said it the expanding parking area would make the harbor more usable for boaters in the northern part of the county who use it to launch their boats.

RAILS TO TRAILS PROGRAM -- Wolff reported that the county has negotiated with a national company that will pull up old rails and ties that once served the old Eastern Shore railroad. The company is paying the county $1.2 million for the right to salvage the metal and creosote. Roughly 4.9 miles of railway from Hallwood south to Accomac on the way to Tasley” is in the salvage area, Wolff said.

The county in turn is paying out that same $1.2 million to Canonie Atlantic Co. to obtain the right-of-way, making this segment of the old rail line eligible to be transferred into a federal land bank.

Once the railroad right-of-way is cleared, the county will begin the process of converting it into a public trail system, similar to what’s been done in Somerset County from Marion Station to Crisfield, Wolff said.

It’s called the Rails to Trails program. Wolff said the county has been in talks with the Accomack-Northampton District Commission to “put the railroad into a federal land bank” system that makes the project eligible for grants.

The railroad right-of-way on the Eastern Shore is owned by Canonie Atlantic. Commercial rail service is still active from Hallwood to points north, Wolff said, adding that rail is still an efficient way to move materials used at the NASA launch center on Wallop’s Island.

The Accomack-Northampton District Commission has been looking at converting 50 miles of old railroad bed to bike and walking trails, from Cape Charles to Hallwood, for at least a year. A company that leased the railroad from Canonie shut down operations in 2018, except for operations north of Hallwood.

Wolff said the next step is to establish a foundation that will assist in the rails to trails conversion.

He’s been elected the foundation’s president. He said he’s looking for an executive director.

Later, Wolff said the county wants to retain the railroad right-of-way to accommodate public sewer lines possibly all the way up to Chincoteague, with wastewater to be treated at the NASA treatment plant.

“That’s why we went to the land bank,” he said.

ROCKET LABS -- Wolff reported that Rocket Labs, owner of a rocket manufacturing and launch business near the NASA center on Wallop’s Island, is in a bidding competition to build next generation rockets To Page 44

42 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS

Captain’s Cove Community Bulletin Board MARK YOUR CALENDARS ...

Summer Will Be Here Soon!

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Featuring DJ Donny • Summer Swim Lessons - Starting the End of June Wednesday evenings, Saturday mornings Private Lessons Also Available.

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CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS Ron Wolff

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 43

From Page 41 that could one day convert the Wallop’s into a launch center rivaling Cape Canaveral in Florida.

“Rocket Labs now has two launch pads in the running (for public funding) -- it’s in the top three -- for a manufacturing site right here in Accomack County,” he said. If the company is successful, it could result in 250 high-paying jobs coming to the county.

He said it’s possible that the company will be building rockets that will “bring back” the main stage rocket, resulting in considerable cost savings, and that one day “human flight” might take place from Wallops.

“This is important to the Shore and the commonwealth [of Viriginia],” Wolff said.

EASTERN SHORE PUBLIC LIBRARY -- Wolff reported that the new library in Accomac has encountered covid-related supply chain issues and won’t be completed sometime in mid-2022.

CONGRESSWOMAN ELAINE LURIA -- Virginia’s second district representative in the U.S. House of Representatives attended the meeting remotely. Introduced by Wolff, she presented herself as a member of the bi-partisan Problem Solvers’ caucus that reaches across party lines to reach consensus on difficult issues.

She fielded a number of questions from voters, including one by Cove member Larry Berger. He wanted to know her position on the continued presence of Americans in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and the botched departure of American troops. She positioned herself in opposition to the Biden Administration’s handling of Afghanistan issues. She’s a Democrat running in a swing district.

MANAGERS MEETING HIGHLIGHTS The following items were among those addressed during the Jan. 17 managers’ meeting in Captain’s Cove: • Community Manager Colby Phillips announced that a credit card machine had been added to the reception desk in the Marina Club as a “new convenience” to members who prefer that method of payment.

• She urged Cove association members to show their memberships at the front desk even if they’re well known by those working the desk. She said that this summer there may new staffers who aren’t as familiar with members and that it’s a good habit to get into.

• The s-curve with the deteriorated shoulder near the maintenance building will be fixed in late spring, when a contractor will repair the shoulder and resurface the roadway.

• Phillips said there’s been another revision in the floor plan for the Town Center building, with more still possible as the working group continues to meet. The latest iteration removes the fireplace and replaces it with a reception desk, where walk-ins can be directed to purchase bait and tackle or to the facility’s restaurant area or golf pro shop.

• She also unveiled a new graphic showing the status of capital expenditure (CapX as it’s called in Captain’s Cove). The graphic show expenditures to date against projected costs. She said that the graphic will be updated each month and presented at the manager’s meeting.

• An organized walkers group meets Fridays at 3 p.m. at the trails, with rain or snow an automatic “cancel,” Phillips said. Anyone in doubt can check with the Marina Club reception desk to verify if a hike is scheduled that day.

• Another lifeguard certification class will be scheduled in the spring.

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44 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022

CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS

FORECLOSURE SALE OF REAL ESTATE IN CAPTAIN’S COVE February 11, 2022, 10 A.M. To be held at the Marina Club in Captain’s Cove Subdivision 3323 Dock Ct., Greenbackville, VA 23356

The following properties will be auctioned: Section/Lot: 1-0911, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A1010009110 Assessed Value: $41,500.00

Section/Lot: 3-1424, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A30100142400 Assessed Value: $161,400.00

Section/Lot: 5-2567, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A40300256700 Assessed Value: $221,700.00

Section/Lot: 1-1025, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A10100102500 Assessed Value: $45,100.00

Section/Lot: 3-1440, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005a30100144000 Assessed Value: $228,300.00

Section/Lot: 7-0011, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A60100001100 Assessed Value: $163,700.00

Section/Lot: 2-0170, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A20100017000 Assessed Value: $5,000.00

Section/Lot: 4-2049, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A40100204900 Assessed Value: $243,300.00

Section/Lot: 1-1264, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A10100126400 Assessed Value: $2,500.00

Section/Lot: 3-1405, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A30100140500 Assessed Value: $43,700.00 Section/Lot: 3-1418, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A30100141800 Assessed Value: $41,500.00 Section/Lot: 3-1425, Captain’s Cove Tax Map No. 005A30100142500 Assessed Value: $41,500.00

TERMS: Minimum Bids will be announced prior to the start of the auction on the date of sale. Announcements made at auction time take precedence over any print, electronic, or verbal information, including but not limited to the Minimum Bid. Successful bidder will be required to deposit with Trustee a deposit (nonrefundable) in an amount equal to the lesser of $10,000 or 10% of successful bid in cash or certified funds at time of sale, with the closing to occur within thirty days of the date of said sale. Written one-price bids will be accepted for any of the properties pursuant to the terms set forth in Va. Code § 55.1-1833. There is no warranty relating to right, title, interest, or the like in this disposition. Property is being sold pursuant to Va. Code § 55.1-1833, and title will be conveyed pursuant to statute and subject to all liens or encumbrances as provided in said statute. All information for review by appointment only. Notwithstanding the Minimum Bids announced at the time of sale, the Trustee reserves the right to accept and/or reject all offers. Time is of the essence. Other conditions may be announced at the sale.

TRUSTEE: Pender & Coward, P.C., 222 Central Park Ave., Virginia Beach, VA Phone: (757) 490-6261 Email: capcove@pendercoward.com

OPINION

A

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 45

Some unkind, unneeded, unhelpful by-laws changes

ccording to OPA President Colette Horn during a meeting of the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee Jan. 22, there seems to be a rush on to bring some proposed changes in Ocean Pines Association by-laws to referendum, thereby conceivably having these changes available to govern this summer’s Board of Directors election.

What a mistake that would be.

Director Frank Daly back in December indicated that he would be presenting some proposed by-laws changes having to do with candidate eligibility at the board’s February meeting.

That timetable was pushed up.

Initially Daly’s proposals, after merging with another set proposed by the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee and vetting by OPA Attorney Jeremy Tucker, were going to be unveiled in a special meeting of the board on Thursday, Jan. 27. That didn’t happen.

By Jan. 28, the Daly proposals surfaced. They’re posted on the OPA Website, along with other suggested by-laws changes proposed by Horn and Director Doug Parks.

The special meeting to consider them is now set for Monday, Feb. 7 beginning at 8 a.m. Most of the proposed changes are benign and won’t garner much interest.

A few that seem to target newly seated Director Rick Farr and former candidate Stuart Lakernick will garners lots of interest.

Feb. 7 could be a contentious day,

LIFE IN THE PINES An excursion through the curious by-ways and cul-de-sacs of Worcester County’s most densely populated community

By TOM STAUSS/Publisher especially during Public Comments.

In remarks during the Dec. 11 monthly board meeting, Daly had said “there are too many gaps” in the OPA’s election process -- or “too many problems” in the way this past summer’s election unfolded -- to allow another board election under existing rules to take place this summer.

Daly said he had been waiting to unveil his proposed changes to OPA governing documents that pertain to elections -- that would be the OPA by-laws -- until such time as the judge in the Richard Farr vs. OPA litigation rendered his decision, providing some clarity on qualifications to run for the board.

That judgment surfaced in a big way in early January, but not in a way that Daly or most of his colleagues would have liked. Essentially Judge Campen delivered a rather stern rebuke of the way the board handled the election this past summer.

He declared that the board had inserted itself into the electoral process contrary to OPA by-laws and had performed in bad faith in doing so.

Daly was cited for his conflicted vote for a do-over election, which never happened because of Judge Campen’s ruling in favor of plaintiff

Rick Farr. On the judge’s order, Farr is now a duly elected and certified member of the Board of Directors.

Which segues into the question of why Daly or any of his colleagues would be in a hurry to bring any bylaws changes involving candidate eligibility to a referendum vote in order to govern this summer’s board election.

At best it would be another iteration of a board inserting itself politically into a process that needs to be depoliticized. At worst it could be construed as petty and vindictive payback.

Rather than filling gaps in the process or somehow addressing problems that the Farr litigation uncovered, the board dealing with voter eligibility on an expedited timetable would perpetuate division in the community and would exacerbate rather than solve problems with last summer’s election That’s especially clear when Daly’s proposed by-laws changes are considered in detail.

Daly’s proposed changes: • would require that a candidate be “owner of record” for a minimum of three years prior to the January in the year of the candidacy, unless the candidates has served on an advisory committee for at least a year.

Depending on how the term “own-

GUEST COMMENTARY

Another attempt to divide and segregate

T

his commentary is not to intended to start a nasty name-calling dialogue. However, we as a community must stand together against things our board is doing to divide and segregate us.

The new proposed by-law changes are doing just that. To disallow a large number of people from running or serving on our boards in the future is not good for OPA. Many who live here are retired and have made the decision to put their homes in trusts. Others have made the decision to have their property in a corporate name. It is

now being proposed that they can not run to represent us.

One proposed motion: If you have or had a lawsuit against OPA you can’t run. So you can’t fight against an injustice done to you like Rick Farr did?

Another motion being proposed is a residence requirement of three years to run for the board.

Finally, if your spouse or family member living with you has had a felony, you can’t run for 10 years.

Why should a family member be punished ?

All these draconian measures

have been proposed by Director Horn and Daly without input from the Bylaws and Resolutions Advisory Committee who are the ones charged to do this not our directors going rogue.

It is becoming obvious this is payback to those who opposed them.

This is not what our community needs.

Please write to the directors if you oppose these vindictive and retaliatory motions at directors@ oceanpines.org. We need change.

Esther Diller Ocean Pines

er of record” is defined, this proposal could keep Farr from seeking re-election if he remains a trustee or trust beneficiary of the Farr Family Trust that owns the home where he resides in Section 6. Any attempt to transfer title of the home into his own name could be too late to make him eligible as a candidate under this proposed by-law change.

But why should he even have to consider a title transfer? The implied prejudice against a trust ownership arrangement, as though it is somewhat inferior to names on a deed, is really quite irrational.

• would disallow a candidate who is a plaintiff or defendant in litigation involving the OPA. This could have prevented Farr from running for the board once he filed his lawsuit against the OPA that accused the board of improperly decertifying him as a candidate this past summer.

Of course, he never would have filed suit had he not been booted from the ballot two weeks before voters were supposed to be counted.

Ironically, this proposed change apparently would also apply to any sitting director running for re-election, as pointed out by a member of the by-laws committee during a Jan. u

The Ocean Pines Progress is a journal of news and commentary published monthly throughout the year. It is circulated in Ocean Pines and Captain’s Cove, Va. 127 Nottingham Lane Ocean Pines, Md 21811 PUBLISHER-EDITOR Tom Stauss stausstom@gmail.com 443-359-7527 ADVERTISING SALES Frank Bottone frankbottone@gmail.com 410-430-3660 CONTRIBUTING WRITER Rota Knott 443-880-3953

OPINION

46 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022 Life in the Pines From Page 45 22 meeting. Apparently that snafu has been fixed.

• would prohibit OPA members from running for the board if they or their spouses have been convicted of a felony within ten years of May 1 in the year of the election.

If this misguided provision survives board scrutiny or is approved in a referendum, it would prevent Stuart Lakernick from running for the board this summer because of his wife’s felony conviction last year.

Horn has said that Tucker doesn’t like this proposal, but it made it through the vetting process anyway.

It’s among 28 motions for by-laws changes that are on the agenda for the Feb. 7 special meeting. While most of the proposed changes are benign, this one is not, targeted at two Ocean Pines property owners.

Here’s some additional context. Sad. At the Jan. 22 monthly of the board, OPA member Jackie Kurtz urged that directors take this pledge: “I agree to take the pledge to think before I speak. Before you speak or post ask yourself if what you are going to say is true, is kind, is necessary, is helpful. If the answer is no, maybe what you are about to say should be left unsaid.”

Horn said all of the board members received the proposed pledge from Kurtz and they all responded to her individually, endorsing the sentiments in her email.

“I wanted to share it with the

LETTER Support for the OPVFD I wanted to write in regards to the article in the paper where OPFD is asking for more money for staffing. As someone who has been an active first responder for the OCBP and the OCFD Dive Team, and has worked closely with these positions, let me share a little description of their job.

On an average day, people don’t typically think about the worst happening at any moment, but then a sudden pain fills your chest, a family member has an asthmatic episode, or maybe someone close to you begins to have an allergic reaction. After a call to 911, Emergency Medical Services’ job begins.

Does response time matter? Yes! For a small subset of patients, EMS response times are a critical matter of life or death. We just don’t know if the next patient will be one of those. The thinner the resources and longer the response standard, the more likely those outliers will happen in many communities.

As Director Daly stated, “the main concern

public because I think it applies to all of us and I would hope that we would all in our attendance and participation at our meetings also take this pledge,” she said.

This pledge is incompatible with the spirit and letter of the Daly proposals made posted on the OPA Website Jan. 28. They are unkind, unnecessary and unhelpful.

Either the board can keep the pledge or move forward with bringing the unhelpful Daly proposals to referendum. It can’t do both.

But that’s just the beginning of

Managers’ meeting highlights From Page 43 Phillips said that Jim Lukens had passed the most recent class and is certified and will be joining the Cove guard staff when outdoor pools open Memorial Day weekend. She said that it’s possible the pools will open before Memorial Day this year. New pool furniture is on order, with some lounge chairs to be restrapped rather than replaced to save money.

• General Manager Justin Wilder (whose title is currently the topic of discussion) conducted a compliance hearing on the McDonald property on Brigantine Boulevard, in which no owner of the property attended to defend against allegations that junk vehicles or vehicles with missing registration are or have been present on the property. He recommended Feb. 14 start-date for daily fines of $10 per vehicle found in non-compliance, which he said gives the property owner plenty of time to remove the offending vehicles. The executive team attending the meeting offered no objection to Wilder’s recommended remedy.

• Wilder said he and consultant Chris McCabe would be conducting at the end of April what will become an annual survey of bulkheaded property in Captain’s Cove to determine which ones are in need of repair because of missing sections or deterioration. Notices of violations will then be sent out to property so they can steps to make the need repairs or replacement, he said. Surveys will also be conducted after major storms during the year.

• Julia Knopf, sales and marketing manager, discussed cancellations and postponements caused by the recent covid surge but said that February should bring a restoration of normalcy. She mentioned the Valentine’s Day

should be how rapid emergency responders arrive” and “We, as a board, need to consider that as a sacred time” and he is absolutely correct.

The Ocean Pines Board needs to consider increasing staff funding for the largest community in Worcester County, Ocean Pines. When you have an EMS unit driving to PRMC with a driver and a medic in the back taking care of the patient, what happens when another emergency comes in?

Their ask of having four full time positions on a 24/7 schedule is NOT asking a lot. especially when considering the safety of the community. Possibly if the board would spend less money on legal counsel, they could positively fund something that is a true need for the Ocean Pines community.

Colby Phillips Berlin Editor’s Note: The latest iteration of the 202223 budget for the OPA includes full funding for the OPVFD EMS request.

the problem with these proposed changes. As Farr attorney Bruce Bright argued persuasively in the recently concluded court case, the OPA Charter and Declaration of Restrictions (DRs) for Section 6 and elsewhere allow equitable owners of Ocean Pines to run for the board.

Changing by-laws so that’s no longer possible sets up a conflict between these governing documents.

It’s the job of the board to harmonize them, to make them consistent, not to create more conflict in the name of reform.

Daly’s final proposed motion calls for a special meeting to consider changes to the OPA Charter, which presumably is designed to resolve some of that conflict. It doesn’t, as language in the DRs defines “owner of record” to include equitable owners such as trust beneficiaries or trustees. DRs are not easily amended, requiring an affirmative vote of a majority of property owners section by section. Changing the charter by super majority vote of the board doesn’t change that inconvenient fact.

weekend and recommended reservations. She noted a NASA rocket launch on Feb. 19 and said the Marina Club might open early that day, depending on whether the launch actually happens as scheduled. Trivia night is set to return Sunday, Feb. 20. The chocolate event killed by covid will be rescheduled, possibly in April, she said, and the disco night also felled by covid will be rescheduled for late March.

• Golf course superintendent Andrew Leach reported that good rains have filled up ponds on the golf course and he’s feeling optimistic that the course will be in good shape in the spring. The course is open weather permitting with carts usually allowed on fairways.

• Maintenance Director Jimmy Giddings reported that dredging around the Cove marina was nearing completion and that the crew should be moving over the to canal closest to Swan Gut by the end of January.

He mentioned roof repairs at the Marina Club, issues with the indoor pool that seemed to be resolved and then required another fix, and that crews had been out early to deal with snow removal.

• Security Director John Costello reported 50 security calls in December, with 30 of them involving requests for community services. He reminded residents not to feed feral cats or other animals, because it can lead to rabies and other diseases in the local fauna.

Phillips said there had been 784 total security calls in Captain’s Cove during 2021.

• In answer to a question in the Member Forum, Phillips said that proposed daily fees for use of the Cove pools would be presented to the Board of Directors at its next meeting. Staff has been meeting with the Aquatics Advisory Committee to come up with revisions.

February 2022 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 47

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48 Ocean Pines PROGRESS February 2022