November 2016
www.issuu.com/oceanpinesprogress
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY COVER STORY
Directors deny firing of resignation of recreation director An account published in a local weekly in early November suggesting that Sonya Bounds, the director of the Ocean Pines Department of Parks and Recreation had resigned or been fired by Acting General Manager Brett Hill was inaccurate at the time the account was published, the Progress has learned. It’s still possible that Bounds will decide to submit her resignation, but it will be because she decides to do so on her own for personal reasons and not because she is being pressured. ~ Page 7
Herrick, Stevens question lack of timelines in M-01
A view of the Ocean Pines Country Club from the 18th green.
COUNTRY CLUB CUNUNDRUM Board majority leans in favor of repair and renovation option By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer o build or not to build, that is the question. For decades various incarnations of the Board of Directors have pondered the options for renovating versus rebuilding the Ocean Pines Association’s Country Club. Aside from some cosmetic improvements, little action has ever been taken. But the current board is set to consider the alternatives in December, when Director and Acting General Manager Brett Hill is expected to deliver some detailed options for the board to consider. A least two and perhaps four or five directors are leaning in favor of repair and renovation. Directors Dave Stevens and Slobodan Trendic have been the most explicit, both indicating that they are inclined to support a rebuild of the decades-old amenity over new construction. Hill also has been forthright in suggesting repair and renovation is the better option because he believes a replacement option would fare poorly in a community referendum During a recent discussion about potential future uses for To Page 35
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Hill indicates cart storage could be moved under Country Club But acting general manager implies theory may clash with practical considerations By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer
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ased on the available square footage it is possible to condense the cart storage at the Ocean Pines Association’s golf course into the lower level of a renovated Country Club, according to Brett Hill, acting general manager. Hill told the Board of Directors during an Oct. 17 work session that merging the cart barn with the Country Club may be an option in lieu of having two separate structures. But he acknowledged that he doesn’t know how local and state code requirements may impact such a combined project. “Yes, it theoretically possible; by square footage and To Page 35
Former Ocean Pines President and Director Tom Terry reemerged to discuss a proposed revision to the OPA’s architectural and related guidelines at a board work session Oct. 17, only to have those changes that he had drafted with sitting director Cheryl Jacobs meet with some skepticism and an indication that more work is needed before the revision of board resolution M-01 will be approved on a second and final reading. OPA President Tom Herrick and Vice-president Dave Stevens, objected to portions of Terry and Jacobs’ draft document during the work session. ~ Page 15
Trendic suggests fees may be improperly assessed by OPA Director Slobodan Trendic, during an Oct. 17 Board of Directors work session, launched what at times turned into a testy debate over how the Ocean Pines Association charges property owners who are late in paying their annual assessments. At one point suggesting that the OPA may be improperly charging 20 percent annual interest on delinquent accounts, Trendic posed the question of whether the board should adopt an amnesty policy on collections. ~ Page 26
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