August - Early September 2015
www.issuu.com/oceanpinesprogress
Vol. 11, No. 5
443-359-7527
www.issuu.com/oceanpinesprogress Board awards Thompson $5,000 performance bonus
THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY COVER STORY
Herrick, Jacobs elected to Ocean Pines board Stevens supporting Collins for OPA president, Renaud also in the running By TOM STAUSS Publisher ewcomers Tom Herrick and Cherl Jacobs will be fresh faces on the Board of Directors this fall as the result of this summer’s Ocean Pines Association elections. Herrick, a former New York State Police investigator, was the top voter in the balloting, results of which were announced at the annual meeting of the OPA Aug. 8. He won 1,669 votes. Jacobs, who is retiring as a prosecuting attorney in Baltimore City this fall, won 1,480 votes. That was good for second in the balloting to fill the vacancies created by the retirements of Marty Clarke and Sharyn O’Hare from the board.
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Herrick and Jacobs were elected for three-year terms. Slobodan Trendic, a retired information technology executive, placed third in the balloting with 1,179 votes, 285 votes fewer than Jacobs. His candidacy was no doubt hurt by his arrest on alchohol-related charges just before balloting began in mid-July. Former OPA Director Terri Mohr, one of three former directors unsuccessfully seeking new board terms, placed fourth with 873 votes. Carol Ludwig followed with 651, Bill Zawacki with 620, and Ray Unger with 219. Zawacki and Unger are former directors. Herrick and Jacobs’s elections should result in a board with less factional infighting than has been evident in recent
Sunset on the river
Friends gathered for a late Sunday afternoon cruise in July on the St. Martin’s River. Pictured left to right are Winnie Maher, Cathy Ball, Skip Maher, Susan Reynolds (right front), and Carla Latham. All are Ocean Pines residents. George Ball photo
Tom Herrick
Cheryl Jacobs
years. Both ran independently as candidates and both are replacing retiring directors strongly identified with competing factions. When the board meets later in August to elect a new slate of officers, Dave Stevens probably will not be reelected for a second year as OPA president. He told the Progress that Jack Collins would be a “better choice,” given that he will be serving his third year as a director and for the last year has been been the OPA treasurer. Also expected to be in the running for president is Pat Renaud, who will be entering his second year on the board, this past year serving as board secretary. Renaud reportedly has the support of Director Tom Terry for president. Renaud told the Progress at the conclusion of the annual meeting that he would willingly serve as president if nominated. “The same thing is true for Jack,” Renaud said. If Terry nominates Renaud for president, he presumably would be in a better position than Collins to secure the four votes needed.
The Board of Directors has awarded General Manager Bob Thompson a $5000 bonus as part of a three-year employment contract approved by the board last year, the Ocean Pines Progress has learned. The decision to award the bonus, which was half of what the board could have issued under the contract, was made in closed session July 30 as part of Thompson’s annual performance review. ~ Page 6
Directors debate merits of reserve study, hire contractor Despite hiring a firm to conduct a reserve study of the Ocean Pines Association’s facilities and its ability to fund their maintenance, members of the Board of Directors are still divided about exactly what that study should entail and where it fits into the overall planning process for the future. During a July 30 meeting, the board approved a contract with Design Management Associates Inc. of Richmond, Va., to perform an interactive reserve analysis for an initial project fee of $31,800. ~ Page 15
Clarke, O’Hare spar over lockbox statement
It was the last meeting that directors Marty Clarke and Sharyn O’Hare sat together as colleagues and antagonists on the Board of Directors, as they were concluding three-year terms punctuated by clashes over policy and personal animus. Early in the relationship, O’Hare was among a group that had attempted – unsuccessfully, it turned out – to have Clarke kicked off the board for violating a code of conduct that actually had been abolished by a previous board. So it somehow seemed fitting early in the board meeting of July 30 that the two would clash once again, this time over meeting minutes. ~ Page 39
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