June 2021 Ocean Pines Progress

OPA members vote to curb board spending powers

JUNE 2021

Former Ocean Pines Association Director Slobodan Trendic’s two-year crusade to reduce board spending authority has been vindicated.

Ocean Pines property owners, in referendum balloting that concluded with a hand vote count May 14, delivered a resounding rebuke to the Board of Directors.

By a margin of 2,531 votes in favor and 1,358 against, OPA members voted to reduce board capital spending authority without a referendum to $1 million. ~ Page 18

Viola, Tucker itemize 2020-21 OPA legal expenses

~ Page 10

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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY

COVER STORY

Ocean Pines real estate a red hot commodity

Janasek dissents on short-term rental strategy While the Ocean Pines Association shuffles forward with plans to adopt Worcester County’s regulations regarding short term rentals as part of the declaration of restrictions in all sections, one member of the Board of Directors is calling for better enforcement by the county.

Director Tom Janasek during a May 15 discussion of a proposal to incorporate the county’s existing regulations and licensing requirements into the OPA’s restrictions said that’s not where the board should be focusing its attention. Instead he said the board should pressure the county into actually enforcing the laws on its books and offered to lead a grassroots effort to do so. ~ Page 8

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Depleted inventory results in multiple offers and quick turn-around

By TOM STAUSS Publisher t might be the hottest, strangest real estate market in Ocean Pines’ 50-plus years as a year-round resort-recreational community.

The inventory is the lowest on record, hovering in the low 20s. Homes that are listed and reasonably priced attract multiple offers almost immediately, keeping the supply low. With escalation clauses routinely included with offers, sellers often realize selling prices that exceed the initial asking price.

It is, as isn’t news to anyone who follows local real estate, a robust seller’s market.

“The range of 20 to 25 homes at any time on the market has been very constant,” local Realtor Marlene Ott said recently. “There were 49 under contract the week before Mother’s Day. In the last 90 days, a couple of hundred homes have sold in Ocean Pines.”

Waterfront property in particular are hot commodities. Ott mentioned a pending sale of a home on Clipper Court that had an asking price of $585,000. It attracted five offers and is awaiting settlement $41,000 over asking price.

Can it last? “[The seller’s market) seems to be going on,” she said in a May 15 interview. “People are not moving out of Ocean Pines like they once did. There literally are no rentals available in the area right now. The inventory

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stays constant because most homes attract offers as soon as they’re listed.”

The intense sellers’ market is good for sellers, of course, but Ott cautions that it can be very frustrating for buyers.

“Some have come out on the losing end after making offers on five or six homes,” she said.

On May 15, there were exactly 24 homes listed for sale on the Coastal Association of Realtors Web site.

One waterfront home was listed for $745,00, and five homes ranged in asking price from $535,000 to $589,000.

There were no homes listed in the 400s, but there were five ranging in price from $325,000 to $379,000.

There were ten homes listed in the 200s, ranging from $224,000 to $295,000.

The inventory below $200,000 was sparse, with three homes available from $159,000 to $199,000.

The $159,000 home on Abbyshire Lane was a true outlier, with the interior partially gutted and offered for sale “as is” as an investment property needing extensive renovation.

Ott said that people who are thinking of selling need to be aware that while they may well attract offers in excess of the original asking price, the same phenomenon is true elsewhere in the greater Ocean City area and in other locations.

That means any profit they might make on an Ocean To Page 3

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That may be one reason that the inventory of resale homes in Ocean Pines is the lowest on record.

Other factors she cited include city people wanting to escape the city, enabled by the “new Internet economy” allowing people to work at home from almost anywhere.

Ott draws a contrast with the last peak sellers’ market in Ocean Pines and elsewhere. During the 2007 and 2008 peak, she said demand was driven artificially high by extremely loose lending standards.

“This is a different situation,” she said. Lending standards are much tighter, with appraisals more realistic and lenders refusing to offer mortgages greater than the appraisals.

“Back then, you got a mortgage if you passed the ‘mirror test’,” she said. “Stated income was all you needed on [many] mortgage applications. If you saw your reflection in a mirror, you were able to get a mort-

gage, whether you could afford the home or not.”

Many couldn’t, and a wave of foreclosures was the unhappy result. In Ocean Pines, an unblemished history of constantly escalating prices came to an end, although not as precipitously as in such markets at Las Vegas and parts of Florida.

Regulatory reforms should make that kind of hard landing less likely to happen in Ocean Pines in the current environment, Ott said.

“Appraisers are picked at random and no longer have the cozy relationships that made bad deals happen (in 2007 and 2008),” she said.

“When values tanked after the peak, a lot of buyers were left underwater on their loans.”

Tighter lending rules should help avoid the kind of crash that occurred after the 2007-08 peak, she said.

Ott indicated that average sales prices have already recovered from the post-peak decline but are now substantially higher than they were in 2007-08.

“I think they are higher, especially waterfront homes,” she said.

“Back then, the average sales price

idea to offer a home to a tenant for purchase if you no longer want to rent it out,” she said.

She acknowledges that would require a level of benevolence that may not be prevalent at a time when final prices often are the result of multiple offers with escalation clauses.

The number of unimproved lots in Ocean Pines available for purchase as of May 15 was nine, reflecting Ocean Pines’ near build-out status.

The lowest priced interior lot, on Woodhaven Court, had an asking price of $48,900, followed by a $75,000 lot on White Horse Drive and a $79,900 lot on Tortola Lane.

The only other lot available for less than $100,000 was a $98,000 proprty on Ocean Parkway.

Lots with asking prices in the $100s included a $110,000 property on Dog Leg Court, a $125,000 property on Brandywine Drive and a $179,000 lot on Wharf Court.

Two waterfront lots were on the market as of May 15. One on Beaumont Court had a selling price of $389,900. The other one on Watergreen Lane was for sale at $319,900.

was in the range of $150,000 to $175,000. Now the average price in Ocean Pines is about $280,000.”

Will the market keep going higher in the current climate of low interest rates?

Ott thinks it might have some staying power, especially as the economy generally seems to be undergoing an inflationary wave, with building supply materials and the price of groceries and gasoline on an upward spiral.

The impact of the robust buyers’ market has had a dramatic effect on the rental market.

“I recently tried to help out a client and called Hileman Real Estate (a local firm that handles a lot of rental homes for their owners),” Ott said. “They had no homes available for rent.”

Sensing that this is a good time to sell their rental properties, owners are not renewing the leases of even long-term tenants, Ott said.

That creates a situation in which renters are having to look for rental homes in a market of increasing scarcity.

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Daly, board debate short-term rental regs Town Hall planned on proposal to amend restrictive covenants

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ollowing an outcry from owners of shortterm rental properties, the Board of Directors has pulled the plug on plans to adopt Ocean Pines Association-specific licensing requirements in favor of simply mirroring Worcester County law regarding rentals of fewer than 28 days, but still wants the ability to issue fines for violations of the code.

During a May 15 meeting, directors held another lengthy discussion regarding how to address problem properties that are used as short-term rentals, including asking property owners for the authority to fine those who violate the county’s licensing requirements. They plan to schedule a Town Hall meeting to present the latest proposal for regulating short-term rentals to property owners prior to the Board’s regular June meeting.

Director Frank Daly, who has led the two-year long effort to implement some oversight for shortterm rentals in Ocean Pines, said the board has given clear indications that it does not want to eliminate short-term rentals. “We do not want to disrupt the short-term rental market in Ocean

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Pines. But what we want to do is be able to deal with problem properties when they crop up in a more effective manner than we’ve seen done in the past.”

Daly said the OPA’s attorneys have recommended pursuing an amendment to the declaration of restrictions in each section of Ocean Pines to incorporate Frank Daly language regarding regulation of short-term rentals that exactly follows the Worcester County code.

“No more restrictive, which is direction from the Board; no less restrictive, which is the rule under Maryland’s law,” he said, adding “if you’re renting short-term and you’re in compliance with the county, you’re going to be in compliance with Ocean Pines. No questions asked.”

The proposed amendment to the restrictions will also give the OPA the ability to establish penalties for violation of short-term restrictions.

“That’s where we found the shortcomings with

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the existing law at the county level,” Daly said.

Changes to the restrictions will require a section-by-section vote of property owners. A majority of the property owners in each section of Ocean Pines must vote in favor of the changes for them to be incorporated into the restrictive covenants for that section. The declaration of restrictions for sections developed after 1995 already give the OPA the authority to levy fines, a practice which has never been implemented.

“Now, from a practical standpoint, our job is to stay in our own lane and not to deal with anything that goes on down in Snow Hill. We’re going to continue that. But every single stakeholder that we’ve talked with from the county has explained to us clearly that they do not have the resources nor do they have the budget to increase the resources to enforce their current legislation.

So that falls upon us to do that, and we can do that with this attorney recommendation,” Daly said.

OPA President Larry Perrone questioned how the OPA will enforce the regulations. “What’s going to be the mechanism?” he asked Daly. u

6 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OCEAN PINES

Short-term rentals From Page 5 Daly said the OPA can simply use its existing Compliance, Permits, and Inspections process that is complaint-driven. “So that is, if you’re well behaved, there’s no complaints.

But any property that violates the restrictions will be subject to compliance actions just like a property that has maintenance complaints.

“The truth is we have never experienced a problem with a property that has a Worcester County shortterm rental license. But with properties that are rented short-term that don’t have that license we’ve had mega problems and so has the county,” Daily said, adding that “if you have a complaint we’ll address it. But if there’s no complaint, we’re not going to go out looking for trou-

ble. And that’s how we do it with our regular DRs. And quite frankly it works really well.”

Director Camilla Rogers asked what property owners will need to do to file a complaint about a problem at short-term rental property.

Daly said the police department wants people to call 9-1-1 so the complaints are logged in that system. He said stopping by the Ocean Pines Police Department or calling the non-emergency number doesn’t have the same impact. He said one of the reasons it was difficult for the county to take action against a problem property on Abbyshire was that neighbors were reluctant to call 9-1-1. That stopped police from pursuing a course of action to remedy the situation.

Rogers also asked if the OPA is still considering requiring inspec-

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tion of homes as part of the rental licensing application.

Daly said no, but added that property owners will have to submit a floorplan and accompanying photographs of the house with their application. He said requiring photos will help ensure that property owners don’t “cheat” by showing closets, ingress/egress, and other building features that do not exist in order to increase their approved occupancy.

As an example, he cited two short-term rental properties listed in Ocean Pines, both with the same occupancy at 16 people; one is 6,000 square feet and the other is only 1,700 square feet. “It just doesn’t make sense,” he said.

Director Doug Parks said the OPA needs to find a consistent process of enforcement. He cautioned that since the restrictions must be amended section by section there is the potential for some sections not to approve the proposed amendments leading to inconsistencies.

“I think we need to bear that in mind as we go forward and promote the idea of some level of consistency when it comes to enforcement of short-term rentals as we go through all of the sections of Ocean Pines,” he said.

Perrone noted that revising the restrictions is not a referendum process. “It’s a straight up/down vote” from the owners in each section.

Daly agreed and said the OPA has the ability to do multiple mailings to property owners in order to garner majority support in each section.

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Director Colette Horn supported the need for consistency of process.

She said there are typically three types of problems that occur with short-term rentals, including noise, parking, and trash. She asked if there are regulations the OPA can use to address those issues.

Daly responded that Worcester County’s code does address noise and litter and the OPA should consider incorporating language from the code into its new restrictions regarding short-term rentals.

As for the issue of parking Daly said “Nobody wants to touch parking at any level of government that I’ve been able to identify on the Eastern Shore.”

He said there is generally a neighborly understanding that you can park along the streets every now and then for activities likes parties.

The problem with some short-term rentals is that adequate parking isn’t available on site so renters regularly park on the street, causing problems for other residents.

Daly said if the OPA enforces parking requirements for shortterm rentals, then it also needs to enforce them against all residents, even if they may just be parking along the street to go to a friend’s anniversary party. “In that case we should follow the old wisdom of let a dead dog lie,” he said, suggesting that the OPA stay out of the parking enforcement for now and deal with it in the future if necessary.

“It sounds like what you’re saying is that we need to adopt the county regulations,” Horn responded to Daly. She agreed that there is a parking culture that lends itself toward being neighborly in Ocean Pines. But, she added, “with the proliferation of short-term rentals, this is not a once a summer event. It’s an every weekend event for some of these people, and that good neighbor culture does not prevail.”

Roads in Ocean Pines are public access. Perrone said there is nothing police can do about people parking along the streets as long as they are not blocking driveways or the street.

Daly said he intends at the board’s regular June meeting to introduce a motion to move forward with the process to amend the declaration of restrictions in all sections of Ocean Pines to incorporate language to regulate short-term rentals. In the meantime, he suggested the board hold a Town Hall meeting to get community input on the proposal.

Perrone agree to schedule one at a date to be determined.

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Janasek dissents on short-term rental regulations

Proposes group to press county for more enforcement

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer hile the Ocean Pines Association shuffles forward with plans to adopt Worcester County’s regulations regarding short term rentals as part of the declaration of restrictions in all sections, one member of the Board of Directors is calling for better enforcement by the county.

Director Tom Janasek during a May 15 discussion of a proposal to incorporate the county’s existing regulations and licensing requirements into the OPA’s restrictions said that’s not where the board should be focusing its attention. Instead he said the board should pressure the county into actually enforcing the laws on its books and offered to lead a grassroots effort to do so.

“Here’s my issue,” Janasek said after Director Frank Daly presented the OPA attorney’s recommendation for simply adopting the county’s language into all restrictive covenants throughout the community, instead of creating its own rules.

The recommendation also includes seeking approval to fine any property owner that violates the rules.

“It’s always been my issue. It’s never gonna

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change. I don’t believe that we need another enforcement issue in the Pines, restrictions on anything,” he said.

Janasek said he certainly doesn’t believe the OPA needs any regulations and enforcement structure focused on short-term rentals because the county already has those in place. The county has the authority to issue, revoke, refuse, or suspend any short-term rental license.

“My opinion is this has been such a hot topic and we’ve talked about this. We have enough people behind it in Ocean Pines to put a little pressure on the commissioners to actually start enforcing all of these regulations …” Janasek said, adding, “they’re making all the money. They’re putting it in their pockets. I pay my $200 per rental property to them every year.”

To applause from members of the audience, he said the county just needs to “pay somebody to enforce these things.”

He said the OPA has enough to do within Ocean Pines to enforce the existing declaration of restrictions and guidelines without doing the county’s job too.

“I just don’t see us getting involved in that,” he added.

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Daly told him to get his group together and lobby the Worcester County Commissioners for action as a private citizen. He said that is not the board’s purview.

“In the meantime, we have first-hand experience with the county law and a problem property. It didn’t work,” he said, referring to a former short-term rental on Ab- Tom Janasek byshire Road about which neighbors had numerous complaints. He said there were complaints about parking, noise, and trash at that property.

Daly said the owner refused to comply with the county law or to get a short-term rental license.

Even though the owner was cited by the county and issued fines, it took months for the issue to make it to court. When it did, the court ordered a $500 fine. The matter was only finally resolved by the sale of the property, he said.

“Let’s talk facts, not fantasy,” Daly said, adding that the final resolution of the problem on Abbyshire had nothing to do with county enforcement. The matter was only finally resolved by the sale of the property, he said.

Daly said the property owner was charging $400 per night for the rental every one of the 102 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The property brought in $43,000 in rental income and only had to pay a $500 fine.

Janasek said lot of the operators of short-term rentals don’t want to see properties like the one that was operating on Abbyshire. “They don’t want to see that because it’s a black eye on them.

“We do the job somebody else should be doing on their legislation. But guess what? It’s then us handling our problem with our neighbors with a problem property rather than going down to Snow Hill,” Daly said regarding the proposal for the OPA to incorporate the county rules into the restrictive covenants for all sections and to do the enforcement.

As for the county staff, he said “they’re not going to be able to drive by every day on a single house in Ocean Pines. They don’t want to do it. They’ve been instructed not to do it. They don’t have the resources to do it.”

Janasek said the county should hire more staff to do the job. “I just believe our focus should be on getting the county to do what they say they’re supposed to do. Rather than us coming up with a whole new set of rules and regulations, and doing it ourselves.”

Daly agreed that maybe the county should be doing more to enforce its code, but if it will not do so then the board has a responsibility to act. “I think we are remiss in our duty as a board when we can do something to alleviate a problem.”

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10 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021 Janasek dissents

From Page 8 plement a grassroots effort to pressure the county into being more proactive on short-term rental violations within Ocean Pines.

Director Camilla Rogers said “I’ll be more than happy to sign up for that.” She noted that if the OPA adopts regulations on short-term rentals, the OPA can seek an injunction from the courts to stop such use on problem properties until violations are resolved.

Director Colette Horn also supported a grassroots effort to encourage the county to ramp up its enforcement of its rules. But, she said, it needs to be timely and have significant penalties attached to violations.

“It sounds like what you need to be focusing on is encouraging county to engage in timely enforcement,” she told Janasek.

But, she said, that is not something that will have an immediate impact.

Rather it would be months or “half a year down the road from the infraction” and the penalty for violation will need to be more significant, she suggested.

Horn said the county has already told Ocean Pines that “they can’t do timely and they can’t do significant”

OCEAN PINES and that’s why the board is considering taking action. “The failure of the county to do what they should be doing does not absolve us of our responsibility.”

OPA President Larry Perrone said he previously spoke with Worcester County Commissioners Chip Bertino and Jim Bunting about the issue of short-term rentals.

He said they both made it clear they were not going to push for enhanced enforcement, and both of them voted against the county regulations.

“I didn’t say it was easy. I just said let’s go in that direction and try it,” Janasek said, adding “If you don’t ask, you don’t know.”

Daly wasn’t optimistic that the county will make any extra effort at enforcement.

“Abbyshire started five seasons ago and the can has been kicked down the goddamn road five years,” he told Janasek. “And going your route will kick it down for six.”

Still, Daly told Janasek to start his grassroots effort to encourage the county to increase enforcement.

He said that effort can run parallel to the OPA’s internal process of incorporating the county code language and authorization to fine for violations into the declaration of restrictions. Other directors agreed with the two-track approach.

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Viola, Tucker itemize bills for lawsuits, investigations

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors’ involvement in various lawsuits and investigations of directors and Ocean Pines Association employees this past year generated some negative publicity for the OPA. But it also carried with it a stiff cost in legal expense, mostly billed to the OPA by the Bethesda, Md., law firm Lerch Early and Brewer.

In a recent email to the Progress, General Manager John Viola said the OPA incurred roughly $160,000 in legal expense in 2020-21.

Of that, $10,000 was billed to the OPA by the law firm of former OPA General Counsel Joe Moore, which has been working in tandem with Lerch Early on the short-term rental issue.

According to Viola, the OPA spent $50,000 in two lawsuits this last year, handled by a lawfirm hired by the OPA’s insurance company. Another $50,000 was spent on board issues and investigations authorized by the board. Another $50,000 was spent on covid-19 compliance, collections of delinquent accounts, contracts, general legal counsel, and a monthly retainer.

Jeremy Tucker, the lead attorney with Lerch Early who does much of his firm’s legal work for the OPA, provided additional detail of this past year’s work load in response to a request by the Progress in late April.

Tucker said that the investigation last year of the possibility of OPA department heads conspiring to undermine the general manager cost $13,981.

An investigation of Director Tom Janasek that included a Board Resolution B-08 complaint filed against him by OPA President Larry Perrone on behalf of Viola cost $7,743. It included interviews, associated board meetings and preparation of a report.

The Nate Douty wrongful discharge suit, in which the OPA prevailed, cost the OPA $426 in Lerch Early fees, with most expenses covered by insurance, after the OPA paid a $25,000 deductible.

The Colby Phillips B-08 complaint against Perrone, including interviews, associated board meetings, and report preparation, cost the OPA $19,318.60.

The issue of whether the OPA is charging too much in so-called convenience fees when OPA members use credit cards to pay for assessments or amenity memberships was researched by Lerch Early and cost the OPA $1,232.

The issue was raised by former OPA Director Slobodan Trendic and may lead to a lowering of the fees next year, according to Viola.

Tucker said his firm billed the OPA $352 for advice in the lawsuit against the OPA filed by Trendic to force a referendum on board spending authority. Costs associated with the suit were covered by insurance, after the OPA paid a $25,000 deductible.

The OPA’s loss in the Trendic lawsuit did eventually result in a referendum, costing the OPA $3,334 in related Lerch Early legal fees.

Tucker said there were additional disclosure costs associated with the management review and the Phillips’s B-08 complaint against Perrone. These disclosure reports, including meetings, legal research on attorney-cleint privilege waiver, employment claims and defamation, preparing opinion letters and supplemental reports, as well as preparing public statements and corresponce, cost the OPA $13,187.

According to Tucker, all of these items combined cost the OPA $59,78.30.

“Of this total, $54,229.60 relate the Management Review, the Janasek B-08 Matter, the Philips Complaint, and the Disclosure of the Management Review and Phillips Investigation Reports. The Management Review refers to the investigation and preparation of the report related to the possibility of OPA staff members undermining the General Manager,” he said.

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Daly offers proposal to repeal board ethics and conduct policy Invites committee to draft changes by June meeting

ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer rustrated by the way that the controversial Board of Directors ethics and conduct resolution has been applied, one director wants to completely repeal it. Director Frank Daly during a May 15 meeting introduced for first reading a proposal to repeal in its entirety Resolution B-08, Director and Officer Ethics and Conduct, saying it isn’t working as originally intended.

“While developed and passed with the best of intentions, Resolution B-08 has become this association’s poster child for unintended, and bad, consequences,” Daly said in presenting his proposal to the full board.

“In my time on this board, we have had three B-08 complaints. In my opinion none have measured up to the standard of excellence and fairness that we expect of each other and that the community expects of us,” he told his colleagues Director Tom Janasek took issue with introduction of the proposal, saying he would have appreciated a heads-up from Daly and that the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee should have had the opportunity to provide input.

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“We put together committees for a reason,” Janasek said, adding it would have been nice to let the committee know that the issue was being brought before the board. He said he has “a real issue with this coming up” and not knowing anything about it.

He acknowledged that Daly said in previous board meetings that if no action was taken by the committee that he would present a proposal. Still, he said it “would have been nice to reach out” and let the committee know his intent.

“That’s all. Just the communication,” he said.

“Tom, your point is well taken,” Daly responded. But he reminded Janasek that in previous meetings he expressed intent to call for action by the May 15 board meeting. In fact he made the pronouncement in meetings that were reported in the local media.

“B-08 is in serious trouble,” Daly said, adding that he gave notice that if the committee didn’t “come up with something” he planned to put a motion forth to repeal Resolution B-08. “That in effect puts the ball in your court.”

Janasek agreed but added “I’m just saying we have an issue with

communication on this board as it is.” As a courtesy, he said, Daly could have shared his plans with the committee.

Daly said he is willing to entertain a “friendly amendment” to his motion for repeal of Resolution B-08 if the committee meets and drafts an alternate proposal.

“The committee has 30 days to come up with the recommendations that they would like. My first reading is to strike it out in its entirety. I would assume that if you guys are following the by-laws, that your friendly amendment for the second reading will come in with a marked up version of B-08 that’s called for in the book of resolutions with the changes that you all want as a work group to fix the known deficiencies that we haven’t. And you have 30 days to do that.”

Daly said the resolution as it’s been interpreted and applied has prevented the board from publicly identifying who makes a complaint, who the complaint is against, and the nature of the complaint during three recent cases where B-08 complaints were filed against board members.

“This resolution has completely prevented the accused of making

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any comments to defend themselves.

It has prevented answers to totally appropriate questions from association members. The procedures employed have raised fair, and serious, questions regarding due process for both the accused and accuser,” Daly said.

All three B-08 complaints to date have had serious problems with the complaint, according to Daly. “The practice of a board member writing a complaint on behalf of an employee, who is not involved in its drafting or even consulted before it is shared with the board, is unreasonable,” he said.

“The complaint should be written by the person making the complaint, not a board member who at some point will be asked to render a judgment on it. It should clearly state what the complaint is, why it is being lodged, and the specific remedy or remedies requested by the person making the complaint, not some intermediary,” he added.

Another area that is problematic is notification of the complaint to the board, Daly said. “This should be done within minutes, not days.

The board being notified of the complaint by the complainant’s spouse in a late-night email is totally unacceptable and unfair to all parties.”

That was a reference to a complaint filed against OPA President Larry Perrone by former department head Colby Phillips late last year.

Daly and his colleagues learned of it when her husband Duane wrote an email to them asking why there had been no response.

Technically, when the email was received, the complaint had not been elevated to B-08 status. Under current practice, although B-08 does not specify this, a B-08 complaint has to be drafted on behalf of an employee by a director.

Weeks after the original complaint was filed by Phillips, Director Colette Horn wrote up the comTo Page 14

Legal costs

From Page 10 Tucker said his law firm was not “directly involved in any other matter” related to Janasek.

The rest of his firm’s legal fees last year were comprised of collections, other human resources issues, contract review, lease negotiations, resale disclosure review, COVID-19 related work, general legal counsel on multiple issues, the monthly retainer, and other items, Tucker said.

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From Page 12 plaint of behalf of Phillips, who was not given a copy of it.

Basic information regarding the complaint should also be made available, but under B-08 it is not, Daly said. Who is the complaint being made against and who is making the complaint should be public information, not a public guessing game, he added.

Daly said the investigation process for any complaint needs to be defined in advance, well publicized, and followed in all cases, and all investigations should follow a basic written procedure.

All parties need to know, in advance, who will be conducting the investigation and why, and who the investigators will interview and will not be able to interview requires precise definition, he said.

“The current resolution lacks these basic, fair concepts,” he said.

What will happen after the investigation is complete and the timelines involved also needs to be clearly defined, communicated, and followed, as does how and when the results of any investigation will be available to both the accused and

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the accuser, Daly said.

“Currently they are not,” he added.

“The ability of all parties involved to address the board before any judgments are made are not included in B-08. Another reason it must be rescinded,” Daly said.

He told this colleagues that any hearing should have a pre-defined protocol that is clearly communicated to all parties and the community at large.

The community “must be made aware of and have sufficient time and information to review before any public hearing is held. What restrictions, if any, on witnesses or public participation should be clearly defined and communicated. Currently they are not,” Daly said.

“My final issue involves potential penalties. B-08 was supposed to provide the ability to penalize conduct short of removal.

“Yet the first vote B-08 requires is a vote for removal. Another reason to rescind until, or unless, B-08 is substantially modified to address its shortcomings,” he said.

A second reading of Daly’s proposal to repeal Resolution B-08 will be held at the board’s regular monthly meeting in June.

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16 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OCEAN PINES

David Hardy becomes fourth OPA board candidate Lisa Romersa announces she’s no longer running

By TOM STAUSS Publisher avid Hardy, a Vietnam veteran and Army officer who retired from the reserves in 2013, and who’s currently employed as a civilian engineer at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in Aberdeen, Md., has become the fourth Ocean Pines property owner to file as a candidate for the Board of Directors.

Lisa Romersa, who had announced her candidacy in April, has withdrawn from the race, according to a post on oceanpinesforum.com. Some administrative details delayed official acknowledgment of her withdrawal.

“I wasn’t pushed away,” she said of her decision. “I decided on my own accord it wasn’t the best decision to continue at this time for me.”

A chain of posts on the forum between Romersa and former OPA director Esther Diller, founder of Facebook site Get Involved, suggests that Romersa may have been encouraged to withdraw her candidacy as a possible aid to the candidacies of Stuart Lakernick and Tim Farr.

Hardy has been a homeowner in Ocean Pines

D

for about three years and expects eventually to retire in Ocean Pines full-time.

The candidates for the Ocean Pines Association election to be conducted over the summer include one incumbent, Frank Daly; one candidate from last summer, Lakernick, making his second run for the board; and two newcomers, Farr and Hardy. The filing deadline was May 10.

Hardy has had experience in local government, having served for two, three-year terms on the town council of Framingham, Mass., about 20 years ago. He’s had 30 years of experience as a civil engineer in the Army and as a civilian.

“I wanted to see first hand and influence how tax dollars were spent,” he said of his venture into the governmental arena back then. He’s similarly motivated in his run for the Ocean Pines Association board.

He said he’s aware of numerous complaints from OPA members “about access to the board and having their views represented by directors.

I’ve heard complaints about how money is being spent and how policies are made.”

He said “it’s time for new people to represent

the community. I believe in total transparency and respect for everyone’s views.”

Hardy declined to state how he voted in the recent referendum that resulted in an almost two to one majority approving a curb on board spending authority on capital projects.

“But I think a board shouldn’t have a blank check” to spend OPA dollars, he said, adding that both sides had “reasons to vote as they did.”

On the issue of regulating short-term rentals, Hardy said the OPA “has to be careful when you make policy on what somebody can do in his home.” He said Worcester County, which already has a short-term rental law on its books, is better positioned to do the enforcement “A county has building inspectors and an office for looking at violations,” he said. “They have the power to levy fines. There’s already enough people looking over our shoulders,” seeming to suggest that he was more aligned with the thinking of Tom Janasek, a director who’s on record as believing that Worcester County needs to ramp up enforcement of its law on short-term rentals by hiring more inspectors and other enforcement personnel.

Daly, the architect of a proposal to regulate short-term rentals by amending the Declaration of Restrictions section by section to incorporate the county’s regulations and to add new authority by the OPA to fine chronic offenders, has said u

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June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 17

County expands Ocean Pines Service Area

C

Commissioners act to accommodate a planned 78,800 square foot commercial development

ommercial redevelopment of an 11.5-acre property on Route 589 will be allowed to connect to the Ocean Pines Service Area for water and wastewater. Following a public hearing on May 4, the Worcester County Commissioners unanimously agreed to expand the service area to include the proposed 78,800 square-foot commercial mixed-use development, which will consist of a restaurant, car wash, office, retail, and contractors’ shops.

Wave Holdings, LLC, on behalf of the owner, Margaret Bunting, requested an expansion of the sewer planning area for the Ocean Pines Sanitary Service Area to include the entire 11.5-acre property located on the east side of Route 589, north of the intersection with Gum Point Road. The approval will also reclassify the sewer and water planning areas with no planned service with service to be provided within two years.

The property is just south of

David Hardy From Page 33 the OPA needs a fall-back strategy for enforcement should the county decide not to ramp up its enforcement efforts.

Janasek’s last public pronouncement on the issue suggests that he will oppose the strategy of amending the DRs. Hardy said he’s sympathetic to both Janasek and Daly’s points of view, saying there has to be a middle ground. “I don’t want my property degraded by nuisance homes next to me,” he said.

In general terms, Hardy said he believes Ocean Pines is “run fairly well.”

Coming election-related events include the candidate draw on Friday, June 4, at 10 a.m., during which ballot order and seating at candidate forums is determined; and the first candidate forum, on Wednesday, June 9, from 7-9 p.m. in the Assateague Room of the Ocean Pines Community Center. A second forum is scheduled for Saturday, June 19, from 10 a.m. to noon, also in the Assateague Room, if the Elections Committee determines it’s needed.

Ballots will be sent out in early July, with their return required by Wednesday, Aug. 11.

JanuaryPines’ 1st Section 10, and west Ocean of lands owned

by We Steen thru January 18th. will Associates, where a new section of Ocean open January 19th.

Pines called Triple Crown Estates is planned.

Bob Mitchell, county director of environmental programs, reviewed

the project and advised commissioners that the project is both feasible from an engineering and economic standpoint and desirable for the health, safety, and welfare of the property owners and their customers in the expanded service area.

The Worcester County Planning Commission found the project to be consistent with the county’s Comprehensive Development Plan and granted the application a favorable recommendation. u

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18 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OPA members vote overwhelmingly to curb board spending authority Trendic says two to one margin vindicates his two-year crusade

By TOM STAUSS Publisher ormer Ocean Pines Association Director Slobodan Trendic’s two-year crusade to reduce board spending authority has been vindicated.

Ocean Pines property owners, in referendum balloting that concluded with a hand vote count May 14, delivered a resounding rebuke to the Board of Directors.

By a margin of 2,531 votes in favor and 1,358 against, OPA members voted to reduce board capital spending authority without a referendum to $1 million.

In promotional advertising released during the one month allowed for ballots to be returned, the board urged OPA members to vote against the referendum.

One claim in the promotional material, that a Yes vote would result in annual referendum on bulkhead replacement spending, was rebutted by a former OPA assistant treasurer, Gene Ringsdorf, and Director Frank Daly, who wanted to issue a retraction with an apology.

Even while critical of the claim regarding bulkhead spending, Daly declared himself a staunch opponent of the referendum’s aim. He said the way it was drafted makes it easy for a future board to circumvent it by breaking a project into separate components, applying language in the OPA by-laws to avoid the $1 million threshold.

To more precisely and effectively curb board spending authority, Daly suggested another referendum that would amend the by-laws to close what he regards as a loophole.

Despite Daly’s criticism, neither a retraction nor apology occurred.

Ringsdorf in a letter to the board and in public comments said that bulkhead funding is exempt from a referendum because it is paid for mostly through funds raised from waterfront property

F

Service area expansion From Page 17 Attorney Hugh Cropper, representing Wave Holdings, LLC and the owner, concurred with county staff’s findings and asked the commissioners to approve the requested expansion.

Project Engineer John Salm said the proposed project will pay for itself, resulting in no cost increases to the existing OPSA ratepayers.

Upon a motion by Commissioner Chip Bertino, the commissioners unanimously adopted Resolution No. 21-8 expanding the OPSA for Wave Holdings, LLC.

owners in higher annual assessments, sometimes called the waterfront differential.

He argued further that bulkhead replacement is not capitalized in a manner alluded to in the referendum question. Most capital spending in Ocean Pines is capitalzed from funds raised by funding depreciation of OPA capital assets. These funds are allocated to the Replacement Reserve.

Bulkhead replacement is funded directly from the bulkhead and waterways reserve that is replenished each year from revenues collected from the waterfront differential. Bulkheads, which are for the most part privately owned in Ocean Pines, do not appear on any OPA asset list. The OPA has more or less a contractural obligation to maintain and replace bulkheads as needed according to OPA governing documents.

When Ringsdorf made his points again in a recent board meeting during Public Comments, President Larry Perrone said he couldn’t comment on advice of legal counsel. Ringsdorf was unable to disguise his disgust with that response.

How much what Ringsdorf and Daly regarded as a misrepresentation of the mechanism used to replace bulkheads figured in the outcome of the referendum isn’t known.

But Trendic in a statement to the Progress after the vote count said he believed it undermined board credibility on the issue, making it less possible for the board to rely on the trust of OPA members to support its No position.

Trendic said the “misstatement” on bulkhead replacement spending followed a series of missteps by the board, beginning with the decision to reject, in the summer of 2019, a petition with slightly more than 800 signatures asking for a referendum on board spending authority.

OPA Attorney Jeremy Tucker on behalf of then OPA Secteary and Director Colette Horn rejected the petition on narrow semantic grounds, which flabergasted Trendic at the time because he used a published OPA template in drafting his petition.

He sued on behalf of himself and petitioners, eventually winning a Worcester County Circuit Court battle over the validity of the petition with the OPA. Circuit Court Judge Beau Oglesby last December with little to no explanation ruled in Trendic’s favor, ordering a referendum consistent with the by-laws.

It took several months to work out details of a settlement agreement and the subsequent scheduling of the referendum. Ballots were mailed out the second week of April.

Because of complaints that surfaced last year with the process used in the annual balloting for the OPA board, the Elections Committee under

OCEAN PINES the chairmanship of Steve Habeger decided to count the ballots by hand, taking over roughly five hours to accomplish the task.

Trendic and his wife stayed in the Community Center’s East Room, venue for the count, throughout most of the morning and afternoon until the results Slobodan Trendic were written on a whiteboard. Joining him were Josh Davis, director of Public Relations and Marketing for the OPA, who was there recording the event for later posting on the OPA Web site. Others drifted in an out throughout the five hours of counting, among them OPA President Larry Perrone.

After Habeger announced the results, Perrone left the room without speaking.

At the board’s May 15 meeting, during President’s Remarks, Perrone thanked the Elections Committee for its work in hand-counting the ballots. He avoided making any substantive remarks on the outcome.

The practical effect of a reduced spending threshold is limited in the forseeable future.

General Manager John Viola said there is no capital expenditure in the $1 million to $1.8 million range that is in the pipeline for consideration by the board and newly subject to the lower spending limits.

In a written statement to the Progress, Trendic said that “two years ago over 800 members signed my petition that suggested lowering board spending authority to a fixed $1 million for any single capital expenditure. When the association rejected the petition we had to spend thousands of dollars in legal fees to defend our effort in court. The honorable judge Oglesby ruled in our favor and ordered that OPA advances our petition question for a referendum vote.”

Trendic said the overwhelming majority of voters in the support of his referendum “illustrated that members want to be involved in major financial decisions affecting our community. Consider these total ballot numbers. In the last year board election a total of 2,759 ballots were counted and in the 2019 that total was 3,073. For my referendum question a total of 3,889 ballots were counted. This clearly says the members want the opportunity to voice their opinion on how the association’s money is being spent. And that they wish to have some control on any large capital expenditure over $1 million.

He said he was “grateful to all who supported me during this two-year journey. A big thanks to the members who volunteered their time and to the members who made financial contributions.

I would also like to extend special thanks to my attorney, Bruce Bright. His legal expertise made it possible for us to successfully defend our petition in court.”

Trendic called the referendum outcome “an important collective accomplishment for all of us. My plan is to continue to advocate on matters that are in the best interest for the majority members as long as I am part of this great community.”

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 19

20 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

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Board adopts revised GM succession plan Reverts to language requiring a GM to have a college degree

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer fter realizing that proposed policies do not require two public readings prior to approval, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to adopt new succession planning and position description documents for the role of the Ocean Pines Association’s general manager.

The documents provide guidance for the board in planning for succession in the general manager’s position and establish specific qualifications and skills that applicants must have to be considered eligible for the position.

Director Colette Horn presented the documents for consideration during a May 15 meeting, introducing them for first reading as if the

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Board needed to follow the same process as that established for approval of resolutions.

Director Doug Parks quickly pointed out that nothing in the OPA’s governing documents requires two readings of board policy documents. “You actually don’t have to in this particular case have a first and second reading for acceptance of policy documents, “ he said, adding “We have the option of accepting these updated documents today.”

Parks said that the requirement for two readings is in the OPA’s own governance documents and applies only to board resolutions.

Horn said it would be her preference then to have the board adopt the policy documents at the May 15 meeting. Parks offered a motion to accept the succession planning

and position description documents as presented, with Director Camilla Rogers giving a second and the board voting unanimously in favor.

The board worked with an outside consultant to develop a succession process for internal candidates for the general manager position and to update the job description and create a list of required qualifications and skills for use in either an internal or external search for a successor. The documents adopted by the board are the result of the work done based on the consultant’s recommendations.

Horn added that the documents were generated in consultation with General Manager John Viola and the consultants. She said some revisions were made to an earlier copy given to the board based on the in-

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June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 21 put from the consultant and based on discussion of a work group tasked with moving the project forward.

Under general manager qualifications and required skills, the document lists a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in public administration, business administration, economics, or related field but also says a master’s degree is highly desirable.

A previous interation of these qualifications said relevant experience in the field could offset the lack of a college degree. Director Frank Daly had made that change to accommodate a former OPA department head, Colby Phillips, who then was on a track to succeed Viola when he opted to retire. Phillips has since accepted a position as senior general manager of the Captain’s Cove Golf and Yacht Club, a property owners association.

Daly told the Progress that a reversion to previous language requiring a college degree would not prevent Phillips from applying when the GM role next needs to be filled.

[See article on next page for details.]

22 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OCEAN PINES

New GM succession document would disqualify Colby Phillips for position when Viola retires

bate at its May 15 monthly meeting, the minimum requirement of a college degree is restored.

The language would seem to disqualify Phillips for the job of OPA general manager when Viola decides to retire or the board decides not to renew his contract.

She has pursued HOA-manageDaly says job requirements could be changed if she applies ment classes but does not have a July 2016Ocean Pines PROGRESS 53 OPINION four-year college degree.

By TOM STAUSS “General Manager and Required The October 2020 document, refession reportedly sets a range of 30 to 70 percent as Clarke points Since to three years of cumulative Yacht becoming senior general Election Commentary acceptable limits ACC funding.

Club deficits. Clarke and Gomsak, elsewhere in this Publisher Skills,” it waswithin written in such a wayforleased as partThe of aOPA GM succession manager of Captain’s Cove, a comFrom Page 52 currently funds its replacement reserve at the low end edition of the Progress, spar over which three years all-out from former department to give Phillips a boost in her effort plan, removed a previous requirelocated in the Eastern Shore by the multitude of candidates. of the “acceptable” range. should be usedmunity for analytic purposes. head isColby departure to succeed Manager John Thompson ment that a future GM have Supik seen Phillips’s as a Thompson cheerleader, and General For what it’s worth, reportedly has would Let’s look atof the two years thehas newsaid facility been Virginia, she shehas has no someone the mold of Pete Gomsak, a former recommended 50 percent funding ACC,degree to be toopen.

An OPA member could take a look at the April fromin Ocean Pines Association Violaboard when he decides to retire. to haveofa the college be considinterest in returning to Ocean Pines 30, 2016, (end-of-fiscal-year) Yacht Club profit-loss member and current assistant OPA treasurer very achieved over ten years; the recommendation is conemployment last month continues. contract expires ered as a majority replacement Viola. in the GM position. to conclude that the new Yacht Club has much aligned with the Terry-Jacobs faction. His management tained in a document that the board won’tfor statement performed well Both Gomsak and Supik are Frank retired accountants, When Ocean Pines Director let him the OPA membership.

June 1 of next year,release but atocontract That requirement hasnot been reIn fianancially. recent text message to the The statement is posted on-line on the OPA Web both are ed with the reserves seems A 50 percenta funding still would a sig- is no Daly in identifi early October lastnotion year that re- OPA extension almost fait ac-levelstored now require that Phillips longer Progress, Daly recalled that the Ocsite (under forms and documents, monthly financials). are underfunded, and both are wedded to the idea nificant increase in the lot assessment, over a number leased a behalf a three-memcompli if heofwants continue as the most likely heir apprent to Viola. statements Operational exclude depreciation, which that theon OPA’s reserveoflevels should be tied to someyears, to and talking about assessment increases is tober 2020 document removed the appear in departmental summaries contained the thing called the annual component cost (ACC), a comnever popular, especially duringDaly, election season. ber working group a document titled OPA’s chief executive officer. lead in a three-member college degree requirement “to in make annual audited financial statement released in early putational confection conceived and embraced by the The rationale for keeping the document secret, acboard of directors working group sure thatnumbers Colby had a level August. The unaudited usually come playing close to accounting profession. cording to Thompson, is that it is a working document director Colette and the “offi cial” ones in not August.

Gomsak and Terry tried to persuade Supik to run involved in the updating andwith completion of the OPA’s Horn fieldavailable and that having a college The lanYacht Club’s operational loss in 2015-16 was for the board last year, failing to do so, but they sucongoing reserve study.

Camilla Rogers, came up with degree [would not be] an immediate $76,219; a year earlier it was $181,875. ceeded this year.

That’s absurd, because the document itself is comguage in the transition planning reason for disqualification.

I also Granted, the year-over-year improvement was sigIf anyone is the anointed candidate of this particuplete and has been referenced in one or two board STOP, LOOK & LISTEN--One Of A Kind! Ultra-Large Wooded Waterfront Lot last year thatnifi modified cant, but awanted loss is aany loss first and asweep $76,000 lar faction, it’s Supik in spades. meetings. Property owners document paid for that document, (ifloss we(plus adWith Approx. 200 Feet Of Bulkhead That Offers Southern Exposure, Unobdepreciation on a $5 million buildSupik has said that, as chairmanstructed, of the Budget andOf Large and it ought toGreens be released immediately. the previous requirement hefty that afunded GM vertised Panoramic Open View Lagoon, Fairways And Of Golf the position) to include as ing) this past year still requires a substantial subsidy Finance Advisory Committee, she isCourse. used1/2+ toAcre navigating willing to release it, but he’s beWith 31,597 Square FeetThompson Including Riparian seems Rights Allowing a overseers, bachelor’swho or masters degree. manylot qualified candidates as possithrough the annual assessment. in very roiled waters, forging a consensus inHouse a group ingOnstymied of his hold board in One To Build The Of Choice Located A Cul De Sac by Near some The Country Supikthe couldble. have shed more light on the subject with, at times, sharply conflicting views. this instance secrecy over disclosure trans-degrees, “In lieu ofandthese Club And Golf Course. Boating Is Minutes Away From Ocean prefer City And Atlantic had she indulged in less cheerleading on what the Other candidates over the years that Wooded Ocean.have This Is Thesaid Only Available Waterfront Lot Of This they Size Withfear that the Thompson recomparency.

Perhaps board will consider candidates who Counter intuitively, the reversion Unique And Ultimate Views. Shop Andmendation Compare! Possiblecould Short-Term Owner most recentl numbers actually say. they, like Supik claims now, can end board factionalbecome an election issue, adversely can demonstrate in the Financing Available.

Seller(Husband) Licensed To Sell Real Estate In candidates, The State Supik also seems firmly in the campa of replacing ism and infighting. It continues, despite the best ef- Isaffecting certain particularly Supik, expertise who to language requiring college deOf Maryland. (rather than repairing and meant renovating) existing ameforts of those who say they can end it. has been open in her viewpoint reserves are areathat of OPA community financial mangree is not to deter Phillips with the Country Club an example of that. The Factional infighting will probably continue regardunderfunded. agement, public safety nities, managefrom applying the GM position current minority faction favorswhen substantial renovation; less of who is elected this year. It goes with the terWhat they don’t seem to realize is that by keepment, public works management, it’s not certainnext where the majority stands.

Withsaid.

Supik ritory. It becomes ugly when the infighting becomes ing it secret, it could also have the effect of adversely becomes available, Daly part of the majority, the board would gain a voice personal, such as when one director says he’s going to affecting certain candidates,personnel particularlymanagement, Supik, even amenities Berkshire Hathaway PenFed Realty “I don’t think that change would strongly biased in the direction of replacement. throw a colleague through the wall for the temerity more so than if they had allowed Thompson to release Ocean Pines South Gate - 11001 Manklin Meadows Lane, Ocean Pines MD 21811 management and andThe recreaffect Colby the future,” Daly candidates most likely in to embrace Thompson’s of seeing issues differently. his recommendations, and their rationales, to the parks OPA ation management,” the document continued tenure general manager Supik, reSiOcean Pines’ ACC has been estimated at roughly membership.

410-208-3500 • 1-866-666-1727 (Toll Free) said.as“The [new collegeare degree] mon, Daly, Ray Unger, and probably Larry Perrone. $14 million, which could mean that OPA reserves are Supik also has come under fire from former board said. by any ©2020 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently operated franchisee of BHH LLC. Berkshire Hathaway Home-public statements to the effect Those who quirements like the statuscan quobe arechanged not without opunderfunded by $10 million ifowned 100and percent funding of Affiliates, member Clarke for her Services and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc. Equal In Yacht a new document boardbut members when comes tions.

Perhaps four too many, that’s how it is it this electhe ACC is the goal. that the OPA and the Ocean Pines Clubtransition is doing Housing Opportunity. tion season.

Actually, it doesn’t have to be; the accounting prowell financially. that the board approved with no de- – Tom timeStauss to search for John’s replacement.”

He noted that all seven directors agreed to the change, “so I don’t think anything was directed at ColThe Ocean Pines Progress, a journal by.” of news and commentary, is pubHe said as athroughout director the he year. would lished monthly It is circulated in Ocean Pines, Berlin, support potential qualified candiOcean City, anda Captain’s Va.the dates without degree, Cove, despite Letters and other editorial submislatest requirement, “so the changes sions: Please submit via email only. were notshould a slapbe atoriginal Colby.”and excluLetters Daly that she Include left thephone employ sive to said the Progress. for“on verifi cation. ofnumber the OPA her own terms, and if she applied for an opening I would 127 Nottingham Lane considerOcean her and sure others Pines,make MD 21811 would also.”

One PUBLISHER/EDITOR director, OPA President Tomhas Stauss Larry Perrone, told some OPA tstauss1@mchsi.com members that she believes Phillips 443-359-7527 currently lacks the financial manAdvertising Sales agement background he regards as Bottone essential to Frank running a large commu410-430-3660 nity association.

Phillips,ART whoDIRECTOR filed a hostile workRota Knott place complaint against Perrone that was subequently dismissed by CONTRIBUTING WRITER board, has told she would Rota friends Knott not want to work for an association InkwellMedia@comcast.net 443-880-1348 in which Perrone serves as a director.

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OCEAN PINES

Viola says golf no longer has structural deficit: ‘It’s fixed’

Aquatics operations will ‘take time,’ won’t guarantee break-even ‘any time soon’

By TOM STAUSS Publisher ot too many years ago, Ocean Pines Association golf course operations were the focus of ire by non-golfers for some rather spectacular annual operating deficits, with no end in sight. Aquatics operations, in contrast, aided by a revenue-sharing arrangement with Beach Club parking operations, reached a break-even status and even generated a surplus one year.

The combined parking-Beach Club pool membership was eliminated over a year ago.

OPA General Manager John Viola is projecting a $175,000 to $200,000 loss in Aquatics in the 2020-21 fiscal year that ended April 30, not bad considering that Perrone during budget preparation discussions this past January and February speculated that the deficit might reach $400,000 by the end of the fiscal year.

That dire prediction apparently won’t happen, but Aquatics has become the new outlier in amenity financial performance. Golf, in contrast, has become the new golden boy, even though it, too, will be underperforming budget when final numbers for 2020-21 come in.

Golf operations have a rhetorical champion in Viola, who often says during board meetings that, had it not been for a covid-induced financial meltdown in May and early June last year, golf operations would have broken even for 2020-21. He

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says that golf may even break even operationally for the first time ever in Ocean Pines in 2021-22.

During board discussion at the May 15 Board of Directors meeting, Director Frank Daly reminded everyone that, with the exception of Aquatics, all OPA amenity operations are close to breaking even or are producing healthy surpluses.

Marina operations and beach parking have been the traditional amenity cash cows over the years.

Marina operations last year were perhaps aided somewhat by covid because boat owners wanted to escape lockdowns on shore. Beach parking revenues fell behind budget, but appear to be bouncing back robustly now that covid is in the rear view mirror. Beach parking pass sales for the new fiscal year are “knocking it out of the park,” Viola said.

After lauding amenity operations for achieving break even or near-break status, consistent with OPA amenity policy, Daly said that Aquatics seems to be afflicted with what he called a “structural deficit” that makes achieving break-even an elusive goal.

Viola didn’t dispute that characterization, mentioning that precovid Aquatics had been budgeted to lose $130,000 in 2021-21.

Under covid conditions, when pool capacity was restricted to 50 percent for much of the past year, the projected loss of $175,000 to $200,000 might not seem that surprising, but Daly seemed to be leaning toward

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trying to find ways to reduce or eliminate deficits going forward.

Viola went on to laud golf operations as a kind of contrasting antidote to Aquatics deficits, a role reversal from several years ago.

Acknowledging again that golf will be unfavorable to budget for the fiscal year just completed, Viola said that “today -- May 15 -- there were 236 golfers on the course.

“Golf is fixed, it’s no longer structural,” he said.

Viola pointed to the new golf course and excellent course conditions as contributing to the Ocean Pines golf course’s new found luster.

While golf memberships are flat or declining slightly, outside play is on the upswing. aided by the new clubhouse in particular.

Viola said new equipment, from a rough cutter to a specialized green mower, has been responsible for

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 23 changes in perception about the Ocean Pines golf course, the other Robert Trent Jones course on the Delmarva Peninsula.

The golf course maintenance crew is working hard to avoid another August green burn-out. “We’re trying to correct seven years [of issues with green maintenance,” he said.

The same strategy of trying to upgrade the golf experience in Ocean Pines is being deployed at the racquet sports complex, Viola said, referencing new pickleball courts and a junior tennis court awaiting county approvals.

He then returned to the subject of Aquatics, which he said “we’re working on.”

He said reducing Aquatics deficits “will take time. We’ll have to look at membership [rates]. We’re looking at expenses and revenue,” adding that “I can’t guarantee that we’ll bring Aquatics to break-even [any time soon].”

That task is even more elusive with the announcement by Viola that group swimming lessons won’t be scheduled in Ocean Pines this summer because of difficulties in finding swimming instructors.

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24 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OCEAN PINES

Search Committee on the chopping block?

By-laws and Resolutions Committee says that the nominating panel doesn’t function as intended, and it may propose abolishing it or merging it into another commitee

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer “The Search Committee’s not aving outlived its usefulness been a very successful effort. It is hit to the Ocean Pines Associa- and miss in some cases,” Chairman tion, the Search Committee Jim Trummel said. While the bymay be on the chopping block. Alleg- laws called for the committee to be ing the committee doesn’t function formed each year by Feb. 1, he said as intended, is no longer integral to that has not occurred with any consecuring candidates for the Board of sistency; some years the board apDirectors, and the appointment of points the committee on time, some its members is an afterthought, the years it does not. The committee is Bylaws and Resolutions Advisory supposed to have five members, but Committee is considering a recom- currently only has two. mendation to get rid of it and assign Additionally, Trummel said the its duties to other committees.

Search Committee is charged with During a lengthy April 30 discussion, the committee rehashed the origins of the Search Committee, pondered its purpose, and considered how to better achieve the functions now designated to that standing committee. As part of an overall update to the OPA bylaws, the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee is reviewing Sections 5.02(b) and 5.02(c) related to the role of the Search ΊΙΙΛΘΟΎ΍ ψϟ ΎϊϝχϘϊ ΕϏχϔ Committee securing PrinceinGeorges Cntycandidates Md ΍χϚϋͧ йрͿкйͿлйкт for annual board elections. ΎϞϖ ϊχϚϋͧ йрͿкйͿлйлй Price: 98.500 (00.00) Ί΍и

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recruiting two more candidates for the board than the number of seats available in each annual election.

He said the by-laws imply that the committee should stop looking for candidates when it gets to the number. Finally, he said the submission of candidate application forms to the committee is irregular at best, and often the committee doesn’t even know who has filed as a candidate for the board.

“Obviously it’s not been a fruitful effort based on what’s in writing as

to how it’s to be done,” Committee member Keith Kaiser said. “So I think it’s a reasonable thing to put to the board to say that this clearly needs to be rewritten, replaced, revised, something, because what we have in writing is not what’s being accomplished.”

A work group appointed by the board to begin a review of the bylaws included the issues related to the function of the Search Committee in a list of focus areas for the Byu

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OCEAN PINES laws and Resolutions Committee to deliberate in revising the governing documents.

The by-laws were last updated in 2008, and at that time the former Nominating Committee, which had a similar function, was eliminated in favor of the Search Committee.

Under the Nominating Committee’s reign, property owners had to be nominated by that committee in order to run for the board.

“If you wanted to be a candidate you had to be nominated by that committee. You couldn’t get on that ballot unless that committee passed upon your credentials and it literally nominated you to be on the ballot,” Trummel said. Even then the procedure wasn’t really being followed.

So the community voted to do away with the Nominating Committee and create a Search Committee in the 2008 by-laws update.

The Search Committee simply has to find interested parties, and then the board secretary vets their applications to ensure they are eligible to run.

In practice, the vetting is done by the Membership Department, and the vetting amounts to little more than confirming that a candidate actually is an Ocean Pines property owner. Results are then sent to the board secretary.

Trummel said “a major problem has been the failure to appoint or make effort to appoint a committee.”

That’s the job of the board. He said during the last ten years he doesn’t know how often the board has met the Feb. 1 deadline for appointing the committee members.

“It is both a problem of recruiting people to get on the committee and an acknowledgment that a committee has to be appointed” he said.

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 25 Kaiser wondered why the Search Committee would even receive candidate applications if it is not in charge of vetting them.

Committee member Lora Pangratz said that may simply be to show the committee actually found candidates.

“If they’re not vetting them once they find an interested party to run and they’re not making sure that they fit all of the qualifications, would be good for that position, follow through and complete their term, all they need is just the names saying these are the candidates that have officially submitted applications. They don’t need the applications themselves,” she said.

She added that there should be at least two people vetting candidates, not just the board secretary, to ensure equity.

The consensus of the By-laws and Resolutions Committee was that the Search Committee by-laws needs to be addressed, but members want input from the Communications, Elections, and current Search committees before making a recommendation about what to do.

One approach could be to eliminate the Search Committee and transfer the board candidate search function as an additional duty to the Elections Committee, Trummel said.

Kaiser said it sounds like there is no longer a purpose for a Search Committee.

“I’m not sure why we have a separate Search Committee doing this function. It just seems like the Election Committee’s not working yet because the election hasn’t occurred.

So it seems like the Election Committee could be tracking candidates, making sure that you have enough.”

He said he is leaning toward doing away with the Search Committee.

Pangratz asked if the Elections Committee could handle all of its existing duties as well as the work of the Search Committee.

Committee member Bob Hillegass said when the bylaws were written there were not the variety of ways to solicit candidates that there are today and the OPA didn’t have a marketing department that can advertise the opportunities to serve on the board.

Trummel said staff could probably handle all of the work in promoting board candidacy opportunities to property owners. However, he said that would probably not be widely acceptable to association members.

Also, he noted that shifting those duties to OPA staff would result in a loss of opportunities for person-to-person contact that may engage potential candidates.

Pangratz asked what role the Communications Advisory Committee plays in advertising for candidates, and asked if that committee can take on that role if it doesn’t pay any part currently. She suggested the Elections Committee could start working earlier in the year and provide that one-on-one contact with

people interested in becoming Board candidates.

“You do need a point of contact for someone with questions,” she said.

“That’s where you get your one-toone.”

Trummel suggested asking the Communications, Elections and Search committees for input before discussing the issue further and said he will write a letter on the topic to the chair of each committee.

He said the by-laws review work group was created following an Executive Council meeting of the chairs of all advisory and standing committees with the OPA president last year.

The need for updated by-laws was posited and the board agreed to form the work group to begin the process, and it met to develop a list of initial focus areas, he said.

The By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee will tackle to language review of the entire document and develop any updated language for submission to the board.

Ultimately, any updates to the bylaws must be approved in a referendum vote of all Ocean Pines property owners.

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26 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OCEAN PINES

Strategic plan committee off to aggressive start Preliminary steps taken to conduct community survey that would help in devising new strategic plan for Ocean Pines

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he recently repopulated Strategic Plan Advisory Committee had hopes of having a draft of a community survey ready for review at its meeting in late May, according to a comment from committee co-chair Bernie McGorry during an April 24 meeting.

The survey is intended as an important step in gathering community opinions on what should be included in a draft strategic plan for Ocean Pines, which the committee hopes to have ready in draft form for board review relatively quickly, perhaps before the end of the year. A previous iteration of the committee tried but failed to produce a working draft before members drifted away.

McGorry, who presided over the April 24 remote committee meeting, focused members’ attention on the steps under way that he hopes will result in a survey draft to be considered at the next committee meeting.

One component of the process leading to a survey draft is to ask

T

each department head in Ocean Pines to conduct a so-called SWOP analysis of department operations.

SWOP is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Ocean Pines Public Relations and Marketing Director Josh Davis, one of three staff liaisons to the committee, will assist department heads in completing the SWOP analyses, which he said has received the support of General Manager John Viola.

Viola’s support is needed because an advisory committee does not have the authority to direct department heads.

Davis said he would be providing a sample SWOP analysis to department heads, who he said should be able to complete a SWOP analysis in about 15 minutes.

Committee board of directors liaison Colette Horn said she would be presenting the SWOP results to the board for review at its June meeting.

Another committee action item is the completion of reports “benchmarking” the OPA with other home-

owner association-governed communities.

McGorry said the purpose of the benchmark reports, which would be conducted by finding information on-line about other regional homeowner associations, would be to determine differences between those HOAs and the OPA. Differences could include demographics, population, amenities offered, governing structures, annual assessments and what services are included, among other metrics. The benchmarking will help with the drafting of the survey questions, McGorry said.

Committee members divided eight separate HOAs among themselves for benchmarking, which McGorry said could be completed by seeking out on-line sources for information. He told committee members that it shouldn’t be necessary to contact staff at the HOAs to gather the information.

During the April meeting, McGorry listed accomplishments of the committee since it began work with

new leadership in January. These included the involvement of board liaison Colette Horn, the addition of new members in February, the involvement of Finance Director Steve Phillips and Accounting Manager Julia Johnson with the committee, and preliminary discussions of the SWOP analyses and benchmarking other HOAs. More recently, there was some coverage of the committee’s restart in a local weekly, engagement of department heads in the SWOP analyses, and discussion of needing board approval for the purchase of software needed to conduct the survey of OPA members.

Horn, the board liaison, said she’s kept her colleagues apprised of committee activities and the likely need for funding support.

McGorry said even with the committee’s fast start, he said the committee will need to make more progress soon in order to deliver a strategic plan for board review in a reasonable amount of time.

He did a quick poll of all eight attendees of the virtual meeting, excluding himself, and all eight said they were confident the committee would deliver a draft plan for board review. Some members expressed concern whether a completed plan would be shelved by the board after initial fanfare.

Horn offered assurances that the directors are fully invested in the need for a strategic plan for Ocean Pines, noting that Viola, too, is interested in it because it’s a “deliverable” in his annual job evaluation.

McGorry said a plan based on facts and community input could have a shelf life of three to five years before it would need to be revised.

In addition to a new strategic plan, he said the committee could review the OPA’s mission and vision statements and might propose a revision.

Currently the mission statement refers to the OPA as a resort community, but McGorry said Ocean Pines has become a much more well-rounded, year-round community than the term “resort” connotes.

When the committee continued to debate community “buy-in” with its work product, Horn observed drily that the board gets a lot of opinion on community issues.

She suggested a Town Hall meeting on the subject of a strategic plan “to generate some discussion.”

Committee members agreed that a Town Hall was a good idea.

OCEAN PINES

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 27

Cured-in-place pipe project ends, saving the OPA about 75 percent over replacement Comes in $5,000 over budget at $212,000 underground pipes that coats the existing metal and then cures or hardens, extending the life of the existing infrastructure anywhere from 50 to 100 years.

Viola, in remarks during the Feb. 20 Board of Directors meeting, said the approach would be try the product in some areas where pipes are known to be failing. If it works as everyone hopes and expects, the plan will be to move to other areas, eventually extending the life span of about five miles of corrugated metal pipes.

He said there’s a 50-year warranty on the material, but its lifespan can extend to 100 years.

“It is a process that is well known [and] that comes highly recommended,” Viola said, adding that county officials suggested it to Public Works Director Eddie Wells. Vista Design, the engineering consulting firm in nearby Showell that the OPA often calls in, reviewed the proposal and endorsed it, Viola said.

The firm that did the work was Pelican Underground LLC of River Ridge, Louisiana. The successful bid was for $207,167.47, covering 632 feet of pipe in eight Ocean Parkway locations. u

By TOM STAUSS Publisher eneral Manager John Viola during a report to the Board of Directors May 15 said that the cured-in-place pipe, or CIPP, project had been completed by the week of May 5, with the contractors from Louisiana having arrived April 25 to start.

The innovative epoxy liner alternative to full pipe replacement was implemented at eight Ocean Pines locations, including four separate piples under Ocean Parkway by Route 90. Other locations were 215 Ocean Parkway, 159 Ocean Parkway, at 736 Ocean Parkway (two pipes), 30 Offshore Lane, 102 Robinhood Trail, Fosse Grange and Pintail Park and Ocean Parkway.

Viola said the project came in over the budgeted $207,000 by $5,000, with a final cost of $212,000.

He attributed the over-run to the need to bring in extra ice to cool materials used in the project to acceptable temperatures and also to rent a vacuum truck to remove debris from the pipes before the liners were intalled.

The liners are an epoxy product “blown into”

G

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OCEAN PINES

the cost to the OPA per foot was $223.16. Viola has said the contract From Page 27 amount is a significant savings It turned out to be 950 linear feet, to what the OPA was planning to because in one location there were spend on drainage improvements in four pipes 81 feet in length side by these areas. side and in another location two, 75“This is coming in well above a foot pipes.

50 percent savings, compared to the Unlike some recent OPA conventional method that we have contracts, this one was the low bid, been using all along,” he said.

40 Pines PROGRESS July - Early August withOcean the closest bid from another OPA2014 Director Frank Daly has the performance matters program inLouisiana-based compnay coming estimated the cost of conventional School board stead. in at $293,842.

The third bid from replacement at $1,000 per linear From Page 40 Zanich and Henderson gave brief a Montana-based company was overview so the savings appears be of the program, how it istoused, ties and to have a health and wellness foot, and the of an data $6,000 more the second lowest about 75benefits per cent off assessment the estimated committee site than coordinator who oversees system. this bid.committee. cost of conventional replacement.

The performance matters platforms In the area of staff wellness, the polthe that finalthecost of $212,000, Hestudent said the could data. manage link andOPA educator The icy At states Worcester County

Cured-in-place pipes

public school system will promote staff health and wellness by providing a variety of organized programs for staff, designed to enrich and improve their nutritional, physical, mental and emotional well-being.

The Board of Education during its June 17 meeting also heard an update on the performance matters program.

Worcester County Public Schools uses a variety of types of data to create its master plan, goals, and instructional programs.

“Over the years we have discovered that this could be an arduous task. It had become an overwhelming burden to our teachers. We searched for a way to support our teachers in the use of this data,” Coordinator of Instruction Stephanie Zanich and Data Specialist Rebecca Henderson said in their written report to the board.

The school system started using a program called Edusoft but quickly discovered it was not robust enough. Using Race to the Top funding, it purchased

data is used to drive the decisions made by teachers, administrators, board members and parents to improve student learning and educator performance. The system can be used for teacher observation and evaluation.

“We believe that in using data we can better meet the needs of every student.

It is part of our success in helping our students be successful for life.” Zanich said.

The school board also adopted an updated educational facilities master plan, which is required annually to be submitted to the Maryland Department of Planning by July 1.

The 2014-2015 Plan is presented in five sections: goals, standards and guidelines; community analysis; enrollment projections; inventory and evaluation of school facilities; and facility needs analysis. All five sections have been revised to reflect current information, including updates on the successful bidding phase and start of construction for the Snow Hill High School renovation and addi-

the cost of a multi-year CIPP program, similar in execution to the OPA’s bulkhead replacement program, if Public Works determines that the condition of OPA’s pipe infrastructure allows it.

In an letter to OPA staffers, Vista Design engineer Richard F. Polk said the product has been used by his firm’s clients on the other side of tion project and the completion of the Showell Elementary School feasibility study.

The plan outlines the challenges facing the schools system, including population growth, aging buildings, technology needs, and changing program needs.

A major renovation and addition or replacement school project at SES has been prioritized in both the school system’s educational facilities master plan and the capital improvement program for many years.

In May, the school board voted to move forward with planning for the construction of a new Showell Elementary School, based on the results of the Showell School feasibility study. The board accepted the recommendation of the architectural and engineering team led by Becker Morgan Group to proceed Water withfreely the design of a replacement school flows at an anticipated cost of about $37 milthrough lion. pipesThe retroconsultant determined that the fitted with construction costs were comparable for renovating epoxy liners and expanding the existing school versus building a completely new (left). facility. Because of the extensive nature A pipe with of the renovations and expansion that newly in-be required, the cost of that opwould tion was stalled linerestimated at $36.8 million. On the other hand, the consultants said a (right). brand new school could be constructed

the Bay Bridge.

His firm “found it to be a costefficient method for lining failing pipe networks. The obvious benefits of the CIPP method include limited, or no, disruption to overlying streets or driveways, reduced time to perform the repairs, and reduced costs compared to open cut pipe replacement.”

WORCESTER COUNTY

on the same SES property for slightly more at $37.4 million.

Overall, after including design and management fees, playground equipment, movable equipment, portable classrooms, phasing of the renovations and additions, technology costs and miscellaneous costs like inspection fees, it will be less expensive by about $4 million to build a new school than renovate and expand the old one.

The cost of keeping the current building but renovating it and adding on was $44.8 million while the total estimated cost of building a new SES was just $40.9 million.

Finally, during the meeting the school board approved the fiscal year 2014-2015 operating budget for Worcester County Public Schools.

The budget includes funding for salary step increases for eligible employees, a longevity step, a .5 percent cost of living allowance, a 3 percent increase for bus contractors and an 8 percent increase in insurance rates. The budget also includes major expenditures of $354,000 to replace gymnasium floors at Berlin Intermediate, Pocomoke Middle and Snow Hill Middle schools, $144,000 to replace gymnasium bleachers at Stephen Decatur High School and $200,000 in non-recurring costs for student technology.

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 29

OPA FINANCES

Board OKs ‘earnest money’ for Jenkins Point restoration Perrone warns against additional funding requests

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer cting to protect the shoreline and improve water quality near the Yacht Club and Osprey Point section of Ocean Pines, the Board of Directors on May 15 approved designating $10,000 to begin design and permitting for the Jenkins Point restoration and resilience project. Despite a unanimous vote to move forward with the project and the lure of grant funds, the Ocean Pines Association president is warning that the OPA may ultimately be asked for more money.

Director Doug Parks offered the motion to approve the expenditure, which was given a second by Tom Janasek and authorized in a unanimous board vote.

Parks said the expense will establish a commitment by Ocean Pines to move forward and work with the Maryland Coastal Bays Program to request funding from the Department of Natural Resources for the proposed project.

The Jenkins Point project includes the design, permitting and implementation of a natural restoration of Jenkins Point, an eroding peninsula in the Isle of Wight Bay, to strengthen natural infrastructure.

That will help protect the community from the increasing frequency and intensity of coastal storms resulting in shoreline erosion and flooding, advocates say.

OPA President Larry Perrone said he supports the project, but said the homeowners association was originally told by MCBP that “we would not be chipping in.” He said the intention was for grants to cover the entire project cost.

“My concern is that when we were first contacted about this and we had discussions with Maryland Coastal Bays the commitment was that Ocean Pines would not have to incur any expense with the engineering portion of it. That was their initial commitment,” he said.

Perrone said he doesn’t want the same thing to happen on the Jenkins Point project that he says happened with the recently completed Bainbridge Pond project. Again, he said the OPA was originally not going to have to help fund that project.

“My concern is ... what happened with the Bainbridge project. We were originally told things and in fact as

A

we moved further on down the pike we’re paying over $250,000,” Perrone said. “I agree $10,000 is no problem. I’m gonna vote yes for this.

But I want to make clear that this is what we’ve been told before.”

Perrone said he is concerned that as the project moves forward “they’re going to come back to us with more engineering costs.” He said he wants to make sure directors go into the project with their eyes open, “that

we’re not thinking this is going to cost $10,000. I hope I’m wrong. I hope that $10,000 earnest money is basically what this is,” he said.

Janasek supported the motion saying the project will do a couple of things for Ocean Pines, protect Osprey Point, the Yacht Club, and Pines Point Marina areas from damage by nor’easters and other storms and create an opportunity for vegetative growth and marine life that

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filters the water.

“As far as the money goes, $10,000 obviously is just the earnest money,” he said. “The money we spent at Bainbridge, yeah it wasn’t what we anticipated but it was a project that was so long overdue.”

Janasek said the board needs to be more attentive to the Jenkins Point project to ensure that the cost to the OPA doesn’t snowball like it u

30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OPA FINANCES

Professional Services

ed the $10,000 expenditure for initial project work. He said the board From Page 29 needs to make it clear to the comdid for the Bainbridge Pond work. munity that the Jenkins Point “is a The board needs to “be on top of project to clean water and to protect it, and approve funding for it as a our shoreline. It’s not a drainage Dental Services board,” while making sure directors project.”

Daly said there are two types of are not surprised by the final cost, water-related projects that occur in he said.

Janasek said the plans for the Ocean Pines, one is a clean water restoration of Jenkins Point are very track and one is a drainage track.

“People tend to confuse them,” important, adding “if we can get it he said, adding that “this (Jenkins done, I am in full favor.”

D.M.D., is notP.A. a stormwater manDirector Frank Daly also support- Points)

Jenkins Point

Gerard F. Ott, Jeremy Masenior,

agement project.” He said he sus- age,” he added. pects that after one heavy rain the Daly noted that to maintain the OPA will hear complaints about the existing drainage system in Ocean Bainridge Pond project not correct- Pines as it was originally designed ing all of the drainage problems in with underground pipes and ditchthat area. But, heContractor said, that was Home not esImprovements on 20-year rotating program, the Contractor --Home Improvements its intent. base annual property assessment Janasek said the Bainbridge Pond would have to increase by $1,000. work is a drainage solution but the “So when somebody throws only reason DNR granted funding around drainage. Let’s do a drainage for the project was because of the project. Understand the magnitude water quality improvement aspects. of the numbers we’re talking about Serving Ocean Pines Since 1985 “Otherwise there was no DNR and why past boards have kicked grant. It [DNR] won’t fundAdditions, drain- the can down the road,” Daly said. decks, porches, garages,

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June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 31

By-laws Committee grapples with ‘independence’ of ARC Committee debates whether some sort of appeal process should be instituted

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer n order to resolve a long-standing question about the authority of the Board of Directors to oversee the Architectural Review Committee as part of an update to the Ocean Pines Association’s governing documents, the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee wants to review the matter with an attorney.

During an April 30 meeting, the committee discussed the notion that the board can supersede decisions made by the ARC and agreed to request input from the OPA’s legal counsel before recommending any changes in language to section 5.13(h) of the by-laws.

Jim Trummel, chairman of the By-laws and Resolutions Committee, said the concern with this section of the by-laws is that it may be in conflict with a provision in the Declaration of Restrictions for older sections of Ocean Pines which states that decisions of the Architectural Review Committee, formerly the Environmental Control Committee, are final. Section 5.13(h) states that “The Board may establish and enforce policies, including fees, and procedures for the Environmental Control Committee,” which is now known as the ARC. Trummel said a work group appointed by the board to initiate a by-laws review pointed out this area of concern. The work group forwarded a list of focus areas for the committee to consider in revising the bylaws, which haven’t been updated since 2008, and suggested the committee request authority to address this question directly with the association’s attorney and propose an amendment to this section if necessary.

The restrictive covenants for sections developed after 1995 and as part of the Balfour Holding’s Village at Ocean Pines do not use the same language stating that decisions of the ARC are final. This discrepancy also may be addressed in a by-laws update.

Additionally, the covenants for those newer sections reference a process that allows property owners to appeal decisions of the ARC. However, Trummel said, there is no direction as to whom or how such appeals are to be carried out and the OPA has never implemented an appeals process.

“If you look at the ARC guidelines, you won’t find an appeals process,” he said. Trummel was clear that nothing negates the availability of an appeal, but there just has never been a process for doing so put in place.

Trummel said the question is how the by-laws provision regarding the board’s authority in Section 5.13(h) has an impact on those issues. He said there has been a longstanding debate about whether the ARC can “stand alone and its decisions can’t be touched.” In theory, the Board can exercise its authority over the ARC in the ap-

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pointment, reappointment, or replacement of the committee’s members. The ARC is required to have three members and two alternate members, all of whom are appointed by the board.

The work group is concerned that provision may be in conflict with the declaration of restrictions. It recommended that the by-laws committee resolve the issue in consultation with the OPA attorney and, if there is determined to be a conflict, propose language changes regarding how to best address the problem.

Committee member Keith Kaiser asked why the relationship between the old ECC, now the ARC, and the board was structured that way.

“Why is there this big concern that the architectural board be independent of the Board? Is there some history there?”

Trummel didn’t know and said it surprises him that the by-laws were written in a way to ensure the decision-making authority of the ARC could not be overturned by the board. “But again, we’re going back to the very first beginnings of the association,” he said, adding that the provision was included in the initial restrictive covenants for the original sections of Ocean Pines.

“It’s kinda of puzzling to me how they could have not seen that they were creating the impression of a committee that acted completely outside of any authority of the governance of the association, which was a corporation at that time,” Trummel said. Now decades later, the OPA continues to have a standing committee that still seems to be able to act independently.

“I think this is really the crux of the issue,” Kaiser said, adding that it is really a question for the OPA’s legal counsel to answer as it is about interpretation of the related by-law. “But the larger question is, as an association is this what we want? Do we want the Architectural Review

Committee to be all-powerful and for the Board to have no control to step in in the event something goes off the tracks?” He argued that the ARC is “just another sub-committee of the board like all of the standing and advisory committees.

That means the board has authority to oversee the committee, he said.

Kaiser said another question that needs to be answered is whether that is the way the OPA wants to operate. “Is this the proper relationship to have? And then from that we’ll know whether or not the language that’s written down is proper to address it.”

Committee member Lora Pangratz noted that the membership of the ARC does change and therefore interpretation of guidelines and compliance matters may be subjective based on individual members’ perceptions. She said it is “all about their perceptions about what’s against policy.” Therefore, she said perhaps it would be better to have the board be able to address any disagreements that arise from actions of the ARC. Trummel concurred that there is regular turnover of ARC members. But, he said, all members of the committee have to follow the ARC guidelines and other provisions in the various restrictive covenants for various individual sections of Ocean Pines as the basis for their decision-making. He said there has not been a history of inconsistency from year to year on actual actions and decisions made by the committee.

“What we’re dealing with here is a question that has been hanging out there for some time,” Trummel reiterated. He said it boils down to the degree of independence that the ARC has in its relationship with the board. He said there is “no hot button issue right now” that has brought the issue to the forefront. He said it simply came up in discussion at the work group and was forwarded to the committee to finally be addressed.

Kaiser said he does see how there could be differences of opinion between ARC members and board members on specific issues, like whether a property is in violation of the guidelines or covenants. But that would be on an individual personal level, not committee or board-wide, he said. u

Bike event

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean PinesOcean CIty participated in the Ocean Pines Bike Event May 1.

Pictured, left to right, are Sue Wineke, President-elect Tim Lund, President Steve Cohen and Shelley Cohen.

32 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

Donahue: OPA returning to pre-covid conditions

By TOM STAUSS Publisher

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arks and Recreation Director Debbie Donahue offered a quick tour of developments in the departments she oversees during the May 15 monthly meeting of the Board of Directors.

Some of the announcements indicated a postcovid return to normalcy, with only the Ocean Pines summer camp for kids still under a 50 percent capacity limitation.

If the capacity restriction is lifted before the program relaunches in June, then parents on a waiting list will be contacted to enroll their kids, Donahue said.

In her update, she said that lights in the Community Center gymnasium had been upgraded to be more efficient and safer. “No bulbs – LED – looks great,” she said.

Donahue said the Robinhood Park playground replacement project cost $49,375, over budget by $2,000, because “we waited through Covid, plus $2,000 for mulch for a total cost of $51,000.”

“Mulching is getting done to all parks as we speak,” she told the board.

Paving of the Adminstration Building parking lot is complete, with the exception of a few missed lines, which were scheduled to be done by the last week of May. Sixteen parking spaces were gained.

In other updates, made possible by the governor lifting capacity restrictions, she said that summer concerts will start June 24 in White Horse Park, Family Fun Night will start at the Yacht Club on June 23, and Summer Camp will begin June 21.

Donahue said the Yacht Club marina had opened May 1, and the OPA has generated $13,500 in fuel sales since May 1.

All slips are full at both marinas.

Hours for the marina fuel dock are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. but change to 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. as of Memorial Day weekend.

She said that all boat slips are rented and are only open to those that have paid the fee, signed the rental agreement and submitted their insurance and registration.

Although the Yacht Club expansion project has been delayed, Donahue said the marina has three T-docks open for temporary public usage that can hold up to seven boats and two spaces at the Mumford’s Ramp.

At the Ocean Pines Racquetball complex, Donahue said that resurfacing of the tennis courts is complete, and Terra Firma is continuing the pickleball courts repairs.

New pickleball courts and a junior tennis court remain ensnared in regulatory limbo.

“To date we have completed the wetland de-

OCEAN PINES lineation and field surveying required to prepare a base sheet suitable for design. We have also coordinated with Dave Bradford, of Worcester County, regarding his requirements for locatingall new improvements so as to allow him to permit the construction near / in the Critical Area,” she said.

Debbie Donahue She told the board that she hopes to have a conceptual design of the precise location of the courts by the last week of May that “we will share with OPA before forwarding to Dave Bradford for his input. Following everyone’s OK, we will finalize the plans and process through Worcester Co Critical Areas, Planning, and SWM as well as Worcester Soils Conservation District,” she said.

Donahue cited a number of beautification project, includng replacement of flowers at the golf course.

“Ladies take care of the flowers and weeding on the golf course along with golf maintenance and public works,” she told the board.

The beautification working group is gathering new ideas to add a new look to the entrances of Ocean Pines, she said, with the aim of tastefully modernizing the entrances at a relatively low costs.

“The cherry blossom trees look great on the parkway on Cathell Road and will be placed along the pool side of the south gate pond,” she said.

Finally, she said that new signage is being constructed for the White Horse Park Complex, with delivery is expected by the end of June.

Legacy discount swim coupon cards to expire Oct. 1

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OPA won’t be issuing new debit cards this summer, Viola says

iscounted swim coupon cards, although included under “User Fees” in the approved 2021-22 Ocean Pines Association Aquatics budget, will not be offered this summer. Legacy cards from prior years will expire Oct. 1, General Manager John Viola has announced, unless extended for another period of time by the Board of Directors.

ARC ‘independence’

From Page 31 He supported seeking legal input on the issue.

However, he said he thinks it would also be perfectly reasonable for the attorney to come back to the OPA and ask what the intention was with the by-laws language that is in question.

“I think it’s reasonable for the attorney to expect some sort of context,” he added.

The committee agreed to submit a request to board liaison Camilla Rogers seeking board approval to talk with the OPA’s attorney about the by-laws related to the ARC’s relationship to the Board. Then based the legal opinion, the committee will then be better able to take further action to revise the by-laws.

That’s been standard operating procedure for the board in recent years, but Viola told the Progress he thinks that won’t happen this year because holders of legacy cards have been given lots of notice that they will be expiring this year.

“The message is to use up the balances this summer,” Viola said.

Director of Finance Steve Phillips said recently that coupon cards were included in the budget to account for any existing “legacy” cards, whose use have to be accounted for.

In a significant development, Viola has announced that Ocean Pines pools are open with no capacity limitations, in accordance with Gov. Larry Hogan’s executive order lifting all existing capacity limitations at indoor and outdoor venues in Maryland, effective May 15.

“With the governor’s latest announcement, we’re excited to continue moving toward a return to normalcy,” Viola said. “We’re looking forward to a busy and successful summer at all of our amenities, including our five pools.”

Masks will continue to be required indoors, including when entering and exiting pool bathrooms and enclosed lobby areas at the Mumford’s Landing and Swim and Racquet Club pools. Nor-

mal deck and bather capacities still apply.

Masks are not currently required while swimming or on outdoor pool decks. Ocean Pines outdoor pools are scheduled to open for the season on Saturday, May 29.

Those wishing to use Ocean Pines pools may purchase an annual or seasonal membership or pay the daily entrance fee.

Viola also announced that because of difficulties in finding qualified instructors, there are no plans to offer group or private swim lessons this summer.

That will hurt Aquatics’ bottom line, as swimming lessons brought in about $100,000 in revenues pre-covid.

Director of Aquatics Kathleen Cook said she has posted advertisements for swim instructors, but that so far (as of May 15) no one had responded.

Finding an adequate number of lifeguards also has been a challenge, she said, but so far there have been enough returnees from prior summers to be able to reopen the outdoor pools Memorial Day weekend as usual. The lifting of capacity restrictions means her staff can put out loungers at the pools as was routine pre-covid, Cook said.

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 33

OCEAN PINES

Bainbridge Park project touted for water quality improvements Viola says it’s on schedule and on budget

By TOM STAUSS Publisher t seemed difficult to envision completion of the Bainbridge Pond expansion in June by the condition of the site in late May, but mid-June completion is in fact what General Manager indicated would happen during a project update he delivered during the May 15 Board of Directors meeting.

“It’s on track and on budget,” he said.

Viola said the OPA had submitted an initial payment for reimbursement from the county. The state grant is for $487,337, with the OPA contribution budgeted at $234,000.

Ground-breaking for the project was March 18.

Improvements at the pond include replacement of storm drain inflow and outflow pipes, construction of a new forebay, re-grading and raising the perimeter of the pond and installing aquatic benches, and

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building a new weir to control water levels and slow flooding during larger storms.

Viola said that three crossings at Beacon Hill, Sandyhook and Pinehurst roads would begin the last week of May. Ditches were to be excavated, with soil removed with more impervious soil.

In a brief discussion, directors advised that the project had been funded by the state not because it will relieve OPA drainage woes, which it doesn’t do to any great extent, but because water that eventually will end up in the bay or river will be cleaned up by filtration components on the site.

“It’s about filtration, not a lot of flood control,” Director Frank Daly said.

Director Tom Janasek agreed, saying the project is mostly about filtration but it also involves moving stormwater out of Ocean Pines as quickly as possible.

The forebay installation at Bainbridge pond (right photo) where filtration takes place before entering the main pond, and separated by a dirt berm.

Left, these pipes were scheduled for replacement as part of the project.

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OPA looking for more parking to serve racquet sport complex

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here’s a problem with an apparent lack of an adequate number of parking spaces in the parking lot located at the Racquet Sports complex, Parks and Recreation Director Debbie Donahue said in remarks delivered during the May 15 meeting of the Board of Directors.

Users of the facility park their vehicles on both sides of the main road off Manklin Creek Road when the parking lot fills up.

She said a working group is trying to come up with ways to provide more parking at the complex.

A related potential issue is the close proximity of the playground in the complex to the main road, she said, presenting safety concerns that she hopes can be addressed.

Ocean Pines President Larry Perrone suggested that the staff should consider proposing a fence to separate the playground from traffic and parked cars.

General Manager John Viola agreed, and said he and his team would work on that.

Temporary boat slips available

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ecreation and Parks Director Debbie Donahue at the May 15 Board of Directors meeting said all marina boat slips are full for the season, but there are some temporary slips available.

“Please understand that all the slips are rented. They are only open to those that have paid their fees, have turned in their rental agreements, [and] registration and insurance,” Donahue said. “You cannot put another boat in a slip, even if no one’s there, because each one of those slips are insured to a person that has rented it and paid for it.”

However, Donahue said Ocean Pines has three “T-Docks” that are open for temporary public use. She said those can hold up to seven boats, depending on the size of the boat.

“There’s also two spaces at the Mumford’s ramp that [boaters] can pull up on for dining at the Yacht Club and temporary usage,” she said.

34 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OCEAN PINES New Robinhood Park playground opens with ribbon-cutting

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Ocean Pines Association President Larry Perrone presided over the ribbon-cutting that formally opened the new playground at Robinhood Parkin South Ocean Pines

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group of neighborhood children and their families joined Ocean Pines and local officials in early May for a ribbon cutting ceremony at Robinhood Park.

The ceremony officially opened a brand-new playground at the park, on Robin Hood Trail in Ocean Pines.

The brightly colored playground features several slides, monkey bars, a small rock-climbing wall, and a swing set.

Ocean Pines President Larry Perrone did the honors in cutting the ribbon.

“First of all, I want to thank Debbie for all the hard work she’s done,” Perrone said.

He also thanked Public Works for demolishing the old structure and preparing the grounds for the new one, and the Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee for recommending the playground replacement.

The Parke celebrates its 20th anniversary

he Parke of Ocean Pines celebrated its 20th anniversary on the Lawns at Central Park on May 19 from 4-5 p.m.

Dignitaries attending included Mary Beth Carozza, state senator; Wayne Hartman, state delegate; Chip Bertino, county commissioner; Larry Perrone, Ocean Pines Association president; John Viola, OPA general manager; Linda Olsen, Parke board president; and Ranyah Hamad, Parke general manager.

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The first residents of The Parke moved into their new homes 20 years ago.

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The group left behind a time capsule which will tell the residents of 2031 about the first 20 years of the community.

The contents of the 10th anniversary capsule will be on display at the Clubhouse for a couple of weeks.

A 20th anniversary capsule will join the 10th anniversary capsule in the Parke’s Clubhouse library.

Above, residents of The Parke gather to celebrate their community’s 20th anniversary. Presiding over the ceremony was event organizer Bill Habeger (right).

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 35

OCEAN PINES

OCEAN PINES BRIEFS Memorial Day service returns to Ocean Pines

The annual Memorial Day service in Ocean Pines will return to the Worcester County Veterans Memorial on Monday, May 31, beginning at 11 a.m.

The ceremony this year will feature Salisbury Mayor Jake Day as the keynote speaker.

Day recently returned from a year-long deployment in East Africa with the Maryland National Guard and is one of only three full-time U.S. mayors ever deployed while serving in office.

The music portion of the program will include Frank Nanna and the WWIIunes, featuring Todd Crosby.

Randy Lee Ashcraft will perform a new song honoring the recent visit of The Wall That Heals, and the Delmarva Chorus will perform the “Armed Forces Medley,” honoring the Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force and Coast Guard.

Public parking will be available at Veterans Memorial Park on Route 589 and Cathell Road in Ocean Pines. Limited seating will be available during the event and guests are encouraged to bring chairs.

For more information on the Worcester County Veterans Memorial Foundation, visit www.opvets.org.

Board approves new Seacrets lease

The Board of Directors on May 15 approved a new five-year lease with Seacrets for the Ocean Pines Association’s oceanside parking lot on 49th Street at Coastal Highway in Ocean City. The new lease will align with the renewal timeframe with the lease for the OPA’s bayside lot adjacent to Seacrets.

Director Colette Horn offered the motion to approve the lease with Seacrets for $60,000 for the first year with a 3 percent per year escalation clause. Additionally, Seacrets will pay the property taxes. The OPA will also grant a two-year extension of the existing bayside parking lot lease with effective dates coinciding with the oceanside lease.

As background, Horn said for many years OPA has had a lease agreement with Seacrets for use of the bayside and oceanside parking lots. The last iteration of the renewal timeframe of the leases were not aligned. Her motion will renew the oceanside lease and align the renew-

al dates for the two leases.

Director Frank Daly gave a second to Horn’s motion, which was approved unanimously by the Board.

Viola updates board on reserve study

General Manager John Viola at the May 15 monthly meeting of the Board of Directors gave an update on progress in the latest reserve study by DMA Associations, budgeted at $16,000.

Viola said that DMA’s Doug Green completed a review of buildings, drainage, roads and bulkheads April 12th through 16th.

A bulkhead draft report has been received for review on future bulkhead replacement dates, Viola said.

A roads study is in progress, with receipt expected during the week of May 17.

A draft of the general reserve study should be completed by DMA by the end of May, Viola said, with a presentation to the Budget and Finance Committee in early June.

The study will presented to the Board of Directors at either the June 16 or July 21 monthly meeting, Viola said.

Grabowski to help out with NorthStar issues

Although retired from his position as the OPA’s information technology director, Steve Grabowski has agreed to be available as needed to help out with the continued, troubled roll-out of NorthStar software, General Manager John Viola announced during the May 15 Board of Directors meeting.

Grabowski’s replacement has been hired, Viola said, but Grabowski, intimately involved with the NorthStar installation, is willing to help out when any troubles arise.

Mask mandate lifted throughout Ocean Pines

“I’ve confirmed with our general manager that the mask mandate has been lifted in Ocean Pines, in compliance with the CDC and the governor’s decision last night,” Ocean Pines Association President Larry Perrone said during the Board of Directors’ May 15 monthly meeting.

Perrone said the new policy applies to those who have been fully vaccinated.

Ocean Pines Craft Club hosts ribbon-cutting

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he Pine’eer Craft Club of Ocean Pines hosted a long-delayed ribbon-cutting event for the new Artisan Gift Shop on Saturday, May 22 at 9 a.m.

Craft Club members opened the new building in winter 2020, but issues related to the covid-19 pandemic prevented a ribbon-cutting from occurring at that time.

The event on May 22, cohosted by the Ocean Pines Association and Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce, featured a short speech from Craft Club President Sharon Puser and light refreshments. The club had on display a photo album with news clippings that highlight the history of the organization.

The Pine’eer Artisan Gift Shop was established in 1974 and the organization behind it has a long history of giving back to the community, having donated more than $169,000 over the years to Ocean Pines Police, Public Works, and Recreation and Parks, among other groups.

In 2020, the club donated $3,500 to the Ocean Pines Police Department, Fire Department, Recreation and Parks Department, Public Works, and the Worcester County Veteran’s Memorial.

Club members create and sell a wide variety of items, including woodworking, candles, pottery, jewelry, home décor, and all manner of sewn, crocheted and knitted items. All items are made locally, and most are made in Ocean Pines.

The new building, in White Horse Park and across from the Administration Building on 239 Ocean Parkway in Ocean Pines, is open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

With Gov. Larry Hogan lifting all capacity restrictions in Maryland, “that’s good news for our clubs and for the pools,” Perrone said.

Sponsors sought for pickleball tourney

The Ocean Pines Pickleball Club is seeking sponsors for the 2021 Summer Classic Pickleball Tournament, scheduled June 12-13 at the Ocean Pines Racquet Center.

The event drew more than 180 competition players from 15 states in 2018 and 2019. Registration this year is already full, with 200 players from multiple states set to take part.

“This year we are expecting even more players and more excitement,” tournament organizer Chris Shook said.

Shook said the Pickleball Club is increasing the number of sponsorships this year, to allow more local companies to have a presence during the tournament.

Sponsorship levels and benefits are as follows: A Gold sponsorship costing $500 includes a large banner advertising for one year, with primary locations at the Ocean Pines Racquet Center; a courtside banner advertising for one year and eight banners with gold sponsors at eight courtside

locations; the option for a company information table at the Ocean Pines Racquet Center on June 12-13 ; exclusive sponsorship in business category; sponsorship listed, with a link to company’s Website on the Pickleball Den reservation app; and banner advertising on the Ocean Pines Pickleball Club Website.

Also sponsorship listed and a link to company’s website for 12 weeks in the Ocean Pines Pickleball Club newsletter; public appreciation announcements during the tournament weekend; and press exposure as a sponsor in Ocean Pines Pickleball Club news releases.

A Silver sponsorship costing $350 includes a large banner advertising for one year, with primary locations at the Ocean Pines Racquet Center; banner advertising on the Ocean Pines Pickleball Club Website; sponsorship listed and a link to company’s Website for 12 weeks in the Ocean Pines Pickleball Club newsletter; public appreciation announcements during the tournament weekend; and press exposure as a sponsor in Ocean Pines Pickleball Club news releases To secure a sponsorship, make a $500 or $250 check out to the Ocean Pines Pickleball Club, and mail it to Treasurer Ron Kurtz, 1-B Canvasback Court, Ocean Pines, Md 21811.

36 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

Viola confirms $1.150 million operating surplus for 2020-21 No change reported from prior month as OPA awaits financials for April, final month in 2020-21 fiscal year

By TOM STAUSS Publisher lthough April financial reports were delayed past their normal release on the third week of the following month, General Manager John Viola remains confident that the most recent projection of a $1.150 million operating surplus for 2020-21 will hold.

During the regular montly meeting of the Board of Diretors May 15, Viola said that April financials have been delayed as they typically are for the last month of the fiscal year.

But he expressed optimism that the mid-April projection of a $1.15 million surplus won’t be significantly eroded by adjustments to the bottom line that often occur when various components of

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the budget are reconciled at year’s end.

He repeated his often-cited mantra that covid-relief payments provided by the federal government were absolutely essential to the OPA avoiding an operating deficit in 2020-21.

Listing $1.143 million in Payroll Protection Plan revenue, another $271,000 in PPP revenue credited to food and beverage venues operated by the Matt Orr Companies, and $105,000 in CARES Act funding, Viola said all three income sources were critical to the OPA’s finances this past year.

Without these three items, the operating deficit would have been $369,000, he said.

He told the board that the OPA is still awaiting word from the federal government that the PPP loan will be forgiven as expected.

OPA FINANCES “We used all the funds to protect the employment and salaries of employees during covid,” he said, adding that he understands there have been some delays in notifying creditors of loan forgiveness but that the window for notification has not yet closed.

The food and beverage PPP loan received by the MOC has been forgiven, John Viola while the OPA’s loan remains an open question, Viola said.

If the loan is not forgiven, then the projected surplus for last year will be wiped out, leaving the OPA more or less break-even for the year, he said.

While notice of the loan forgiveness may not occur before the April financials close out, Viola said it’s likely the OPA will receive notice before completion of the OPA’s annual report for release this August.

“The status of the loan will be foot-noted (in the annual report) in either case,” he said, depending on its impact on the bottom line.

OPA FINANCE BRIEFS

Assessment collections higher year over year

Ocean Pines Association Treasurer and Director Doug Parks delivered some good news on early collections of assessments for 2021-22 during his Treasurer’s Report at the May 15 Board of Directors meeting.

Parks said this year’s collections were $4.2 million as of April 30, compared to $3.5 million a year ago in the throes of the covid pandemic.

Last year, the board voted to extend the due date for assessments without interest penalties to Aug. 1 from the usual June 1, and that action suppressed collections for a period of time.

Parks said with the lifting of mask and capacity mandates by the state it appears that conditions are returning to the way they were before the covid pandemic hit more than a year ago.

Work begins on 2020-21 audit

Pollinator garden

There’s a pollinator garden in Ocean Pines that Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines - Ocean City President Steve Cohen learned needed some work. So he and his wife, Kiwanian Shelley Cohen, organized Kiwanis members to volunteer to tend the garden. Pictured left to right are Maryland Coastal Bays Program staff members Liz Wist, education coordinator; Chandler Joiner, environmental educator; Shelley Cohen, Steve Cohen, Bob Wolfing, Janet Wolfing and Sharon Peterson, administrative specialist. The garden is a project of the Ocean Pines Recreation Department.

General Manager John Viola during the May 15 Board of Directors meeting disclosed that work on the 2020-21 annual report has begun, with auditors from the TGM accounting firm in Salisbury arriving in April to conduct a preliminary inventory assessment.

Although “new” to the job this year after a three-year hiatus, TGM had been the OPA auditing firm for many years before that.

Viola said it won’t take much for TGM to get up to speed on OPA books, since the firm is well acquainted with Ocean Pines Association operation and ways of accounting for costs.

TGM has been tasked with completing the OPA financial report to be released at the annual meeting of Ocean Pines property owners in August.

LIFESTYLES

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 37

World War II vet

‘Dr. Joe, A Family Doctor in the 20th Century’

94-year-old writes of loss and and a lifetime of helping others

wouldn’t say I’m a hero but I did volunteer. Most of the guys won’t say they are heroes but they were,” he said.

The majority of the patients he attended to in his medical practice were veterans, some who had been in concentration camps and were tattooed, although Palmisano noticed veterans from World War I seemed to suffer more psychological damage than those who fought in World War II and more recent wars.

“World War II veterans were exceptional people. They grew up in The Depression. Most of them didn’t get to go to the college. They were 18 years old, in combat. I have talked to thousands of them who said when the war was on, you just did what you were supposed to,” he said.

After his military service, Palmisano returned

By SUSAN CANFORA Contributing Writer ne of saddest times in Dr. Joseph Palmisano’s life was the day his 53-year-old brother died in his arms.

“Sam never married. He went out with a lot of girls but lived at home all his life except when he was in the Army,” the 94-year-old Palmisano, who lives in Ocean Pines, wrote in his absorbing book, “Doctor Joe, A Family Doctor in the Twentieth Century.”

“I took care of him medically or any other way I could. I was really upset when he developed coronary artery disease in his forties and Hodgkin’s Disease at about fifty,” Palmisano, a World War II veteran with an easy-to-read style of writing and friendly manner in conversation, wrote.

Sam arrived at Palmisano’s office, in the Hillendale section of Baltimore, one day and, in the examining room, sat down, stood up, said he felt dizzy “and collapsed in my arms.”

“I knew he had a heart attack … the ambulance was there in minutes but he was gone. What a life I’ve had,” he said.

He wanted to join the U.S. Navy during World War II but when he graduated from high school, his parents wouldn’t al- Dr. Joe Palmisano with his book about his life as a family doctor. low it because he was 5 feet, 6 inches tall and only feeling than any other time because you just nevweighed 115 pounds, so he started college at the er knew what was going to happen.

University of Maryland.

“I know what it’s like. We were all getting Eventually he grew a couple inches and gained ready to invade Japan. There must have been a few pounds, and his parents allowed him to join, half a million maybe. They were going to fight to however reluctantly. Once enlisted, he went to ra- the very last man. They were giving weapons as dar school and was later assigned to the USS T.E. low as 15 years old, 10 years old. Most of the men Chandler, DD 717, a new destroyer. who were in World War II have died but I’m still When there’s a war, he said, “it’s a different alive. One reason is, I got in toward the end. I

to the University of Maryland and studied medicine.

“When I was in early elementary school I was interested in a couple things.

“One was to see the great things of the world. I grew up in a little mining town in Pennsylvania. I read every book in the library. One of them was about travel and that really sparked me and I said, ‘I’m going to see all the great things in the world.’

“I had the idea to learn everything possible. I really wanted to learn how everything works -- your heart, your lungs, your brain and everything like that,” he said.

Around the same time, his father’s brother’s son graduated from medical school and Palmisano would visit and talk to him.

“I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to do. Partly, I wanted to please my parents when I got out of the Navy. I had the GI bill.

I knew I was going to go to college so I thought, ‘Well, I’ll take pre-med. I saw when people had diseases and accidents, how that changed them and I could do something to bring people back to normal. It began with a feeling of compassion,” he said.

Palmisano, who practiced family medicine 46 years, goes into detail in the book about his ancestry, explaining that two of his grandparents were from Sicily and two were from Austria.

Interestingly, his mother was 16 when she married his father, in his mid-40s and widowed.

The 16-year-old was taking care of the children and Palmisano’s grandmother didn’t think it was right for her to be living there with him and his children unless they were married, so she told her u

O

38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

LIFESTYLES

Dr. Joe

From Page 37 son either there would be a wedding or the teenager would have to go.

But the teenager loved the children, and was particularly attached to Sam, the youngest of six and the author’s older half-brother – the one who, years later, died in his medical office.

“They had never held hands or showed any sign of mutual affection.

She held him in the utmost respect always calling him Mr. Palmisano.

“Finally he told her he wanted to talk to her … I don’t know the exact wording but it’s something like this, ‘Mary, I want you to consider marrying me … You’ll never be sorry, girl. I can give you anything you want.’ My mother nearly fell over,” Palmisano wrote, recounting that his father told her the family needed her. She went home to talk to her mother and finally said yes.

“They were married in May, and I was born in March so I am legitimate,” he said, adding his parents had two daughters after he was born, bringing the number of children to nine.

“I wrote this book in three days,” he said.

“I wrote it almost night and day.

I just stopped to get a sandwich.

When you’re a writer, you just feel like it has to come. There’s no such thing as writing just a chapter. I wrote it all long hand.

“At the time I had prostate cancer, and I was being treated with radiation, and the radiation worked because that was 15 years ago. But it made me tired all the time.

“I could move around and I could think and that’s how I started to write. Then I got better and I didn’t touch anything in the book for ten years. I was doing something else when found it in a notebook. I am number seven of nine children and I thought, ‘I should give it to the family.’” He has sold thousands of them for $16 each. The ISBN number is 9781 6280 606 38.

A resident of Ocean Pines for the past 20 years, Palmisano is the father of two sons, Michael and Jody.

His first wife was 15 when they met.

He was 19 and he still remembers falling in love with her.

“We went together six years. We got married when she was 21. She developed diabetes and had a lot of problems. She died at 42 and was in a nursing home for a year,” he said.

After her death, he met his second wife, Kathleen “and never

looked anywhere else. “I was 45 and still having a tough time with my wife being sick for so many years. I met Kathleen on a blind date. We’ve been married 47 years,” he said.

Now in his 90s, he enjoys meeting new people, often while visiting the Worcester County Veterans Memorial in Ocean Pines, and is quite the raconteur.

“The No. 1 thing to living a long life is, take care of yourself. Don’t smoke.Watch your weight. Exercise and keep your appointments for check-ups, even the dentist.

“I have done that all my life. I had a bypass, new heart valve. I had prostate cancer. I constantly keep my mind busy. I work two crossword puzzles a day. I write and I read all the time,” Palmisano said. “Your brain isn’t a muscle, but it’s sort of like it. I’m always looking for something new.”

Above: A photo that appears on the back of Joe Palmisano’s book, ‘Dr. Joe: A Family Doctor in the 20th Century’.

Below: The Palmisanos in Loch Raven, Md., circa 1945, a photo that appears in Joe Palmisano’s book.

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 39

Cindy Welsh

4243 Captain’s Corridor, Greenbackville, VA. 23356

302-381-6910 (cell)

757-854-1604 (office) candhwelsh@aol.com

Captain’s Cove -- Hidden Treasure on Virginia’s Eastern Shore 3215 Amidship Drive • $170,000

Section 1, Lot 1091 Rancher with Open Floor Plan. 3 BR / 1 BA 1344 sq ft.

LVP Flooring throughout the entire home. Kitchen features include granite counter tops, 42” Cabinets, island bar, stainless steel appliances, smooth top oven and spacious configuration. One large bath with laundry area included. Concrete Drive and open back deck. Home is on one of the largest lots in Captain’s Cove 18,510 sq ft. Home is on Captain’s Cove water & sewer and within a mile to all the amenities offered in Captain’s Cove.

Perfect for the first time home buyer or a vacation getaway.

NEW LISTING

COMING SOON

3902 Captain’s Corridor • $199,900

Section 5, Lot 2526 Rancher with Open Floor Plan and plenty of space to spread out. 3 BR / 2 BA 1688 sq ft. Great Room/Dining Area offers Laminate flooring, fireplace and a small deck just off the Dining Area for relaxing in the shade. Oversized Sunroom that allows plenty of natural sunshine.

Kitchen has tile flooring, separate laundry room area just off the 2 car garage and a front porch to relax after a day of golfing or fishing. Front yard is stone so very little yard work.

Section 1, Lot 788 • $35,000

CANALFRONT WITH BAY VIEWS

Chincoteague Bay and canal views from the front and back of this property.

Enjoy the water views and Sunrises that will that will last a lifetime.

Approximately 60 ft of canal frontage. Lot has water & sewer availability.

Captain’s Cove is the Eastern Shore of Virginia’s fastest growing Golf & Waterfront community; close to Chincoteague Island, Wallops Island and Ocean City MD.

GOLF COURSE LOTS

$8,000 2/286 Cleared, Corner $15,000 2/331 Cleared $19,900 2/435, Cleared W&S $20,000 2/196 Cleared $20,000 2/249 Cleared, Pond View $20,000 2/287 Cleared $30,000 2/361 Cleared, Sep�c Approved, Pond View

INTERIOR LOTS

$ 500 4/1926 Wooded, Sep�c Approved $2,500 1/1550 Wooded, W&S $3,000 5/82 Wooded $5,000 11/17 Wooded, Sep�c Approved $5,000 3/1712 Wooded $5,000 3/1722 Wooded $5,000 3/1725 Wooded $6,000 9/197 Cleared $6,000 9/71 Cleared $6,000 9/72 Cleared $6,000 9/72 Cleared $7,000 1/899 Wooded, W&S

$7,900 10/104 Cleared, Sep�c Approved $9,000 7/34, 35, 36 (3- Lot Pkg) Water Views $10,000 1/1246 Wooded, W&S, Water Views $10,000 9/2 Cleared, Corner $10,000 1/469 Cleared, Oversized $20,000 3/1632 Cleared, W&S, Water Views $40,000 1/1261 Cleared, W&S, Bay View

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT $1. 13/102 $1. 13/188

40 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

CAPTAIN’S COVE

Captain’s Cove board approves short-term rental regulations

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Captain’s Cove association’s board of directors, at a scheduled meeting May 24, was virtually certain to approve a resolution that consolidates regulations on short-term rentals in the community.

Article Six of the association’s bylaws, and covenants and restrictions gives the board the general authority to “adopt general rules for the use of property and well-being of members and that such rules and any subsequent amendments thereto shall be binding on all members,” according to the adopted resolution.

The new regulations were drafted by a working group that included Senior General Manager Colby Phillips. Two community meetings were convened to discuss the draft, and details were also provided to the membership through e-mails. “It was fully transparent,” she said.

T

Cove President Tim Hearn told the Progress recently that Accomack County law specifies that use of residential property for short-term rentals is not a commercial use and is therefore permissible under the Cove governing documents, Hearn said.

Hearn said the new regulations consolidate components of existing county law and Cove regulations already on the books.

Perhaps the regulations’ most significant impact will be that local property managers are on notice that violations will result in offending homeowners losing access to amenities and the possible impositition of fines, Hearn said.

Another key element is that move-ins and move-outs are banned on Sundays, and other “quiet times” during the day.

The regulations: • limit occupancy of any home used in a short-term rental to two

persons per bedroom.

• require property owners to provide the names and contact information of transient guests 14 days prior to move-in, on a form provided by the association.

• give the association the right to require approval for an annual short-term rental permit in a manner similar to what Accomack County requires for short-term rentals within the county’s jurisdiction.

• give the association the right to deny access of Cove amenities if any violations of community rules and regulations occur, and to impose fines for failture to cure violatons.

Members who own the short-term rental homes are entitled to a hearing prior to the assessment of fines.

• prohibit violations of the county’s noise ordinance and any activity “that causes annoyance, discomfort or disturbance to any other persons” during the quiet hours of 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Saturday and

all-day Sunday. Move-ins and moveouts also are prohibited during the quiet hours.

• restrict parking to private automobiles, passenger vans, trailered boats, single axle utility trailers and pickup trucks, and only within the driveway and parking areas designated for parking. Recreational vehicles may also be permitted with approval of the association.

• require property owners or members who own or manage the short-term rentals to be located no further than 15 minutes away from the property and “be able to be onsite ... within that time period” in the event of any alleged association or county violations.

The new regulations also require a sufficient number of trash containers, asks that renters keep pets under control and responsbily remove animals waste.

Short-term rental properties are prohibited from use or storage of portable firepits, inflatable play equipment, and inflatable pools.

Gatherings of transient guests in excess of the occupancy limits must be directed to the Association’s amenities, such as the Marina Club, or

New Aquatics Programs Coming to Captain’s Cove This Summer for Our Members Junior Lifeguard Program/Boot Camp • The Captains Cove Junior Lifeguard program helps kids build a foundation of knowledge, attitude, and skills that are needed to be a responsible volunteer & future lifeguard.

One Day Sessions from 10am-3pm. Team Taught. For more information, please email Colby Phillips at cphillips@captscove.com

• Join us in the pool for a fun fitness class for kids! This class will incorporate swimming skills & drills as well as physical fitness activities. Kids must be good swimmers. Team Taught. Email for information marinaclub@captscove.com Swim Lessons coming in July! Stay tuned for more information!

Water Aerobics/ Hydrobikes • Water Aerobics Class starting June 7th!

This fun energetic exercise program will give you results and isn’t hard on the body. Class is set to music. Instructor: Eileen Klinefelter. Two 6-week sessions. Monday & Thursday evenings at 5:30pm at the indoor pool. Please sign up at the Marina Club by emailing marinaclub@ captscove.com or stopping by.

• Hydrobikes! Tone & Sculpt your body with no impact to your joints! Water cycling is a GREAT aerobic workout that is easy on your back & knees. Class is set to music and water shoes are required. Classes start July 6th and will be held Tuesday evenings at 4:30pm and 5:30 pm. Please sign up at the front desk at the Marina Club or email marinaclub@captscove.com

CAPTAIN’S COVE

Building Captain’s Cove One Home a June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 41

other commercial enterprises in the area. Parties and social gatherings FEATURED MODEL within properties used for shortterm rentals in excess of the capaci• 3BR/2BA ty limits are not permitted. www.jabuildersllc.com New Construction But portable barbecue grills, • 1288 sq. ft. or other portable outdoor cooking • Open kitchen equipment, are permitted.

• Cathedral ceilings The issue of whether the Cove • Trex deck & can even permit short-term rentfront porch 37290 Doubloon Drive 37316 als within its boundaries has been www.jabuildersllc.com raised by Cove resident George Dat$134,900 $171,9 tore, who cites Article 4 in the community covenants and Section 2 of in Cove Rules and Regulations that Sea Robin Dolphin Wahoo Tarpon limit use of homes to residential or Ranch Style Home utility uses.

3BR/2 BA • 1657 sq ft.

He posted his concerns on the 1 Car garage member Website, suggesting that the Cove board obtain a written legal opinion on whether using a Sea Robin Sailfish Dolphin 2012 Skipjack home for short-term rentals is a res$167,000 $223,900 $204,500 $232,900 idential or commercial use.

Hearn said the board has checked Ranch Style Home Ranch Style Home Ranch Style Home Tw with county authorities and con3 BR / 2 BA 1288 Sq Ft • $127,600 3 BR / 2 BA 1349 Sq Ft • $141,600 3 BR / 2 BA 1408 Sq Ft • $158,300 3 BR firmed that a short-term rental is a residential use.

Marlin Barracu Skipjack Tarpon II Web site revamp -- During the general managers’ meeting May Ranch Style Home Ranch Style Home Ranch Style Home Ranch Style Home 10, Senior General Manager Colby 3 BR / 2 BA 1525 Sq Ft 3 BR / 2 BA 1527 Sq Ft 3 BR / 2 BA 1288 Sq Ft 3 BR / 2 BA 1496 Sq Ft Phillips advised that she and General Manager Justin Wilder are in the process of reviewing options for Tarpon Striper Tarpon Plus Marlin revamping the Cove Website, includ$213,900 $290,900 $231,900 $242,500 ing gathering information on other area associations’ sites. She and Wilder want to eliminate the curTwo Story Contemporary Home Ranch Style Home Two Story Contemporary Home Two 3 BR / 2.5 BA 1818 Sq Ft • $191,400 3 BR / 2BA 1525 Sq Ft • $189,200 3 BR / 2.5 BA 1874 Sq Ft • $193,800 4 BR rent site’s user unfriendliness while u retaining the member’s financial J&A Bu portal.

Tiger Shark Thresher Mako and new Of interest: Phillips, a former 2-Story Contemporary Home 2-Story Contemporary Home 2-Story Contemporary Home 2-Story Contemporary Home are “stick senior department head in Ocean 3 BR / 2.5 BA 1774 Sq Ft 3 BR / 2.5 BA 2243 Sq Ft 3 BR/2.5 BA 1607 Sq Ft 3 BR / 2.5 BA 1874 Sq Ft suite w Pines, is not enamored with softLow-E wi ware solutions employed by the Ocean Pines Association. In a posted Mako Tiger Shark Hammerhead Thresher document listing software and WebPrices D $305,900 $214,900 $276,500 $278,500 OR the l site solutions used by area associahave up tion, the OPA’s NorthStar software Gre is criticized for “members getting Raised Home on Pilings Raised Home on Pilings Ti Raised Home on Pilings lost after being added,” for “can’t do3 BR / 2 BA 1745 Sq Ft • $232,400 4 BR / 3.5 BA 1940 Sq Ft • $257,500 3 BR / 2 BA 1349 Sq Ft • $174,200 ing golf,’ for difficulties in its point of sale system, and for problems in tracking work orders or covenant viRaised Home on Pilings Raised Home on Pilings Raised Home on Pilings Raised Home on Pilings olations.

3 BR/2 BA 1349 Sq Ft 3 BR / 2 BA 1663 Sq Ft 3 BR/2 BA 1745 Sq Ft 4 BR/3.5 BA 1940 Sq Ft The Ocean Pines Association J&A Builders specializes in spec home sales and new home construction. All of our models are “stick built” and feature a first floor master suite with standard appliance package, and Low-E Website doesn’t include access to windows. These are a few of our models we can build on your lot. Prices DO NOT include the the lot. Homes are of similar design and may have upgrades. Prices good for Captain’s Cove, member financial information and Greenbackville, Va. Only. Prices subject to change without notice. MHBR #4790 contains no member forum (both features on the Cove Website), according to the document.

The document favorably cited Sage Accounting software and EZHall Realty suites used by Indigo Golf in Cap4323 Captain’s Corridor ©2017 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServic tain’s Cove.

Greenbackville, VA. 23356 ® Phillips told the Progress that it’s of HomeServices of America, Inc. Equal Housing Opportunity.

302-381-6910 (cell) likely the Cove will move away from 757-854-1604 (office) Front Steps software for Website de757-854-1606 (fax) sign. u

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42 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021

OPINION

Aquatics and Parks and Recreation both require subsidies

A

lthough pools in Ocean Pines are considered an amenity, with Aquatics operations required under Ocean Pines Association board resolutions to “break even” financially, maybe it’s time to treat Aquatics the same way the Association treats the Parks and Recreation Department.

Why does it matter? It matters because, as noted by OPA Director Frank Daly at the May 15 board meeting, there appears to be a “structural deficit” in Aquatics.

He may be right. By that he means it’s a stubborn deficit, with a lot of fixed costs baked in and revenues not matching up with expenses.

Moreover, it was quietly disclosed

by General Manager John Viola during the meeting -- you had be listening carefully, paying attention -- that summer swim lessons haven’t been scheduled yet and may not be because there are no instructors available.

That’s a big hit financially. Precovid, swim lessons generated about $100,000 in revenue for the Aquatics Department.

One long-term instructor, who happens also to be a member of the Ocean Pines Aquatics Advisory Committee, followed Colby Phillips down to Captain’s Cove where he will be teaching classes in July and August. If all goes well, and there’s no reason it won’t, he could continue to teach classes at that community’s year-round indoor pool this fall.

Currently, lessons in Captain’s Cove are open to members and guests of members, so Ocean Pines parents and grandparents who want lessons for their kids and grand kids

Captain’s Cove

From Page 41 Swimming lessons -- Phillips has snagged long-time Ocean Pines swimming instructor Brooks Ensor, a member of the Ocean Pines Association’s Aquatics Advisory Committee, for her new swimming lesson program this summer.

He has over 50 years experience in teaching children how to swim and improve their swimming. He graduated from Towson State with a degree in elementary and secondary physical education. He has been a member of the American Swim Coaches Association and USA Swimming for over three decades.

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 are up a creek without an oar.

Read into that what you will. If Colby Phillips were still employed by the OPA, this well qualified instructor would be, too. A swim lesson program would be unfolding as this is being written. Phillips built OPA’s lesson and class programs into a powerhouse during her tenure, and now it will have to be rebuilt, almost from scratch.

Send a nice thank-you note to anyone who might bear some responsbility for making her feel disrespected and unwelcome in Ocean Pines.

Aquatics’ financial troubles are fixable, but it’s going to take time.

Meanwhile, other instructors with experience teaching in Ocean Pines are hesitant to return because of health-related concerns, according to Aquatics Director Kathleen Cook. With covid on a downward trejectory, maybe those concerns will ease over time.

But it appears as if the summer season is another lost season for lessons, creating the perception of an amenity with an intractable deficit. The junior lifeguard program is a casualty, too. The good news is that swim teams seem to be coming back, another vital revenue source for this department. Discount debit cards seem to be too much of a pain to be handled administratively -yay NorthStar! -- so new cards won’t be issued this summer while legacy There will be two, two-week sessions of Group Lessons offered to Cove members and their guests.

The first session is Monday, Wednesday and Friday, July 12-23.

The second session is July 26-Aug. 6, on the same three days. Ages 4 to 6 years old will be taught 4:30-5:10 p.m. with ages 7 to 12 years 5:20-6 p.m. Cost per student per session is $10 for members and $30 for guests.

Private Lessons for all ages will be offered starting the middle of June. Cost for a 30-minute lesson is $25 for members and $30 for guests of members. Cost for a 45-minute private lessons is $35 for members and $45 for guests.

Sign-ups will begin in early June.

cards will still be accepted, through Oct. 1.

The Parks and Recreation Department, not considered an “amenity” because it’s largely but not exclusively financed by annual lot assessments, is very much a success story because it managed its finances well during the pandemic and was well ahead of its projected operating deficit in 2020-21.

But keep in mind that this department is perennially budgeted to spend more than it takes in.

As Frank Daly might say, its operating deficit is structural.

It’s never turned in a surplus to the OPA and it won’t anytime in the future.

Its various programs from summer camp to fireworks displays and classes are very popular and help make Ocean Pines what it is as a community. The gymnasium in the Community Center is home to all sorts of recreational pursuits.

So what if Parks and Recreation requires an operating subsidy every year in Ocean Pines? We can and should live with the deficits.

Maybe the time has come to redefine Aquatics so it’s treated the same way the policy-makers and budget writers treat Parks and Recreation.

The relevant policy document could be rewritten to set as an objective that all amenity departments, as well as Parks and Recreation, break even financially in their totality, rather than each “amenity” separately. Instead of getting bogged down into a discussion on whether a department is a pure amenity or some sort of hybrid, better that golf, racquet sports, aquatics, food and beverage, marinas, beach parking and parks and recreation all be defined as amenities. The objective would be to manage each as cost-effectively as possible, but with the over-arching objective of break-even in their totality.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that, after all the arithmetic is done, amenities in Ocean Pines broadly defined already most years break even or better. Marinas and beach parking are the perennial cash cows, other departments not so much.

We just waste a lot of energy taking pot shots at one amenity or another for its drag on the budget.

A few years ago, golf seemed to take a lot of hits from critics. Actually, the carping about golf deficits has been constant over the decades. Now it appears to be payback time as golf is getting closer to break-even while Aquatics seems to be heading in the opposite direction.

Spare us the self-righteous breast-beating. Golf still lost money last year. Add in golf-related capital expenses and depreciation expense, which is paid annually out of the lot assessment, and it’s clear everyone has subsidized and will continue to subsidize golf.

For the forseeable future, OPA members will have to subsidize Aquatics in the same way they have been subsidizing Parks and Recreation and golf operations. So be it.

It’s a subsidy well worth paying.

Which isn’t to say efforts shouldn’t be made to reduce subsidies without sacrificing the quality of the services delivered.

Without all these amenities, broadly defined, whether individually producing surpluses or deficits, Ocean Pines wouldn’t be a community that people flock to. So let’s continue to make careful investments in our amenities, as needed.

The Ocean Pines Progress, a journal of news and commentary, is published monthly throughout the year. It is circulated in Ocen Pines, Ocean City, Berlin and Captain’s Cove, Va. 127 Nottingham Lane Ocean Pines, MD. 21811 PUBLISHER-EDITOR Tom Stauss stausstom@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES Frank Bottone 410-430-3660 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rota Knott 443-880-3953 Susan Canfora 410-208-8721

June 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 43

Call for your FREE crawl space assessment!

410-543-4848 MHIC #102406

“Delmarva’s Crawl Space Experts!”

44 Ocean Pines PROGRESS June 2021