October 2020
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Ocean Pines Association Director Steve Tuttle has resigned from the Board of Directors, effective with the Oct. 17 monthly board meeting. Tuttle put his house on the market in early October and it very quickly resulted in a contract. Former OPA director Tom Piatti and 2020 board candidate Stuart Lakernick are possible replacements. ~ Page 3
THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
COVER STORY
OPA board endorses casino overlay zone Ocean Downs offers to conduct traffic study for entirety of Route 589 By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Ocean Pines Association’s Board of Directors informally endorsed the proposed casino overlay zone at the Ocean Downs casino and racetrack property after a 45-minute presentation on the proposal at the board’s Oct. 17 monthly meeting. The endorsement occurred in a showing of hands called by OPA President Larry Perrone at the conclusion of the presentation by Ocean Downs General Manager Bobbi Sample. The OPA endorsement in part seems to have been positively influenced by Sample’s offer on behalf of Ocean Downs to conduct a traffic study on the entirety of Route 589, not just in the area of the racetrack and casino, which is located roughly two miles south of Ocean Pines. Sample said that Ocean Downs would allow the county to approve the traffic engineer/consultant chosen to conduct the study, an offer that may have been a response to recent comments by one of Ocean Pines representatives on the Board of County Commissioners, Chip Bertino, who suggested that traffic study results tend to be skewed to favor the conclusions sought by the entity paying for the studies. Bertino, who attended the Oct. 17 OPA board meeting, in previous public meetings on the proposed overlay zoning appeared to be leaning against it, citing concerns
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about traffic. Sample used her presentation to counter those concerns, telling the board that it was in the casino’s best interests to minimize traffic congestion. She recently told the Progress that people tied up in traffic trying to get to the casino might forgo the visit if it’s too difficult getting there. Concerning recent comments by County Commissioner Joe Metrecic of Ocean City about large gatherings exiting Ocean Downs after special events, Sample said they’re already allowed and are effectively controlled with the the help of the state police and Worcester County sheriff. She said that a lot of people attending large events at the venue stay to patronize the casino, spreading out traffic leaving the property. She described the overlay zone as “largely a cleanup bill,” designed to bring the mix of commercial and agricultural zoning, and two special exceptions in 1997 and 2010, into a more controllable regulatory framework. She also said all future projects at the venue would need approval by the Worcester County Planning and Zoning Commission, which endorsed the overlay zoning at the urging of the county’s Development Review and Permitting Department. Acknowledging that Ocean Downs could have applied for a conventional commercial rezoning of the To Page 31
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Tuttle sells home, resigns from OPA board
GM position attracts first OPA applicant, Colby Phillips What Ocean Pines Assocdiation Director Frank Daly called a poorly kept “state secret” has now been confirmed: Colby Phillips, the OPA’s director of amenities and logistical operations, is the first OPA department head to formally let it be known she would like to replace John Viola as OPA general manager when he decides to retire. ~ Page 6
Andre Jordan says he was ‘fired’ from golf course Andre Jordan, a 35-year employee whose most recent role was golf course superintendent, says he was fired by the Ocean Pines Association because of a serious if not terminal rare disease and has been denied a severance package that he should have earned as a department head. “I did not resign,” an emotional Jordan told the Progress in an exclusive interview. He said he was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition that attacks muscles, making it impossible for him to work.~ Page 10
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