September 2021
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
COVER STORY
Court urges OPA to count all votes in board election Restraining order lifted; trial date ‘on the merits’ set for Sept. 27
By TOM STAUSS Publisher he counting of ballots in the 2021 Board of Directors election in Ocean Pines was on hold for much of August, the result of a temporary restraining order issued by Circuit Court Judge Beau Oglesby on Aug. 10 and extended on Aug. 19 until the end of the month, Aug. 30. That was the date that the court was scheduled to consider a request by Bruce Bright, the Ocean City attorney representing Richard Farr, a candidate in this summer’s OPA election, to convert the preliminary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that would have had the effect of continuing to put the counting of ballots on hold. Farr had been disqualified as a candidate in the election two weeks prior to the scheduled vote count earlier in August by OPA Secretary Camilla Rogers. Farr sued to overturn that decision. A retired visting judge from Talbot County, Sidney Campen, delivered procedural wins for both sides at the Aug. 30 hearing. He rejected a motion by OPA’s attorney, Anthony D. Dwyer, to dismiss the case and render a judgment in favor of the Board of Directors. But he also rejected the plaintiff’s motion to issue a preliminary injunction, which had the effect of allowing a vote count to proceed, with a strong suggestion that the Board of Directors “do the right thing for the community” and count the votes of all four candidates
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in the contest, including those of Farr. But that’s essentially a decision for the Board of Directors to make, or perhaps the Elections Committee, as the judge did not order that Farr’s votes be counted. Campen set Sept. 27 as the date for a full trial on the merits, but he encouraged attorneys for both Farr and the OPA to work out an an agreement that might Richard Farr eliminate the need for it. He complimented both attorneys in the presentation of their cases. Bright, of the Ocean City law firm Ayres, Gordy Jenkins and Almand, called Farr and Rogers to the stand during the Aug. 30 hearing. OPA President Larry Perrone also testified. Dwyer, of the Eccleston & Wolf law firm in Fairfax, Va., Camilla Rogers plied the witnesses with questions on cross examination. He was the attorney hired by the OPA’s insurance company to handle the case on behalf of the OPA board. To Page 3
Atlantic General breaking ground on new med building
The prospect of robust, new competition in the local medical services arena has launched with the scheduled groundbreaking of the new 53,000 square foot Atlantic General Hospital Gudelski Family Medical Center on the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 31, on site at a 30-acre campus on Route 589, adjacent to the Sherwood Forest (Section 10) area of South Ocean Pines. With completion estimated for Spring of 2023, the new building will increase the Berlin hospital’s footprint in the local area. ~ Page 12
Committee ponders proposed changes to OPA by-laws
The By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee has been reviewing proposed changes to the Ocean Pines Association by-laws under consideration by a Board of Directors working group chaired by Director Doug Parks and has endorsed some but not all of them. ~ Page 18
GM hoping for action on t-docks, pickleball courts
General Manager John Viola said recently that OPA President Larry Perrone intends to call for a board meeting in September if a court case enjoining the counting of ballots is still pending at that time. At the top of Viola’s agenda: Board votes on proposals to approve six new temporary-use boat slips at the Yacht Club and four new pickleball courts at the Manklin Meadows racquet complex in South Ocean Pines. Both capital items have been on the radar for many months. ~ Page 21 `