April 2016 ocean pines progress by Ocean Pines Progress

April 2016

Manklin Meadows racquet courts remain in limbo The Board of Directors has abandoned the master plan approved last year for redevelopment of the Manklin Creek Recreation Complex with a multitude of new racquet sports courts – at least for now – and is proceeding instead only with plans for reconfiguring the playground, community gardens and parking lot. But, they also want to “investigate” the possibility of repurposing tennis courts for pickleball and building an alternate version of platform tennis courts. ~ Page 8

Directors approve proceeding with new Beach Club bathrooms With the Ocean Pines Association preparing to release a request for proposals for renovating the lower level bathrooms at the Beach Club in Ocean City, or building new bathrooms in a separate, standalone building, the Board of Directors declined to allow one potential contractor to discuss the options in detail at a March 24 meeting. Directors unanimously approved moving forward with the project, with construction to begin in the fall and with the goal of having it ready for use by members in the summer of 2017. ~ Page 11

GM, property owner exchange verbal barbs at town meeting

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Country Club study from 2011 agnostic on ‘renovate or replace’ options, despite Thompson claim Becker-Morgan study indicated building was structurally sound five years ago, but that systems in the building – heating, cooling, electrical and plumbing– needed to be replaced By TOM STAUSS Publisher ack in February, as the Board of Directors was finalizing the 201627 budget that goes into effect May 1, there was considerable debate over what to do about the aging Ocean Pines Country Club, with no clear consensus on whether a major renovation or a tear-down and rebuild would make the most sense. In the end, the directors opted to authorize $80,000 for an engineering study to update one completed in 2011 on the condition of the building, along with another $30,000 for cosmetic im-

provements to the building. The motion passed 5-2, with Directors Dave Stevens and Jack Collins opposed, apparently because they believe the money could be better spent focusing on renovation. Stevens, Collins and Director Tom Herrick seem to be in the camp that says a new building inevitably will cost much more than a renovation. They also are not keen on the replacement option because it would eliminate space available for activities and meetings that can’t be accommodated in the Community Center. During board discussion, Thompson told the directors that the 2011 study by

NEWS ANALYSIS Becker-Morgan architectural firm “said replace it. The engineers (in the study) are saying replace it. We don’t want to keep putting money into it if we’re going to replace it.” None of the directors who were advocating renovation of the building challenged Thompson’s assertion that that the 2011 study recommended replacement. But according to former OPA Director Marty Clarke, the report didn’t do that. Clarke said the 2011 report by Becker-Morgan recommended replaceTo Page 27

Clearly irritated that an audience member challenged his version of the truth related to Ocean Pines Association matters, General Manager Bob Thompson threatened to ask him to leave his Town Hall meeting on March 8. Instead, the property owner, Steve Lind, a long-time resident and fixture at OPA meetings, walked out on his own. But not before the two engaged in a lively debate over parking of boat trailers, Yacht Club expenses, the proposed food truck, and accusations by Thompson that Lind had called him a liar. ~ Page 17

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Board abandons ‘no mow’ areas at North, South gates monofilament is left on the sites; only the stakes for the line remain. Based on a recommendation from the OPA’s Environmental and Natural Assets Advisory Committee, which worked in conjunction with the Maryland Coastal Bays Program, the board agreed to implement the non-lethal methods of goose control. The control methods include creating a no-mow area and installing appropriate landscaping around the North Gate and Memorial ponds to help discourage geese from frequenting the ponds, and installing monofilament lines around the perimeter of the ponds to block easy access to the birds. The purpose of the almost invisible monofilament line – essentially fishing line – is to keep geese from walking into the water or resting along the shoreline, Cordwell’s motion to put an end to them was given a second by Director Tom Terry and approved unanimously by the board.

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greeing that they were unsightly and ineffective at helping to prevent non-migratory geese from entering the Ocean Pines Association’s North and South gate ponds, the Board of Directors opted to get rid of “no mow” zones that were implemented more than a year ago. Director Bill Cordwell made a motion during a March 24 meeting to rescind an original motion approved in September 2014 regarding non-lethal control of non-migratory Canadian geese. The original motion, made by former Director Marty Clarke, instructed the OPA administration to create a no mow area around the ponds. “To date we cannot confirm any positive results from these no mow area, but they have created an unsightly appearance around the ponds,” Cordwell said. He said his motion gives the administration the authority to remove the no mow areas and clean up around the ponds. Director Tom Herrick asked if the motion included removal of the monofilament lines that were installed in conjunction with the no mow zones. Cordwell responded that his motion includes removing any remaining lines. But, he said, he doesn’t think any of the

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From Page 3 lease for the use of the Beach Club parking lot after hours by Seacrets, the restaurant/night club located across Ocean Highway from the popular Ocean Pines Association beachfront amenity at 48th Street in Ocean City. The lease is for five years and includes three annual escalations in lease payments. Its start date is May 1. The first year’s lease payment is $63,514. The fifth year’s lease payment will be $71,484. After hours is defined as 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. The lease also says the parking lot can be used for overflow parking from Seacrets as needed during times of the year when the Beach Club is not open.

Vendors who sell their wares at the Ocean Pines Farmers Market want to be able to do so two days a week this year. Tracey Hofman, farmer’s market coordinator, approached the Ocean Pines Association’s Board of Directors during a March 24 meeting and presented two petitions with more than 150 signatures in support of the request. Signatures were gathered on the petitions both online and in person at the farmers market in White Horse Park. Currently the farmers market operates year round and is open weekly on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hofman said the vendors would like to request a second day during the week, Tuesdays from 3 to 7 p.m., for the farmers market.

OCEAN PINES OPA President Pat Renaud told Hofman that adding a second day for the farmers market doesn’t require the board’s approval. He said it just requires coordination with the general manger to make sure enough staff is available to perform any set up or clean up necessary. Hofman said the vendors have asked OPA staff three times for approval to operate on a second day and haven’t received a response.

Trio of capital purchases ready for new fiscal year

Trying to get a jump start on the next fiscal year, General Manager Bob Thompson during a March 24 meeting presented a trio of capital equipment purchases for approval by the Ocean

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Pines Association Board of Directors. He board awarded contracts for the purchase of all three pieces of equipment. The items were a loader, skid steer and dump truck and were all budgeted for acquisition in fiscal year 2017, which begins May 1. To ensure timely delivery the equipment needs to be ordered now, but the OPA will not be billed for it until after the start of the new fiscal year, Thompson told directors. The contract for the loader was awarded to Iron Source of Georgetown, Del. For $82,086, about $1,000 more than budgeted. The F550 dump truck purchase is to replacement existing equipment in public works. That contract was awarded to Pittsville Ford for $58,979, about $6,000 under budget. Falcomer Equipment was awarded the contract for the skid steer for $50,840, which came in significantly under budget by about $19,000. Thompson said when the OPA purchases new capital items any equipment being replaced with either be traded in or sold at auction to help reduce overall costs. “If we can get a better price on the trade in we’ll do that,” he said, adding otherwise the old equipment will be sold at auction.

OPA president makes committee appointments

With the concurrence of board members, Ocean Pines Association President Pat Renaud appointed two property owners to committees during a March 24 meeting. He appointed Marty Clarke, a former member of the OPA board of directors, to a first term on the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee. He reappointed Bill Wentworth, current committee chairman, for a second term on the Elections Committee.

Ocean Pines Aquatics to host triathlon

Registrations are still being accepted for Ocean Pines Aquatics’ Super Sprint Tri to be held on Saturday, April 23 at 8 a.m. at the Sports Core Pool, located at 11443 Cathell Road in Ocean Pines. The event will consist of a quarter-mile swim, a 6.2-mile bike ride and a 1.5-mile run. Twelve three-member teams will be competing. Each team member will compete in all three events and will tag off to the next team member. Each participant will receive an Under Armour shirt, and food and drinks will be provided. The cost is $165 per team. A $60 deposit is required to hold the team’s spot with the balance due prior to the event day. Registered team members may also train at the Sports Core Pool at a reduced rate of $4 a visit through April 22. Volunteers are needed to assist with the event. To volunteer, email cphillips@ oceanpines.org. A team representative meeting will be held on Monday, April 18, at 6 p.m. at

4 Ocean Pines PROGRESS April 2016 Farmers market vendors OCEAN PINES BRIEFS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 2016 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Directors squabble over best way to improve Manklin Meadows complex By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ike children not playing nice on a playground, members of the Ocean Pines Association’s Board of Directors resorted to threats, yelling, and getting in each other’s faces during a March 29 discussion about relocating playground at the Manklin Creek tennis

complex in South Ocean Pines. So much for OPA President Pat Renaud’s call for civility at board meetings. One director threatened to throw another through the wall, two others got into a shouting match, and no one could agree on what they had already agreed to do. Some members weren’t even sure why they were meeting.

Following a March 24 regular and closed session meeting, the board apparently reconvened briefly in an open session not attended by the public or press to continue discussions about the Manklin Creek racquet sports project. Of particular concern is that the playground equipment on the complex needs to be replaced regardless of

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send the violation to legal counsel. OPA General Manager Bob Thompson said the owner has installed a shed on the property without the benefit of the proper permits. He said Compliance, Permits and Inspections staff have tried to contact the owner but haven’t had any success. The next step is to have the OPA’s attorney send the property owner and letter directing them to bring the shed into compliance. “This seems like a simple one.” Thompson said but added that sometimes people don’t take action until they receive the attorney’s letter. He said it is a “nice looking shed” and is not in disrepair so all the owner needs to do is submit application for a permit

to have it on the property.

From Page 4 the Sports Core pool. Instructions and a course description will be given at that time. Participants may pre-register on Friday, April 22, from 6-7 p.m. or at 7 a.m. on the day of the event.

Board takes action on shed violation

Hoping it will prompt the owner to remedy the situation, the Board of Directors on March 24 found the owner of property at 11 Garrett Lane in continuing violation of the Ocean Pines Association’s restrictive covenants and voted to

Artists of the Month on display at library

Don W. Grafer’s work will be on display in the main common areas of the library. Valerie Evan Coleburn’s work will be displayed in the computer rooms to the right of the common areas. Grafer works primarily in acrylics, producing both realistic and abstract expressionist art. His speciality is a vibrant and sometimes explosive use of color. His realistic paintings include renderings of people and landscapes and flowers of all kinds, along with creations depicting lions, birds and other animals,

whether more racquet sports courts are built there. As a result of that discussion, the six board members present concurred that the OPA should move forward with relocating and rebuilding the playground and community gardens, reconfiguring the parking lot and installing new fencing. Or did they? There is no consensus on what the directors actually approved when they reconvened March 24. So when Director Tom Terry offered a motion during a March 29 special meeting to direct the general manager to move forward with the expansion and resurfacing of parking lot, repair and relocation of playground and communi-

Playground project moves ahead despite incivility at board meeting

both real and fanciful. In his drip paintings and other abstract works from 2000 to 2012, influences from Jackson Pollock are apparent. More recently, he has been inspired to create brilliantly colored dreamscapes and imaginings in a new, smooth, visionary style. He is a largely self-taught artist, but studied briefly with the artists Irma Ostroff and Enrique Flores Gables and the late watercolorist Nicholas Simmons. Valerie Evans Coleburn started painting a few years ago. She developed her love of the arts and took classes with Painting With a Twist in Pennsylvania. Her body of work reflects her rich love of color.

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From Page 5 ty gardens and constructing fencing as outlined in the Manklin Creek proposal, other directors bristled. He insistedd that his motion did not address any of the facilities for the three racquet sports. Director Jack Collins immediately took issue with the $150,000 maximum spending authority included in Terry’s motion. He asked Terry how that figure was determined. He said an email version of Terry’s motion set the budget at $207,000 and he wanted to know why it was reduced to $150,000. Terry started to respond that the figures was based on bids received by the OPA for the Manklin Meadows project, less the amount for pickleball court construction, but Collins cut him off. “So in other words this hasn’t been fully thought through,” Collins said, and he again asked about the basis for the cost estimate. “I just answered it, Jack,” Terry said. Collins said he posed the same question via email after Terry circulated his motion to board members but never received a response. Terry said he was waiting for the meeting to be held. “How did you get there?” Collins asked again. “I answered,” Terry said. “No, you didn’t,” Collins responded. Renaud interjected that General

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Manager Bob Thompson could explain the basis for the cost estimate, but Collins shot him down. “I want his response,” he said of Terry. “I don’t want Bob’s response. I asked Tom the questions. I want to know how we got to $150,000? That is a legitimate question.” He wanted to know why the figure was reduced from Terry’s original estimate of $207,000 down to $150,000. “I’ve answered it,” Terry said again. Irritated that Collins repeated the question again and again, Terry asked him “Are you gonna keep talking or are you going to listen to my answer?” He repeated that the $150,000 estimate was based on bids received, less the cost of building pickleball courts. The amount was derived by going line item by line item through the bids, he said. “You wanted me to leave it at $207,000 when I don’t need to?” Terry asked Collins. Collins said he wanted to know how Terry came up with the numbers “because you tend to trivialize a lot of things, Tom.” Renaud piped in at that point, telling them “no personalities” in the debate. Collins said Terry’s motion was not in line with what the board agreed to a week earlier following its closed session meeting. Collins said the board only agreed to complete the playground project, but Terry’s motion sets it up as the first phase of the full Manklin Creek racquet sports project, which is estimat-

ed to cost $750,000 to complete. Director Cheryl Jacobs challenged Collins and said that was not her understanding of what transpired at the March 24 meeting. She said all directors agreed to move forward with the playground, community gardens, parking and fencing and then study further a proposal made by Director Tom Herrick regarding creation of pickleball and platform tennis courts on the site. “That’s what we were moving towards doing. Now all of a sudden it’s all blown up,” she said. “Because it’s $150,000, Cheryl. That’s why,” Collins said, steadily raising his voice. “Well would you prefer…” Jacobs began, but Collins cut her off, saying “well would you prefer, what a false choice. That is a false choice.” He continued, “I would prefer that we look for other avenues that are much more economical that provide the proper representation to these people sitting around this room who pay their assessment on a regular basis.” He said the board has a fiduciary responsibility to property owners. He said he appreciated Terry “coming up with a number.” Leaning toward director Bill Cordwell, who had given a second to Terry’s motion, Collins then said, loudly, “I’m not so sure that a $150,000 is the right number.” “Hey, hey, hey, hey,” Jacobs called out. “You’re both yelling,” Director Dave

Stevens interjected. Cordwell told Collins that “you agreed to it the other day” and, in the meeting’s ugliest moment, added, “you get in my face again I might have to put you through the wall.” Stevens immediately brought that comment to attention, saying “Let me note for the record that Director Cordwell just threatened to put Jack through the wall.” “I don’t threaten,” Cordwell said. Renaud started tapping his gavel and told directors to “leave personalities out of it” and “no shouting.” When they finally settled down, Jacobs immediately went back on the attack, telling Collins “I don’t need you to lecture me on being fiscally responsible to the community, thank you very much, Mr. Collins.” She said she didn’t understand what transpired between when directors left their last meeting and that morning to again derail the project. Cordwell was agitated by the direction of the discussion as well. He said the board had agreed to complete the portions of the project involving the playground, community gardens, parking and fencing and that was it. “That’s all we’re talking about the playground, the parking lot and the fence. The rest of it I’m done with it,” Cordwell said. He said staff and the board have

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April 2016 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Power Squadron election of officers

Past Commanders of the Ocean City Power Squadron participated in the election of new bridge officers for the year 2016 – 2017 in a Feb. 26 ceremony. Pictured from left to right are John W. Tellman, Fredrick F. Stiehl, William E. Killinger, D/C Katherine J. Jones, C Stuart C. Glassman, and Antonino G. Curro.

Manklin Meadows From Page 6 spent too much time on the Manklin Creek project and he is tired of the back and forth among various racquet sports groups that allege their need is greater than anyone else’s. When the shouting died down, directors voted 4-3 to approve Terry’s motion, but shot down an amendment offered by Director Tom Herrick. The amendment called for two of the existing 12 tennis courts in Manklin Meadows to be reconfigured with four pickleball courts, a proposal that Herrick first suggested during the March 24 regular meeting. Herrick also proposed that two raised new platform tennis courts be built be-

hind the existing courts, on high ground, which he later told the Progress would involve minimal or no stormwater mitigation. Voting for Herrick’s amendment were Stevens, Collins and Herrick himself, with the other four directors – Terry, Jacobs, Cordwell and Renaud – opposed. But Terry suggested that Herrick reintroduce his amendment as a separate, stand-alone motion. He did, and he went along with a Terry suggestion to reword it to call for the general manager to “investigate” the possibility of repurposing two of the 12 tennis courts into four pickleball courts and building two new platform tennis courts. The Herrick motion passed 6-1, with Cordwell opposed.

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Manklin Meadows racquet courts in limbo Herrick proposal for repurposing two tennis courts for pickleball to be ‘investigated’ By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer he Board of Directors has abandoned the master plan approved last year for redevelopment of the Manklin Creek Recreation Complex with a multitude of new racquet sports courts – at least for now – and is proceeding instead only with plans for reconfiguring the playground, community gardens and parking lot. But, they also want to “investigate” the possibility of repurposing tennis courts for pickleball and building an alternate version of platform tennis courts. Following a heated debate and a series of mixed votes during a March 29 meeting, directors agreed to proceed with playground improvements that are considered necessary regardless of whether or not any other amenities are added to Manklin Meadows. The playground’s structural supports are said to be rotten and need to be replaced. Some directors opposed the project, saying it is just the first step toward forcing through the full Manklin Meadows master plan, for which the lone bid came in a more than $750,000. Director Tom Terry made the motion to direct the general manager to move forward with the expansion and resurfacing of the existing gravel parking lot, repair and relocation of the playground and community gardens and constructing fencing “as outlined in the Manklin Creek proposal....” Terry argued that his motion “has nothing to do with building pickleball courts or approving the entire project” at Manklin Meadows. “It has to do with ongoing maintenance and upgrades that need to be done for safety issues,” he said.

In his motion, he set a maximum cost at $150,000, excluding the cost of new groundcover under the playground equipment. Staff is investigating placing a much longer lasting ground cover under the equipment that will increase safety for children, but so far there is no cost estimate for that. Director Bill Cordwell gave a second to Terry’s motion, saying it makes sense to do the realignment before rebuilding the playground equipment. “That’s all we’re talking about the playground, the parking lot and the fence. The rest of it I’m done with it,” he said regarding the racquet sports portion of the master plan. Director Jack Collins said Terry’s motion was just a round-about way of getting the overall project off the ground. He quarreled with Terry’s $150,000 figure and wanted to know how he arrived at the number, when just days earlier – in a closed meeting of the board that some argue was illegal under the Maryland Homeowners Act -- it was $207,000 to do the playground and community gardens, parking lot and fencing. Terry responded that he used the bids that General Manager Bob Thompson had solicited for the project and deducted construction of pickleball courts to arrive at his $150,000 maximum allocation. But Collins said Terry’s motion is not in line with what the board agreed to in closed session at the end of the day following a March 24 meeting. He said the board agreed at that time to just move forward with the playground but that Terry’s motion still ties it in as a first phase of the Manklin

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Racquet sports From Page 8 Meadows master plan. Director Carol Jacobs said that’s not true. She said the board consented at that time to proceed with the playground work and also to look at an alternative proposed by Director Tom Herrick for creating pickleball courts by repurposing two of the 12 tennis courts at the Manklin Meadows complex. Herrick suggested relining two tennis courts for pickleball and building two elevated platform tennis courts adjacent to the two existing platform courts to mitigate the needs for stormwater improvements on the site. Collins said the verbiage included in Terry’s motion references the Manklin Meadows project. “This is the first step toward a $750,000 investment,” he said, adding, “if we spend $150,000 now, originally it was $207,000, we’re in (for the full $750,000).” Herrick agreed that the association needs to replace the playground but said no dollar figure for the project was ever discussed during the board’s closed meeting, for which no video is said to exist. He agreed with Collins that Terry’s motion says move forward with a portion of the Manklin Creek project. “That’s not what we discussed,” he

April 2016 Ocean Pines PROGRESS said. “We don’t really know what the costs are. I thought that was what was going to happen.” He said it is unclear exactly what the scope of that project is as proposed by Terry. “It’s a basis for the Manklin Creek project and that’s how it’s labeled,” Herrick insisted. Herrick offered an amendment to Terry’s motion to also direct the general manager to change the current configuration of Manklin Creek racquet facility by dedicating any two of the current 12 tennis courts for pickleball and to erect two platform tennis courts. Director Dave Stevens gave a second to the amendment. Herrick said his proposal will have immediate impact on addressing the needs of the community while also minimizing the cost. “This plan will best serve the interests of the entire community,” he said. Cordwell immediately balked, saying he will also support the playground portion of the project. “I could care less about the rest of it,” he said, adding, “I don’t believe it was in anybody’s mind that this is first step to anything.” He said both staff and the board have spent too much time drafting and revising the Manklin Meadows recreation complex project “because a few people aren’t happy they’re not getting theirs,” he said.

Terry said the reality is that a majority of the property owners don’t use any of the amenities. “If we take the mindset that the entire community gets to say no on everything because they don’t use it, we might as well just trash the whole thing,” he said. When OPA President Pat Renaud finally called for a vote, Herrick’s proposed amendment to Terry’s motion went down in a 3-4 vote. Reflecting the alignment that has emerged in recent months on many issues, Herrick, Stevens and Collins voted together in the minority with Terry, Renaud, Jacobs

and Cordwell as the board majority. “This directs the general manager to move forward with the project so he would have to investigate numbers and get proposals,” Herrick argued. “It’ not like I’m saying go ahead and do this.” Terry’s main motion was approved in a 4-3 vote split with the same majority and minority blocs. After Herrick’s amendment failed and his motion was approved, Terry asked his fellow director to present his proposal again in the form of a standalone motion. Herrick then restated his

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

10 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 2016

May 10 deadline for OPA board candidates By TOM STAUSS Publisher andidates who want to run for one of the three seats on Board of Directors to be contested this summer have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, to submit their applications to the Administration Building office or members of the Ocean Pines search committee. The terms of current directors Jack Collins, Bill Cordwell and Tom Terry expire this year. Terry, in his sixth year as an Ocean Pines Association director, is term limited and can’t run for reelection. Cordwell has said he won’t be seeking a second three-year term, while Collins is expected to run for re-election on a platform of fiscal conservatism. Two OPA members have already announced their candidacies. Former director Ray Unger is trying again to capture a seat on the board. Newcomer Larry Perrone was the first to declare his candidacy. Many more are expected, including several rumored high profile

candidates who may file close to the filing deadline. The tenure of OPA General Manager Bob Thompson already has surfaced as an election issue. In recent published interviews, both Unger and Perrone indicated that they would not be among those who would seek to remove Thompson as general manager. Three sitting OPA directors – Dave Stevens, Tom Herrick and Collins – voted for a Herrick motion earlier this year that would have set in motion a process to replace the general manager with an outside management firm, such as the one that manages the Parke section in Ocean Pines. Perrone told a local newspaper that while he was not a huge fan of Thompson’s, he was not “among those who are calling for the general manager’s head.” He placed much of the blame on the board for not doing a better job of controlling and providing guidance to the general manager. Unger, who has not been endorsed by Ocean Pines voters in several attempts to regain a seat on the board of directors, also was unsuccessful in a campaign for Worcester County commissioner from Ocean Pines District 5. In a recently

published newspaper interview, Unger pronounced himself as someone who likes Thompson and thinks he’s been an effective general manager. Neither Perrone nor Unger were recruited by the Ocean Pines search committee, a relic of a time – many decades ago – when there was a demonstrated need to find candidates to run for the OPA board. Since that time, candidates

generally have surfaced without needing the encouragement of a search committee, which nonetheless has had the support of a consistent board majority over the years. A Progress editorial calling for the committee’s abolishment was publicly criticized by board members last summer. At the January meeting of the board,

Racquet sports

do at the last board meeting. He said he would vote against the main motion. “I’m done with that area” as it relates to racquet sport additions, he said. Stevens was opposed to the amendment adding the word “investigate” to the motion. He wanted action on the racquet sports courts, not more study. Ultimately the amendment passed by a slim 4-3 margin, with Terry, Jacobs, Renaud and Herrick voting in favor, and Stevens, Cordwell and Collins opposed. If nothing else, the debate and vote brought these three directors together on this vote only. Herrick’s motion as amended passed in a 6-1 vote with just Cordwell maintaining his opposition.

From Page 9 motion to direct the general manager to dedicate two tennis courts for pickleball and build two platform tennis courts in Manklin Meadows. Terry said Herrick’s motion sounds like a call to “scrap everything that’s already been done” relating to planning for the racquet sports complex. He suggested Herrick modify the motion to direct the general manager to “investigate” doing those things instead. “Let’s investigate it and I’m there,” he said. Cordwell said he thought “that’s what we told the general manager” to

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April 2016Ocean Pines PROGRESS 11

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OPA to seek bids for refurbishing Beach Club bathrooms, or building new ones Thompson RFP process heads off Collins’ motion for renovation-only option

the meeting rules and allow Smith to speak. He told directors that at Steen’s be-

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By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ith the Ocean Pines Association preparing to release a request for proposals for renovating the lower level bathrooms at the Beach Club in Ocean City, or building new bathrooms in a separate, standalone building, the Board of Directors declined to allow one potential contractor to discuss the options in detail at a March 24 meeting. At the request of local developer and Ocean Pines resident Marvin Steen, contractor Don Smith of Sens Inc. began to talk about his plans for the project during the public comments section of the agenda. Steen had retained Sens Inc. to develop a proposal for renovating the existing Beach Club bathrooms and submitted that proposal to the board for consideration as part of the fiscal year 2016-17 budget process. Based on Steen’s efforts and detailed cost estimates provided by Sens, the board opted to include funding for the project in the 2016-17 budget. The board included $525,000 for engineering and construction of a renovated or new above-ground bathhouse. Directors unanimously approved moving forward with the project, with construction to begin in the fall and with the goal of having it ready for use by members in the summer of 2017. Directors initially agree to suspend

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April 2016

Beach Club From Page 11

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hest he and several subcontractors visited the Beach Club to assess the current situation and determine how to best meet the needs for bathrooms at the facility. He said the existing bathrooms are inadequate, with showers taking up too much space. Smith said the OPA will have to have the property appraised and as long as the value of the bathroom project doesn’t exceed 50 percent of all work done at the Beach Club in the last ten years, then the facility will not have be brought up to current codes, such as those pertaining to handicap access. But, he said, constructing a separate above ground bathroom facility – one of the options under consideration by the OPA - will kick in that requirement and cost significantly more than renovating the existing below grade bathrooms. Director Jack Collins asked Smith how much it would cost to build a separate facility. The contractor replied that it would be at least twice as much as his estimate for renovating the current bathrooms because just installing the pilings and footings required to support the structure and stormwater management will likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The total cost of the renovating project as proposed by Sens, Inc. was $462,600. That proposal was for a complete renovation of the men’s and women’s changing rooms, bathrooms and showers at the Beach Club, 11029 Racetrack Rd.with all necessary labor, material, and project 1 1029 Racetrack Rd. Berlin, MD 21811 equipment supervision. Berlin, MD 21811 The sketch plan and scope of work included design drawings, demolition and removal of existing concrete floor, framing, sprinkler, plumbing, HVAC and electrical work as required for the new facilities. It does not include the cost of items such as permits, meters, tap or impact fees, performance bonds, site work,

building and ground signage, utilities and telecommunications installation. To be considered for the project, however, the contractor will need to resubmit a proposal in response to the OPA’s RFP. Unmentioned during the discussion but obvious: Sens’ estimate is a benchmark for any Sens’ competitors that might have an interest in bidding on the project. For a realistic chance of winning the bid, Sens might have to submit a proposal less than its own $462,000 estimate. Director Tom Terry put an end to Smith’s comments at the OPA meeting, saying that unless he doesn’t intend to submit a formal bid, it was “inappropriate” to have him discuss the project with the RFP about to be circulated. “We’re about to violate the whole RFP process,” Terry said, after which Smith said no more. During his general manager’s presentation, Bob Thompson said staff has started crafting a draft RFP for the Beach Club bathhouse project. He said the RFP will solicit design-build proposals from contractors asking them to submit “what they believe would address our needs.” That could be renovation of the existing below grade bathrooms or construction of a separate bathhouse above ground. He said the proposals will need to be “turnkey” and “all inclusive.” Additionally, Thompson said the RFP will require contractor to scope out and clean all existing piping at the Beach Club bathrooms as part STD of the renovaPRSRT tion. PRSRT STD USPOSTAGE He said several years ago when the USPOSTAGE PAID OPA considered a similar project it disMAILMOVERS covered that build-up insidePAID the piping MAILMOVERS had considerably reduced the flow size. “It will be nice to put a really pretty face on,” Thompson said, adding that if the OPA doesn’t take care of the piping that is underneath of that pretty face “then it won’t be successful in the long run.” Thompson said his goal was to solicit the RFP by April 11 and have a site vis-

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12 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

April 2016Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Questionnaire on agenda for April 11 special meeting Stevens says he’s opposed to spending ‘one more dime’ on project spearheaded by Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors has scheduled a special meeting for Monday, April 11, at 10 a.m. in the

board room for a reserve study update, which presumably could decide the fate of a proposed survey of property owners designed to aid in the drafting of a survey of property owners, which in turn

is supposed to assist in the drafting of a revised comprehensive plan for Ocean Pines. The proposed survey has fallen behind schedule, and there is some ques-

Beach Club

motion that he had submitted for consideration at the meeting that would have mandated that same action. He read his motion into the record but said he wasn’t seeking a second. Instead he immediately withdrew the motion, which called for letting the RFP by April 15, with proposals due back to the OPA by May 30 and construction to begin by mid-October. The Collins motion was different from Thompson’s proposed RFP in one significant detail. It had no reference to a separate, stand-alone building, which at least three directors – Collins, Tom Herrick and Dave Stevens – already have concluded is too expensive. Thompson’s draft RFP gives contractors the option of submitting a proposal for a stand-alone building, however. Bidders have the right to submit proposals for one or both of the option. “For the sake of camaraderie and working together,” Collins said he would

hold off on making his motion. “And realizing that Bob is as smart as I thought The board of directors is supposed to he was because he thinks a lot like I do,” he said, referring to the fact that decide on the final set of questions to be the general manager had already begin included in the survey, but so far there moving forward with the RFP process has been no consensus on questions to without needing further direction by the include. OPA Director Dave Stevens in an board to do so. He said he will depend on Thompson April 7 telephone interview said that in to give the board a complete overview of his personal opinion the proposed surthe proposals received and said he would vey is “dead in the water and can’t be revived,” citing the scheduling snafu with like to see all of the participating bids. Thompson agreed and said that “for Dericker at the recent committee meetany project like this the board always ing as evidence that the process has bogged down, in his mind irretreviably. receives all of the information.” Stevens said at this point he’s unwillAlso at the Beach Club, Thompson said the facility sustained some damage ing to vote to spend “one more dime” on a survey which he said lacks any purin a recent winter storm. He said part of the roof was torn off pose or clarity. Whether other directors agree with allowing rain to penetrate the building and damage the floor on the second lev- Stevens remains to be seen. https://www.facebook.com/sunsetﬂ oors21842 OPA President Pat Renaud, the el. He said the OPA is working with its committee’s liaison, did not respond to insurance company to make the neces- a telephone call for comment from the Progress prior to publication. sary repairs before summer.

From Page 12 it and walk-through of the Beach Club with potential bidders in late April. He said he expects bids to be due to the OPA by June 14, with bid evaluations by July 8. “Once it’s approved we recognize this will be a fall- winter project,” Thompson said of the construction timing. He said the goal is to be ready to start construction by early October and have the project finished by next spring. Director Cheryl Jacobs asked if there would be any value to cutting the season short at the Beach Club this summer and beginning construction early. “There is no value in cutting the season short,” Thompson responded. “We have a process in place that we’re looking at.” After listening to Thompson’s presentation and learning that staff is preparing to post the RFP, Collins withdrew a

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14 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

April 2016

! R E

D L E

Yacht Club loses $56,00 in February, missing budget target by $20,000 Golf operations lose $50,000 for the month, but beat budget by $20,000; Aquatics within reach of breaking even for the year

Ocean Pines Association, net operations for February 2016

April 2016 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 15 By TOM STAUSS Publisher ntering the final three months of the 2015-16 fiscal year, Ocean Pines’ major amenities all lost money in February, as expected. Two performed better than budget – golf operations and Aquatics – while the Yacht Club not only produced a deficit in excess of $56,000 but missed its budgeted loss by more than $20,000. The results were similar to January’s. The standout performer among the major amenities is Aquatics, which after February still is slightly more than $46,000 in the black for the year. Should Aquatics manage to keep losses for the final two months of the fiscal year to an average of $23,000, it would break even for the year, an unprecedented achievement in the years since the Sports Core pool has been an indoor operation. The Yacht Club’s actual loss for the month was $56,255, missing its budgeted loss by $20,013. For the year, the Yacht Club remains slightly in the black, in the amount of $18,864. It’s behind budget by $87,818, but the Yacht Club bottom line remains substantially ahead of where it was in February of last year. The year-over-year improvement is $136,320. Because March and April traditionally have been months in which the Yacht Club loses money, sometimes by large amounts, it’s virtually certain that the

OPA FINANCES

April 2016

Stevens calls for more proactive investing of OPA reserves Says managers are ‘lazy’ and forgo between $40,000 to $50,000 in annual yields possible even in conservative financial instruments By TOM STAUSS Publisher n the context of a recently approved revision of the Ocean Pines Association’s conservative investment policy, OPA Director Dave Stevens is calling for a more aggressive effort to reap better returns on the certificates of deposits and CDARS (certificates of Deposit Account Registry Service) that constitute the bulk of the OPA’s $5 million-plus investment portfolio. The Board of Directors at its March 25 regular monthly approved on a second reading a revised F-01 investment policy for the OPA. The policy retains preservation of capital as the OPA’s primary investment goal. It lists four investment categories that are acceptable instruments, including bank or financial institution deposits that are FDIC insured, deposits that

exceed FDIC insurance limits but that are collateralized by the bank’s U.S. government or agency portfolio, CDARs, and intermediate term U.S. government bonds and related instruments defined as investment grade by Moody’s or Standard and Poors. The approved policy says that all securities must be held with the intent to hold to maturity, maturities should not exceed five years, and at no time will derivatives of complex securities be purchased, even those derived from securities issued by government agencies. The new F-1 resolution also says that before making investments in U.S. agency securities, those conducting investment transactions for the OPA must identify and consider the duration period of the security and the reinvestment strategy for prepaid principal. The new F-1 assigns the task of making invest-

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ment decisions to the OPA treasurer and general manager. That would be OPA Director Tom Terry and General Manager Bob Thompson. Currently management of the OPA’s investment portfolio has been delegated to the Bank of Ocean City. The new F-1 policy specifies that maturities must be structured to ensure liquidity for anticipated needs and that a “laddering strategy” should be employed. Laddering essentially means allocating investment dollars into a variety of instruments that maximize returns, Stevens told the Progress in a recent interview. It’s the “laddering strategy” that Stevens said is not being deployed properly by the OPA. The revised F-1 sets out three “guiding principles” for investment performance. One is that the investment performance should be “appropriate for the asset class selected.” Another is that assets should be invested in an “appropriate manner for yield” while taking into account “credit and interest rate

risks.” The third principle is that interest earned from any investment should be earmarked into the same or “similar” reserve category from which it was allocated “to help ensure the growth and sustainability of replacement reserves.” Stevens first offered his critique of the OPA’s investment practices in a meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee the day before the board’s March 25 meeting, which Stevens didn’t attend because of a funeral. He said the committee’s response to his critique was dead silence. Stevens said that the OPA’s actual return on CDs and CDARs that comprise the bulk of the OPA’s investment is a miniscule fraction under 1 percent. Stevens told the Progress that if the OPA treasurer and general manager actually worked at the laddering strategy specified in the new F-1, the OPA would be able to garner another $40,000 or $50,000 per year in interest income. He said that if neither Terry nor Thompson wanted to spend the time necessary to

February financials

The course was under Billy Casper Golf management at this time a year ago. Status of the balance sheet: According to the Feb. 29 balance sheet, the OPA has assets valued at $30.259 million, a drop of roughly $800,000 from a month earlier, against liabilities of $1.555 million and owner equity of $28.7 million. The February balance sheet indicates that the OPA had $1.392 million in operating cash as of Feb. 29, compared to $1.026 million a year prior. Short term investments were valued at $5.032 million as of Feb. 29, compared to $3.02 million a year earlier. Status of reserves: The reserve summary released as part of the February financials indicates that the OPA’s total allocated reserve balance stood at $5.894 million, roughly $200,000 less than January’s balance of $6.114 million. The major maintenance and replacement reserve had a balance of $4,189,787 million, composed of $5,394,947 in the historical (funded depreciation) reserve and a negative $1,205,160 in the legacy (major capital projects) reserve.

From Page 15 facility will lose money for the year. It was budgeted to make $62,132 for the year. Had the OPA opted to close the Yacht Club shortly after Memorial Day weekend, it would have racked up a substantial surplus for the OPA. That surplus has been whittled away during the colder months of the year, as the numbers of people needed to at least break even during these months simply don’t materialize. Golf operations recorded a second consecutive month with a positive variance to budget despite losing $50,039 in February. The positive variance was $20,306. For the year through the end of February, golf is behind budget by $19,889, with a year-to-date actual loss of $88,621. The golf course management company, Landscapes Unlimited, is ahead of last year’s bottom line performance through February by roughly $8000.

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GM threatens to toss property owner from Town Hall meeting Differences over Yacht Club management, proposed food truck hotly debated

in exchange for a portion of the county’s gas tax revenue, that trumped the association’s restrictions against parking along the roadside. The brouhaha really ensued when Lind questioned Thompson about Bob Thompson operations at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club. Thompson said the Yacht Club is “performing well” and “operating in the black which we have not been in years at this stage of game.” However, he noted that the end of December, along with the months of January through March represent the “biggest runoff expenses” for the facility. He said staff is trying to manage expenses in order to keep losses during that timeframe to a minimum. “The Yacht Club’s an amenity,” Thompson said and that means that there will be times when expenditures are higher than revenue at the facility and the property owners subsidize the operations. He said it is necessary to absorb those costs at certain times of year in order to maintain an acceptable level of service

Kiwanis ‘day of service’

The Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City decided this year’s project would be to help supply Diakonia, the shelter located in West Ocean City, with much needed over-the-counter medications for the residents. Kiwanian and Secretary for the local Kiwanis Club, Pat Winkelmayer, organized this year’s project along with Stella Hartington. Some members donated money and products to which the club supplemented funds used to purchase the goods. Pat Winkelmayer and Dave Landis went to the local Wal-Mart on April 2nd to purchase products and then delivered them to Diakonia that same day. Pictured, left to right, in front of a display of the products donated by the club are Kiwanian Dave Landis, Diakonia Support Staff Zach Klina and Jake Coldiron, Kiwanians Pat Winkelmayer and Stella Hartington. for members. “We don’t hire and fire people every couple weeks based on service level,” he said, but added that “My goal with the amenities is to get them to break even.” He said the Yacht Club is nearing that point. Lind said the Yacht Club is not an amenity. “It’s a retail business that sells a retail product and at retail price,” he said. Thompson responded that “it’s an amenity. Period.” But he agreed that it is supposed to be operated in a business-like manner in

order to minimize loses. Lind took issue with the proposed purchase of a food truck that would be used by the OPA to provide food at special events and locations in the community. He said it would just become another subsidized item in the budget. “Property owners aren’t looking to open a new amenity that will be subsidized,” he said and asked the general manager if he was saying that the food truck will not have to be subsidized.

OPA investments From Page 16 research competing financial institutions for better returns on CDs and CDARS, they could delegate that task to OPA Controller Art Carmine. Carmine could dedicate a day to it, Stevens said. Why hasn’t laddering been employed to date? “They won’t do it unless they’re forced to,” Stevens said. “They won’t because they’re lazy,” a charge that he acknowledged would be “controversial.” Stevens said obtaining better yields is little more than “optimizing within the safest instruments. All it takes is a little work.” A call to Terry for comment was not returned in time for inclusion in this edition of the Progress.

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By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer learly irritated that an audience member challenged his version of the truth related to Ocean Pines Association matters, General Manager Bob Thompson threatened to ask him to leave his Town Hall meeting on March 8. Instead, the property owner, Steve Lind, a long-time resident and fixture at OPA meetings, walked out on his own. Early in the meeting Lind questioned Thompson about the parking of boat trailers at the Mumford’s Landing ramp. “Do you have a remedy for that? It just shouldn’t be.” “I don’t have a remedy for that,” Thompson said. Lind asked why the operators were being allowed to park their boat trailers along the road. He said the OPA regulations state that parking along the streets is prohibited and wanted to know why that wasn’t being enforced. He suggested requiring them to use the Yacht Club parking lot as an alternative. “We have to follow state code for the roads. State code trumps ours,” Thompson said, adding that the roads in Ocean Pines are part of the county inventory and are public access roads. “That’s what our police force has to follow.” When Lind said they are parking on the property adjacent to the road not the road itself, Thompson responded that is permitted as well because it is part of the roadway easement. “I know you don’t like it,” he told Lind. “But they’re allowed to.” Thompson said that when the OPA agreed to open the roads for public use

18 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

April 2016

Town hall From Page 17 “I don’t put anything forward I don’t believe will work,” Thompson responded. “I have no interest in running a food truck, none. What I do have is an interest in serving the community.” He argued that there are gaps in food service at some of the OPA’s stand-alone amenities like the Mumford’s Landing swimming pool, and at special events like Fourth of July. A food truck will allow the OPA to address that need. “This is not because I’m excited about having a food truck,” Thompson said. “It’s trying to find ways to meet the needs as they arise for our members.” Lind said Fourth of July is just once a year, Mumford’s Landing pool swimmers know to bring their own food and at other events, groups like Kiwanis sell food. “I really don’t see the need,” he told Thompson “We do and we hear it,” the general manager said. “Rest of us are going to pay for it” because the food truck is going to be subsidized by all property owners. Lind responded. He said Thompson can’t prove that it will make money. According to Thompson a pro forma from the OPA’s Yacht Club manager showed that the food truck service will work. “If we didn’t believe it would work we wouldn’t offer it.” Eventually the Town Hall meeting

discussion turned back to the Yacht Club. “Why don’t we just wash our hands of the Yacht Club?” Lind asked the general manager. He suggested turning it over to a successful local businessman “with name recognition” to run it via a lease arrangement with Ocean Pines. Thompson immediately went on the offensive saying that is no guarantee of success. He cited a restaurant at the South Gate of Ocean Pines that was run by an “extremely successful businessman” from Ocean City, but that didn’t work out. “Strike one to your theory,” he told Lind. Lind retorted that he “hung out there seven days a week” and there was more to the demise of that business than Thompson could explain. “The other reason, and you don’t like this but it’s a fact…” but Thompson cut him off, saying that Lind doesn’t like to hear anything he has to say. “Well, you’ve got to say things that are true, Bob, and then I’ll like them,” Lind responded. “I don’t tell lies. I’m not smart enough to keep up with them,” Thompson immediately shot back. “Don’t tell me I lied. You factually are inaccurate with that. I’m not going to accept it.” “There’s a million reasons that happened. I’m just saying,” Lind added, regarding the former restaurant at the South Gate. To Page 22

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Town Hall From Page 18 When Lind continued to challenge Thompson, the general manager raised his voice and walked toward the property owner, saying “Don’t call me a liar at my own meeting. I don’t lie. I don’t lie. Do you hear me?” “Do you hear me?” Lind shot back at Thompson, accusing the general manager of trying to provoke a confrontation. With other property owners getting visibly uncomfortable in the seats, a few people walked out of the meeting at that point. “Knock it off,” Thompson told Lind. He then started talking about Yacht Club financials, saying “Here’s the number. You asked for an answer.” But Lind wasn’t dissuaded. “You’re wrong about what you said first of all,” he started to say. But Thompson cut him off, “I’m done.” Thompson turned to answer a question from another woman in the audience, but Lind kept talking. “One more time I’ll ask you to leave,” Thompson told him. “I’ll leave. I don’t care,” Lind said. “Please do then,” Thompson told him. Although the proposed food truck has been tentatively approved by the OPA board in the 2016-17 budget, Thompson still has to come back to the directors with a detailed proposal that may not have the votes to pass.

Coastal Hospice seeking to buy Points Reach clubhouse The Farmers Bank of Willards, owner of the unfinished Points Reach Condominiums clubhouse in South Ocean Pines, has a contract buyer for the 21,656 square foot facility. Coastal Hospice, the contract buyer, wants to convert the building into an eight-bed end-of-life facility to serve Ocean Pines and the rest of Worcester County. The county’s Board of Zoning Appeals in an as yet unscheduled meeting will consider whether the proposed use constitutes a substantial change in approved zoning for the parcel and if it needs a special exception in order to proceed. Worcester County commissioners, including District 5 (Ocean Pines) commissioner Chip Berino, have endorsed the concept of repurposing the building for hospice care, with Bertino calling it “an asset” to the community. But the county’s director of development review and planning, Ed Tudor, suggested in an early April commissioners’ meeting that the Board of Zoning Appeals should review it. The clubhouse has been vacant since the original developer of the Points Reach condominiums ran out of money in the early 2000s; eventually Farmers Bank of Willards obtained title of the building in foreclosure. Efforts to sell the building have been unsuccessful for at least a decade, but the contract purchase by Coastal Hospice may finally be changing that.

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April 2016 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Sandpiper Energy outlines natural gas plans during March 10 Town Hall

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vice and billing and regulatory matters were all on hand to talk with the public about the company’s move into Ocean Pines with natural gas. “I’ll tell you, when you guys have a meeting, you have a meeting. We do appreciate the opportunity to be here this evening,” Moore said in reference to the standing room only crowd gathered for Sandpiper’s first meeting in the community. Moore said one of the long term goals of Chesapeake Utilities, Sandpiper’s parent company, has been to bring natural gas to Worcester County, but it took a while to do so. “Over the last eight years a lot of things have happened to get us here. It’s been a long process. I think everybody here has seen how long these things take,” he said, but added. “We’re here for the long haul.” Sandpiper Energy is Chesapeake

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer roperty owners eager to learn how soon they can tap into the natural gas system in Ocean Pines and what that process entails packed the Community Hall during a March 10 Town Hall meeting hosted by Sandpiper Energy. Bob Thompson, Ocean Pines Association general manager, opened the meeting but quickly turned it over to Jim Moore, Sandpiper vice president. Moore made an extensive presentation to the group and had small clusters of Sandpiper representatives ready to answer questions about a variety of topics from residents on a one-on-one basis following the formal show. Assisting Moore in his presentation was Sandpiper’s direc-1 25 Blind Factory-Ad 3/21/2016 12:06 PM Page tor of energy services, Shane Breakie. Representatives with expertise in safety, the operations crew, conversions, sales and external affairs, customer ser-

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From Page 23 Utilities’ Worcester County subsidiary. The company made its entry into the local market in 2013 when it purchased the operating assets of Eastern Shore Gas Company. One of the first topics stressed by Moore was that of safety. He said that is always the top priority of the company, which has an extensive process for inspecting the external and internal gas delivery systems throughout the conversion process in Ocean Pines.

The company recently completed an inspection and leak survey of all gas lines in the community to identify any problem areas for repairs. “We’ll be out there in the field doing leak surveys” about every five years, he said. During the conversion process employees will inspect customers’ gas appliances so they can feel secure that their internal gas delivery system will be safe once the switch to natural gas is made. “We’re gonna go into your home and inspect all of your gas appliances as well

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as the piping that leads to those gas appliances. So you can feel secure that your internal gas delivery system will be safe once we complete the conversion,” Moore said. To increase awareness in the community, Sandpiper will annually send safety brochures to both customers and non-customers whose homes are within 500 feet of its gas lines. Moore said residents should call 911 or 1-800-427-0015 if they smell gas. Natural gas has no natural odor but is treated with an odorant that makes it smell like rotten eggs. He also encouraged everyone to call 811-Miss-Utility before the dig in their yard where there may be gas lines so the company can come out and mark the area. “Most of the instances that we have of gas leaks occur when people go out there and think they can put their fence post in and then they wind up hitting our gas line. Things of that nature.” If there is a leak, natural gas will dissipate into the air whereas propane will migrate down closer to the floor, Moore said. He added that Sandpiper will provide free safety training to fire company personnel. As for the conversion process itself, Moore said Beauchamp Road to Newport has been identified as the first area within Ocean Pines for completion, with the process kicking off in January.

“We’re just kinda getting the dominoes going at this point,” he said, adding, “We want to do this as quickly as possible. But we’re always going to put safety first. Safety is always first.” Residents will know that their home is in line for conversion with they receive a postcard in the mail from Sandpiper. “That postcard starts it,” Moore said, adding that they are sent out about four to six weeks in advance of the conversion. In the meantime, crews will be installing valves in the system to keep propane and natural gas mixing and to prepare the lines for conversion. “We’ll sectionalize the system to prepare it,” he said, “You won’t see that part.” Then they will set temporary propane tanks to service each customer’s home so propane can be removed from the underground system. Tanks will be set within one to two weeks of the postcard mailing and will be removed upon completion of the conversion process. “We will remove as quickly as possible. Trust us, we want to remove them,” Moore said. “We want to get to next section and we don’t want to keep buying more tanks.” Conversion specialists will also be going door to door to look at customers’ appliances and ensure that they are conversion-ready. If they are not, then

24 Ocean Pines PROGRESS Natural gas

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Sandpiper Energy seeks rate increase

Natural gas

Company proposes three-tiered classification system for residential customers By TOM STAUSS Publisher keptics for some time have contended that conversion of Worcester County propane customers to natural gas would not necessarily result, over time, in lower monthly utility bills. But even the most cynical among the Chesapeake Utilities subsidiary Sandpiper Energy’s customer base in Worcester County didn’t expect rates to increase as the conversion kicks into high gear in Ocean Pines. But that’s exactly what’s happening, assuming that the Maryland Public Service Commission accepts a proposed 4.7 percent annual increase in revenue that Sandpiper is seeking. In a rate request filed late last year, Sandpiper is asking to collect from its propane and natural customers in the county $947,000 more in revenue per year. According to filing documents on file with PSC, Sandpiper has calculated that the proposed increase will produce, on average, an additional average monthly charge of $5.83, or $69.96 per year, for a typical residential customer. But it could be more, or less, depending on how much propane or natural gas a customer uses in any given month and in which rate classification a customer happens to fall. For those with longer memories, the requested increase isn’t exactly a surprise. Almost three years ago, the PCS gave the company two and a half years to test its blended rate system to more accurately determine actual revenue needs. The PCS at the time directed Sandpiper to file a new rate request based on more accurate data, and that’s what the company did this past December, based on financial and usage results recorded in 2015. The requested $947,000 in additional revenue would produce an 11.86 percent return on the collected revenue, and a

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17 percent return on invested equity, according to the filing. In its application with the PCS, the company is introducing a three-tiered rate classification for residential customers and three tiers for commercial customers. The threshold for RS-1 residential classification is annual consumption equal to or less than 87 natural gas CcF, or 35 CcF propane. The threshold for the RS-2 classification is a range of more than 87 to 349 natural gas CcF, equal to more than 35 to 139 propane CcF. The threshold for the RS-3 classification is annual consumption in excess of 349 natural CcF or the propane equivalent of 139 Ccf. A CcF is 100 cubic feet of propane or natural gas. From the information provided in the Sandpiper filing, it would appear that 1 natural CcF is equivalent to about .4 propane CcF. That is the conversion formula evident in the tiered classifications detailed in the application. According to the Wiki Answers Web site, 35.79 cubic feet of natural gas, or .3579 CcF., is the equivalent of one gallon of compressed propane. Sandpiper’s Ocean Pines’ customers are billed monthly by the gallon of propane usage. As the conversion to natural gas occurs over a four-year period, customers who receive natural gas from Sandpiper will see their monthly bills reflecting the amount of CcF of natural gas use. According to a briefing sheet contained in the PSC Sandpiper case file, for residential customers in the RS-1 tier, the average customer would pay $71.71 more per year in charges, or $5.98 per month on average. Customers in the RS-2 tier would pay $102,36 more per year, or $8.53 more per month on average. Customers in the RS-3 tier would pay $21.18 more per year, or $1.76 per month on average. The proposed rate system seems to incentivize more use, q

From Page 24 the company will make the necessary repairs or replacements. Once the homes are off the underground system, then the gas lines can be purged of any remaining propane, meter bars and meter stops will be installed. After the lines are fully purged, natural gas will be flowed into the system and crews will conduct a leak survey of all mains. “We’re gonna go out there and walk the line to see if there’s any leaks in it.” Moore said. To complete the conversion within the home, crews will pressure test all internal fuel lines, tie in the meter to the fuel line, and switch out existing meters so that it can be read remotely from the street. They will need to install a step down regulator on each appliance and will test fire them to make sure everything works appropriately. If any appliance was replaced, Moore said the conversion coordinator can explain the operation of the new appliance to the customers. Moore said Sandpiper has made 2,500 conversions in Worcester County already and the process is getting smoother. Still he asked residents to have patience. When it comes to cost, Moore stressed that there is no cost to customers for conversion.

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From Page 25 penalizing those in the middle tier more than those who use relatively little product or those who usage is at the high end. Currently, Sandpiper rates for propane and natural gas usage are based on a blended or hybrid system and that is expected to continue for some time, so long as Sandpiper continues to have propane customers in the county. But as more and customers convert to natural gas, the proportion of the rate that reflects the use of lower-cost natural gas is supposed to increase, with a downward pressure on the rate as a result. That, at least, is the theory. Many Sandpiper customers have fled the company for lower cost propane competitors, including one, Sharp Energy, that is owned by Sandpiper’s parent company, Chesapeake Utilities. Sharp’s residential customers are served by one two above-ground propane tanks, usually two, while Sharp’s competitor will bury

tanks at the request of customers. Sandpiper’s propane and natural gas is delivered only by underground pipeline. At a town hall meeting in Ocean Pines last month, Sandpiper’s Energy Services Director Shane Breakie attempted to explain the complicated relationship between natural gas and propane as it affects rates and monthly bills. Breakie told the packed Ocean Pines town hall meeting that rates should start to go down once natural gas and propane reach 50 percent parity in Sandpiper’s piped delivery systems. “Right now, we have a little bit over 10,000 customers,” he said, with about 2500 natural gas conversions. “When you blend that together, we still have 75 percent of our commodity based on propane pricing.” For whatever reason, neither he nor Sandpiper Vice-president Jim Moore mentioned that the company had already filed for a rate increase. The PSC is expected to render a decision on the proposed increase by September.

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Voters go to polls April 26 for party primaries By TOM STAUSS Publisher aryland Republicans and Democrats will go to the polls on April 26 to cast ballots in the Presidential primary election. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Early voting in Worcester County will take place from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. from April 14 through April 21 at Gull Creek Retirement Home in Berlin. Ocean Pines voters have been assigned one of three polling places depending on where they live. They include the Community Church of Ocean Pines, the Ocean Pines library, and the Ocean Pines Community Center. These are the same polling places used in state elections. In addition to the presidential primary, voters will cast ballots for delegates to their respective party conventions this summer. Republicans elect three delegates per Congressional district, Democrats eight. Candidates pledged to particular presidential candidates are so noted on the ballot. For Republicans, all 17 original candidates appear on the ballot, although only three – Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich – remain in the race. A recent Washington Post/University of Maryland poll – taken from March 30 through April 3 – showed Trump with 41 percent of those polled and Kasich with 31 percent, with Cruz trailing with 22 percent. Given that Kasich, the Ohio governor, barely registered in earlier polling, his 31 percent showing could be seen as evidence of a surge. For Democrats, the race has become a

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contest between Hillary Clinton, former first lady, senator and secretary of state, and Bernie Sanders, Vermont senator, a self-described democratic socialist. Clinton has led in recent polling in Maryland, but not by a huge margin. Also appearing on the ballot are primary contests for U.S. Senator to fill the seat of retiring senator Barbara Mikulski. Voters will find the Republican and Democrat primary ballots filled with names they will not recognize. On the Republican side, the presumed frontrunner is Kathy Szeliga, a member of the House of Delegates from Baltimore County since 2011 and currently serving as whip of the House Republican caucus. She is the former chief of staff to Andy Harris, when he served as a state senator from 2004 to 2010, before he was elected to Congress from Maryland’s first district. On the Democrat side, the contest is generally thought to be a contest between two representatives in Congress, Chris Van Hollen of the 8th Congressional district, which includes most of Montgomery County, and Donna Edwards of the 4th district, which includes most of Prince George’s County and parts of Anne Arundel. Voters will also cast ballots for candidates for U.S. Congress from the First Congressional District. Harris, the incumbent, is running in the Republican primary against token opposition. There are three Democrats running in that party’s primary, including former Salisbury mayor Jim Ireton. Not to be contested in the April 26 primary is a seat on the Worcester County Board of Education from District 5, which includes Ocean Pines. There are two people seeking the seat, which will be contested in the November general election. Had there been three or more competitors for the seat, the April 26 primary would have been a run-off election. Former Ocean Pines President Tom Terry, currently serving in his sixth and final year as a director, is competing against Elena McComas for the seat, currently held by school board president Jonathan Cook. The term of office is four years. McComas is a member of the Republican central committee. The primary election will be the first in which voters cast ballots under a new paper system, which is designed to produce a paper record of each voter’s selections. This change was mandated in legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly in 2007. During early voting and on election day, voters will be given a pre-printed paper ballot. Voters will mark the pre-printed paper ballots by hand at a voting booth and will insert them into a tabulation device. Ballots will then drop automatically into a secure ballot box.

Country Club From Page 1 ment of major systems in the building, including mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, but made no recommendation on whether to replace the building. “The 2011 report by Becker-Morgan recommended that the OPA do deferred maintenance on the building so it wouldn’t have to be replaced,” Clarke told the Progress in a recent interview. According to Clarke, OPA management hasn’t acted on the engineers’ recommendation for regular and routine maintenance of the Country Club or replacement of all major systems, because such persistent neglect would make it more likely that the Board of Directors eventually would endorse replacing the building. He said a similar strategy was employed successfully with the old Yacht Club and before that the original Community Hall, both of which were replaced with new buildings. So who’s right, Clarke or Thompson? A fair reading of the report finds no evidence that its authors recommended replacement over renovation. As Clarke said, the study recommended the replacement of all major systems – mechanical, electrical and plumbing throughout the building. It identified ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and a variety of building code deficiencies that would have to be addressed if and when the

April 2016 Ocean Pines PROGRESS OPA decided to embark on a major renovation. Mold also was cited as an issue needing to be addressed. The study also went into some depth detailing functionality and design issues with the building. “Overall the Golf and Country Club building is in fair condition for a building of its age,” the report concluded. “The code and ADA issues are generally minor, with the exception of the handicap lift … The structural issues are also minor. The major issues associated with the building are the age and condition of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and the poor and inefficient layout of the existing spaces.” Examples of functionality deficiencies related to “inefficient/poor layout” included a “generally poor and unappealing” approach to the building, poor utilization of the site (views towards the golf course not maximized), and an awkward split level entry to the building. Other defects include burying “the main golf function in the basement”, poor visibility/exposure of the pro shop and Terns Grille to the public side of the building, and second floor space “not well situated for large catering events.” The report also notes that bathrooms are too small and that space overall “does not feel continuous due to the tight column grid and low ceilings.” The study says the bar is too small and

not situated “in the correct location.” The porch areas at the south side of the building “step down from the main second floor level, further contributing to dark interior spaces and poor views.” If Thompson would have said during the February discussion that the report’s authors had concerns about renovation, and seemed to suggest that a new, smaller building, would have certain advantages over renovation, he would have been on firmer ground. There is some evidence in the report to suggest that the authors viewed a new building as the better investment,

but it stopped short of embracing a new building over renovating the old one. At the same time, there is no language in the report backing Clarke’s interpretation that addressing deferred maintenance by replacing major systems by themselves would settle the issue of renovation over replacement. “The existing building could be renovated,” the report acknowledges on page 17, “but a major concern would be whether a renovation option provides the best return on investment for the community. Based on the way the buildq

COVER STORY

28 Ocean Pines PROGRESS Country Club

COVER STORY

April 2016

From Page 27 ing is currently used, there is not a need for as much square footage as is currently provided (about 14,000 square feet). It is our opinion that a new facility could be designed to specifically address present and future needs, with significantly increased operational efficiency.” The report went on to specify 2011 cost estimates for a new, smaller replacement building. A new, 8,000 square foot building would range in cost from $176.45 to $193.85 per square foot,

which equates to a maximum cost of $1.55 million. A new 12,000 square foot building would range in cost from $166.85 to $183.50 per square foot, or a maximum cost of $2.2 million. These estimates did not include site work, architectural design fees or contractor fees – which presumably would substantially increase the bottom line cost. Presumably five years of inflation would also contribute to square foot prices higher than those estimated in 2011. “The cost range is largely dependent on the quality of finishes, complexity of

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program elements, equipment and the size of the project,” the report noted. The study goes on to say that in a renovated building option, “improvements will not likely address functionality challenges … So several major questions need to be answered if a renovation option” is pursued. One question that the study posed is the extent to which renovations/improvements would be necessary to resolve functionality challenges. Another is whether the OPA would regard a “fully improved” facility, but which still does not achieve “optimal functionality, as acceptable. A third question is whether the existing facility, which the study said “appears to be larger than is presently needed, can be given new uses and functions. “If not, utility and maintenance costs will remain disproportionate and perpetual, as significant non-spatial volume with remain expensive to maintain,” and the Country Club will be afflicted with “diminished marketability,” the report concluded. Then the report dropped the decision on what to with the Country Club in the laps of those who haven’t resolved that question in the five years since the report was finished. “It is not the goal of this report to answer these questions, but to identify them as concerns for the Association to decide,” the study said on page 17. Any decision to renovate rather than

rebuild from scratch probably would depend on verification on the 2011 report’s conclusion that the building is structurally sound. “The existing clubhouse is a two-story building consisting of mostly wood framing and minimal steel framing,” the report said. “The roof and floor load is transferred to the foundations through or wood or steel columns and wood bearing walls. The foundations are grade beams and piles. The framing members that could be observed were noted to be in relatively good condition.” The report concluded that the roof framing members (deck, joists, beams and columns) meet load requirements, floor framing was adequate in most but not all instances, and ground floor “meets the required capacities of public use areas.” Although wood and steel columns throughout the building support the flooring and roof framing, and “these columns meet the loading criteria of current building codes, their frequency may present limitations to layouts of new rooms and areas,” the report warned. “If larger, open areas are desired, replacing or reinforcing existing columns and beams may be required.” The report concluded that the building structure would be adequate to support a renovation, with a caveat that some areas of wood floor trusses would need to be evaluated for use in a remodeled building.

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LIFESTYLES

April 2016

Wednesday, April 13 Worcester County Tea Party Speaker Series. 7 p.m., Ocean Pines library, District 3 School Board Candidate Forum for Maryland Primary April 26th. Candidates include Francis Gebhart, Shirley Moran, and Sara Thompson. Free admission. Thursday, April 14 Ocean Pines Boat Club Trip to newly expanded Midway Casino, Harrington, 10:15 a.m. to 5 p.m., $18 per person. Bus will leave from and return to the Ocean Pines Yacht Club parking lot. Includes bus ride and driver gratuity, $15 credit towards playing and $7 towards the buffet lunch. Limited to 50 people and is open to Boat Club members and nonmembers. Sign-ups, Barbara Southwell at 410-641-5456. Town meeting on the county budget, hosted by county commissioners Jim Bunting and Chip Bertino, Ocean Pines library, 6:30 p.m. Presentation of the county budget by the county finance team. Arbor Day memorial tree planting ceremony, 10:30 a.m., Pintail Park, Ocean Pines, Yacht Club in the event of inclement weather. Sponsored by the Ocean Pines Garden Club. A tree will be planted in memory of loved ones who passed away in 2015, luncheon at Yacht Club to follow. $20 cost, includes choice of a shrimp croissant with lettuce and tomato and chips, a fancy grilled cheese

HAPPENINGS sandwich with tomato bisque or a grilled chicken Caesar salad, beverages and dessert. Marian Bickerstaff, mbickerstaff@mchsi.com or 410-208-2508. Saturday, April 16 Spring “Spruce-Up” workshop, Home Depot, Route 50, 11408 Ocean Gateway, across from Glen Riddle subdivision, 10 a.m. to noon, sponsored by the Women’s Commission of Worcester County. Featuring Home Depot’s Neil O’Callaghan talking about household to-do’s using tools and gardening tips. Registration, 410-208-2569 or email mcgrawdb@mchsi.com. Light refreshments, space limited, no charge for this workshop. Thursday, April 21 Pine’eer Craft Club, monthly meeting, 9:45 a.m. refreshments, 10 a.m. business meeting. Craft: members will make two glass pendants; reserve by emailing or calling Louise, lass38@ mchsi.com or 410.430.0284. Kits $3.

doors $10. Non-residents, indoors, $20; outdoors $10. Indoor space includes a table; outdoor space does not. Application available on oceanpines.org (under News banner). Thursday, April 28 Board of Directors meeting, Ocean Pines Association, Ocean Pines Community Center, Assateague Room, 9 a.m. Agenda and board packet posted on OPA Web site several days before meeting. Saturday, April 30 Parke community yard sale, 7:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Registration at the clubhouse, $1 fee to cover maps and signs. Each registered household will receive a sign to place at the base of their lamppost and buyers will receive maps. Registration deadline April 26, raindate May 7. Diane McGraw, 410208-2569, or mcgrawdb@mchsi.com.

Sunday, May 1 Annual Italian dinner, sponsored Saturday, April 23, by the the Kiwanis Club of Greater Indoor/outdoor flea market, spon- Ocean Pines - Ocean City, DeNovo’s sored by the Ocean Pines Department Tratorria Restaurant, Manklin Staof Parks and Recreation, Ocean Pines tion Shopping Center, inside Ocean Community Center and White Horse Pines South Gate of Ocean Pines on Park, 8 a.m. to noon. Vendor spaces Manklin Creek Road. Two seatings: 5 available. Residents, indoors, $15; out- and 6 p.m., each limited to 100 persons. Tickets, Ralph Chinn, 410-208-6719. $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12. PIZZA and Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic ACathell MOVIE bread, Smith Island Cake and iced tea. 11073 Road New at Mama Full service bar, not included in the Ocean Pines, MDDella’s DVD/BLURAY price of the meal. Walk-ins if space alRentals lows, carry-out available. Carry-Out Mid Atlantic Symphony, season or Delivery One FREE Rental finale, “Romantic Legends,” Comfor Signing Up! munity Church at Ocean Pines, Rt. 589 Ask*About Our Titles New Release and Beauchamp Road, 3 p.m. Featuring available 28 days before Daily Dessert Redbox and Netﬂix violinist Arnaud Sussman performing works by Sibelius, Borodin and MenDINNER SPECIALS delssohn. MONDAY NIGHTTickets, $38 per person, contact Gale Alford, 410-208-1590, or at galenbillalford@gmail.com. 99 Mid Atlantic Symphony, end of

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season fund-raising gala, Ocean Pines Yacht Club, following the concert. $75 per person includes dinner with choice of four entrees, cash bar, music, silent auctions and raffles. Tickets, $38 per person, contact Gale Alford, 410-208-1590, or at galenbillalford@gmail.com. Wednesday, May 4 Manhattan Dolls concert, featuring the sounds of 50s and 60s girl bands, Ocean City Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m. Tickets available through Ticketmaster, 800-551-7328, or at the Ocean City Convention Center box office 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The concert is sponsored by AK, P.E.O., MD, the local chapter of an international nonprofit organization actively promoting educational opportunities for women. Ongoing Free platform tennis clinics, Saturdays at noon, Manklin Meadows tennis complex. Bring sneakers, the rest is provided. Annual memberships start at $150. Ocean Pines Ping Pong Club, Ocean Pines Community Center, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, noon to 2 p.m. All levels welcome. Eric Bowers, 410-208-1794. The Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines – Ocean City every Wednesday at 7:45 a.m., Ocean Pines Community Center. Sanctioned duplicate bridge games, Ocean Pines Community Center, Sundays 1 p.m., Mondays noon, Tuesdays 10 a.m. Partners guaranteed. $5, special games $6. Third Sunday of every month is Swiss teams (no partner guaranteed for teams). Felicia Daly, 410-208-1272; Pat Kanz, 410-641-8071 The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 12-05, meets the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the U.S.C.G. Station, Ocean City. Visitors and new members are welcome. Dennis Kalinowski, 410-208-4147. Web site http://a0541205.uscgaux.info. Worcester County Democratic Club meeting, fourth Thursday of each month, 7 p.m., Marlin Room of Ocean Pines Community Center.

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CAPTAIN’S COVE

April 2016

Tim Johnson resigns as Billy Casper Golf general manager

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By TOM STAUSS Publisher im Johnson, general manager of Captain’s Cove amenities for more than three years, has resigned from his position for family reasons, the Cove property owners association’s Board of Directors announced in early April. According to the announcement posted on the Cove Web site, Johnson resigned because of “important family and medical needs that have arisen with his family in North Carolina.” The announcement made no reference to the at times prickly relationship that Johnson and the rest of the Billy Casper Golf staff has had with some year-round residents of the Cove. The official announcement said the parting of ways was amicable. Tim Hearn, Cove president, did not return a Progress phone call in time for inclusion in this edition of the Progress. BCG regional managers Chip Harris and Mark Wesolek will step in to run the day to day amenity operations in Captain’s Cove pending the hiring

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of a replacement. Harris will be leading the search effort, and both managers will be on site several days a week during the interim period, according to the announcement. Cove members with specific questions concerning the search process can direct them to Justin Wilder, communications coordinator for the Cove, the announcement said. The resignation occurred in the context of continuing community unrest over losses in the golf and food and beverage operations at the Cove, although just how wide and deep that unrest really is can’t be easily quantified. Most of the postings on the Cove Web site’s message board critical of BCG generally come from the same few individuals. But complaints are common during the public comments/questions segment of regular board meetings. Amenity losses are often discussed in the context of concerns about the level of lot assessments in Captain’s Cove, currently set at $1200 annually, including access to To Page 35

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April 2016

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From Page 32 amenities. In a recent post about BCG stewardship of Cove amenities, Cove Director Dave Kieffer offered a defense of BCG and amenity operations generally. “Everyone is aware that the two biggest losses (and subsequent costs) for the Cove’s POA members are the Marine Club restaurant and the golf course,” he said. “Unfortunately it has always been that way. In my opinion, the best course of action is to minimize those losses as

April 2016Ocean Pines PROGRESS much as possible, while still providing the amenities that POA members expect and desire.” Kieffer said “to permanently close the restaurant and/or golf course in order to save money and lower dues assessments is not something I would recommend doing.” Kieffer also used his post to clarify information about the possibility of leasing out the restaurant that had been placed on the message board by one Cove resident. The resident said that the Cove board roughly three or four years ago

had “shot down” a lease offer because the “interested party” was interested in a dining model of “members and guests” only. The post said “there is a recorded transcript to this effect if anyone thinks it necessary to research for further substantiation. That’s right, it was the (Cove board of directors that) wasn’t open to the idea of not having the bar open to the outside, and in effect being the watering hole for the northern end of Accomack County and beyond.” Kieffer said the resident may have been referring to a proposal considered

by the board in the 2011-2012 timeframe, when he was not a member. “I do know that (the late former director) Buz Williams had told me that there was a chain restaurant interested in renting the MC (Marina Club) Restaurant for $1 / year, but the BOD wanted the restaurant to be only for members and guests, and not open to the public, as the chain restaurant wanted,” Kieffer said. Should the offer resurface in a form similar to what was offered previously by an interested party, Kieffer suggest-

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CAPTAIN’S COVE

April 2016

Johnson resignation

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From Page 35 ed that he might favorably consider it. “If a local or national restaurant operator could be convinced to rent out the Marina Club rent free, to pay for maintenance and utilities, and to provide a good dining experience to members, that would be something worth considering,” he said in his post. “However, I am not aware of any outside interest …” He said if such a proposal would surface, the Cove would have to consider the financial downside of losing its tax exempt status and the costs of breaking or modifying its three-year contract with BCG. The concern about losing tax exempt status might prove to be surmountable, if experience by the Ocean Pines Association is any indication. One possibility under a lease arrangement might be that the Cove property owners association would have to pay tax on unrelated business income, should a lease be structured in such a way that the Cove would share in any operating profits. At one dollar a year lease, there would not appear to be any unrelated business income that would be earned by the Cove. Under such an arrangement, the

Cove might simply avoid operating losses that would otherwise occur, resulting in a non-taxable event. In addition, the OPA lost a protracted legal battle some years ago over unrelated business income earned at its Beach Club in Ocean City. The case was decided in the courts against the OPA because, at the time, the club’s parking lot was open only to members and guests of the association. To avoid tax on unrelated business income since then, the OPA has made it very clear in its promotional materials that the Beach Club and its annual parking passes are open to the public, consistent with its “social welfare” non-profit tax status. Also instructive is the fact that the OPA submits an unrelated business tax return with respect to advertising revenues earned by its quarterly newsletter. There has been no adverse effect on its overall tax exempt status by the fact that one of its activities is considered taxable as “unrelated” to the association’s core function as a non-profit “social welfare” organization. Audit report completed: During the March 19 meeting of the Cove Board of Directors, the audit report for the 2015 fiscal year was accepted as delivered by the auditing firm of TGM Group of Salisbury. According to the report, the Cove POA had revenues of $4,402,129 against expenses of $4,164,422, for an operating surplus of $237,707.

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FREE – Household Hazardous Waste & Electronics Recycling Saturday, April 23, 2016 – 10 AM – 2 PM – Collections to be held at the OCEAN CITY PARK & RIDE – RT. 50 – W. OCEAN CITY

Household Hazardous Waste Collection WHAT WILL BE ACCEPTED:

Gasoline, gas/oil mixtures, Fuels, Acids, Cleaners, Solvents, Automotive fluids, Bleach, Ammonia, Pool Chemicals, Pesticides, Dark Room supplies, CFL light bulbs, batteries, Insecticides, Herbicides, Oil-based Paints, Thinners, Turpentine, Wood Preservatives, Wood Strippers, Etc. (dispose of solidified paint in trash – to solidify – add dirt, sand, kitty litter, mulch, etc.) All of these materials will go to a HAZ MAT disposal site. ************************************************ WHAT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED: Explosives, Ammunition, Medical Waste, Radioactive Materials, Picric Acid, Asbestos. No Materials will be accepted from Business, Industrial or Commercial Sources.

THESE ITEMS WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE

Electronics Recycling Televisions Any Size TV TV Remotes

Computers

CPU’s Keyboards Mouse Printers Modems Scanners Cables Misc. Computer Parts

Misc. Electronic Equipment VCR’s CD Player’s Calculators Cell Phones Radios Stereos CB Radios Fax Machines Misc. items

THESE ITEMS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ELECTRONIC RECYCLING AT PARK & RIDE LOT – RT. 50 – W. OCEAN CITY

PARK & RIDE LOT – RT. 50 – W. OCEAN CITY

APRIL 23, 2016 – 10 AM – 2 PM

TRASHING OLD ELECTRONICS DOESN’T MAKE SENSE

For more information on this event. Please call – Ron Taylor, Worcester County Recycling Coordinator 410-632-3177 or e-mail at rtaylor@co.worcester.md.us

April 2016Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPINION

April 2016

COMMENTARY

Herrick proving value as an OPA director

cean Pines Association members got it right when they elected Tom Herrick to the Board of Directors last summer. He recently proved his value by coming up with a low-cost, common-sense alternative to a $750,000 upgrade to the Manklin Meadows racquet complex that even Bob Thompson, the OPA’s general manager, conceded is too expensive (and wasteful) for Ocean Pines. Thompson’s solution to the excessive cost was to divide the project into phases and to seek ways to reduce the scope and expense of storm-water management improvements. Unfortunately, his phased approach also indefinitely delays the installation of two additional platform tennis courts that Ocean Pines aficionados of that sport have been patiently waiting for – literally for years. Herrick’s proposed solution, unveiled during the regular monthly meeting of the board March 24, was elegant, simple and inexpensive. While it did not explicitly reject elements of Thompson’s revised Phase I – enlargement of the parking lot, refurbishing of the Manklin Meadows playground equipment and some new fencing for the community gardens – the Herrick plan called for repurposing, restriping and equipping two of the 12 tennis courts in the complex with eight pickleball courts. The proposal would mean that the tennis community in Ocean Pines would be served by ten rather than 12 courts in the Manklin Meadows complex, in addition to four courts at the Swim and Racquet Club that are scheduled to be resurfaced with funds approved by the board of directors in the 2016-17 capital budget. Anyone who claims that Ocean Pines lacks for traditional tennis courts live in an alternate reality. Herrick’s proposal also calls for two new platform tennis courts to be located immediately adjacent to and behind the existing two platform tennis courts. Because these two new platform tennis courts would be elevated and placed in an area that is relatively high ground, Herrick suggested that vexing stormwater management issues impli-

cated in the $750,000 original version of the Manklin Meadows plan might be dramatically reduced. If that is indeed the case, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t be, then OPA could move quickly to build the long-delayed platform tennis courts and repurpose two tennis courts for pickleball, both during the 2016-17 fiscal year, and sooner rather than later. The racquet sports community has waited long enough and need not wait much longer. Thompson simply needs to get busy implementing – not investigating – the Herrick proposal. At a special meeting of the board on March 29, the board voted to proceed with parking lot, playground and fencing improvements, at a price tag not to exceed $150,000. The vote was accompanied by much bickering and consternation, with a board minority convinced that the vote was a Machiavellian ploy to continue with the $750,000 Manklin Meadows redesign, only divided into more manageable, politically-acceptable segments. That fear seems to be somewhat overwrought, though understandable in the context of Ocean Pines’ faction-riddled governance. Herrick’s proposed solution for racquet sports amenities remains on the table – neither accepted nor rejected by a board majority. There are three solid votes in favor – Herrick, Jack Collins and Dave Stevens – with directors Pat Renaud, Tom Terry and Cheryl Jacobs not quite ready to give Herrick’s proposal the full-throated endorsement it deserves. Perhaps these three directors want to give Thompson a face-saving way to get with the new and improved Herrick-proposed program. With wording suggested by Terry and reluctantly accepted by Herrick, Herrick’s motion to direct the general manager to “investigate” the Herrick proposal passed, 6-1, with only Bill Cordwell in opposition. What, exactly, needs to be investigated? It’s simply a matter of convening a meeting of the trilateral racquet sports advisory committee to help determine which two tennis courts can be repurposed for

pickleball. In addition to considering the 12 tennis court in the Manklin Meadows complex, those deciding which tennis courts to convert to pickleball might also look at the four tennis courts at the Swim and Racquet Club as options. There is nothing sacred about assigning pickleball to the Manklin Meadows complex. The sport could easily thrive at the Swim and Racquet Club, saving the OPA some of the $140,000 budgeted for tennis court resurfacing in the 2016-17 fiscal year. One opponent of Herrick’s approach is Cordwell, who apparently views it as an attempt to obstruct a comprehensive solution to competing racquet sport preferences at the Manklin Meadows site. On the contrary, Herrick’s proposal breaks through the logjam. Cordwell’s inﬂexibility is neither useful nor helpful. He appears to have given up on new racquet sports amenities altogether. Herrick’s proposal constitutes the quickest way to achieve what Ocean Pines’ racquet sport community has been seeking without much success for quite some time. True, there could be two fewer traditional tennis courts available in Manklin Meadows for use, but Herrick has said that rarely if ever is there a demand for all 12 courts at any time of the year. The Har-tru courts aren’t used as much during the summer months and the soft courts not so much during the cooler months, he says, based on first-hand observation, prompting Herrick to suggest that one Har-Tru court and one soft court could be sacrificed for pickleball, with minimal detrimental impact on traditional tennis players. Indeed, there’s really no real inconvenience or even a loss in the total number of courts available for tennis, given that the Swim and Racquet Club courts on the Northside should become fully functional sometime this spring or early summer. The sooner a super majority Board of Directors embraces the Herrick proposal, the better. – Tom Stauss

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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. Letters and other editorial submissions: Please submit via email only. Letters should be original and exclusive to the Progress. Include phone number for verification. 127 Nottingham Lane Ocean Pines, MD 21811

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OPINION

April 2016Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Testiness on overdrive, civility on the ropes

erhaps it was toll of a winter with too many overcast days, but some of the public displays of testiness by certain OPA officials of late exceeded limits of civility that govern most of us. The statement by a certain board member during a recent special meeting of the board that he might throw a colleague through a wall, presumably because he was invading his personal space but probably because of an authentic policy disagreement, is a case in point. Then there was the ugly confrontation between Thompson and OPA member Steve Lind at the general manager’s March town meeting, which for the most part was civil and informative, as much as these canned presentations can be. Thompson appeared to over-react when he accused Lind of calling him a liar; Lind had done no such thing. Confronted, yes; questioned intensely,

downstairs bar area that serves its patrons poorly. Thompson was well within his rights An excursion through the curious cul-de-sacs An excursion through theby-ways curious and by-ways and cul-de-sacs to counter with an argument that not of Worcester County’s County’s most densely community. of Worcester mostpopulated densely populated community. all entrepreneurs are successful in business. Of course, but one person’s diffiPublisher By TOM STAUSS/ By TOM STAUSS/Publisher culty does not predict a failure at a site yes; criticized, yes, as is his right as an A thick skin, and one that grows with a lot of built-in advantages. The OPA member. But call Thompson a liar? thicker with each passing day, would fact that the Yacht Club’s outside deck Not quite. To suggest someone is misin- seem to be a necessary prerequisite for can’t be used as well as it could because formed, as Lind did, is not the same as the job. of parking limitations is something accusing him of lying, which most people As it happens, Lind’s points about harder to defend. Lind’s advocacy of a would define as a deliberate, conscious mistakes that were made in the planning new, larger bar in the downstairs makes effort to deceive. for the new Yacht Club – the linkage of good business sense, as well. Inviting a critic to leave the town outdoor seating and parking limitations The debate up to that point was well meeting, as Thompson did, or came close come to mind – are valid. And his advo- within acceptable parameters. to doing, is not something a general cacy for leasing out the Yacht Club to an But inviting Lind to leave the meetmanager should do. Differences of opin- accomplished local entrepreneur as an ing, however, ruined the moment, even ion are appropriate, evidence of a lively alternative to in-house management is though the suggestion was not made in community intent on arriving at good worthy of debate. So is Lind’s advocacy a fit of anger. decisions. It seemed like overkill. Lind volunof a much more substantial bar operaNo one ever said that serving as gen- tion at the Yacht Club, to replace what tarily made an exit – as gracefully as eral manager is easy. he (and others) regard as a compressed could be under the circumstances.

LIFE IN THE LIFE INPINES THE PINES

LETTER Food truck not needed

In the March edition of the Progress, Ocean Pines Board member Tom Terry was quoted as saying “ . . . there has been a lot of opposition to the food truck in the community - the public clearly wants it out . . . ”. Not too long after Terry made that statement, Bob Thompson - - at a General Manager’s Town Hall - - said (in response to a question that I asked about the food truck) that there was a “community need” for such an amenity. Of course, it is ludicrous that Tom Terry - who has exhibited on many occasions that he supports all that is Bob Thompson - - would say that “the public clearly wants it out”, and then we are told by the General Manager that there is a “community need” for said truck. I don’t know about the rest of you, but to me the ‘public doesn’t want it but the public needs it’ scenario implies that the administration is administering against the will of the people. And speaking of a defender of all that is Bob Thompson, at the same meeting board member Cordwell stated (as quoted in the Progress) that the food truck is “... opposed by the same people who oppose everything ... ” Of course, the truth of the matter is that the food truck proposal is supported by the same directors who support everything that the General Manager proposes to them. So it seems that what we have is a board majority that, rather than representing the interests of “the public” as Mr. Terry calls us, or the interests of the “same people” that Mr. Cordwell seems to hold in disdain, represents its own personal interests as well as the personal interests of the GM, no matter how much it costs the rest of us. I’ve been in Ocean Pines since 1998, and this is the most divisive administration I’ve seen during that time. Why

do four directors (including a director who originally ran on a ‘rein in the GM’ platform) feel the need to constantly defend the General Manager rather than provide the oversight that the Board is obligated to provide? They are there to represent the interests of the property owners, not to represent the interests of the GM. Keep this in mind when election time rolls around. Make sure that the person you vote for represents your inter-

ests, know how every candidate stands on the issues that are important to you, and make sure that the person you vote for doesn’t think that the property owners’ money is a bottomless pot of gold. Do we want a great community? Sure. But how many of you frequented the Java Bay Café, how many of you will eagerly await the arrival of the food truck? The ‘café’ was a losing financial proposition for which we were told there was a ‘community need’, and the food

Kiss Your

truck will be the same. And how about our $5 million new Yacht Club, designed primarily to service non-residents at banquets, wedding receptions, etc, while the assessment-paying residents get trailer-park plastic chairs on the veranda in the summer and a closet-sized bar in the winter. When will it stop? Hopefully, it will stop after the upcoming board election. Steve Lind Ocean Pines

Goodbye!

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April 2016

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