May 2020 Ocean Pines Progress

Board meets in closed session to hear of ‘worst case’ scenarios

May 2020

General Manager John Viola will be the first one to admit it: He really doesn’t know what impact the coronavirus and Covid-19 will have on OPA finances this summer and for the rest of 2020-21.

But suffice it to say it won’t be positive.

He shared some projections of the impact with the Board of Directors in a closed meeting May 12. This followed an open session in which the directors agreed that the OPA will keep the $1.1 million received from the Small Business Administration’s payroll protection program (PPP). ~Page 10

OPA prospecting for at least one more candidate for board As of the official filing date of May 11, there were an insufficient number of candidates to file to meet the threshold in OPA by-laws requiring two more candidates than the number of seats to be filled.

OPA President Doug Parks appointed OPA Vice-president Steve Tuttle to the role of candidate headhunter. He has until July to find at least one more cadiddate willing to run. ~Page 17

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Ocean Pines begins slow-roll reopening

Bertino pushes back against defunding OP police department Saying he has always felt it was inappropriate to give the Ocean Pines Association special funding, Worcester County Commissioner President Joe Mitrecic during a May 12 county budget meeting argued for cutting aid for the Ocean Pines Police Department from the county’s fiscal year 2021 budget.

Commissioner Chip Bertino, one of Ocean Pines’ two county representatives, responded that whether or not Ocean Pines requested or applied for the PPP money has absolutely nothing to do with the county budget. ~Page 13

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Marinas, golf course, racquet sports first out of the box; Yacht Club, golf clubhouse to offer outside dining

By TOM STAUSS Publisher

T

he two-month coronavirus nightmare of shuttered “non-essential” businesses including operations of the Ocean Pines Association began to ease up this month.

The lifting of Maryland’s stay-at-home order in a Phase I reopening by Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, effective 5 p.m. on Friday, May 15, has breathed some life into prospeccts for Ocean Pines Association operations this summer.

No one expects a typical summer, as suggestions such as a six-foot social distancing and face masks in most settings remain in effect. General Manager John Viola expects amenity revenues to be down relative to budget by some unknown amount but also is hopeful that it won’t be as bad as some forecast models indicate.

The lifting of the stay-at-home order may help dissipate the fear that has prevented many people from venturing out in public and patronizing local businesses, some of which were deemed non-essential and were closed down while others were open only for curbside pick-up.

Even before the governor’s phase I reopening, some OPA amenities had opened for operations, subject to social distancing rules.

Included in the open list are marina operations at the Yacht Club and Swim and Raquet Club, the Ocean Pines golf course, the Ocean Pines racquet complex, the Beach Club parking lot (starting Memorial Day

weekend), parks, and walking and bike trails.

The Yacht Club as of May 15 was still limited to the very successful delivery-only service, which has been operating since March, but Matt Ortt Companies founding partner Ralph DeAngelus was hopeful that outside dining would be allowed at the facility Memorial Day weekend, if not sooner.

Indeed, he was operating under the hope that Hogan’s Phase I reopening would have included limited outside sit-down dining. He and a lot of Ocean City restaurateurs were similarly disappointed when, in the press conference announcing the lifting of the stay-atorder, the governor omitted any reference to outside dining.

Ocean City and Worcester County officials, with the support of State Sen. Mary Beth Carozza and State Del. Wayne Hartman, wrote to the governor just as the lifting of the stay-at-order went into effect. They collectively urged him to extend the Phase I easing to allow restaurants in the county to offer limited outside seating for on-site dining. Until then, these restaurants are able to offer carry-out and pick-up service only.

The governor has shown himself to be adaptable when responding to the requests of local officials, which perhaps could explain why the beach and boardwalk reopened in Ocean City even before the Phase I reopening. Ocean City officials made it clear that the welcome map was out to more than just residents, with an announcement that law enforcement would not be on To Page 26

Board defends decision to keep payroll protection loan, says OPA finances justify it despite criticism Page 6

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COVID-19

May 2020

Board defends keeping $1.1 million payroll loan Directors contend that reserves don’t constitute a rainy day fund

By TOM STAUSS Publisher n open meeting discussion in a special meeting of the Board of Directors May 12 turned into a consensus that the Ocean Pines Association is fully justified in keeping the $1.1 million payroll protection program loan provided the OPA by the Small Business Administration.

Some critics of the loan contend that in a time of financial hardship the OPA can dip into its reserve funds to help offset operating fund losses. Technically the board can do that, with a supermajority vote to shift funds out of the replacement reserve, but it’s not something that OPA governing documents endorse.

Parks said Ocean Pines’ governing documents prevent the Association from using reserve funds for operations, such as payroll, which is technically correct but not the

A

entire story. In an emergency situation there is nothing to prevent the board from shifting funds out of the replacement reserve into the operating fund, where it then can be used for payroll.

Resolution F-03 established reserves for capital asset replacements, road maintenance, bulkheads and waterways, and new capital.

“It’s not an operational reserve.

It’s not a rainy-day fund,” Parks said. “We’re required to carry a reserve fund to protect the assets that we have here in Ocean Pines.

“The concept of us having millions in the bank sitting around doing nothing but gathering interest and waiting for a rainy day is inaccurate at best,” he added.

The reference to a rainy fund is a response to recent published comments from prominent Ocean Pines residents Dale and Charlotte

Cathell that the reserves could be used as a rainy day fund if needed.

General Manager John Viola added that replacement reserves are already below recommended levels.

“We need the money in that account to deal with the year-in and year-out items that have to be replaced,” Director Larry Perrone said.

“If you think we’re going to tap into this replacement account, I think you need to shift your thought process,” Perrone continued. “It’s not going to be appropriate and ... it may not be possible.”

He later said that perhaps the board could consider creating an operating re4serve fund or “rainy day reserve” in the future, citing the establishment of a new capital reserve earlier this year.

Parks said a factor in seeking the loan was that the board previously extended the assessment deadline from May 1 to Aug. 1, to help those

struggling to pay. He said doing so meant the OPA would not have that money for operations.

According to Perrone, Ocean Pines has so far collected about $5.4 million in assessments, out of the expected total of $9.4 million, a 60 percent collection rate as of May 1.

Director Frank Daly also spoke about the decision to delay assessment collections.

“All of us got calls when the economy got ripped out from under people,” Daly said. “We went from one of the best economies in our lifetime ... to a Depression-level economy in 90 days. That is a dramatic shift that has never happened before.”

Daly said there were calls from homeowners “saying, literally, they had the choice between paying an assessment or putting food on the table.

“We said ... we can provide some relief out of compassion, because it was just an untenable situation,” Daly said. “But, come Aug. 1, we don’t know how much money of what we should have collected will be available.

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Payroll loan From Page 6

tinued, “but the operating problem is there no matter what and it’s going to be with us for the foreseeable future.”

Another factor, according to Perrone, is the lack of amenity revenue caused by COVID-19 closures. Viola previously said about 60% of revenues come from assessments, while amenities and other funding generate the remaining 40%.

“We may not be able to run our operation to take advantage of the projected revenue that usually comes with amenities running in prime season, based on the pandemic and the restrictions associated with it,” Parks said.

Viola said there was also the issue of a negative operational fund balance remaining from the more than $1.6 million in losses several years ago. He said about $150,000 of that remains as of May 1.

Perrone added one projection of additional losses this year related to COVID-19 could add another

$500,000 shortfall in the operations fund as of July 1, with more on top of that possible, if the loan was return to the SBA. On the issue of the legality of the loan, Parks said Ocean Pines’ attorneys, the Small Business Administration that oversees the Paycheck Protection Program, and the Bank of Ocean City that locally granted the loan all confirmed there were no issues with the application.

Parks admitted there initially was a concern over whether 501(c) (4) nonprofits, including Ocean Pines, were eligible for the federal aid.

“In discussions with both the Bank of Ocean City and our attorneys, it was noted that other HOAs had also been granted and approved this very same kind of loan,” he said.

Parks said a legal review of the loan included a tax attorney with Lerch, Early & Brewer. He said their advice was that, when the loan was approved, “there was no stipulation that said 501(c)(4) were not allowed or did not qualify for the PPP program.” That stipulation apparently

was added sometime after the OPA filed its application.

He said the Bank of Ocean City discussed the matter with the SBA, who added, “the terms and conditions that were in place when you were approved are the ones that take precedent.”

“We’re in a very good position,” Parks said. “We haven’t committed fraud. We haven’t committed any kind of egregious act.”

Director Camilla Rogers added, “On the day that we applied and we were given the loan, it was appropriate on that day and time, and the law supported us.”

“I am obviously not the attorney for this Association. However, as a person who is an attorney, I want to assure the group that I did my due diligence on this,” Rogers said. “I felt a need to really research this ... and I can assure you, from the bottom of my heart, that we did the right thing.”

Rogers said the process has been extremely fluid and compared it to “making law in the wilderness.

“The rules have changed in the

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middle, [but] I want to assure people in our community ... that we did not go into this half-heartedly,” she said.

“There was a lot of research done.”

Rogers also said she’d heard criticism that suggested that the OPA return the money “so it can be distributed ... to people with small businesses who really need it.”

“There was a sentiment out there that we took the money and we didn’t need it, and now there’s other businesses out there that are suffering,” Parks said. “I don’t know of any businesses that are going to go under or were denied funding because Ocean Pines was approved for funding ... there’s no evidence that that’s the case.

“I think that’s a little bit unfair and, quite frankly, it doesn’t really follow suit with how this whole process works,” Parks added.

Daly tried to sum up the conversation.

“We have applied for a Paycheck Protection Plan loan. The attorneys, the bank, and the Small Business Administration have all said what q

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From Page 8 we did was in full compliance the day that we applied,” he said.

“If we apply the money the way that it’s supposed to be applied ... to keep people on staff for a period of eight weeks, then that loan is converted to a grant and is ‘forgiven’ and we don’t have to pay it back,” Daly continued.

“Worst case scenario, the government comes back to us and they say, ‘The day that you applied you did everything perfectly right, so we’re fine with that, but this is not going to be a grant, it’s going to be a loan … and you have to pay it back at 1 percent interest,” he said. “It’s a loan that we would have had to probably take out anyway to cover our operating expenses. “End of discussion, right?” Daly said.

Tuttle said the entire process was like “building an airplane while it’s flying.”

“This thing is so fluid,” he said.

“Based on all the legal processes that have been done ... I think that we should keep the money ... and

stay on the horse and see where it ends up, because we don’t know where it’s going to end up and nobody can predict that.”

Following nearly an hour of discussion during the open part of the meeting, Board members voted 7-0 to go to closed session to continue the talks.

In the end, the directors unanimously agreed to keep the loan money.

According to Viola if the OPA uses the loan to cover payroll and related expenses, including benefits, as well as utility expenses in the eight weeks after receiving the funding, the loan will convert to a grant that would not have to be repaid.

During the May 3 Board of Directors meeting, Director Colette Horn suggested that a portion of the loan might have to be returned, a comment that drew critcism from oceanpinesforum.com commentator Joe Reynolds, an Ocean Pines resident.

He said the OPA should have known whether it was eligible for the full amount of the loan before submitting an application for it through the Bank of Ocean City.

Kiss Your

It turns out, however, that the OPA did not actually submit an application with a requested loan amount. Director of Finance Steve Phillips supplied the bank with payroll and related information and bank personnel submitted the paperwork based on that. The formula calculates payroll costs for eight or ten weeks -- there are conflicting reports on the number of weeks -- and then multiplies that by 2.5. It’s a fairly cut-and-dried calculation, Viola said.

The loan application was submitted April 7 and a little more than two weeks later the OPA received the funds, surprising everyone involved with how quickly the Small Business Administration, the program’s administator, and the U.S. Treasury turned it around.

OPA Treasurer and Director Larry Perrone said that “the SBA provided a formula to calculate our loan request. My understanding is the formula was for salaries and other costs as outlined in the Act. We are able to use eight weeks of salary and other costs for the loan/ grant. I believe Collette was refer-

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ring to any unused funds from the loan/grant after the eight weeks of salaries and other costs would be returned. That’s my impression of her comment.”

Viola agreed.

Other pushback on accepting and keeping the loan has come from former OPA Director Slobodan Trendic, who has been corresponding with Director of Finance Steve Phillips.

According to Trendic, the OPA isn’t eligible for the payroll protection program and the OPA had until May 14 to return the money.

“Just two days after you (OPA) applied for PPP loan your own industry trade association (the Community Associations Institute) puts out a email blast message stating among other things that HOAs are not eligible,” Trendic said in email to Phillips. “My reaction is: Hello Houston, this is mission control.... we have a problem. OPA should have withdrawn its application ASAP but you did not.”

Trendic quoted Dawn Bauman, senior vice-president of government and public affairs of the CAI in his q

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10 Ocean Pines PROGRESS Payroll loan

COVID-19

May 2020

Board meets in private to hear coronavirus worst case scenarios

From Page 9

email to Phillips.

“The House and Senate are currently negotiating additional funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Bauman wrote, and “while community associations are included in the Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loans, they are not included in the PPP, which potentially offers greater access to financial support than other loan programs.”

Trendic asked Phillips how he and the Board of Directors addressed the CAI official’s opinion.

Phillips didn’t respond, but OPA President Doug Parks, in a related response to an inquiry from the oceanpinesforum.com’s Joe Reynolds, in effect said that the OPA had been assured by its legal counsel and the Bank of Ocean City that the OPA was eligible.

“With regard to us not qualifying, we addressed that question with our attorneys and the Bank of Ocean City,” Parks said. “The bank also confirmed with a senior representative of the SBA that although the program qualifications have changed and are still in a state of flux, the terms that were in place when the loan was approved take precedence and changes were not retroactive.

Additionally the SBA noted that other homeowner associations also met the qualifications at the time and were approved for funding.”

Viola said that the OPA was among the first locally to apply for assistance.

“When the Paycheck Protection Program was announced, we immediately formed a task force to research the funding, and we were one of the first in the queue to apply through our local lender, the Bank of Ocean City,” Viola said.

The work group included Director of Finance and Operational Logistics Steve Phillips, Senior Executive Secretary Michelle Bennett, and Director of Public Relations and Marketing Josh Davis.

“The team was instructed to be relentless in their research and they studied the issues, made the necessary calls, and attended multiple virtual seminars and meetings to make sure that Ocean Pines was timely and prepared when we applied for the funding,” Viola said.

Phillips said the Paycheck Protection Program was a detailed and transparent process. Ocean Pines was informed that the application was qualified and approved.

Board votes to keep $1.1 million in payroll protection program funds

By TOM STAUSS Publisher eneral Manager John Viola will be the first one to admit it: He really doesn’t know what impact the coronavirus and Covid-19 will have on OPA finances this summer and for the rest of 2020-21.

But suffice it to say it won’t be positive.

He shared some projections of the impact with the Board of Directors in a closed meeting May 12.

This followed an open session in which the directors agreed that the OPA will keep the $1.1 million received from the Small Business Administration’s payroll protection program (PPP).

The clear consensus in the public session to keep the loan proceeds was confirmed in the closed session by a 7-0 unanimous vote.

Viola said the projections he and Director of Finance Phillips worked up contained assumptions that may prove to be inaccurate. The assumptions ranged from a loss of 25 percent to 75 percent of amenity revenues of about $3 million. If it reaches the high end of that range, the result could be an operational loss extendng into the millions of dollars.

How many millions depends on the assumptions.

Because of the uncertainty, Viola told the board he did not want to release the projections to the OPA members out of concern it would sow confusion in the OPA membership. “I have a 12-month projection with a ton of assumptions,” he said, with results that he said were “all over the place.”

Viola said those projections should be discussed only in closed session. Directors agreed.

OPA Director and Treasurer Larry Perrone said one projection he was willing to share is an estimated decrease in the operating fund of $500,000 as of July 1, relative to the fund balance on May 1, based primarily in part on assessments that have been paid to the OPA at a pace that is roughly 60 percent of what normally occurs as of that date, the beginning of the OPA’s 2020-21 fiscal year.

The board recently extended the deadline for paying assessments from May 1 to Aug. 1.

Perrone said he didn’t want to discuss these projections in open session because of criticism that might be targeted at Viola and Finance Director Steve Phillips.

Director Colette Horn suggested that discussing the projections in public could also involve the possibility of staff layoffs, something she said should be done in closed session only.

Layoffs are not currently on the table in Ocean Pines, in part because of the $1.1 million PPP loan.

In addition, the OPA has received another $200,000

G

or possibly as much as $279,000 earmarked to the Yacht Club in PPP funds received by the Matt Ortt Companies, Viola told the Progress recently.

Viola said during the May 12 special meeting that he had been worried that the annual county contribution to the OPA, used primarily to support the Ocean Pines Police Department, would be cut from the county’s 2020-21 vudget.

After talking with County Commissioner Chip Bertino, Viola said he was more confident that the funds will be made available again this year.

The OPA also is in line to receive a $114,011 federal grant as part of the CARES act, of which the PPP is a part.

Another factor that could help OPA finances was the expected lifting of Governor Larry Hogan’s stay-at-home order and the phase I reopening of the local economy during a May 13 press conference.

Ralph DeAngelus, a founding partner in the Matt Ortt Companies, said recently he hopes that phase I reopening will allow dining service on the outside deck at the Yacht Club. The first group of staff has been hired back in anticipation of that, he told the Progress, and he also confirmed that the well-received delivery service will be continued.

Shortly after the governor’s press conference, DeAngelus expressed frustration that Hogan did not explicitly say that restaurants could operate on outdoor patios or decks. But Viola told the Progress that local attorney Joe Moore is working to clarify that and that the Yacht Club could, under Phase I, operate outside dining on the deck under the second floor overhang, but not further out closer to the marina.

The Yacht Club, because of the Covid-19 business closures, has lost 100 percent of the wedding banquet business in the March through June period, DeAngelus said. The MOC received $271,000 in payroll protection program funding from the Small Business Administration. It’s been allocated to the Yacht Club as revenue.

The Board released the following statement about the closed session: “Last night, the Board met in closed session to discuss possible options regarding the approved loan in conjunction with the Payroll Protection Program. With the ever-changing situation in the federal government regarding an organization’s qualifications and financial status, our due diligence is to continue to stay abreast of the current developments and make a determination on the approved loan.

“We reviewed various scenarios regarding the effect of the keeping the loan on both our short and To Page 12

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 11

12 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

COVID-19

May 2020

Directors debate closed session to discuss payroll protection loan Four directors oppose Parks’s motion to address issue in private

By TOM STAUSS Publisher wo Ocean Pines Association directors initially wanted to go into closed session to discuss whether to keep the Small Business Administration’s $1.1 million payroll protection loan, expressing support for President Doug Parks’s motion to that effect.

But four other directors wanted to have that discussion in public as a way of educating OPA members on the raionale of applying for the loan and keeping it.

The debate occurred early in a May 12 special meeting.

In favor of the open meeting discussion were OPA Vice-President Steve Tuttle and directors Tom Janasek, Frank Daly and Camille Rogers.

Larry Perrone and Colette Horn intiailly supported the motion for a private discussion.

Parks’s motion was a call to adjourn to a closed session citing “matters pertaining to employees and personnel as permitted by the MD

T

Financial impact From Page 10

long-term financial position. We also discussed what effect returning the funds would have on those same short and long-term financial positions. One of the goals was to ensure we considered all relevant factors in determining whether we keep the approved loan or return the funds.

Other considerations included possible reductions and/or elimination of services, staff layoffs, hiring freezes and modified program offerings at various amenities.

“After much discussion and careful thought, the Board unanimously decided to keep the approved loan and use it for payroll and utilities as it was intended. Multiple discussions with our attorneys, the Small Business Administration and representatives from the Bank of Ocean City were an important influence in arriving at the decision. The Board and the GM will continue to monitor the situation and the GM’s finance team will manage the expenses in compliance with the requirements of the loan.”

Homeowner’s Association Act.” “There are some speculative numbers that we’re looking at to try to help us make a decision, and there will absolutely be some discussion on what would happen if these numbers are negative” that could lead to discussions on personnel, Parks said, adding Maryland law prohibits doing so.

The implication seemed to be that the OPA might have to consider layoffs as a way of dealing with the financial effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but General Manager John Viola later told the Progress that there was no discussion of layoffs in the closed meeting.

The first indication that Parks’s inclination to discuss the loan in private would result in pushback by his colleagues was a comment by Tuttle, who said he was not in favor of going into closed session.

“The primary discussion is about the PPP loan – it’s not about staffing,” he said. “I feel like we owe it to our membership to allow them to hear ... the whole conversation around the PPP loan.”

Director Tom Janasek agreed.

“I don’t think it’s directly affecting our personnel,” he said. “We’re discussing whether we should or whether we shouldn’t keep [the loan.]

Perrone said he disagreed with Janasek.

“The discussion will directly affect our employees,” he said. “It’s not appropriate to let our employees know what’s going to happen” to them in a public discussion. That should be conveyed to them by the general manager, he added.

Horn, a candidate for relection to the board this summer with Parks, said he agreed with Perrone.

“It’s difficult to have a free-wheeling discussion in public,” she said, adding that the board could announce its decision on the payroll protection plan after the closed meeting.

Camille Rogers said she came down on the side of open discussion and proposed a compromise of sorts.

She suggested discussing the merits of keeping the PPP funds in open session but that if the debate crossed over into a discussion of per-

sonnel then the board could vote to go into executive session.

Director Frank Daly initially said he was “on the fence” about whether to go into closed session to discuss the payroll protection loan, but then came down in the side of transparency. He said he thought the public would benefit from hearing more about the fiscal impact of any decision related to the loan.

“There’s a misconception that we have this huge amount of money that we’re sitting on, that we can just transfer like a magic wand,” he said.

He, too, said that any discussion of personnel could be held in closed session.

Viola told the board if it decided to conduct the discussion in public -and by then four directors indicated they wanted to -- he would not want to reveal his forecasts of possible impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on OPA finances. He said they would lead to confusion among the membership.

“The numbers are all over the place,” he said. “I have 12-month forecasts with tons of assumptions,” none of which he is confident will unfold. Two of his forecasts assumed amenity revenues that fall short of budget by 75 percent and 50 percent.

Perrone said he didn’t have a problem with discussing the payroll protection loan in public but agreed with Viola that “the last thing we want to do is put out a bunch of numbers [that will] subject {Viola] and [Director of Finance] Steve [Phillips] to criticism” and “will affect staffing.”

Janasek wasn’t buying the notion that keeping projections based on assumptions out of the public domain would protect employees from hearing about potential layoffs.

“There’s not an employee in America who isn’t worred about his job,” he said.

He then went on to say that to him the issue was whether the OPA application was submitted in accordance with terms of the enabling legislation and whether “we are legally bound to keep it or give it back.”

Viola pushed back on the idea that there was anything wrong with the payroll protection loan application. “There was nothing wrong with the numbers,” he said. He said the board didn’t need his forecasts to decide in open session the merits of keeping the loan.

Parks agreed with the board majority by saying that if the open session discussion would exclude discussion of “speculative numbers” and personnel issues he would be “more than happy” to discuss the PPP issue in public.

“What if we have to layoff 25 people. That’s hypothetical and speculative” and Parks said he wouldn’t want to “cross the line” and discuss that in public.

Arbor Day award

The Maryland Urban and Community Forest Committee has recognized the Ocean Pines Association with the PLANT Bronze Award for the Ocean Pines Garden Club’s annual Arbor Day ceremony.

The award is presented every year for a single project or activity that brings together a community and trees. This is the first time the Ocean Pines Garden Club has received the honor. “Last year’s ceremony was led by the efforts of event chair Ann Shockley and then President Linda Baker.

Patti Lookner is the club’s current president.

WORCESTER COUNTY

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Bertino pushes back against proposed cut in police funding County grant for “cardboard and gun powder” Fourth of July fireworks fizzles

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer aying he has always felt it was inappropriate to give the Ocean Pines Association special funding, Worcester County Commissioner President Joe Mitrecic during a May 12 county budget meeting argued for cutting aid for the Ocean Pines Police Department from the county’s fiscal year 2021 budget.

While fellow commissioners didn’t back Mitrecic’s position on the police funding, a majority did vote to eliminate funding for Ocean Pines’ Fourth of July fireworks.

Irked by the OPA’s application for and securing of more than $1 million in funding through the federal Payroll Protection Program, Mitrecic said the OPA is the only group in the entire county that gets funding for its police department through the county’s annual “grants to town” line item in the operating budget.

Last year that police aid grant was $475,000, but for FY 21 the OPA asked for an increase to $525,000 in support for its police department.

However, during a staff review of the funding request, the proposed allocation for the OPA for police aid was kept at $475,000.

“Now, this year, they applied for and got federal money for the PPP, which was over a millions dollars, which they will in fact charge their homeowners in the future and recoup that money although they’re putting it off for a little bit of time. I think they’re forgoing it for a couple of months on when their dues are available,” Mitrecic said.

Because the OPA tapped into the PPP funding, Mitrecic said he has even more of a problem with providing significant county funding to the OPA. “So I do have a problem with the police grant for Ocean Pines.

I always have and this year even more so because of the PPP money that they received.”

Commissioner Chip Bertino, one of Ocean Pines’ two county representatives, responded that whether or not Ocean Pines requested or applied for the PPP money has absolutely nothing to do with the county budget. “It’s none of our business how a municipality or Ocean Pines goes about its business,” he said.

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Bertino added that 40 percent of Ocean Pines’ revenue is generated from its amenities. “It’s not all from what you referred to as the homeowner’s association fees,” he told Mitrecic. The amenities, he said, are all open to the public.

“The other aspect of it is that none of the PPP money goes toward the police department,” Bertino said.

“Those are mutually exclusive, and I don’t think should be confused at all with what that funding was going toward.”

“Well, as you mentioned 60 percent of it is paid by the homeowners in Ocean Pines,” Mitrecic responded.

But he contended that 60 percent of $475,000 grant from the county to support the Ocean Pines Police Department is paid for by the Town of Ocean City.

Bertino said “that’s a conversation that’s been ongoing for years, certainly. But again, it’s none of our business however the municipalities, Ocean City, Berlin, Snow Hill Pocomoke, Ocean Pines goes about business as far as revenue or any grants that they may receive. That’s none of our business to taking it off what the county does.”

While no other commissioners chimed in on that debate, Commissioner Josh Nordstrom questioned the provision of $10,000 in county funding for “cardboard and gunpowder,” or the OPA’s annual fireworks.

Nordstrom said he saw in the proposed grants to towns that the share of the local impact funds from casino revenue have been cut from the contributions to the Town of Snow Hill and Pocomoke City. He said he is disappointed in that “but I understand the budget we’re looking at and I know we all have to be realistic.”

He didn’t mentioned that casino revenues are being cut for the OPA as well.

He said in looking at the Ocean Pines budget he noticed there’s still funding of $10,000 for a Fourth of July celebration and a $10,000 recreation grant. “Can we justify these things when we’re cutting things like Furnace Town?” Nordstrom said, referencing the elimination of funding for local nonprofits from the proposed budget.

Nordstrom offered a motion, which was given a second by Commissioner Ted Elder, to remove that $10,000 for Ocean Pines’ Fourth of July event.

Bertino argued for keeping the funds in the budget because the event has benefitted more than just Ocean Pines. “It’s not held at Ocean Pines. I believe it’s held at Showell Park. It is open to everybody. It is not just an Ocean Pines event. It is available and open to folks in the rural part of Bishopville, Whaleyville and those areas,” he said. “It’s certainly not exclusive to Ocean Pines.

Ocean Pines wanted it and requested it because it is an event that goes outside of Ocean Pines.”

The motion to remove the $10,000 in funding from the grant to Ocean

Pines Association passed five to two with only Bertino and Commissioner Jim Bunting opposed.

The OPA requested a total of $1.617 million in funding from the county for FY21, an increase from the $1.392 million approved in FY20.

The funding request includes $128,162 in street grant funds, $40,000 for recreation, $100,00 for road and bridge repairs, $25,000 for tourism for the July 4 celebration, $525,000 in aid for the police department and $50,000 in a restricted grant for the fire department.

Additionally, the OPA’s request includes $217,819 for a county grant to the fire department, $32,181 for a supplemental grant to the fire department, and $498,990 for ambulance services.

The OPA also expects to receive $33,271 in state pass-thru aid for the fire department.

Harold Higgins, county administrator, said the county has proposed only a nominal increase in funding for the towns and the OPA.

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WORCESTER COUNTY

May 2020

Rates are Low Call Us Today

Worcester’s share of CARES package tops $9 million OPA could receive $114,011 grant

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer orcester County appears likely to receive more than $9.121 million in federal resources through the $2 trillion CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act Recovery Funding.

Of the federal funding package, $339.8 billion is allocated for state and local governments.

Worcester County’s share of the coronavirus relief fund is estimated to be $9.121 million, with the county initially receiving a 50 percent allocation.

Of that total amount, the county is considering giving the Ocean Pines Association $114,011.

During a May 12 budget session, the Worcester County Commissioners reviewed the funding estimate and proposed spending package as presented by county staff. Kelly Shannahan, assistant chief administrative officer, in a May 7 memo to the commissioners said the focus of the first half of the federal funding allocation is for expenditures directly related to addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, the response phase.

“We understand that this could include things like additional staffing, cleaning or disinfection supplies, medical supplies like masks and personal

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May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

CARES funding

County considers increase in Ocean Pines water and wastewater rates Public hearing set for June 2

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ustomers in the Ocean Pines Sanitary Service Area will pay $4 per quarter more for basic water and wastewater if the Worcester County Commissioners adopt the fiscal year 2020-2021 proposed operating budget for the enterprise fund.

The commissioners will hold a public hearing on June 2 on the proposed water and wastewater enterprise fund operating budgets, assessments, user charges, and other charges for each of the 11 sanitary service areas, including the Ocean Pines Service Area, and sub-areas.

Individual rates are set to cover the operating and maintenance costs for each SSA operated by the Worcester County Department of Public Works, Water and Wastewater Division. User charges cover the

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operation and maintenance of these facilities, and rates are SSA specific. In addition to user fees, a debt service assessment is levied to repay bonds and loans for capital water and sewer infrastructure that is financed by the county, and all assessments are based per equivalent dwelling unit.

In Ocean Pines rates will increase from $175 to $179 per EDU per quarter domestic water and sewer base fee, and increase from $161.75 to $164.75 per EDU per quarter for the domestic sewer only flat charge. Additional domestic water and sewer charges will be levied at a rate of $1.60 per 1,000 gallons up to 10,000 gallons.

The base range fee for commercial water and sewer will increase from $212 to $1,766 at present to $227 to $1,890 based on total EDUs. Properties are clasq

From Page 12 protective equipment and testing,” he said.

The funding period is from March 1 to Dec. 31.

As required, the Worcester County Health Department submitted a plan to the state by May 1 to specify how the county proposes to use its share of the response funds. Just prior to the May 1 deadline, the state also advised the county that the recovery funding plan was to be submitted by each county administrative office by May 8.

The additional 50 percent of funding for the recovering phase is not limited to health related expenditures and may include business assistance programs.

Worcester County’s finance team drafted and presented to the commissioners a proposal for distribution of the first half of the recovery funding of $4.56 million.

That plan calls for the county to retain 25 percent of that amount, $1.14 million, to cover the county’s cost of recovery services.

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16 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

WORCESTER COUNTY

May 2020

OP dominates applications for short-term rental licenses

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer hile non-essential, shortterm home rentals in unincorporated areas of Worcester County have been lifted despite the continuing Covid-19 pandemic, most of those approved and licensed prior to the public health emergency were located in Ocean Pines.

Whether or not they have received the OK from the county to lease their home for fewer than 28 days, property owners county-wide were prohibited from doing so until Governor Larry Hogan lifted his statewide stay-at-home order.

With that order lifted in mid-May, Ocean Pines could be at the center of the county’s burgeoning shortterm rental market via services like VRBO and Airbnb.

Jennifer K. Keener, Worcester County zoning administrator, said the county has received 186 total applications for short-term rental licenses county-wide and so far has reviewed 76 of them. “While we do not currently have the system set up to track by region or subdivision, I can tell you just by looking through the list that the majority of the

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Utility rates From Page 15 sified as subdivision and business or industrial based upon existing land use or committed or approved zoning or land use. Residential properties are classified as subdivisions and all others are classified as business or industrial.

There will also be an increase in the White Horse Park domestic water and sewer flat rate from $138 to $141 per lot per quarter.

Standard assessments for debt service will remain at $37 per EDU per quarter debt service. New Ocean Pines customers who have already paid the required equity contribution do not pay the standard assessment for debt service, but instead shall pay supplemental assessments for additional debt service established at $20 per EDU per quarter.

Overall, the requested OPSA operating budget for FY21 totals $7.57 million, an increase from the FY20 approved budget of $7.22 million.

short-term rentals are in the Ocean Pines area,” Keener said in an email to the Progress.

Following extensive debate by the Worcester County Commissioners and several opportunities for public input, the county adopted regulations and licensing requirements for short-term rentals last year. It began accepting applications from property owners and issuing licenses in January.

Under the new regulations any person or firm who rents or offers to rent any type of real property for any time frame for sleeping accommodations, including single-family dwellings, lots for the placement of mobile homes, recreational vehicles, or tents, to first obtain a rental license from the county.

In accordance with the governor’s stay-at-home order, the commissioners in March declared that all non-essential, short-term rentals in West Ocean City, Ocean Pines, and all other unincorporated areas of Worcester County should be cancelled. The emergency measure was implemented to stop the spread of the coronavirus in Worcester County.

“We recognize that the actions we are taking here today are unprecedented, in fact many of us have never seen or experienced such restrictions before in our lifetimes,” Commission President Joe Mitrecic said when announcing the restrictions.

“But these measures are meant to protect the public health by stopping the spread of COVID-19.

These measures will, ultimately, save lives. We truly look forward to a day in the not too distant future when we can once again roll out the welcome mat and get back to the business of being a world-class destination that attracts residents and visitors from across the globe. But, today is not that day.”

As part of the county’s emergency declaration, the commissioners restricted short-term accommodations for hotels and rentals to essential lodgers. This includes but is not limited to hotels, motels, condo-hotels, rental properties, inclusive of private renters or management companies and HOAs, Airbnb, VRBO style lodging, and other overnight accommodations Essential lodgers are defined by the emergency declaration

to include healthcare professionals and/or first responders, law enforcement, National Guard members, State or federal government employees, journalists, others responding to COVID-19, full-time residents of Worcester County, who, for any reason, are temporarily unable to reside in their primary residential home; or persons who must vacate their homes due to exigent circum-

stances, such as fire or flood, persons sheltering in hotels due to domestic violence or hotel employees, service providers, and contractors.

“Our goal is to elicit voluntary compliance with the county’s latest emergency declaration,” Mitrecic said, emphasizing the need for compliance by rental entities. “However, due to the deadly nature of this health crisis, in instances where these directives are not obeyed, we are prepared to fully enforce this action.”

The county’s rental licensing fee for short-term rentals of 28 days or fewer is $200 per year per unit.

COUNTY BRIEFS Board of Education waives final exams

Due to the mandated closure of schools and Continuity of Learning plan to mitigate the spread of coronavirus disease, Worcester County Public Schools has waived the final exams for all semester two courses and yearlong courses for the 20192020 school year.

The Worcester County Board of Education approved the waiver during an April 21 meeting.

Dr. Annette Wallace, chief operating and academic officer for grades 9 through 12 presented the request, saying in order to maintain equity and fairness for all students, the school system has determined it is not in the students’ best interest for final exams to be administered.

These exams were created with the mindset that students who face the most challenges would be provided supports prior to the exam and during the exam in an equitable way.

County seeks bids for treatment plant work

Worcester County Commissioners on May 5 approved the bid documents for rehabilitation of treatment unit number 3 at the Ocean Pines wastewater treatment plan.

The total cost for the construction project is estimated at $500,000 and funding for the project was included in a 2019 county bond issue.

The treatment unit is an activated sludge process built in the 1990s.

The plant capacity was expended in 2004.

Showell Park project comes in over budget

With the low bid for the project

$46,000 over the budget, Worcester County Parks and Recreation is going back to the drawing board for a new concession stand and restrooms at Showell Park.

In April, the Worcester County Commissioners reviewed and rejected all bids for the 720-square-foot proposed facility.

The low bid of $246,000 from The Whayland Company of Laurel, Del. was more than the $200,000 allocated by the county for the project through the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Program Open Space grant.

That grant will cover 90 percent of project costs, including installation of water and wastewater service and purchase of concession equipment, which were not included in the construction bid package.

Utility disconnections on hold by county

In response to the impact of COVID-19 on residents, Worcester County has temporarily stayed service disconnections for unpaid water bills in the service areas managed by the Department of Public Works.

County Administrator Harold Higgins said during an April meeting that the county is following the state guidelines prohibiting disconnection of service at this time.

He said the water bills have been issued to customers in the county’s service areas, however the county will not discontinue service for nonpayment.

Additionally, Higgins said the county will waive any penalties that may accrue due to nonpayment for a full 30 days after the commissioners lift their county-wise declaration of a state of emergency.

OCEAN PINES

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

17

OPA looking for at least one more candidate for Board of Directors Tuttle named candidate headhunter

By TOM STAUSS Publisher hat if they gave an election and nobody came?

The Ocean Pines Association is not facing that dire situation in this summer’s Board of Directors election.

But as of the official filing date of May 11, there were an insufficient number of candidates to file to meet the threshold in OPA by-laws requiring two more candidates than the number of seats to be filled.

Two seats are up for grab’s in this summer’s contest, with Directors Doug Parks and Colette Horn previoulsy announcing as candidates for reelection.

Also filing as a candidate is Stuart Kapernick, husband of former director Esther Diller.

That leaves the election slate one short of the number of candidates

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needed.

This situation has never before happened in the history of Ocean Pines.

It’s a dramatic departure from only a rew years ago, when 11 candidates filed as candidates, one later dropping out.

Parks, the OPA president, announced the candidate shortage at a special meeting of the board May 12.

Citing the by-laws that give the president the authority to search for additional candidates, Parks said he had to recuse himself from that task because of the obvious conflict of interest.

He appointed OPA Vice-president Steve Tuttle to the role of candidate headhunter.

Parks said that Tuttle had until the first Friday in July to come up with at least one more candidate in

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order to meet the deadline for the sending out mail ballots to property owners.

Actually, as a practical matter, Tuttle will have to come up with one or more candidates sooner than that first week of July because of the time required to print ballots and election materials, as well as the summer edition of the OPA newsletter, that includes candidate information.

The prospect of an insufficient number of candidates for this summer’s board election was noted during a meeting of the Elections Committee May 8.

Bylaws and Resolutions Advisory Committee chair Jim Trummel told members of the elections panel that if the May 11 deadline passed with only three candidates, someone would have to take on the role of finding at least one more.

Tuttle, before being elected to the

Steve Tuttle board in 2018, served as chairman of the Elections Committee.

In past years, an active Search Committee ensured an adequate number of candidates for the board, even while most candidates historically have filed without prompting by the Search Committee.

However, for the past two years, the committee has been practically defunct, with Parks serving as the board’s liason to a committee that hasn’t had enough members to function.

When he announced his candidacy for reelection last month, Parks resigned as liaison to the committee, with Director Larry Perrone appointed to replace him.

There are no members listed as members of the Search Committee on the OPA’s newly redesigned Web site.

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OCEAN PINES

May 2020

A second wave of returning Yacht Club employees receive their shares of tip money resulting from home delivery services that began this past March.

Home delivery service to continue after Yacht Club reopens for dining Matt Ortt Companies achieves goal of raising $10,000 in tips

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the Yacht Club, said in a May 10 telephone inteview that the delivery service will become a new source of contunuing revenue for the Yacht Club, even after indoor dining returns to the Yacht Club as part of Maryland’s reopening.

Meanwhile, the MOC has brought back 11 employees to the Yacht Club in anticipation of the reopening, which DeAngelus expects will soon allow outdoor seating on the Yacht Club patio.

Those 11 employees were awarded their share of the $10,000 in tips collected during the shutdown as MOC managers kept the amenity open for home delivery when restaurants in the state were shut down in mid-March.

Since March 18, MOC managers have been working at the Yacht

Club making and delivering family meals to Ocean Pines residents.

They set a goal to raise $10,000 in tips to give to the hourly staff members once they were allowed to return back to work.

DeAngelus said the first wave of hourly employees brought back in early May in anticipation of the Phase I reopening received their share of the $10,000 in tips collected since March.

A second wave arrived shortly after that.

Each employee received $227 in cash and “were enthusiastic and appreciative,” DeAngelus said.

“They were begging to come back to work and we felt great we were able to do that,” DeAngelus said.

“The tips were an added bonus.”

The same $227 payment will be made to the remaining employees who were on staff when the shutdown was imposed in March.

These remaining employees will brought back when phase II of the reopening occurs, which he anticipates will allow inside dining at the Yacht Club.

He expressed appreciation of the generosity of residents of Ocean Pines who made achieving the goal of $10,000 in tips possible.

“Congratulations not only to these managers, but to Ocean Pines as well, for proving once again that we are a family,” DeAngelus said.

The Ocean Pines Yacht Club remains open for delivery and carryout each Wednesday through Sunday, from 4-8 p.m.

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This zucchini or squash casserole beat eggs, stir in mayonnaise, onion, Pines represe May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 19 is an excellent vegetarian dish or a green pepper, cheese and seasonand unique General Manager’s report t welcome side to any dinner. ings. Add squash his and turn into delivered during the May 2 Board of Directors greased 1-1/2 qt. baking dish. meeting.

Dot The new golf clubhouse I ask for isyou “basically complete,” Zucchini or Squash Casserole with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for with issuance of a certificate of occupancy expected Primary Elec 4 cups chopped (skin on) 30 minutes. any day now. The county asked for Golf clubhouse costs OPA about $1.5 million our district. somemy additional paperwork from squash or zucchini or a combinaI enjoy hearing from readers

By TOM STAUSS 25 percent.

Administration Building should the architect related to to the tiondepartment of both expansion/ come in at roughly and will be happy answer any electric layout, Viola said, and that Publisher The police $125,000, half to delayed the process somewhat. eneral Manager John Viola renovation project, to be completed the budgeted $250,000.

Whayland 2 eggs questions about my recipes.

“It’s looking pretty neat,” Viola normally is an even-keeled by the end of this year, should also submitted the successful bid on said. “There’s a patio that’ll come kind of guy despite his roots come in under budget by an as yet these two projects, as well.

1 cup mayonnaise bevwisch@aol.com in New York. But he recently stepped undetermined amount, while the Viola supplied construction from the Clubhouse Grille for the out of character to boast about how renovation of the main wing of the and other project updates during If you’d like well capital projects are unfolding I can financially in the Covid-19 era of financial challenges. As the saying Berti

OCEAN PINES

Viola touts capital projects for coming in under budget

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In a May 8 telephone inteview, Viola cited four capital projects that have either been completed or will be this calendar year.

All are coming in under budget,, he said.

The just completed golf clubhouse project is perhaps the most noteworthy.

It was the subject of a failed petition drive last year that sought to force a referendum of property owners to approve up to $1.6 million in spending on the new clubhouse.

The petition drive came up short in gathering the required number of signatures to force a referendum, suggesting that most property owners were not all that discontented with the idea of replacing a wornout 1970s-era eyesore of a Country Club with a new golf clubhouse.

The estimated cost did not cause much sticker shock, either, and Viola and others vowed to keep the final cost under the accepted bid of $1.6 million submitted by Whayland Construction.

Viola told the Progress that Whayland Construction’s costs have come in at $1,394,000, with another $100,000 in in-house costs incurred by the Public Works Department.

The final cost of $1.494 million includes some items not included in the Whayland bid, such as the “Dave Stevens” fireplace add-on named after the late former OPA president and director.

The OPA is awaiting the arrival of an awning to be installed above the back deck, to protect against the elements.

The new golf cart barn, completed several month’s ago, came in under budget by about $100,000, beating the upper range of the bid submnitted by Whayland by about

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20 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

May 2020

The expanded Ocean Pines Police Department building under construction is expected to be complete by year’s end.

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Capital projects From Page 19 golfers … [and] there is another patio that will be used for the banquets and the community center.”

Viola said the multi-purpose building would accommodate golfers, as well as banquets and community events, and the new Clubhouse Bar and Grille restaurant.

He said construction of the Police station expansion is still on schedule and on budget.

On the software side, efforts continue to implement the new Northstar financial systems across

all departments.

“It is moving,” Viola said of the latter. “It is a team effort ... and, at the end of the day, I believe we will be successful.”

This is one capital project that will probably come in slightly over budget, the result of having to customize various software features tailored to OPA operations.

A drainage improvement project in the Borderlinks area has wrapped, with the total price slightly over the $100,000 budget, coming in at $101,350.

Elsewhere in operations, Viola said the Association is focused on communications during the unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I believe we have a very good communication team,” Viola said. “I just want to point out, for this type of situation ... there’s no playbook.”

Viola said the communication plan includes monitoring state and federal updates and sharing those across Association platforms.

Ocean Pines also continues to exchange information with neighboring communities, including Worcester County, Ocean City and Berlin, to help supply benchmarking.

“We’re certainly doing the best we can, and I believe we’re addressing everything,” he said.

Covid-19 updates appear regularly on the recently redesigned OPA Web site.

As reported elsewhere in this edition of the Progress, amenities in Ocean Pine that were closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic are slowly beginning to reopening, with the golf course and other outdoor recreation among those available for use by OPA members.

OCEAN PINES

Board thumbs down on proposal to give Viola more authority

D

uring the May 12 special meeting of the Board of Directorss, Director Frank Daly withdrew a motion that would have empowered General Manager John Viola to apply for county, state and federal aid while Maryland is under a state of emergency because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

After some discussion, Daly and others agreed the motion was not necessary and he rescinded it.

Daly had in mind the possibility that Congress will pass and

President Trump will sign yet another Covid-19 stimulus package containing funds that in theory could pass through to the OPA. He said it was clear that various programs designed to help people and businesses adversely affected by the pandemic run out of money within 72 hours of going operational. He also noted that as a board “we received criticism” for not having formally approved in a public vote the decision that led to the OPA filing an application for

OCEAN PINES BRIEFS Board OK amendments to various resolutions

payroll protection program grant money.

General Manager John Viola advised the board of his action, including appointment of a task force to work on details of submitting a PPP application to the Small Business Administration through the Bank of Ocean City.

“I don’t know if there will be any more programs,” Daly said, but he said wanted Viola to be able to act quickly without having to obtain board approval before hand. He said e-mal notification would suffice.

The first director to comment on Daly’s motion, Larry Perrone, said he

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 21 didn’t think it was necessary.

He said he didn’t know if the action was allowed by the OPA by-laws and was a “bit of an over-reaction. John will be communicating with us if a funding opportunity becomes available “and the directors can respond very quickly through email.”

Director Steve Tuttle agreed, for the same reasons mentiioned by Perrone.

Director Camille Rogers said initially she supported the motion, but added that she believed that Viola “would keep us informed” in any case.

Director Tom Janasek said he agreed with Perrone and Tuttle, and OPA President Doug Parks said that the GM could alreedy act as envisioned

by Daly under the bylaws.

But he told Daly he was glad the proposal was brought up for discussion.

At that point, realizing the motion would fail if it went to a vote, Daly withdrew it.

T

he Board of Directors approved final versions of several board resolutions during its May 2 virtual monthly meeting. Board members voted unanimously to accept second readings for four separate resolutions, which is the last step in the amendment process.

Approved were changes to M-01 (Architectural Review Committee guidelines and violations), C-02 (Architectural Review Committee), M-04 (maintenance of lots) and C-11 (Golf Advisory Committee).

Director Frank Daly presented each of the resolutions, adding that the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee had reviewed each change.

According to Daly, the new M-01 included an addendum of “sample Board meeting requirements.”

The amended Resolution C-02 added the word “General Manager” to the Declarations of Restriction violation procedures, Daly said. Because of the change, he said the Compliance, Permit and Inspections (CPI) Department would first review violations and then send those to the General Manager for action.

In a related change, the revised M-04 dropped the entire Section 4, on “Rubbish and Debris,” Daly said.

“With the acceptance of this second reading, we have now changed the enforcement policy so that, when there is a violation of the Declaration of Restrictions, it’s basically the homeowner’s responsibility to correct it within 30 days,” Daly said. “And, if not, John [Viola] is empowered as the general manager to get a court order to force compliance, at the end of that 30-day window.”

The new C-11 guarantees one seat on the Golf Advisory Committee for each of the following groups: the Ocean Pines Ladies’ Golf Association, the Ocean Pines Mens’ Golf Association, and the Ocean Pines Golf Members’ Council. Daly said the Golf Advisory Committee recommended the change, to include more stakeholders.

Directors approve federal PPP loan

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Association President Doug Parks moved during the May 2 board meeting “to accept the approved loan in conjunction with the PPP [Paycheck Protection Program].” He said the action would “confirm the acceptance of the approved loan by the SBA [Small Business Administration], to fund operations in accordance with the program requirements.”

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Parks added Ocean Pines sent the loan application “in anticipation of needing funds to run operations and maintain required staffing levels.�

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Board approves new 401(k) trustee

Director Larry Perrone moved to remove the Ascensus Trust Company as trustee of the Ocean Pines 401(k) Plan, and to appoint Reliance Trust Company as the new trustee, effective on July 1. to federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and profits and losses on tax-exempt bonds may be subject to capitalPerrone gains tax treatment. said the move was Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FNRA/SIPC. andard & Poor’s.

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However, subject to federal taxgains (AMT), and Ratings by Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of a security is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold the security and may be subject to review, profi tssuspension, and losses tax-exempt bonds mayRating beAgency. subject topertains capital treatment.

Ratrevision, reductionon or withdrawal at any time by the assigning Insurance only togains the timely tax payment of principal and interest. No representation is made as to any insurer’s ability to meet its financial commitments. Ratings and insurance do not remove market risk since they do ings

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will keep 401(k) participant fees neutral,� and that employees would benefit “by gaining access to helpful investment programs.� “This is really a mechanical change,� Perrone said. “We needed to have a formal motion done that’ll have to be notarized, for these funds to be transferred.�

A vote to approve the motion was unanimous.

Advisory Committee extensions OKd

Board members voted 7-0 to extend terms for four advisory committee appointees: Joseph Lynch, Golf Committee (second term); Dorris Lloyd, Marine Activities Committee (second term); Jenny Cropper Rines, Communications Committee (fourth term); and Elaine Brady, Communications Committee (third term).

Second Ocean Pines worker tests positive

The Ocean Pines Association

Board of Directors on May 5 released a statement about a second employee who tested positive for Covid-19.

The OPA on April 21 had announced that a worker in the Golf Maintenance department tested positive.

The Association notified staff earlier of a second positive test, this time in Public Works.

The Board’s statement follows: “Symptoms of the Covid-19 pandemic have once again been recognized here in Ocean Pines, as a member of our Public Works Department recently tested positive for Covid-19. “The employee was last at work on April 28 and also passed through the Administration Building for a brief period on April 22. “Other OPA staff who may have been in contact with this individual have been contacted and advised to take the necessary precautions per the CDC guidelines, including the 14-day quarantine requirement. “The cleaning and disinfecting of work areas has been in place and will continue for the foreseeable future,� the statement concluded, encouraging continued vigilance on the part of residents and OPA employees.

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OCEAN PINES

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPA in the red for March; cumulative surplus drops to $660,565 for the year Streak of monthly surpluses broken, but substantial surplus for the year seems likely with one month remaining in fiscal year

By TOM STAUSS Publisher hile it remains to be seen how the Covid-19 pandemic will affect Ocean Pines Association finances for the final month of the 2019-20 fiscal year, April, the financial hit in March seemed relatively modest. The OPA lost $36,011 in March, with revenues under budget by $60,338 and expenses under budget by $24,327. For the fiscal year through 11 months, the OPA racked up a cumulative surplus of $666,656, down from $702,576 after February, with revenues over budget by $398,364 and expenses under budget by $268,201.

The results were released in the latter half of April by Director of Finance Steve Phillips.

The Yacht Club actually made money in March, not a lot, only $155.

But under the circumstances that could be construed as a significant accomplishment, since the amenity was open for delivery only. The Yacht Club exceeded budget by $29,252.

For the year, the amenity is in the black by $156,062 and is ahead of budget by $234,374. A year ago, the Yacht Club was under water in the amount of $31,654.

Since the Covid-19 shutdown, the Yacht Club has been operating a well-received delivery-only service that arguably performed better fi-

W

nancially for the OPA than had the dining venue been open for sit-down dining.

Two months ago, General Manager John Viola said he and Phillips projected the surplus at $450,000, but that was before coronavirus showed up in Worcerster County. After a strong February and a March that produced only a modest loss, it seems plausible to expect that the OPA will finish for the year better than that latest projection.

In comments during a May 8 telephone interview, Viola said he believed the surplus would come in higher than $450,000. Because he

Financial results by department, March, 2020 Source: OPA Finance Department

anticipates an operating deficit in April, in part because early season revenues in golf won’t materialize, he said the final year-end surplus will be lower than the $666,656 recorded at the end of March.

“It would have been a blockbuster year without corona,” he added.

The $36,011 negative variance to budget recorded in March was brought about largely by a $99,544 negative variance in general administration. Viola attributed that to bad debt write-offs that he and Phillips decided to charge off in March. In past years, bad debt write-offs are adjusted by the audi-

23

tors during the annual audit process after the close of the year.

Although the golf course was closed for much of March, golf operations were ahead of budget by $19,191 on a loss of $60,956. For the year through March the operating deficit was $61,082, behind budget by $24,147. The operating deficit through March of last year was $107,058, so the year-overyear improvement in golf is roughly $46,000.

The Tern Grille recorded a $1,975 loss for the month but was ahead of budget by $4,387. For the year through March, the venue produced a $14,757 operating surplus, $27,557 ahead of budget.

Aquatics recorded a $48,380 loss for the month, $12,210 behoind budget.

For the year, the amenity is in the black by $48,609, but is behind budget by $36,980.

The Sports Core pool closed in mid-March, which resulted in lower revenues relative to budget.

For the year through March, departments ahead of budget included the general manager’s office, finance, public relations, general maintenance, public works, recreation and parks, platform tennis, pickleball, Beach Club, beach parking, and marinas.

Status of reserves: The OPA’s reserve balance through March was $6.95 million, down from $7.65 million in March and 8.33 million in January.

There was a $4.37 million balance in the replacement reserve, $1.91 million in the bulkheads and waterways reserve, and $630,335 in the roads reserve.

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24 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

May 2020

LIFESTYLES

School’s closed, but Showell students keep learning alive thanks to video platforms

By SUSAN CANFORA Contributing Writer n the spirit of Dr. Seuss, there’s a little poem on Showell Elementary School’s Facebook page that uses rhyme to capture distance learning.

“I will teach you in a room, I will teach you now on Zoom. I will teach you in your house, I teach you with a mouse. I will teach you here and there, I will teach you because I care. So just do you very best. And do not worry about the rest.”

It’s a playful way to keep children interested in school as they, with their dedicated teachers, navigate new and uncharted territory.

Not long after schools closed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Showell started offering virtual classes, giving parents and older students assignments and prompts. Teachers see their students on video platforms like Zoom, and parents assist with lessons.

“Our teachers set up Power Point lessons and give them to us at the beginning of each week.

They have provided us with direct phone numbers to contact them if we have questions,” said Ocean Pines parent Brittany Carver who, with husband T.J., has two daughters, Chloe, a third-grader, and Cali, who’s in first grade.

“They have one lesson per day Monday to Friday and it takes us approximately one hour each day to finish. Our teachers have been really supportive and caring, even setting up live Zoom Lunch Buddy meetings so they can still see their friends,” Carver said.

“These daily lessons are especially important because it keeps what they have been learning fresh in their brains so there is less regression.

“Also, school is a part of our everyday life in normal circumstances so still having some sort of schooling helps it feel normal,” she said.

Chloe introduced the family dog, a large, but gentle, St. Bernard named King, to her friends during a recent Lunch Buddy meeting.

“She was pretty shy on her first Zoom call. It was three friends plus her teacher. They do Lunch Buddy Zoom meetings in small groups instead of the whole class.

“Chloe told them that when King went to the vet the week before he weighed 149 pounds. He walked over to the computer with her, showed his face in the camera for a minute or so while they looked at him and then laid down on the floor next to her until she finished her call with her friends. Her friends also showed their dogs on their camera,” Carver said.

Chloe told classmates while she is excited to

I

Showell Elementary School third-grade student Chloe Carver of Ocean Pines takes her dog, King, to video Show and Tell.

be home with her family, she’s sad not to be with friends at school.

“She misses her teachers a lot,” her mother said.

And they miss her, and all Showell students, Denise Shorts, chief academic officer for PreK to eighth grade for Worcester County schools, said.

Her sister, Diane Shorts, is principal at Showell, where enrollment is 558, many from Ocean Pines.

“All of us will be so happy when this crisis is over and we can all see each other again. There is no replacement for interaction in the classroom, but our parents have been wonderful. Our teachers have been outstanding, and we have coordinators who help teachers do the planning,” Shorts said.

During the first two weeks schools were closed, materials were sent to children for enrichment

LIFESTYLES “and to keep them thinking,” she said.

The school system uses a learning management system, or LMS, to regulate lessons. Students who don’t have laptops at home have been given them to borrow.

For those without Internet, the school system purchased 450 hot spots for connectivity, but the home base has to be close enough to a tower for hot spots to be effective.

In rural areas, where there is no proximity to towers, students get packets of information.

They are being encouraged with updates, announcements, more Facebook posts and the assurance that “help is just a click away” for online tutorials and videos.

The Worcester County Public Schools’ Elementary At-Home Choice Board contains ideas to continue practicing math, reading and writing, science and social studies, art and music and physical education and health.

One math activity challenges young learners to “grab a hanger, string and household objects to create a balanced mobile” or “count around you.”

“Walk outside or inside and practice counting things like windows, doors, trees, rocks, silverware and more.”

A reading and writing idea is finding a bag and collecting items to go into it that relate to a favorite story.

And, for physical education, there are the objectives of producing an obstacle course and penning a rap song about healthful foods.

One Learning Management System module, Schoolology, contains daily instruction.

Lessons are sent on Monday mornings by 8 a.m.

The Continuity of Learning Plan outlines how much time children should be using a computer, Shorts explained.

Using the video platform Zoom, teachers sometimes have conference calls with students.

Three and 4-year-olds in pre-K receive 40 minutes of instruction each day. For some of it, they see the teacher, or the entire class, when everybody gets together.

“They have Show and Tell and see each other every day depending on how the teachers schedule,” Shorts said.

Students in kindergarten, first and second grades receive an hour and one-half of daily instruction daily and those in third to fifth

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

grades study up to two hours every day.

Requirements include uploading school work and taking and sending photographs to be sure students are paying attention to their work.

Worcester schools are practicing what Shorts called compassionate grading.

“We don’t want anybody’s grades to drop. Even the most well-meaning parents are struggling to help their children. We don’t want to penalize kids. We want to make sure kids are learning and want to learn,” she said.

On the Showell Web site, there are photographs of children reading and thinking, some posing with works they have drawn, others deep in concentration, plus notes they wrote to admired teachers.

There are updates, details about virtual family supports events, registration information and a Weekly Dose of the Arts.

Every week through the magic of video, Principal Shorts greets, and has a pleasant conversation with, little ones, telling them a joke and reading a book.

One recent example: Why did the banana go to the hospital? Because it wasn’t “peeling” well.

“I didn’t say it was a good joke,” she said, laughing.

She read “Can I Be Your Dog?”

by Troy Cummings, a cleverly illustrated book following the travails of a dog named Arfy who trudges up and down Butternut

Street asking a family, butcher, fire fighter, resident of a ramshackle house and junk yard manager if he can be their dog.

Everyone refuses until Arfy, dejected and lying in his tattered box in an alley, discovers a note from the mail carrier, Mitzi Wimple, inviting him to be her companion.

“It just goes to show everybody has a friend out there. Somewhere along the line, you have a friend,” Shorts said gently.

“Look at Arfy’s face. Oh, he’s so bummed when nobody wants him.

If I were him, I’d be so sad,” Shorts said, as she read the story and turned the book to the camera to share drawings of the forlorn canine.

“It makes Ms. Shorts sad because

25

we like to fill people’s buckets and his bucket is completely empty,” she said.

She urged her young charges to write a letter “to your very best person” – parent, teacher, neighbor – and to ask Mom or Dad to mail it.

“Boys and girls, sixth week of online learning. We have found out that school won’t be coming back,” she said, referring to a decision by the state not to reopen schools for the remainder of the school year.

“Ms. Shorts loves you. Ms. Shorts misses you. I wish I could see your smiling faces right now,” she told the group.

She can, through a video screen, but it’s not the same as being together in person.

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26 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

CAPTAIN’S COVE

May 2020

Captain’s Cove moves towards cautious reopening of amenities

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Captain’s Cove property owners association is moving toward a cautious reopening, dependent in part on when Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam lifts his stayat-home order. This much seems clear: The bleak scenario of no Captain’s Cove amenities opening this summer won’t be unfolding as some had feared even as recently as a month ago.

Captain’s Cove President Tim Hearn in a May 15 telephone interview announced that while the golf course, two outdoor pools and other outdoor recreation amenities will

be open this summer, a decision has made been not to reopen the Marina Club’s dining room, fitness center or indeor pool.

Bill Casper Golf will continue to operate the well-received Marina Store for grocery, household and other items for pick-up, Hearn said, and probably will offer meals to go this summer as well.

Hearn said members of Cove advisory committees met virtually on May 14 to discuss options for the Marina Club and decided to avoid the additional costs of having to constantly sanitize the facilities.

With that operational cost savings in mind, Hearn said there was a

consensus not to increase the $1200 annual lot assessment in the 202021 fiscal year. The budget process for next year has already started.

“We had been discussing a $100 to $200 assessment increase, but under current economic conditions everyone agrees that an increase should be avoided,” he said.

Already the Cove golf course has reopened for member-only play, with certain restrictions in place.

The golf course is open from Wednesday through Sunday with mandatory tee times from 12 p.m. through 4 p.m. The Town Center Grill and Pro Shop remain closed and there are no cart rentals. Cove

owners who own carts can use them; otherwise walking -- the way the game was originally played -- is required. Play is limited to singles and twosomes. Face masks are required until teeing off on the first hole and again right after the round is completed.

Virginia unlike Maryland never had a regulation in place that closed its golf courses, but in an abundance of caution the Captain’s Cove Board of Directors closed all of its amenities, including the golf course.

The new rules of operation were worked out by the Cove’s golf committee and are posted on the Cove’s Web site.

They will be eased somewhat when the stay-at-home order is lifted or modified further, according to Cove association President Tim Hearn.

The Cove’s two outdoor swimming pools will be open for member-only use on June 12, unless the governor lifts the stay-at-home order sooner,

Ocean Pines reopening

While the Beach Club parking lot on 48th Street in Ocean City is open, the Beach Club itself also is caught in the same limbo as the Yacht Club and golf course. It’s possible that some sort of carry-out service will be offered there, sources say, but here, too, an order allowing outside dining would facilitate the Beach Club’s reopening sooner than later.

There appears to be little chance that Ocean Pines’ four outdoor pools will be open by Memorial Day weekend, but there are reports that the state pool regulators may be willing to allow lap swimming and small classes at the heated Sports Core pool before a Phase II reopening occurs, presumably sometime in June.

That might be allowed because of the retractable roof and screen doors on three sides of the building.

Any announcement to that effect would be posted on the OPA Web site.

“The Aquatics team has been in constant contact with the Health Department as well as local pool companies on processes, and we are waiting for more clarification as well as to what we are able to do,” the department says on its Facebook page.

“Good news is we do have plans in place and are hopeful we can put some in effect.

“With outdoor fitness allowed (in Phase I), we are hopeful we can utilize our outdoor pools for exercise classes, lap swimming and family fitness times. This would be done with

a limited amount of people as well as scheduled times, and of course all safety measures in place.”

Golf course: The golf course reopened on May 9, a week before the Phase I reopening.

Although construction on the new golf clubhouse and grounds maintenance continued during the closure, golfers had not been allowed to play since the order took effect on March 23.

“The governor’s announcement meant we had to hustle to get the course ready for play, but after a couple of days of hard work we were able to meet the restrictions placed on golf courses and were happy to be open again,” Ocean Pines PGA General Manager of Golf John Malinowski said.

Some of those restrictions include limiting golfers who don’t reside in the same household to one person per cart, prepayment over the phone of greens and cart fees, and regular sanitization of carts and on-course restrooms.

Reservations for tee times can be made by calling 410-641-6057, ext.

2.

Ocean Pines Racquet Center: It opened on May 14 at 7 a.m., for all normal activities. The Racquet Center will be closed from noon to 3 p.m., daily. For more information or questions, call 410-641-5255.

White Horse Park: Opening on Saturday, May 9 for activities permissible in the statewide order:

for walking and exercise only. The skatepark and all Ocean Pines playgrounds will remain closed until further notice.

The Recreation and Parks Department will remain closed until the state order is lifted. However, staff are processing camp registration using the drop box outside the entrance of the Ocean Pines Community Center. For more information or questions, call 410-641-7052.

Beach Parking: Opening on Memorial Day weekend, Saturday, May 23. The Beach Club bathrooms will be staffed, and only a limited number of occupants will be allowed at a time. Only Beach Parking members and Ocean Pines homeowners and residents may use facilities. Staff will clean and disinfect the bathrooms each evening.

Ocean Pines Marinas: Marinas reopened on Friday, May 1 to allow slip holders to access boat slips.

Limited service will be available.

Gas pumps are open for gas and oil.

Ocean Pines Dog Park: The membership renewal process has started and applications will be available through the Recreation and Parks Department.

Other facilities: Passive walking trails in Ocean Pines remain open. Portable hand-washing stations have been placed at the Golf Course, Racquet Center, White Horse Park, South Gate Walking Trail near the Veterans Memorial, and Yacht Club Marina.

Receives $150,000 payroll protection loan; Hearn announces hold on assessment increase this fall because of coronavirus pandemic

T

From Page 1

the lookout for out-of-state license plates.

So it’s distinctily possible but not guaranteed that outside dining will be available at the Yacht Club by or on Memorial Day weekend, depending on how Hogan responds.

Should the governor allow outside dining in Worcester County before the expected Phase II reopening sometime in June, that would also allow the new Ocean Pines golf clubhouse to open for the first time, under MOC management.

As of May 15, the OPA was waiting on a certificate of occupancy for the new clubhouse, with General Manager John Viola saying it should be delivered to the OPA the week of May 18.

The new clubhouse has a wraparound deck on the back of the building facing the 9th an 18th greens.

Viola says that once an awning is delivered to protect the deck from the elements, and perhaps even before, outside dining will launch at the new clubhouse. MOC is letting the community know that the Clubhouse Bar and Grille isn’t just for golfers.

It’s not outside the realm of possibility that this amenity, too, will be open for outside dining Memorial Day weekend, again dependent on how flexible the governor is with his Phase I rules.

CAPTAIN’S COVE Hearn told the Progress. The Cove’s pool committee is working out the rules that will govern use of the pools, with social distancing protocols in place, Hearn said. There likely will be limits on the number of users in the pools at any given time, he added, since lounge chairs will be spaced out to accommodate social distancing.

There’s no indication yet when the Marina Club bar and restaurant will reopen. That, too, will be dependent on the extent to which and when the governor reopens the state’s restaurants for business.

Billy Casper Golf is considering whether to offer a meal pick-up or delivery service from the otherwise shuttered Marina Club, Hearn said, with a rule-of-thumb of one employee brought back for every $100,000 in anticipated revenue.

In the meantime, however, the Marina Club is offering a limited selection of grocery items and other fresh goods that is called the Marina Store. Items ordered on line are then available for pick-up in the Marina Club parking lot.

Hearn announced the marina store concept last month as a way of giving Cove residents an alternative to driving to crowded big box grocery stores in Pocomoke or in Accomack County, which has the third highest infection rate among 95 counties in Virginia. He credited BCG with coming up with the idea and executing it, using the company’s supply chains that otherwise would have gone untapped for several months.

Cove residents can reach the new store at https://www.captscovegyc. com/store.

Items for sale include fruits, vegetables, butcher boxes, dairy and eggs, frozen seafood, bread, tortillas and bagels, beer, wine, spirits, beverages, meats, baked goods and pastries, flour and grains, oil, vinegar and sauces, as well as paper and cleaning products that were in short supply around the country when the coronavirus panic arrived on the scene.

Hearn also announced that the Cove association has received $150,000 in the Small Business Administration’s Payroll Protection loan protection to help cover Cove payroll and utility expenses during an eight-week period following receipt of the funds.

Hearn noted the loan is convertible to a grant if certain conditions are met, and he said he expected that the Cove will meet those conditions.

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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May 2020

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OPINION

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

29

COMMENTARY

Layoff talk premature and reckless

T

he Board of Directors did well to resist the impulse to discuss only in closed session the issue of whether to give back $1.1 million in payroll proection program funds.

The impulse for lack of transparency manifested in the motion by OPA President Doug Parks to do just that, but in the end Parks was OK with a free-wheeling, open discussion, but only after four resolute directors -- Steve Tuttle, Tom Janasek, Camille Rogers and Frank Daly -- spoke convincingly of the benefits of transparency.

In board debate during a May 12 special meeting, Director Colette Horn said that a reason to discuss this issue in closed session is that it would allow a more “free-wheeling” discussion of alarming financial scenarios and impacts on OPA employees should worst case projections come to pass. Implicit in that impulse was the possibility that layoffs of OPA employees might be necessary should amenity revenues come up short this fiscal year.

A desire for free-wheeling discussion is not a legitimate reason to close a meeting to the membership under the Maryland HOA Act, which a member of the board in the third year of her three-year term ought to know. If directors intend to micromanage the general manager to where specific employees are on the chopping block for termination, then, yes, that’s a legitimate reason for secrecy. Which isn’t to say that such a discussion under current conditions is any way justified, and certain directors should not be sending out the message into the community that layoffs are on the table.

They’re not, according to General Manager John Viola. As it turns out, there was no dialog among the directors of possible layoffs in the closed meeting; directors simply voted to keep the $1.1 million in PPP funds, something they could have easily done in open session. It was evident in the open session that all seven directors were convinced that keeping the PPP funds was the obvious choice, a no-brainer, in fact, given the financial headwinds facing the OPA during the Covid-19 slowdown.

According to OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone, the OPA’s operating fund deficit will reach about $500,000 as of July 1. That’s an increase of about $350,000 over the $150,000 deficit projected for the beginning of 2020-21 on May 1.

By keeping the PPP funds, and all else being equal, Perrone’s July 1 projection would result in a $600,000 improvement in the operating fund on that date. In fact, the fund would be in the black for a relatively brief snapshot in time.

Adding another $271,000 PPP contribution to the Yacht Club courtesy of the Matt Ortt Companies, it looks like the operating fund could improve by a total of $871,000 as of July 1, based on assumptions in Perrone’s projection.

In addition, the OPA will soon receive another $112,000 in federal Cares Act funding, passed through by the county, bringing the total improvement in the operating fund from May 1 to July 1 of $983,000. Ocean Pines will be receiving the same as Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke.

Of course, there is an understanding all around that this operating fund surplus will be short-

lived because amenity revenues are not likely to reach budgeted amounts. The board was told of a number of projections for the OPA should revenues fall short by 25 to 75 percent of budgeted revenues.

The 75 percent shortfall seems fanciful and alarmist at best because, even with certain amenities working at less than full capacity, key metrics like beach parking revenues are already one third of budget. Once there is clarity on availability and use of key amenities, that number will no doubt improve.

If there is a 50 percent “worst case” revenue loss in amenity revenue this year, reducing revenues to roughly $1.5 million, offset somewhat by a decline relative to budget in expenses, it would seem that the operating loss for the year might be $500,000 or less. That assumes the usual collection rate of about 98 percent of assessments by year’s end. It also assumes the usual county police grant, which the county commissioners have not cut.

Clearly, it was a no-brainer to keep the PPP funds. If the increase in the operating fund deficit comes in at $500,000 or less, the OPA can easily absorb it without resorting to layoffs. If amenity revenues erode by only 25 percent ($750,000), there is even less need for layoffs.

The directors who hint of a need to keep layoffs on the table are sending the wrong message to OPA employees who are gearing up for a challenging summer. It’s premature and reckless, based on nothing but fear and pessimism and maybe a hidden agenda.-- Tom Stauss

OPA needs to keep payroll protection funds

I

n the end the Ocean Pines Association decided to keep all of the $1.1 million in loan preceeds received as part of the federal government’s payroll protection program.

Some sincere and well-intentioned OPA members are asking the OPA to return the funds without delay. One argument is that, compared to many small business owners who have not received any support during governmentimposed shutdowns, the OPA is relatively well off and, simply put, doesn’t need the money.

Dale and Charlotte Cathell, in recently published commentary, even go so far as to suggest the OPA’s application for federal loan support constitutes greed. Any revenue shortfalls, they contend, can be borrowed from the OPA’s rainy-day” fund, by which they undoubtedly meant OPA reserves.

Actually, the OPA doesn’t have a “rainyday” fund per se. Its reserves are earmarked for specific purposes, such as replacement capital, roads, bulkheads, and new capital.

Nor is it fair to suggest that greed motivated the OPA’s application for the payroll protection

program. At the time of the filing, fear of potentially devastating revenue losses, a complete closure of amenity operations over the summer, was seen as a real possibility.

OPA directors and managers acted professionally and appropriatedly and in good faith when they filed the OPA’s application with the Bank of Ocean City weeks ago.

Another dissident voice in Ocean Pines is that of former director Slobodan Trendic, who has presented evidence to OPA General Manager John Viola and Finance Director Steve Phillips that homeowner associations are ineligible for the payroll protection program, citing the opinion of the Community Association Foundation.

That very well may be true currently, but at the time the application was filed, it was not.

Small Business Administration officials have informed the Bank of Ocean City, the lender, that rules in effect when an application was filed are dispositive, not rules that may be in place some time later.

The ethics of keeping all or some of the funds hinges on the extent to which OPA finances have

been adversely affected by an event not of its making, a government-imposed shutdown on business operations, the result of a government over-reaction to pandemic models that wildly exaggerated potential fatalities.

It simply isn’t known to what degree the OPA will be affected by coronavirus shutdowns and stay-at-home edicts. We know that the OPA’s roads reserve will take a hit because the Casino at Ocean Downs, the source of roughly $250,000 or more per year in local impact funding, has been closed for weeks. We know that golf revenues from outside play in the prime shoulder months of April and May have been eroded. We know that fees from swim lessons and classes hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department have not materialized in recent weeks. We know that wedding banquet revenue is 100 percent gone.

To be determined is whether Beach Club parking revenues will be as robust as they have been in past year.

The same goes for all amenity departments that derive most of their revenues during the prime summer months. -- Tom Stauss

30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPINION

May 2020

Colette Horn requests a retraction. Sorry, no can do

‘

Dear Dr. Horn: I would first like to remind you that I did give you opportunities to address the issues raised in your recent email.

Let’s take the issues one by one.

Two of your board colleagues confirmed that you introduced the subject of an emergency organizational chart in the closed meeting and that Colby Phillips’s role was discussed.

As I recently reported, one director didn’t recall that a draft of the emergency chart was passed around or made available for viewing while another thought it had been.

As we all know, the chart inserted Colby in a box below the Director of Golf.

I did indeed check with John Viola about the chart prior to your email suggesting that I do so.

Viola confirmed only the top line individuals “in charge” in the event of his incapacity -- Steve Phillips and Michelle Bennett.

Releasing the full chart would, he said, “confuse” the membership, a judgment that, given Colby’s position on the chart, strikes me as spot on.

He also said he had not shared a draft of the emergency chart with the directors until several days after the closed meeting.

That raises the possibility that a preliminary draft or version of the emergency chart was seen by at least one director during the closed meeting.

This topic was not disclosed to the membership prior to the closed meeting.

I shouldn’t have to remind you that the Maryland HOA Act lays out procedures for justifying the convening of a closed meeting and that the purpose of this meeting was the proposed amending of Viola’s employment contract.

Only that and nothing else.

As board secretary at the time, you should have taken more care in ensuring that agenda items to be discussed in closed session were disclosed to the membership beforehand.

I know from first-hand knowledge that you were involved in the organizational chart that currently governs the OPA. I requested copies from staff and was told that they were waiting for you to release it.

While that in and of itself doesn’t prove that you personally drafted it,

it does suggest that its drafting was not simply a matter left to the GM An excursion through the curious cul-de-sacs An excursion through theby-ways curious and by-ways and cul-de-sacs with no board input. of Worcester County’s County’s most densely community. of Worcester mostpopulated densely populated community.

If you demonstrated that degree of interest in the current chart to

By TOM STAUSS/

By TOM Publisher STAUSS/Publisher the extent that delays in its release was atttributed to you, it is not a Dear Mr. Stauss: leap of logic to presume some degree I am writing to request that you issue a retraction of the comments of involvement by you in drafting relative to Colby Phillips that you printed and attributed to me in your the emergency chart. Nothing April issue of the Progress. I also request that you issue a correction conclusive, of course, and we now having to do with your report relative to any information I am “said have your denial of any involvement. to” have discussed in a closed meeting of the Ocean Pines Board of I would suggest a quiet sitdown Directors pertaining to an emergency organization chart. No such with Colby Phillips to clear the chart has been released to or discussed by the Board of Directors. As air and set the record straight I told you in a previous email, it is not the role of the Ocean Pines on matters of interest. You might Board of Directors to create an organizational chart. Any questions discover she isn’t the delicate or comments you may have regarding an organization chart should be snowflake you seem to imply. directed to our general manager under whose responsibility this falls.

You might convey a new-found In both cases you printed “unconfirmed reports” of things I said in belief that her lack of a college degree a closed meeting of the Ocean Pines Board of Directors. Those reports is compensated for by demonstrated are unconfirmed because they are factually false. I did not and will not talent, a devoted following in the comment to you on matters discussed in a closed session of the Board community, on-the-job experience and I did not and will not comment to you on any employee matter. and relevant vocational classes in I find it particularly objectionable that you would print rumor and HOA management, if indeed that is innuendo regarding the status of an employee of OPA and attribute your position. it to a member of the Ocean Pines Board of Directors, and in so doing I would be pleased to publish any expose that employee to any anxiety or embarrassment associated additional statement you might care with what you have printed and the possibility that it may violate that to make on the suitability of Colby employee’s privacy. ~ Colette Horn Phillips as a candidate for the GM position when it again becomes vacant. ~ Tom Stauss

LIFE IN THE LIFE INPINES THE PINES

LETTER

An update on the START petition

To Ocean Pines Homeowners: I hope this message finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy.

For the past few months we have seen Covid-19 making an unprecedented impact on people’s lives around the world. At the same time, we have witnessed an incredible amount of human kindness as the world fights this invisible enemy. We are forever grateful to the medical professionals and first responders fighting on the front lines and together we share hope that the science community will soon succeed in developing vaccines and effective treatments against this virus.

And now an update on our petition to reduce the OPA Board of Directors’ spending authority to $1 million. As you may know, the petition was signed by 880 of our community members.

Unfortunately, the petition was invalidated based on an opinion provided by OPA’s legal counsel because of the use of the word “should” in the proposed question. However, our attorney overseeing the petition effort felt that this was without merit because the same word “should” appears in the sample question provided in the board’s own resolution. Because of this position taken by the OPA Board of Directors, and our continuing effort to protect the homeowners’ rights, the only recourse left was to file a legal complaint with the Worcester County Circuit Court. The case will be heard on June 19 at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom 2, in Snow Hill.

Your continuing support and your financial contribution is still necessary.

Your generosity will be a demonstration of the ongoing community support and it will help me pay for additional legal expenses.

Please make your check payable to START and mail to: 20 Drawbridge Road, Ocean Pines, MD 21811.

Thank you in advance and I wish you safe and healthy times ahead.

Slobodan Trendic START is the Ocean Pines Community advocacy initiative founded by Trendic and based on the values of Sincerity, Transparency, Accountability, Respect, Trust

The Ocean Pines Progress, a journal of news and commentary, is published monthly throughout the year.

It is circulated in Ocean Pines, Berlin, Ocean City, and Captain’s Cove, Va. 127 Nottingham Lane Ocean Pines, MD 21811

PUBLISHER/EDITOR Tom Stauss stausstom@gmail.com 443-359-7527

Advertising Sales Frank Bottone 410-430-3660

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rota Knott InkwellMedia@comcast.net 443-880-3953

Susan Canfora myboyruss@earthlink.net 410-208-8721

May 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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