April 2020
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
COVER STORY
IT BEGINS!
Three already in the race for two seats on OPA board Dr. Stuart Lakernick announces candidacy By SUSAN CANFORA Contributing Writer
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iving in O c e a n Pines, Stuart Lakernick mused, is like cruising on a luxury liner. “You can get as active as you want. You can Stuart get involved in Lakernick so many activities or you can just sit around and read all day. We have a home in Ocean Pines and we’re here more and more. We’re thinking of retiring here,” said the 62-year-old Philadelphia native, who has announced his candidacy to the Ocean Pines Board of Directors. To Page 26
Parks, Horn seek new terms By TOM STAUSS Publisher urprising no one who watched the April 1 Board of Directors meeting, President Doug Parks and Secretary Colette Horn both confirmed that they are running for reelection to the board this summer. To avoid the appearance or actuality of a conflict of interest, both resigned from positions that are involved in Doug Parks election processes within the Ocean Pines Association. Parks vacated his position as liaison to the Search Committee, which has no members according to the OPA Website. He failed to find anyone interested in volunteering for the committee despite making verbal appeals for members in public pronouncements beginning in January. He made similar appeals last year to no avail. A prominent Parks critic, former OPA director Slobodan Trendic, said he was able to populate the committee simply by calling friends and neighbors when he served on the Colette Horn board. Trendic has suggested that Parks didn’t try very hard to reinvigorate the committee. Parks has been replaced as liaison to the committee by Director and OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone. Horn has resigned as OPA secretary and was replaced by Director Camilla Rogers in a unanimous vote of the board April 1. The OPA secretary submits a list of certified candidates to the Elections Committee by June 1, after supervising the certification process conducted by Executive Secrtary Michelle Bennett and Membership and Assessment Supervisor Ruth Ann Meyer. The latter determines whether a candidate is current with lot assessments and has no outstanding violations of OPA restrictive covenants or Architectural Review Committee guidelines. Two years ago, Horn made the controversial determination that the To Page 25
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Sen. Carozza ‘very optimistic’ that Greater Ocean City will be open for business this summer Page 6
OPA files for employee protect loan from SBA The Ocean Pines Association has filed an application for a government employee protection loan through the Bank of Ocean City, General Manager John Viola has confirmed, but just how much assistance might be forthcoming is unknown, he and others have told the Progress. Indeed the loan application didn’t even include a requested loan amount, and that’s not considered unusual in the Congressionally-approved program that local banks are helping the federal Small Business Administration to administer. ~Page 5
Board approves 90-day extenion for paying assessments While pleading with Ocean Pines Association members to still pay by the original May 1 deadline if they can, the Board of Directors has extended the due date for annual property assessments until Aug. 1, 2020. In a 6-1 vote, the Board approved the 90-day extension during its April 1 monthly meeting, debating the impact the length any extension of time for payment of dues by property owners would have on the OPA’s finances. ~ Page 7
Yacht Club has one for the ages on Easter Sunday How the managers of the Matt Ortt Companies managed to prepare and deliver 281 family dinners of turkey, ham and fixins to residents of Ocean Pines on Easter Sunday is a tale for the ages. “The key to pulling it off was on-line ordering in advance, with some orders a week before,” MOC partner Ralph DeAngelus told the Progress in a April 14 telephone interview. “So we had a really good idea of how much food we needed to order.” ~Page 16
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4 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
April 2020
OCEAN PINES
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
COPING WITH CORONAVIRUS
OPA files for government employee protection ‘loan’ Application submitted through Bank of Ocean City By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Ocean Pines Association has filed an application for a government employee protection loan through the Bank of Ocean City, General Manager John Viola has confirmed, but just how much assistance might be forthcoming is unknown, he and others have told the Progress. Indeed the loan application didn’t even include a requested loan amount, and that’s not considered unusual in the Congressionally-approved program that local banks are helping the federal Small Business Administration to administer. Viola said the loan application included payroll information, such as the number of full-time equivalents and the payroll costs incurred by the OPA. “We provided all the information requested by the Bank of Ocean City as part of the application process,” he added. As the program has been explained by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, loans could be forgiven if loan proceeds are used to maintain employment rolls during the coronavirus shutdown. OPA operations were effectively shutdown by Gov. Larry Hogan last month in phases, with the Ocean Pines golf course the last of Ocean Pines amenities closed. According to Viola, assessment collections as of the April 2 Board of Directors meeting were running about 60 percent of collections at the same time last year. He didn’t disclose the dollar amount of the yearover-year differential. But apparently measurable financial impact from the shutdown isn’t the criteria that will be used to guide pay-outs in a program that, as of mid-April, was already running out of money. Viola said the OPA isn’t counting on receiving loan assistance but is nontheless hopeful. With the initial appropriation of $300 billion depleted, Congress has been deadlocked over a proposal to
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add $250 billion to replenish it. At the April board meeting, the directors voted to allow property owners to delay paying their assessments if necessary until Aug. 1, while encouraging those who have
the means to pay as they normally would. Legally, according to OPA governing documents, the board didn’t have the authority to delay the assessment due date, according to for-
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mer Director Marty Clarke who’s also a former member and chairman of the Bylaws and Resolutions Advisory Committee, and frequent board critic Joe Reynolds, who runs the oceanpinesforum.com Web site. Both OPA members so advised the Progress and the board in emails, and Reynolds posted a commentary to that effect on the forum. Reynolds expressed some frustration that no director had responded. Clarke said, however, that the board has the authority to set the interest rate for unpaid assessments and under that provision could vote to delay interest penalties for late payment.
OCEAN PINES
April 2020
Sen Carozza ‘optimistic’ for phased-in reopening of local businesses By TOM STAUSS Publisher tate Senator Mary Beth Carozza, declining to predict when local businesses will reopen, nonethess is striking an optimistic note that a phased reopening could mean that the summer season in Ocean City and environs won’t be lost to a continued shutdown related to the coronavirus pandemic. “I am not prepared to put a timeline on it,” she said in a April 8 telephone intervierw with the Progress. “But I’m having discussions with employers and governmemt officials, the Ocean City and Ocean Pines Chambers of Commerce, the Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association. Everyone is focusing on trying to figure out how we can reopen closed business safely (in time for the summer season).” Based on what she’s hearing from the office of Gov. Larry Hogan, with whom she maintains a close
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and strong alliance, she said she believes the reeopening will occur in phases, with careful attention given to ensuring that businesses that are allowed to reopen do so safe- Senator Mary ly, in ways that Beth Carozza maintain social distancing. “We don’t want to open too soon and in a way that causes a spike in infections,” she said, adding that the governor will be making decisions on reopening the state ecomony on the advice of medical experts. Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the prominent experts serving on the White House caronavirus task force, in an April 12 network news program hinted that the economy could begin to reopen “at least in some ways maybe next month.” President Donald Trump has an-
noiunced a three-phase reopening of the the economy, with some statesrelaunchiing before the end of the month. All 50 state governors will have a lot of latitude on how quickly their states open up. Sen. Carozza said one hopeful sign is that she’s been informed that the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce will be conducting a virtual job fair for summer jobs in Ocean City. There’s a banner on the Chamber’s Website announcing the online job fair, but as of April 15 it was not yet active. Another positive sign, she said, is that there has been no announcement by the governor that the J-1 program, in which foreign students flock to Ocean City to work summer jobs, has been shut down. The J-1 program generally is regarded as criticial to staffing hotels, restaurants and bars in the greater Ocean City area. “I’m very optimistic (that Ocean
“I’m very optimistic (that Ocean City will reopen soon),” she said, citing what she termed was the governors aggressive actions “to get on the top of the curve very early on to stop the spread of the virus.” That’s what will make it possible to reopen businesses sooner than would have happened if the governor had been late in ordering a shutdown of most businesses in the state, she said. Stopping the spread of the coronavirus is her first and most important “prong” or concern, she said, followed by an emphasis on making sure “those on the front lines” of combatting Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, have all the equipment they need to do their jobs effectively. The third “prong” or concern is economic recovery, and “planning for that starts now.” She said that she and her staff are working with local businesses to help them take advantage of federal programs administered by the Small Business Administration for grants and loans designed to offset losses from the closures and to keep workers employed to the extent possible. Local banks are involved in processing applications for one of those programs, and Corozza’s staff has been assisting businesses in navi-
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OCEAN PINES From Page 6 gating the application processes. Prospects for longer-term recovery includes “having a stimulus package focused on bringing jobs back as quickly as possible,” she said. “I’m confident the pieces are in place for that to happen.” She predicted that safe-distancing practices will remain in place once businesses reopen to limit the spread of the virus. “We are working on what a phased-in recovery will look like, and it will be based on the best factual basis,” she said. Sen. Carozza has been wearing her scarf with a Maryland flag motif whenever she goes out in public to shop, setting an example to constituents who might find wearing a scarf or mask uncomfortable or awkward. While she said she hopes they won’t be necessary this summer, wearing protective covering is a good way to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. She also is doing the shopping for her elderly parents who live in and are self-quaranteening in Ocean Pines.
Board authorizes 90-day extension for payment of property assessments Perrone is sole dissenter in vote that waives interest penalties By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer hile pleading with Ocean Pines Association members to still pay by the original May 1 deadline if they can, the Board of Directors has extended the due date for annual property assessments until Aug. 1, 2020. In a 6-1 vote, the Board approved the 90-day extension during its April 1 monthly meeting, debating the impact the length any extension of time for payment of dues by property owners would have on the OPA’s finances. Technically, the board doesn’t have the authority to delay the assessment due date under OPA organizing documents, but it can be argued that the effect of the board decision is to waive interest penalties for 90 days. The board has the authority to set the annual interest rate for delinquent assessments. Director and Treasurer Larry Perrone was the lone dissenter on the 90-day extension, calling instead for a shorter 60-day reprieve on dues payments and then a reevaluation of the situation by the Board.
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Initially, Director Colette Horn agreed with Perrone but went with the majority on the final vote. Directors Tom Janasek and Camile Rogers made it clear at the outset of the discussion that they favored the 90-day extension and nothing Perrone said persuaded them to change their minds. “There’s a lot of questions here because you don’t know exactly how much assessment money is going to come in, if we extend the assessment due date 60 days that will be one factor. If we extend it 90 days, I think that we will be taking more of a risk because we don’t have enough concrete information,” Perrone argued to his fellow directors during a video conference meeting. “As the treasurer my responsibility is to look at what our cash flow is going to be,” Perrone said. His objective is try to operate the OPA’s essential services for the next few months without having to dip into the replacement reserve account. But, he said, “if things get shut down for the entire summer and if it possibly goes into the fall, we could have some serious situations.” q
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OCEAN PINES
April 2020
Assessments From Page 7
Perrone recommended a 60-day grace period for property assessproperty assessments, extending the ments, extending the deadline to deadline to July 1. He said the Board July 1. He said the Board could recould revalue later in the year and value later the year and ifextend extend the in deadline again warthe deadline again if warranted. ranted. General Manager John Viola said staff analyzed the association’s cash balances, is monitoring assessment payments received from property owners, and believes “we would have enough money to do the 90 days and still have money in there for the operations and not touch the reserve balance.” He said he met with every department head to review their budgets and a reduction in expenses due to the closure of non-essential facilities will help offset lost revenue. “Obviously if we’re not going to have the revenue, there would be cost-cutting. There’s the seasonal [and hourly] workers that we didn’t have. So this is offsetting on the expenses.” He acknowledged that his projections are based on closures through
June. “If we had to go longer it would have an effect. It would be tighter. But based upon the amount of the assessments coming in now, we believe we would be ok,” Larry Perrone he said. Perrone said his concern is that the stay-in-place order could last through the summer. “Based on the numbers that we’ve been looking at, if this stay in place order is not lifted and if we do not generate any income in July and August we don’t know for sure where we’re gonna be. But there is a possibility that we would have to go into our replacement reserve account for operations.” He wanted to wait until April 15 to set the length of the grace period for dues payment, but Horn asked what information the Board will have on April 15 that it doesn’t have now.
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quiring property owners to notify the OPA if they plan to defer dues payment. Daly argued that the Board would know by May 1 how much funding has been received in assessment dollars and number of people signing up for a deferral, so would be better able to predict cash flow for the coming months. “I think that we need that time to make a real good decision…” he said. “Whether we go 60 or 90 days, I think people that want a deferred payment should have to go through some kind of notification process to you and your staff,” he told Viola, adding “That way we know how many people want to defer.” He added there are going to be some people that don’t pay anyway. “In a perfect economy [some] don’t pay, right?” Viola confirmed that there are some property owners who do not pay on time but said by the end of May each year usually around 90 percent of property assessments are paid. Horn initially said she was un-
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Perrone responded “I think we would have a little more information about incoming assessment dollars.” He said the Board should encourage property owners who are able to do so to pay their assessments by May 1 because the association needs the money. “Just like everybody else we’re being affected by this,” he said. He said the OPA’s other revenue streams are being affected as well, and cited as an example the cancellation of all golf packages. He said that is a substantial hit to budgeted revenue that the OPA knows it’s not going to get next year. While Perrone wanted to wait until April 15 to determine the extension period for annual dues, Director Frank Daly initially suggested putting it off until the Board’s scheduled May 2 meeting. Daly said every property owner who was intending to pay on time by the May 1 deadline would have already done so and the Board would have a clearer idea of how many members may need more time to pay. In addition, he suggested re-
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OCEAN PINES
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Assessments From Page 8 comfortable with the risk of a 90day extension and suggested a 60day deferral with the option of extending another 30 days. “I’m just not comfortable with the financial risk that we’re placing the association under if we go with the 90 days in a partial vacuum of information right now,” she said. Janasek said he understands the financial risk to the OPA but he supported extended the due date for assessment by 90 days. “Waiting 14 days or 16 days to make a decision may not seem a lot to the Board but members would like the ability to go push back payment of Ocean Pines’ dues,” he said. He called it an opportunity for Ocean Pines to “be a community again that takes care of its own.” Still, Janasek pleaded with members who can to make their dues payment. “If you can afford to make the payment we need that money to support everyone within the com-
munity.” He said he is optimistic that by Memorial Day the association can start opening its amenities for the season. Director Steve Tuttle and OPA President Doug Parks both supported a 90-day extension for payment of annual assessments. “Our community needs us to make a decision,” Parks said, encouraging the Board to not put it off another month. He said 90 days is a reasonable approach “based on what we know today.” Parks agreed that the OPA needs to do whatever it can to avoid tapping into the reserve account. “That’s not unprecedented. It’s been done in the past but if we can avoid doing that we certainly should set that as one of the goals.” He said using the reserve fund to help cover expenses is not a safety net for the OPA. “When all other things have been exhausted and we are at our wits end, then we can touch the reserves.” As for requiring members to no-
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tify the OPA if they want to take advantage of the 90-day extension on payment of dues, Parks said he doesn’t see the point. He said it would be an administrative challenge for the staff and there would be no value gained. If a property owner doesn’t pay their assessment by May 1, he said, the system will tell them. Rogers agreed, and said she thinks residents need to know now when they will have to pay their assessments. She also supported some type of notification process for property owners who do want to defer payment. “We need to know who those people are. We need to know how we can help them if more help is needed and direct them to appropriate resources where perhaps they can find that help.” Rogers encouraged members to pay if they can because the OPA has many projects in the works for which it needs to pay. “If you can afford to pay your assessment please by all means do it.
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Ocean Pines has several projects in the works that are going to take care of our neighborhood, improve roads, build buildings, and we need that.” She said just like evereybody else the OPA has to pay its bills and meet those commitments. She asked what OPA projects would be deferred to accommodate the fluctuation in assessment income, and asked if there would be any impact to community safety. “We always take safety into account. Anything on safety we always make sure we address immediately,” Viola responded. He cited project delays like playground improvements, which would not be open because of COVID-19 anyway. Construction projects, like the golf clubhouse, will continue, he said. “Some of it I can’t stop and obviously we’re going to finish up the construction on buildings,” Viola said. “But as far as capital replacement or whatever we are planning to push out some items until after September.”
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Amenity memberships likely to be pro-rated due to late opening Deferring dues payment could impact member voting rights By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer on’t pay for your Ocean Pines Association amenities membership yet – that’s the message the Board of Directors is send-
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ing to property owners as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the summer season likely to be shortened by the public health crisis, OPA President Doug Parks told association members during an
April 1 meeting to hold off on paying for any amenity memberships. During that same meeting, the Board agreed to extend the deadline for payment of annual property assessment by 90 days, until Aug. 1. Still Parks encouraged members to pay their property assessments on time, by the original May 1 deadline, if they can but not to send in any checks for amenity memberships. “If you can make your payment, just make your assessment payment. Don’t send in a second check for the amenity payments. Let’s assume, at least for arguments sake,
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that the amenities are not gonna be there,” Parks said. He said it is likely that when the amenities do open for the season that membership costs will be prorated for the remainder of the membership year. “What will happen is when we realize the amenities can open up, we’re going to prorate them anyway. So it a much easier transaction from an administrative perspective to have you send in a check later on for a pool membership or a golf membership or a Beach Club membership than it is if you send it now where we have to unprocess it, send in a credit or send a refund…,” he said. Having members send in payments now for memberships to amenities that may not open until much later in the year will be an administrative headache, he said. “So those of you who want to pay your assessment please just pay the assessment. We’ll have a decision on the amenities somewhere down the road when things are more clear as we move forward with this pandemic,” Parks said. Members who do opt to delay payment of their annual property assessment until Aug. 1 may not be eligible to run for or vote in this summer’s OPA Board of Directors’ election. Director Larry Perrone argued in favor of a 60-day extension instead because that would meet the requirements for payment of annual dues 35 days prior to the election. He noted the association’s bylaws require payment of the annual assessments 35 days prior to the time that the votes are due for the upcoming election. For the 2020 Board election that deadline would be July 1. “My recommendation is going to be to the rest of my colleagues that we look at a 60-day delay or grace period for our dues. which would make them due, push it back to, and taking into consideration the 35-day period so that everybody can vote in the upcoming election,” he said. But the Board opted for the 90day extension anyway, with Perrone the lone dissenter. Parks indicated that he respected Perrone’s point of view but a 90-day extension was justified. He also said that voting in the OPA election may not be of the highest priority for some members this year. He said people will not want to put themselves in financial risk just to vote in the Board election.
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 11
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OCEAN PINES
April 2020
Slip holders can access marinas starting on May 1
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The back of the new golf clubhouse showing a portion of the L-shaped deck, to be covered by an awning.
Clubhouse to be ready for May opening OPA awaiting greenlight from governor By TOM STAUSS Publisher ll that’s needed for the new golf clubouse to open next month is word from Gov. Larry Hogan lifting the statewide lockdown on recreational facilities including golf courses. It shouldn’t be too heavy a lift. States like Florida, Texas and lots of others never closed golf course to begin with. General Manager John Viola told the Progress in mid-April that the carpet was due for installation within days and the back L-shaped deck would be completed by the end of the month. Pro shop furniture was on order, and Viola was hopeful that it would arrive by the end of the month. A make-shift temporary solution was possible if, for whatever reason, delivery of the new furniture is delayed. “We’d like to have the real deal, though,” he added. The contractor, Whayland Construction, continued to send crews to work on the project despite statewide shutdowns. An initial shutdown edict did
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not include golf courses last month, but they were added a few days later. “It’s a very fluid situation, with things changing daily,” Viola said last month. April remains much the same. The golf course staff had taken extraordinary steps in response to coronavius social distancing concerns. Flagsticks had been removed from greens and golf carts were wiped down after each use as preventative measures. It wasn’t enough. The clock is ticking on a reopening with President Donald Trump’s 30-day lockdown extension due for expiration at the end of this month. Viola announced at the Board of Directors’ March 7 meeting that the food and beverage operation that has been known as the Tern Grille has been renamed the Clubhouse Bar and Grill, chosen by the MOC in a rebranding effort. He later told the Progress that MOC had decided that the new Clubhouse Bar and Grill would serve breakfast, not just to golfers but to anyone in the neighbor hood and beyond.
The Clubhouse Bar and Grill under construction. Note the fireplace and the community room through the sliding doors.
hile complying with all federal guidelines and executive orders of Gov. Larry Hogan, the Ocean Pines Association has decided to allow slip holders the opportunity to access to their boats slips as of May 1. Limited service will be available. All slip holders will be allowed to put their boats in their slips and prepare their boats for the summer season once all 2020 documents and payments are received. According to an OPA press release, the marina staff will practice “safe distancing to keep not only our staff safe, but also our customers as well.” Harbormaster Ron Fisher is asking that users avoid visiting the marina if they’re sick, maintain a six-foot distance from others, practice proper hand washing and illness-prevention procedures, and to wear a mask when visiting the marinas. “We are watching this fluid situation closely and will keep everyone updated on any changes as we move forward. We look forward to seeing you all soon and getting back to normal business,” Fisher said.
Local volunteers donate nearly 400 safety masks
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group of Ocean Pines residents and other local people recently made and donated hundreds of safety masks for area first responders and hospice workers. Organizer Neil Gottesman said residents from Ocean Pines, River Run and GlenRiddle took part, with some masks even being made and shipped from Florida. Gottesman put out a call for materials and volunteers and said the response was overwhelming. Volunteers designed the masks for use around asymptomatic patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially targeting the Ocean Pines Fire Department and Coastal Hospice, Gottesman said the group also made and donated masks for Ocean Pines Police, Ocean Pines Association staff, and workers at the local Food Lion.
OCEAN PINES
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Elections committee ponders social distancing effects on this summer’s election Candidate drawing, forums may be conducted on-line By TOM STAUSS Publisher embers of the Ocean Pines Elections Committee pondered the effects of social distancing edicts on this summer’s Board of Directors election during a virtual committee meeting April 10. Referencing a famous utterance by former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, committee chair Steve Habeger commented that it’s unknown whether social distancing, a byproduct of the Coronavirus pandemic, will still be in effect this summer to the extent it is now. The current version of social distancing prevents committees and the board from meeting together in a room. The alternative is to meet on-line using the Microsoft Meetings application managed by Public Relations Director Josh Davis. The app allows those in attendance to see each other and to converse on a computer screen. Election-related events that are routinely handled by the committee include the annual drawing for ballot position and candidate forums. This year’s drawing is set for
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June 12. “How do we do a drawing given current conditions?” Habeger said. “Can we do a webinar? The first candidate forum is scheduled for June 17, and the committee chair wondered how that event, too, would be handled if the Coronavirus lockdown is still in effect. “Could we do it without a live audience? How do we do that?” he asked committee members. New member Bob Windsor suggested a livestream, but Davis said that couldn’t be done given limitations of technology. The best that could be done would be a YouTube recording with a delayed broadcast, Davis said. That’s the way board meetings have been handled for some time. The meetings are broadcast on Mediacom’s Channel 78 and links to the meeting recordings are included on the OPA Website, oceanpines.org. With these questions unanswered for now, the committee then spent a few minutes discussing how to remind property owners that, if assessments remain unpaid by a certain date, they aren’t eligible to
vote in this summer’s board election. In order to vote, the assessment must be paid by July 1, 35 days before the annual meeting of the association. The board recently extended the due date for assessments this year to Aug. 1, with OPA members who take that long to pay effectively shut out of voting. Davis told the committee that his department notifies members of the 35-day requirement in all the ways the OPA communicates with OPA members. “Early and often contact,” he said of those efforts. When one member suggested the possibility of a special mailing
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he Ocean Pines Elections Committee is reminding homeowners of the May 10 candidate registration deadline for the 2020 Board of Directors election. This year, two seats are available in the Board election, with the two highest voter getters each earning a three-year term. The Board of Directors is governing body of the Ocean Pines Association, as established by Ocean Pines Bylaws. To be an eligible candidate a homeowner must: •Be a property owner in Ocean Pines as of Jan. 1, 2020 •Be eligible to vote Payment of the annual assessment is a prerequisite to vote. No member may vote if, 35 days prior to the voting deadline, the member has failed to pay the annual charge. This year, the voting deadline is July 1, 2020. Voting rights may be suspended if the member is found in continuing violation of the Declarations of Restrictions Applications for Board candidacy are available on the Ocean Pines website at the following link: https://www.oceanpines.org/forms-docscat/board-member-application/.
to property owners, OPA President Doug Park, a candidate for reelection this summer, pushed back against that idea because of its cost. “I don’t feel it’s warranted to spend money for an extra mailing,” he said. OPA Vice-president Steve Tuttle agreed, saying that the requirement of paid-up assessments has been long understood. “That (35-day) deadline has been known since the beginning of Ocean Pines,” he said. Habeger concluded that the issue of how to inform property owners of the forfeited right to vote was not really in the committee’s purview. In a related matter, the committee chair announced that Ace Printing and Mailing of Berlin will once again serve as the vendor who will handle the mailing out and receipt of ballots. The company’s principle owner, Tom Gulyas, attended the April 10 meeting as the others did, virtually. Habeger said a contract with Ace Printing had recently been executed.
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separate reviews, including items that they would like Viola to focus on before his next six-month review in October. OPA President Doug Parks assisted by Director Colette Horn will compile the reviews, Daly said. As for the possibility that Viola will be receiving a pay increase or bonus as a result of the latest review, Daly said this has not been discussed by the board and is not on the table. “Given current (coronavirus-related) circumstances, anyone (employed by the OPA) should be happy to have a job,” he said, adding that he agreed with the suggestion that Viola would not accept a bonus or q
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By TOM STAUSS Publisher t seems that General Manager John Viola won’t be receiving a bonus or merit increase anytime soon, despite language added to his contract in a March 7 closed Board of Directors meeting allowing for such an adjustment to his base compensation package. The board conducted a closed review of Viola’s performance in another closed meeting following the regular monthly meeting earlier this month. According to Director Frank Daly, directors are pleased with Viola’s job performance to date. The next phase of the review allows each of the directors to draft
OCEAN PINES
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
General manager From Page 14 merit increase if it were offered. “He’s very team-oriented, and anything that would cause a morale problem in the team is something that he would avoid at all costs,” Daly said. Viola’s latest contract with the OPA is a two-and-a-half-year agreement that runs from Dec. 1 of last year to June 30, 2022. Viola had a six-month interim agreement in place as of June last year, which was converted into a non-interim position with the new contract. According to a statement issued by the Board of Directors after a March 7 closed meeting, language would be added to the contract “to allow for a merit increase based on the performance evaluation of the GM by the Board, as there was no stipulation for that condition in the current agreement.” The board action may not be coincidental, as Viola is due for a performance review at the time of the
April board meeting, presumably in a closed session because it involves a personnel matter. Although Viola received a raise in December, the board’s action in the March John Viola 7 closed meeting indicates another adjustment after the April performance review was possible. Viola told the Progress recently there is no language in the contract amendment that specifies how much he might be given in a merit increase or bonus. But the board action in a March closed session a month before a performance review was scheduled suggests that the review could have resulted in Viola receiving a raise or bonus within just a few months of the December contract extension. In that short time, what is generally regarded as a professional,
well-executed budget process occurred, resulting in no increase in base lot assessments in 2020-21, the fiscal year that begins this coming May 1. The OPA had been heading to an operating surplus this year of roughly $450,000, but as of the end of February the surplus had ballooned to more than $700,000. Coronavirus closure impacts could affect that, however. The new two-and-a-half deal executed in December gave him a raise to $155,000 per year, roughly the same as former General Manager John Bailey’s when he departed the Ocean Pines Association about a year ago. Viola continues to waive health care benefits, but in an implicit quid pro quo for that waiver the board agreed to a retention bonus of $15,000, payable in three increments of $5,000 each. The first payment was payable this past Dec. 1, with additional $5,000 payments on the first and second anniversary dates of the contract’s effective date.
The December contract specified 12 days of vacation time per year, 12 days of sick leave with no carry-over provision and five days of personal leave also with no carry-over provision. The contract also specified a limit of 17 days of accrued vacation time. As was the case with former GM John Bailey and other association general managers over the years, the contract allows for termination without cause. Viola had been named interim general manager in a special meeting in March of last year. The action was then ratified and clarified in a closed session of the board following its regular meeting April 6, reportedly to fix what some considered inelegant or imperect language in the original motion in March appointing Viola. The initial appointment was intended as an unpaid, voluntary role. He retained some insurance coverage as an officer of the corporation. The arrangement was subsequently revised to pay Viola $700 per week.
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OCEAN PINES
April 2020
Ortt Companies managers pull off herculean feat on Easter Sunday
Board approves YC audio equipment in email vote
The Board of Directors wasn’t ready to approve new audio equipment for the Yacht Club upper floor banquet room at the Feb. 5 monthly Deliver 281 family dinners to Ocean Pines and the night shift meeting, primarlily because direcat the Atlantic General Hospital Emergency Room tors wanted more information on why staff was recommending the that. At $40, it’s a real bargain. By TOM STAUSS it a point to give back to the commusecond highest of three bids sought Publisher If the more conservative estimate nity. On Easter Sunday, the Yacht for the ow project. the managers of the Matt of four diners is used, then the Yacht Club donated and delivered family ThatOrtt information was forthcomCompanies managed to Club fed more than 1,110 people in meals to the night shift working at ing notprepare long after the meeting. As a single day. and deliver 281 famthe Atlantic General Hospital Emerexpected, boardham unanimously ily dinnersthe of turkey, and fixins Because of state mandates re- gency Room. agreed in anof email to residents Oceanvote Pinestoonaccept Eas- lated to COVID-19, the restaurant Additionally, he said all tips rethe staff recommendation accept temporarily moved to delivery and ceived since March 18 would go ter Sunday is a tale for the to ages. the“The bid key of $17,394 from Midwas South to pulling it off on- carryout only, on March 18. After a to hourly staff laid off because of Audio of Georgetown, De., for the modest start, sales have grown each COVID-19. “Our goal from day one line ordering in advance, with some wor, citing the before,” firm’s previous work week and hit a new peak over the has been to acquire $10,000 dollars orders a week MOC partner installing similar equipment at the holiday weekend. Ralph DeAngelus told the Progress in tips to give to the staff on their Community Center. in a April 14 telephone interview. DeAngelus, co-founder of the first day back to work,” he said. “We company was awarded the Matt Ortt Companies that runs the can’t wait to see the look on their “SoThe we had a really good idea of how contract to install equipment at much food we needed to order.” the Yacht Club, said Easter Sunday was faces when they walk through the golfWith clubhouse Feb. 5.issue handled, especially gratifying. the supply door on their first day of work and Director Tom Janasek said it then became an issue ofhad prepar“It was a grueling day, but the we hand each one of them an enhe vote trays for theconsisting Yacht Club ingcouldn’t the dinner of Matt Ortt management team hung velope with the tip money that we system because he felt there turkey, ham, potatoes, greens,needed salad in there and is immensely proud, earned from all these deliveries. to bebaked more bread. explanation for why the not only of this accomplishment, but and “We want them to know how much company’s bid the of the whole three weeks of delivery we appreciate and missed them, and DeAngelus was said more thatthanMOC low bid submitted by Shore Home brought in 11 managers from the service,” DeAngelus said. we think this will be a great start Solutions. network of restaurants it manages Along with setting sales records, to their summer,” DeAngelus continStaff promised to provide that the Ortt Companies have also made ued. “We are absolutely confident we throughout the greater Ocean City information, setting up a possible area to prepare and load the dinemail before the regular meetners invote trays for delivery. No hourly ing in March. workers were used.
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“I put a stop watch on one of our managersdirector, who was able to put six Former candidate units board’s together praises for delivery in four sing minutes, seconds,” Esther he said. Diller, Former40director DeAngelus speculated that last the who resigned from the board YachtforClub didreasons, more appeared business year personal on Easter than any othduring the Sunday Public Comments seger restaurant in Ocean City, all of ment of the March 7 Board of Direcwhich are shuttered for dining in, tors meeting to commend the board while some are open for delivery for outstanding perfomance in and the curbside pick-up. months following her departure The Club’s Easter volume from theYacht board. was almost five times the number of She didn’t cite specifics, but she family dinners sold and delivered on probably had in mind progress on the first Sunday the delivery service major capital projects and a harmowas offered month. nious budgetlast process for 2020-21. For the entire Easter “I’m so impressed with weekend the way from Friday through Sunday, weekyou’re working together,” she said. end. thejoining Yacht Club generated about Also in with praise for the $16,000 in Paula revenue. board was Gray, who has run did itthe without hourly labor for“We the board past two summers, that youuphave sit-down dining coming shortwith in both attempts. butThat at the same time we super didn’t prevent herhad from cithighwhat food she costs, aboutregards 50 percent of ing clearly at the the revenue,” he said.who “But that’s good work of directors successOK, ran because weboard. are treating this fully for the more likealso it’s an amenity and Gray commented onservice what to the community.” she said is an increasing pattern of If it had been treated more like a clear-cutting of trees on Ocean Pines business, then it’sasking likely that residential lots, the diners board would be paying more than action $40 forto a and management to take spreadthe thatpractice, is advertised feeding stop whichas violates four but probably feeds more than
will hit our goal of $10,000, as the Ocean Pines residents have been so very generous.” The Yacht Club is currently open for delivery and carryout from Wednesday through Sunday from 4-8 p.m. Orders may be made starting at 3:30 p.m. each day. To order, call 410-641-7501 or order online at http://toasttab.com/ ocean-pines-yacht-club. A special menu for delivery and carryout service is available at https://www. opyachtclub.com/restaurant-menu. “The greetings we get from Ocean Pines residents when we arrive at their door with these family meals has been heartwarming to say the least,” DeAngelus said. “Everyone has been so appreciative and generous that it has made all this work truly rewarding. “We have our fingers crossed that this ends over the next couple of weeks and things get back to normal in May. We talk everyday of how much we can’t wait to see a filledup deck with Great Train Robbery on stage, the tiki bar pumping out drinks, and people eating outside and dancing in the moonlight. It’s coming. We can feel it!” DeAngelus added.
Public hearings pending on expansion of water, sewer service from Ocean Pines Gum Point Road, St. Martin’s by the Bay to benefit
By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer wo requests for connections to the Ocean Pines Service Area are pending with the Worcester County Commissioners, but public hearings on the applications – one for water and another for wastewater - are temporarily postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During a March meeting the commissioners agreed to schedule public hearings on the extension of wastewater service along Gum Point Road and water to the St. Martin’s by the Bay community. The commissioners in February approved creation of the Gum Point Road Sanitary Service Area in order to run wastewater service down the length of Gum Point Road to homes south of Ocean Pines on Turville Creek. The project will provide 97 equivalent dwelling units of wastewater capacity via a low pressure line that will be installed and connect to the force main for Ocean
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Downs that then goes to the OPSA. John Tustin, county public works director, said the estimated construction and engineering costs for the project are $318,000 or $21,886 per EDU. In his report, Bob Mitchell, environmental programs director, said the community has many undersized lots by current standards with on-site sewage disposal systems that penetrate the shallow groundwater. “The provision of public sewer services to the proposed service area would provide a much greater degree of comfort and convenience for the existing residents,” he said. Commissioner Chip Bertino wanted to make sure no one who owns property along new wastewater line will be forced to connect to it if they have a functioning septic system. “Will the people on Gum Point Road be required to hook up to this when it’s in even if they’ve just recently, within the past five, ten years, put in a septic system?”
he asked. Mitchell responded that “historically we haven’t done that.” However, he added that his office can deny new building permits for additions to existing homes if they don’t have a suitable means of sewage disposal. “Anyone renovating in the future or looking to expand or looking to modify their properties, they’re gonna have to connect. There’s gonna be no doubt about it,” Mitchell said. Bertino said he does not want an undue financial hardship placed on residents, particularly if they have a nearly new septic system. “If its new or relatively new and they come in, we’re not going to force them to hook up?” he asked for clarification from Mitchell, who concurred. The second request was for an expansion of the OPSA to provide water service to the St. Martin’s by the Bay community on the north side of Beauchamp Road via a contract. The request for service was made by the q
16 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OCEAN PINES Public hearings
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OCEAN PINES BRIEFS BJ’s membership offer returns to Ocean Pines
BJ’s Wholesale Club is once again partnering with the Ocean Pines Association to bring a special membership offer, effective April 10-24, to benefit the Worcester County Veterans Memorial at Ocean Pines Foundation. In addition to offering special membership benefits, BJ’s will donate $5 of each membership fee to the foundation. With this offer, new members receive a 12-month BJ’s Inner Circle Membership for $25 or a BJ’s Perks Rewards Membership, which earns 2 percent cash back on most BJ’s purchases, for $50 with BJ’s Easy Renewal. Renewing members can purchase a 12-month Inner Circle Membership for $40 or a BJ’s Perks Rewards Membership for $80 with BJ’s Easy Renewal. Renewing members will also receive one bonus month with the offer. This special promotion is only
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offered through Ocean Pines two times a year. The next promotion will be in October. Current BJ’s members whose memberships will expire before then are encouraged to renew during the spring offer. BJ’s membership applications are available at the Ocean Pines Association Administration Building at 239 Ocean Parkway and online at OceanPines.org. Applications must be returned with payment by April 24. Check and credit card payments will be accepted. Applications may be placed in the drop box in the administration building lobby or mailed to Ocean Pines Association, Attn: Josh Davis, 239 Ocean Parkway, Ocean Pines, MD 21811. For information call 410-6417717.
from 5:30-7 p.m. has been postponed until later this fall. In the meantime, and to still provide residents with valuable information about flooding ahead of the coming Atlantic hurricane season, organizers have scheduled a live, online-only event on May 12 from 5-6 p.m. called “Flooding Awareness Live.” The program, which will include a virtual question-and-answer session, is a joint effort of the Maryland Department of the Environment and the Ocean Pines Association. Ocean Pines will collect questions from homeowners that MDE experts can answer during the event. To take part, email flooding-related questions to Ocean Pines Director of Amenities and Operational Logistics Colby Phillips at cphillips@ oceanpines.org by April 21.
‘Flooding Awareness Live’ virtual event scheduled
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From Page 16 St. Martin’s by the Bay homeowners association, which oversees the community developed in 1984 and currently service by private wells and septic systems. St Martin’s by the Bay contains 58 parcels with 28 individual homes and 26 townhomes and the request includes capacity to serve all of those units, according to Bob Mitchell, director of environmental programs. Mitchell said there are four undeveloped lots that could potentially be subdivided. In a letter to the county, John E. Shook Jr., homeowners association president, said the community has struggled for years with its water supply and failing equipment and repairs can cost $30,000 per year. “The proposed expansion would be desirable for the comfort, convenience, health, safety, and welfare of the people who will be served by the proposal,” he said. The $750,000 project will involve distribution system upgrades including constructing a water line extension to connect to the OPSA system.
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
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and unique to our district are articulated effectiv ings. Add squash and turn into OCEAN PINES greased qt. baking dish.guidelines Dot are now avail- a lot of different people, and I think tients,” organizer Neil 1-1/2 Gottesman Committee OCEAN PINES BRIEFS I asksite. for yourwe’ve vote during earlygood voting (June 12-1 said. “We have folks currently sew- able online on the OPA Web got a very document,” From Page 17 Zucchini or Squash Casserole with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for ing these masks, but we are in very The Ocean Pines Board approved Association President Doug Parks are seeking elastic donations to short supply of the required elastic.” the new guidelines last month, Primary Election with said. Day, June 24, so that I can serv 4 cups (skin on)Gottesman said 30 minutes. make face masks for chopped use by Coastal the group is ask- the changes said to make the docu“I would encourage the memberThank forthemselves your consideration. Hospice staff and the Ocean Pines ing for 1/4-inch or 1/8-inch elastic. mentmy “more practical.” our district. ship to you make aware of squash or zucchini or a combinaI enjoy hearing from readers Fire Department. For information on donating, Some minor changes occurred the ARC guidelines, maybe as a reThe group tionisofmostly both made up of email Gottesman andat Ngottes@gmail. will be happy after to answer any including the fresher.” Board approval, Ocean Pines Craft Club and Pickle- com. addition of page numbers and a taAssociation Vice President Steve 2 eggs questions about my recipes. ball Club members. ble of contents. The Architectural Tuttle said the committee worked “The masks are for Coastal Hos- New ARC guidelines Review Committee also held a final on the new guidelines for about cupFire mayonnaise bevwisch@aol.com pice and the1OP Department, posted on Web site review. 18 months, and that several board to be used around asymptomatic paRevised Architectural Review “[There was] a lot of input fromlikemembers reviewed inIf you’d to discuss an issuetheorchanges, have a quest cluding himself, Parks, and DirecI can tors be reached at 410-251-2082 at Colette Horn and Camilla or Rogers. Bertinoforcommissioner@gmail.com side to April any 2020 dinner. 18 Oceanwelcome Pines PROGRESS
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Served on Bagel, Roll or Bread (White, Wheat or Rye) Egg & Cheese ..................................… $4.55 Meat*, Egg & Cheese …..................... $5.75 *Your choice of Bacon, Ham, (Manklin CreekSausage, & Ocean Pkwy) Taylor Ham or Turkey Sausage
PLATTERS & OMELETS Eggs Any Way with Meat ....................$5.45 Cheese Omelet .................................. $5.00 Veggies Omelet …........................ $5.50 Western Omelet …............................. $6.00
BAGEL SANDWICHES Served on Bagel, Roll or Bread Bagel with Butter …............................ $2.15 Bagel with Cream Cheese ….............. $3.05 Cinnamon Crunch Bagel ....................... $1.85 With Butter ...........................$2.65 With Cream Cheese ...............$3.45 Bagel with Nova Spread ............…... $6.30 Bagel with Smoked Sliced Salmon … $10.25
LUNCH OPTIONS Homemade Soup Small $3.25 • Large $5.49 Chicken Pot pie ............................… $5.49 Pizza bagel ~ Plain $4.75 - Pepperoni $5.25 Bagel Dog ............................................. $4.25 Fruit Cup ............................................... $2.50
LUNCH SANDWICHES Served on Bagel, Roll or Bread Includes a Side of Macaroni Salad Ham …………............................….……. $8.95
Taylor Ham ……...........................…….. $8.95 Turkey ………...................................….. $9.45 Roast Beef …..................................…… $9.45 Cappicola …….................................….. $8.95 A Bagel Genoa Salami …................................… $8.95 and.. Italian Combo …...........................……. $9.45 (Roast Beef, Cappicola, Salami and Provolone) Roast Beef & Turkey ……................….. $7.45 Liverwurst …...............................……… $7.55 Bologna ................................................. $7.55 Egg Salad ….............................………… $7.55 Tuna Salad ………..........................……. $9.25 Whitefish Salad …..................…………. $9.25 PB&J ……………….........................……. $4.50 Grilled Cheese ……........................……. $6.55 Add to any sandwich Cheese 85 cents • Meat $1.65
Hours: Mon., Wed.,Thurs., Fri: 6 a.m.- 4 p.m. Tues, Sat. and Sun: 6 a.m.- 2 p.m.
FRESH PASTRIES Lemon/Pecan Bar …….....................…… $2.35 Linzer Tart .............. Small $1.50 - Large $2.50 Muffin …….........................……………. $2.95 Brownie ….................................……….. $2.35 Crumb Cake ............................................$2.95 Turnover ………..........................……… $2.95 Croissant Pastry/Danish ……….............. $2.95 Cinnamon Bun ..........................………. $2.95 Cheesecake ........ Small $2.00 Large $3.50 Éclair ……….....................................….. $3.50 Black and White Cookie ~ Small $1.50 / Large $2.50 Sugar Cookie ........... Small $1.50 Large $2.00 Cookies ~ Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal, Sugar, M&M ...................................................... $1.15
The Board of Directors reviewed and took action on six compliance enforcement matters during the monthly board meeting April 1. Found in continuing violaton and sent to the OPA attorney for legal action were 5 Decatur Court, for a storage shed lacking Ocean Pines and county permits; 8 Willow Way, for a wrecked junk vehicle; 115 Nottingham Lane, for debris on the roof and gutters; 15 Rocskide Road, for an untagged, unregistered vehicle; 37 Teal Circle, for an unregistered vehicle and debris; and 56 Beaconhill Road, for an untagged, unregistered vehicle.
Early voting takes place June 1 O.P. South June Big PB Cup/Chocolate Chip ........... $2.50 19 at Gull Creek Assisted Liv Gate Entrance
RTE. 589 Manklin Creek
Open for Curbside Service
Board OKs six compliance actions
Irish Soda Bread .. Slice $2.00 Loaf $6.50 Banana Bread OCEAN PKWY................................ $2.50
BAGELS AND BREADS Plain • Cinnamon Raisin • Sesame Onion • French Toast • Garlic Honey Wheat • Asiago • Everything • Everything Wheat • Rye Marble • Egg • Pumpernickel Sundried Tomato 1 Flagel (weekends only) .............. $1.35 1 Bagel ………...........................…. $1.35 Half Dozen Bagels …..........……… $8.00 Dozen Bagels …............….......… $14.50 Cinnamon Crunch Bagel ….....….. $1.85 With Cream Cheese $3.45 With Butter $2.65 N.Y. Kaiser Roll ……............….. 65 cents Portuguese Roll ……........…….. 65 cents Knot Roll ................................... 65 cents
WHIPPED CREAM CHEESES Plain • Light • Veggie • Light Veggie Walnut Raisin • Almond • Scallion Scallion & Tomato • Chive • Olive Spinach & Cheese • Nova Spread Seasonal: Crab, Pumpkin, Strawberry Plain Cream Cheese ½ lb. …......… $3.20 Flavored Cream Cheese ½ lb. ...... $3.95 Nova Cream Cheese 1 lb …………$10.90
All prices subject to change
11304 Manklin Creek Road, South Gate Ocean Pines (Manklin Creek Road & Ocean Parkway)
ByHorn Authorityreappointed of Bertino for Commissioner; Susan Bertino to Clubs committee
The board filled one committee vacancy during its April board meeting. Gerard Horn, spouse of current director Colette Horn, was reappointed to the Clubs Advisory Committee. He will be serving his second term, for a duration of two years.
Kiwanis reallocates donations for need
The Board of the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City recently decided to reallocate some of the club’s yearly donations in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Many programs supported by the local Kiwanis Club are in limbo or cancelled. The club’s board unanimously voted to equally divide funds and immediately send $925 each to Worcester GOLD, which serves Worcester County; Priority One, supporting local children pre-natal to age 4; and Diakonia, the local shelter serving families in transition.
OCEAN PINES
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
19
A broad view of the Yacht Club marina as shown on the Ocean Pines Association’s new Web site.
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Content is much the same, but the presentation is much more streamlined, with fewer drop-down menus By TOM STAUSS Publisher new Ocean Pines Association Web site appeared on computer desks throughout Ocean Pines on Thursday, April 16, with no announcement that the roll-out was pending. The web address is familiar: oceanpines.org. Not much else is familiar, though, at least not the site’s look and feel. The content, however, is much the same, only presented in a more streamlined fashion, with fewer drop-down menus and general clutter. It’s logical, intuitive, and modern, worthy of the 21st century 20 years into it. The welcome or home page has none of the clunky glitz of the old site. It truly is welcoming: Four Ocean Pines scenes ranging from the Yacht Club Marina to views from Manklin Creek are on continuous rotation. There are only four drop-down menus at the top of the home page: News, Amenities, Departments and About Ocean Pines. A Calendar icon is clickable in the top right corner of the new home page, with a search function under that. Simple, clean and functional. By comparison, the old site had about 20 clickable options on its home page. Gone is the Administation tab from the old site, with sub-tabs ranging from forms and documents, to Board of Directors and Committees. None of that material has been lost, however. Information about the Board of Directors and association committees can be found under Departments. Forms and documents have been reassigned to the applicable depart-
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20 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OCEAN PINES
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An aerial view of the Ocean Pines golf course as shown on the Ocean Pines Association’s recently redesigned Web site.
Web site From Page 19 ment. For instance, the monthly financials and annual OPA budgets can be found under Finance. Important organizational documents such as Declaration of Restrictions and by-laws appear in the Board of Directors section, which also includes meeting agendas and minutes. Every Ocean Pines amenity receives colorful and detailed treatment on the website, including quality photography.
The About Ocean Pines section includes two community maps. One depicts major landmarks and the other defines individual residential sections. There’s some Ocean Pines history tossed in as well, and a couple of early photos, including one of the Beach Club under construction in the 1970s. The News section features press releases written by the OPA Public Relations Department and recorded videos of Board of Directors’ meetings. In the website’s latest iteration, there is no interactivity feature or user name and password-protected gateway to the account information of individual association property owners. General Manager John Viola told the Progress recently that this feature might be added later and could include functionality allowing Ocean Pines property owners to pay assessments or purchase amenity memberships or replenish debit cards on-line. “There is some question about the security of individual financial information, and we want to have all those concerns addressed before we go that route,” he said, Like the old site, there is no message board allowing association members to post comments on topics of interest. The defunct and unlamented “Real Ocean Pines Forum” set up years ago to compete with Joe Reynolds’ oceanpinesforum.com had been purged from the former site by Davis and remains forever banished.
OCEAN PINES
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Ortt Companies dish on plans for new Clubhouse Grille, bigger banquet sales “She’s a big part of the generated sales at the Yacht Club and Beach Club, and she’s going to be able to bring in even more business. She books banquets in every nook and cranny of those facilities, both upstairs and down,” he added. DeAngelus said both venues offer something unique for weddings and banquets. “The person that likes their wedding at the Yacht Club is not the same person that likes to have a wedding at the Beach Club – they’re just a different kind of bride,” he said. “The bride that gets married at the Beach Club is the kind of bride that wants to dance with her dad in the sand with her shoes off. The bride that gets married at the Yacht Club is the one that wants to have the princess experience. We can provide both of those super easy, and we’re starting to get a lot more inquiries from both kinds of brides,” he said. Starting in May, depending on how soon the Ortt Companies will also oversee a third Ocean Pines food and beverage venue: The Clubhouse Bar and Grille, located inside the brand-new Ocean Pines Golf Clubhouse. DeAngelus’ group will run banquets there, where he sees unique opportunities for local clubs
and organizations. “It’s a smaller facility that doesn’t have that much of an ambience – yet. We’re hoping to help bring an ambience to it,” he said. “I don’t see it being a giant wedding facility, but I think a lot of local groups are going to want to have events there and they’ll love it there. And we’ll be able to accommodate them cheaper there than we will at the Yacht Club.” As for the new restaurant and bar, DeAngelus said the Clubhouse Bar and Grille would mostly offer “grab and go” fare, similar to the Beach Club. He promised “a great burger and reasonably priced beer.” DeAngelus joked the Yacht Club kitchen is large enough to feed “the 4th Marine Battalion,” while the Clubhouse Bar and Grille facility is more modestly sized, just big enough for golfers and those who live close by in the neighborhood. “We’re not going to compete with the Yacht Club,” he said, adding breakfasts at the Clubhouse Bar and Grille would help bring in addition income from a market “that we never had before.” “We think Ocean Pines is going to totally dig having a nice little place to stop by and have breakfast, that they can walk to,” he said. As for the Yacht Club, DeAngelus said staff are working to expand
the slate of summer entertainment, bringing in fresh, new bands from a variety of genres. “We know the classic rock genre is big and we know that works,” he said. “We’re also bringing in a dance band called ‘Mike Hines and The Look,’ and they’re great at what they do. I’ve known Mike Hines for about 25 years, and his act is still fresh and exciting and energetic. I think everybody’s really going to love seeing him.” Summer concerts at the Yacht Club, DeAngelus said, are unlike anything else around, aided in no small part by the sprawling, picturesque view of the Isle of Wight Bay heading into the twinkling lights of Ocean City on the horizon. “I think our favorite part about what we do at the Yacht Club is our outside entertainment,” he said. “We get the most out of watching 100 people on the dancefloor, while there’s 600 people sitting on chairs and another 400 people standing around the bar. ΊΙΙΛΘΟ Cnty Md great “And Prince you Georges know what’s
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n just two years, the Matt Ortt Companies helped steer Ocean Pines’ food and beverage operations away from record losses, and toward record-breaking profits. So, what do they do for an encore? Founding partner Ralph DeAngelus has an answer to that. “Our main objective is to give the people the kind of food and service they want without having to leave their own backyard, and we think we have room to make that even better,” he said. “And, we think we have room to bring even more income into the Ocean Pines food and beverage facilities.” The coronavirus outbreak, of course, has interrupted these plans, but MOC will be ready when the governor allows restaurants in the state to reopen. DeAngelus singled out banquets as an area where he’s particularly targeting growth, from small gatherings in the Yacht Club dining room, to elaborate beachfront weddings. Events Manager Lia Isel oversees banquet bookings for the Ortt Companies. “Lia is unbelievable,” DeAngelus said. “It doesn’t matter if a banquet is for 300 people or 30 people – she puts the same amount of energy in it, and her energy level is on steroids!
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22 Ocean Pines PROGRESS Ortt Companies
OCEAN PINES
April 2020
From Page 21 about it? It’s the demographics,” he continued. “You have the 28-year-old mother and father with their 6 and 7-year-old kids having a ball, and then two seats over is the 77 and 78-year-old grandparents, who are sitting there with their grandkids also having a blast. We love the diversity of the crowd on a busy summer night.” Along with managing three Ocean Pines facilities, Matt Ortt and Ralph DeAngelus will also soon open their own new restaurant, Coastal Salt, on 16th Street oceanside in Ocean City. “We’re really excited about this place,” DeAngelus said. “It’s going to be more of a ‘Rare and Rye’ type of dining, more upscale and slightly pricier than the Yacht Club. And, like the Yacht Club, it’s going to have an unparalleled view. We’re going to have 124 seats outside on a patio that’s 30 yards away from seven trillion gallons of water. That’s really hard to argue with!”
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Parks encourages residents to fill out census forms
ocal officials continue to encourage participation in the 2020 Census, which will help determine federal funding levels for the next decade. The last time the U.S. Census was conducted, in 2010, Worcester County was among the lowest response rates in Maryland, with just 33.2% self-responding, compared to a 69.5% statewide average, according to https://2020census.gov/en/response-rates.html. This year, according to the most recent available data, Worcester again significantly lags behind the statewide average. As of April 11, the total Maryland self-response rate was 51.1%, compared to just 23.4% in Worcester. The self-response rate refers to the unadjusted rate, which includes vacant housing units in the calculation. “I encourage everyone to partic-
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a b t e e Sa R x l a e T
ipate in the 2020 Census,” Ocean Pines Association President Doug Parks said. “As Ocean Pines is one of the largest populated communities in the area, our voice can help influence the availability for resources we will need in the future.” Parks said the number of responses from the Ocean Pines community would directly correlate to the level of federal funding eligibility over the next decade. “Completing the 2020 Census survey is easy and can be done online or by phone,” Parks said. “It’s also important to note that the information will be kept confidential within the Census system and used only as noted to determine federal funding. “Information on completing the 2020 Census can be found online at www.mycensus2020.gov or by calling 844-330-2020. Please consider completing the survey, as it will benefit our community for the future,” he added. Kelly Henry, Worcester County’s Complete Count Coordinator, also encouraged those receiving a Census survey to complete it, even if their Ocean Pines home is a second-
ary dwelling. “The survey will want them to note their primary residence, so they are counted at the correct location. But, by completing both surveys, Worcester County will receive credit for a response,” Henry said. Henry said those sheltering in place somewhere other than Ocean Pines should also go online to complete the survey, so they are counted in Worcester County. “By having the survey available online, it is so much easier to complete the survey from any location without having to worry about the mail finding you, especially under the current circumstances,” Henry said. “As we know, the statistics from the survey are used for the distribution of $675 billion in funding for community services such as education, transportation, and health care. “In light of the current situation, the Coronavirus has the potential to impact everyone no matter their age, race, social-economic class or location. By having an accurate count, health care professionals would have the resource to determine equipment and vaccines to serve the population,” Henry added. Visit www.2020census.gov for more information.
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OPA FINANCES
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OPA racks up another surplus in February, exceeds $700,000 for the year so far Coronavirus virus leaves finances unaffected with two months remaining in 2019-20
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by Governor Larry Hogan in response to the pandemic. February, it turns out, outperformed budgeted expectations by $61,143, with revenues over budget by $18,041 and expenses under budget by $33,102. For the fiscal year through ten months, the OPA racked up a cumulative surplus of $702,576, with revenues over budget by $458,702 and expenses under budget by $243,874.
The results were released late last month by Director of Finance Steve Phillips. Were it not for the Coronavirus pandemic, the OPA would be closing in on a record year financially. With most of the pandemic’s financial effects likely to fall heavily into the new fiscal year that begins May 1, it seems likely that 2019-20 will still produce a substantial operating surplus.
In a recent report to the Board of Directors Feb. 5, General Manager John Viola said he and Phillips expected that the operating surplus for the remaining four months of the fiscal year will erode by roughly $250,000, ending up at $375,000. More recently, Viola projected the surplus at $450,000, but that was before Coronavirus showed up in Worcerster County. In February, most amenity departments outperformed their budgets, while all were in the red for the month as expected. The Yacht Club, which went to a delivery-service-only model in midMarch, lost $30,276 in February but was ahead of budget by $14,928. For the year through February, the Yacht Club is in the black by $156,739, with a positive variance to budget of $205,954. A year ago through February, the amenity had generated a loss of $468. Golf generated a loss of $29,574 but exceeded budget by $14,056 in February. For the year, golf was in the red by $126 through February and behind budget by $43,338. A year ago, the loss was $39,622 through February, so golf operations were clearly on a positive path prior to the closure pf the golf course in mid-March by the governor’s order. Aquatics for the second consecutive month outperformed its budget in February. The positive variance to budget was $6,358 on an operating loss of $25,501. For the year through February Aquatics is behind budget by $24,398. The Sports Core pool closed in mid-March, which will produce lowq
By TOM STAUSS Publisher hile it remains to be seen how the Covid-19 pandemic will affect Ocean Pines Association finances for the remaining two months of the 201920 fiscal year, March and April, there was no measurable impact in February, the last month before most OPA operations and many businesses in Worcester County were shut down
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24 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
April 2020
OPA FINANCES
OPA extends pool card expiration date yet again
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s the Ocean Pines Association faces uncertainty because of the COVID-19 pandemic on when pool facilities may reopen, the Board of Directors and staff have made the joint decision to extend the pool card expiration date until October 1, 2021. The new expiration date is good for all pool cards, no matter when they were bought. To take advantage of the extension, all cards must be registered by April 30 of this year. To register, members can email a copy of the back of their card(s), along with their contact information, to poolcards@oceanpines.org. Alternately, members may deposit a photocopy of their card(s) in the drop box in the Administration Building lobby on 239 Ocean Parkway in Ocean Pines, or else extend their balance by phone by calling 410-641-7717. Those who already registered will be automatically enrolled into the new extension date.
OPA Financials From Page 23 er revenues and lower expenses relative to budget. For the year through February, all assessment departments were ahead of budget, with the exception of Compliance and Permits, Police, General Administration and the manager’s office. Departments ahead of budget included Recreation and Parks, Gen-
eral Maintenance, Public Works, Public Relations and Finance. Fire/ EMS broke even. Status of reserves: The OPA’s reserve balance through February was $7.65 million, down from $8.33 million in January. There was a $4.83 million balance in the replacement reserve, $2 million in the bulkheads and waterways reserve, and $781,927 in the roads reserve.
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OCEAN PINES Incumbents
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
From Page 1 former director and acting general manager, Brett Hill, was ineligible to run for the board because she said he had not paid a lot assessment in time to be included on the candidate slate. She also presided as secretary over another controversial decision, rejecting a petition submitted by a group headed by former director Slobodan Trendic that asked for a referendum on reducing board capital spending authority to $1 million from the current threshold of about $1.8 million. A lawsuit challenging the rejection is pending, with a trial date set for June, several weeks before ballots will be mailed to property owners. She relied on the release of a letter by OPA Attorney Jeremy Tucker as explanation for the decision to reject the petition on technical grounds that are central to the pending Trendic litigation. Trendic was critical of Horn at the time for ignoring the requirement in the OPA bylaws that she issue a statement over her signature as secretary explaining why the petition had been rejected, rather than relying on the letter by Tucker. Horn has been the subject of unconfirmed reports that she has made statements in closed meetings of the board that suggests she is not a supporter of Colby Phillips, the director of amenities and logistical operations, as a potential replacement for John Viola when he and if he decides to retire at the
conclusion of his contract in June of 2022. Her objections to Phillips’s candidacy are said to be related to the fact that she does not have a college degree. In a recent closed meeting of the board called to discuss another matter, Horn according to two board sources told her colleagues of an emergency organizational chart that deemphasized Colby Phillips’s role in managing Ocean Pines in the event that Viola is incapacitated for a lengthy period of time. Although Horn has denied involvement in drafting the emergency chart, it reportedly relegated Phillips to a box under Director of Golf John Malinowski. Horn did not respond to two separate email attempts by the Progress in April to comment on her views about Phillips’ suitability for the GM position when Viola retires. While the board has been functioning without any apparent acrimony since Trendic resigned from the board last spring to focus on the petition drive, he and Parks were often at odds during the years when both served on the board, clashing over policy as often as procedure. There is no one on the board currently who challenges Parks on procedural matters or policy to the extent that Trendic did when he served on the board. Differences that occasionally surface among the directors under Parks’s leadership since the new board term have not devolved into personality conflicts as they often
have over the years in Ocean Pines. Former Director Esther Diller, who resigned from the board for personal health reasons last year, recently commended the board for harmoniously working together for the betterment of Ocean Pines. She offered her observations at the March meeting of the board during the Public Comments segment of the meeting. Her husband, chiropractor Stuart Lakernick, is a candidate for the board this summer. Both Horn and Parks were given opportunities to discuss their candidacies for reelection by the Progress. Parks declined “at this time” with no explanation. But Horn in a statement provided to the Progress said that, “simply put, my intention in running for the board again is to continue the work that is yet unfinished. In general, our accomplishments reflect work aimed at bringing a more businesslike culture to the interactions among directors and between the board and the membership. It is also aimed at bringing our business operations to the next level in terms of business best practices. “During my tenure we were able to execute a contract with Matt Ortt Company for food and beverage operations at the Yacht Club; purchase the Northstar software to support greater efficiency and best practices in our business operations. We executed contracts for rebuilding the craft building; rebuilding the Club House as a dual-purpose venue to support golf operations and community
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activities; and for expansion and renovation of the police department and administration building spaces. “We were fortunate to sign a contract for the GM position with an individual who is highly qualified and invested in the success of OPA. We were able to execute a contract for a compensation study, which supported our GM’s need to look at job descriptions, compensation and the organizational structure needed to run the organization efficiently. We have renewed our process for review of the GM’s performance relative to expectations and will be looking at the GM job description and performance review tool to help us refine our thinking about succession planning for the GM position. “Our GM brings a results-oriented leadership style that empowers the leaders among his staff; promotes teamwork and focuses on increasing “bench strength” and cross-training to support succession planning in all departments. He also has strengthened the focus in all our departments on fiscal accountability through ongoing monitoring of expenses against budgeted figures. We have a board that supports this leadership approach. The teamwork has yielded successful completion of capital projects and maintenance efforts on time and within budget. In addition, our GM and his team have succeeded in redoubling efforts in the areas of drainage work and bulkhead replacement. These projects also have been on time and within budget. “During my tenure there has been a renewal of the interface between advisory committees and the board and in the board’s utilization of the mental capital among our advisory committee volunteers. We are looking at continuing to improve that process through an ongoing effort to orient new advisory committee chairs and board liaisons. We are looking at revitalizing our strategic planning process and at defining a process for identifying and approving new capital projects that will support responsible use of funds in the recently established new capital reserve fund. “During my tenure we have achieved a culture of professionalism, respectful airing of differing opinions, and cooperation among directors. This culture has supported getting things done, and I think our accomplishments and the financial performance of the organization speak for themselves.”
CAPTAIN’S COVE
April 2020
Hearn announces marketplace initiative, payroll protection loan application Cove to launch ‘full-blown grocery store’ at Marina Club By TOM STAUSS Publisher he coronavirus shutdown on Virginia’s Eastern Shore has led to a couple of notworthy developments in Captain’s Cove, Cove association president Tim Hearn has announced. With all but Food Lions and WalMart supermarkets closed in the area for gorcery shopping, the Cove board has decided to launch an onsite “full blown gorcery store” at the Marina Club beginning the week of April 19. Hearn said items that can be purchased will include the usual
T
Lakernick From Page 1
His wife, Esther Diller, was elected to the board in August of 2018, resigning the following year for health reasons. Two seats on the board will be filled in this summer’s election. Lakernick, a chiropractor and functional neurologist in the Philadelphia area who, with his wife, has owned property in Ocean Pines Pines since 2013, believes he would offer a fresh perspective if elected. That’s the essence of his platform. “I am near retirement. It’s our responsibility to be able to do these things so that correct decisions get made. The board has done an excellent job this year, but we can do better. By adding new people there can be new viewpoints,” he said. He says the OPA needs a greater effort to address deferred maintenance so that the shelf life of all facilities is extended and evidence of wear-and-tear is no longer tolerated. If a maintenance plan already exists, Lakernick says it needs to be more proactively and consistently applied. “We need a plan in place for all of our amenities and other assets in Ocean Pines so they don’t suffer the neglect they have had in the past,” he said, citing the old police station as one example of a facility that was allowed to deteriorate over time. “The police department was an absolute hell-hole. Thankfully they are totally redoing it,” he added.
staples, soft goods, vegetables, fruits and meats, as well as beer and wine. The Cove is taking advantage of Billy Casper Golf’s purchasing relationships to obtain items that will then be resold to residents. “Except for Food Lion and Wamart, there really aren’t a lot of options,” Hearn said in an April 14 telephone interview. Orders can be placed by calling the Marina Club and will be available for pick-up at the Marina Club parking lot, Hearn said. To reduce the possibility of spreading coronavirus, Hearn said that all transactions will be credit-
card only by phone. The Progress reached out to General Manager Justin Wilder for additional details. He replied that BCG’s Phillip Evans is handling details and would have an announcement once everything is arranged. Virginia is operating under a stayat-hone order effective through June 10, Hearn noted, adding that, like everyone everywhere, “we’re waiting to see if there’s some movement to reopening sooner than that. If the governor loosens it up before then, we can adjust.” All of Captain’s Cove land-based
He is concerned with draining problems in areas including Bainbridge Park. He is looking forward to a report from Director of Amenities and Logistical Operations Colby Phillips next month on the status of grant money that would be used to jumpstart drainage improvements. “We have done a good job, but I want to make sure that job continues and that we expand on what we are doing presently,” he said. In a community only a few feet above sea level, he knows drainage problems will persist, but Lakernick believes swales should be cleaned out more regularly, by the OPA as well as by homeowners. He suggests that the OPA ask the county to more aggressively replace aging and leaking sewer tanks, and that the OPA continue to improve road resurfacing, “I believe there are people with sewage on their property because sewage tanks are rotted out and have to be replaced,” he said. Tanks are owned by and the responsibility of the county’s Public Works Department, and critics over the years have noticed that expeditious replacement of these tanks seem not to be a high priority. Another matter of concern is the golf course. “When you buy a property in a golf community the golf course is part of it. The golf course has to remain, but we have to come up with a better plan to market the golf course, so if it’s going to lose money maybe it won’t lose as much,” he said.
What Diller regarded as inadequate golf course marketing was a source of frustration for her when she served on the board. She told the Progress recently that she sent over various ideas for ways to promote the course, both to Ocean Pines property owners who don’t purchase annual golf memberships currently and to outsiders, but that “golf management never acted.” It would appear that golf course marketing is unfinished business from her abbreviated term that Lakernick would tackle if elected. “I get it that not everybody golfs but I love having the golf course, and I think it’s necessary for this community,” he said. The Yacht Club is doing well, he said, crediting bringing in an outside company to operate it. The Matt Ortt Companies, contract managers of the Yacht Club for two years, is adding the bar and restaurant operation in the new golf clubhouse to its Ocean Pines portfolio this spring, or whenever the statewide restaurant shutdown ends. “When Ocean Pines stopped trying to run a restaurant and brought in professional restaurateurs, it’s been doing pretty well. People are on the Ocean Pines Facebook page always saying how good it is,” he said. An avid boater who navigates the St. Martin’s River and enjoys spending time at Assateague Island, Lakernick doesn’t play racquet sports but knows how important they are to tennis, platform tennis
amenities, including the golf course, are closed under the stay-at-home directive. However, residents can use the Marina Club’s boat launch. Hearn has said previously that he expects residents to do a lot of fishing during the shut-down. If there is some sort of reopening allowed in Virginia on or before June 10, Hearn said it is likely that social distancing precautions will remain in place. “We will be using PPEs (personal protective equipment) such as masks and gloves to protect our employees and members,” he said, adding the golf course is one amenity that could be reopened if the governor loosens stay-at-home restrictions. Virginia is a state that, according to golfdigest.com, has not issued a blanket shut-down of golf courses, q
26 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
and pickleball players and the camaraderie they bring. Among Pines residents, there have been complaints over the years about the annual assessment fee, but Lakernick thinks it’s fair. “We get a lot for our assessment money. We have a property in Ocean City. I pay $2,800 a year in assessments and all we have in that little community is a swimming pool and a tennis court. “In Ocean Pines we have a police force, a fire department, EMS that will respond within minutes when I call, EMS that is right around the corner from me. The parks, the farmers’ market, adcess to all the amenities, an oceanfront Beach Club, all these clubs you can join.” Lakernick is an unabashed Ocean Pines cheerleader. It doesn’t seem likely to change if he gets elected. “We have a lot of great friends that we made in Ocean Pines. These people are the nicest folks,” he said. “It’s a wonderful place. I’d like to see more people come down and stay and live here year-round. We all pay taxes. We all pay our assessments. It’s a wonderful community. “I love it. Love it, love it. I think people come to Ocean Pines for the beauty and they stay for how great it is. “There are clubs, there are all kinds of activities. The farmer’s market is amazing. The summer concerts in the park are a great idea that needs to continue,” he said. “And movies in the park? What a great idea that is.”
CAPTAIN’S COVE but Hearn said it was more “50-50” situation. He said the Cove elected to close its course to member play to be consistent with the stay-athome order, but he said that could change depending on guidance from government officials. In a related development, Hearn announced that the Cove has applied for a federal Small Business Administration payroll protection loan through PNC bank. The application was not for a specific loan amount, he said. If it’s used to keep Cove employees on the job during the shutdown, the loan is forgiven. Hearn said the application asked for payroll data including numbers of employees and payroll costs. That suggests that any pay-out to the Cove will be based on that and not revenues lost. A prolonged closure affecting restaurants would mean that the Cove would lose its main revenue source other than annual assessments. In an interview last month, Hearn said that “top line revenues” of $125,000 in golf operations and $800,000 in food and beverage operations are at risk from continued closures. That includes about $200,000 in wedding banquets and special events, he said. The food and beverage operations were on a path to produce $125,000 in net revenues, and that, too, is in jeopardy. He held out the hope that deliveries from the Marina Club restaurant this summer could provide limited food and beverage service to residents if full dine-in service doesn’t resume. Hearn said the Cove would actually benefit financially by not operating at all this summer when compared to the delivery service option, but he added that if conditions allow delivery service, he believes the board would approve it whatever the cost to the food and beverage bottom line. “It would be expected by the membership, and understandably so,” Hearn said. In comments during the March 20 special meeting of the board, Hearn detailed the impact of the amenity closures on Billy Casper Golf staff who work in Captain’s Cove. Only seven of 23 employees will be retained during the shutown, Hearn said, two salaried and five hourly. BCG is offering furloughs to some of the laid-off employees, while others will be leaving BCG’s employ to take jobs elsewhere.
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
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OPINION
April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Coronavirus ‘crisis’ needs balanced response
B
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Gov. Hogan should reopen the state next month, if not sooner
y mid-April, there were many signs, for those inclined to look and bypass media fearmongering, that the Coronavirus pandemic had peaked and was beginning to wane. Indications seem to suggest that national and state leaders are trying to change the narrative from lockdown and economic devastation to figuring out how and when to reopen shuttered businesses and relax stay-at-home edicts. That’s encouraging, but the devil is always in the details, of course. Whatever new national policies and recommendations emerge will still leave much to state governors to implement. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, among the early responders to truly scary and overblown (and subsequently repudiated) models predicting hospital bed and ventillator shortages, and massive death, can be a national leader in institutuing a rational reopening, with some social distancing in place, in time to save the summer season for Ocean City area residents, visitors and businesses. Ocean Pines, with its oceanblock beach amenity and lots of closed recreational facilities closer to home, is hardly an uninterested bystander in all of this. There needs to be a better balance in the weeks ahead between managing Covid-19 and reopening the American economy. We can and must do both. Somehow South Korea worked its way through the pandemic without closing down businesses, relying instead on its citizenry donning face masks. That was more or less the U.S. strategy during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, albeit belately, during an era where death tolls from various diseases were more widely expected if not tolerated. Based on a recent edict by the governor, it appears that face masks will be an essential fashion accessory in the weeks and even months ahead. If that’s the price of reopening shuttered businesses, then it’s a price that’s worth paying. Enforcement will be difficult, if not impossible, of course, but for many wearing a mask will be seen as an acceptable defense mechanism and a way of protecting others. According to a just released Stanford University study, it turns out that coronavirus infection rates are much higher than assumed. Most who have the virus are asymptomatic or only show mild symtoms. Unfortunately, we will never know the real number of infections, and because of that we will never know the actual death rate, that is the number of fatalities divided by the number of actual cases of Covid-19. But it’s not a huge leap to conclude that the actual fatality rate in the U.S., Maryland and in Worcester County will turn out to be much less than 1 percent. Now that we know that, and worse case scenarios are not unfolding, governments can reverse course and reopen the economy. The idea that government would even consider closing down businesses, let alone enact laws that would allow government officials to do so under cover of a health crisis, would have
COMMENTARY Take any contentious issue — travel bans, the advantages of masks, the Chinese compromising of WHO, the entire industry of grievance politics infecting criticism of China’s despicable behavior, delayed testing by the Centers for Disease Control and FDA, modeling, the efficacy of antimalarial drugs — and our elite seem unable to admit they were wrong, and wrong with a great deal of costly arrogance. It is no exaggeration to say that most models that the best and brightest offered the public, from the imported Imperial College in London to those from the University of Washington and many more besides, were not just inaccurate, but quite mistaken in two tragic ways: First, they were accepted as gospel by governments and thus their flawed assumptions became the basis for policies that in many cases may prove counterproductive. Second, the modelers themselves either did not promptly correct their warped inputs, or were not completely forthcoming about their data and methodologies, or blamed their flawed assumptions on others or circumstances beyond imagination, or claimed that their mistakes were in fact salutary — if not sorta, kinda planned — in galvanizing a presumably infantile public to accept draconian measures that it otherwise would not. Victor Davis Hanson
been unthinkable the last time a killer disease was loose in the country. In comparison, we’ve turned into a nation of risk-adverse snowflakes, willingly ceding to government the right to devastate millions of American lives, supposedly ameliorated by government largesse designed to compensate out-of-work citizens, as a way of combatting a health crisis. Isn’t it fascinating that hardly any national politician or pundit is asking the question of where all these trillions of unbudgeted dollars to assist the un- and under-employed and affected business are coming from? To paraphase a popular mantra from another era: A trillion here, a trillion there, pretty soon you’re talking real money. And is it a coincidence that everyone involved in implementing shutdown orders, or who promote the idea of a shutdown continuing until there’s a proven vaccine 18 months from now, all have comfortable salaried sinecures that will insulate them from the harshest effects of the closures? Be that as it may, the best that can be hoped for is that those who shuttered the American economy will do all they can to reopen it. As the president and others are wont to say, we can’t let the cure be worse than the disease. Newsflash: It already is if you’re out of work, your business is closed, you’re wondering if you can pay the rent or mortgage and you’re still waiting for government hazard pay to arrive. In an interview with the Progress published elsewhere in this edition, State Senator Mary
Beth Carozza suggested that Gov. Hogan is likely to take a measured, phased approach in reopening the state. Declining to put a date on when that might happen, which is understandable, she nonetheless seemed to suggest that Ocean City and by extention Ocean Pines would be open for business this summer. She also said she had not heard that foreign students under the J-1 program will be prevented from entering the country, and that’s good news for Ocean City business that rely on that source of labor. She also noted that the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce is planning to conduct an on-line job fair, once there is some clarity on the job situation. Since the governor has already announced a phased reopening of the state, here are a few suggestions on how this could be done: 1. Immediately reopen golf courses, with the proviso that wipe-downs occur of golf carts and pro shop surfaces to combat the random Carona germ. Also reopen public tennis courts, racquetball courts, paddleball and pickleball courts, activities in which only small groups engage, in a first phase of social easing. Same for indoor swimming pools for lap lane swimmers and small classes conducted in chlorinated environs. Georgia and some beaches in Florida, Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, and Atlantic Beach, have already reopened. Maryland should follow suit in time for Memorial Day weekend, at the latest. Perhaps the state could set up some drive-by testing facilities in the Convention Center parking lot to ease the concerns of beachgoers and others who think they might have contracted the Covid-19 bug. 2. Expand the essential business list to include every business in the state. It’s unfair that big box businesses can be open to sell shoes and apparel while mom-and-pop stores are closed. The answer isn’t to close Walmart, of course. The solution is to be fair to everyone trying to conduct business in the state. Every business is essential, especially to those who own and operate one. 3. Make sure that local hospitals and clinics that might need to treat those with Covid-19 symtoms have adequate supplies, including Hydroxychloroquine, Zithromax and Zinc to be dispensed in cocktail form as needed. Gilead’s Remdesvir is also showing some real promise. Ignore the rantings of those who say these medicines’ efficacy is unproven or anecdotal. No reason that supplies of other efficacious antibiotics can’t be beefed up as well. Sure, there will be some risk in reopening the state but risk is part of life. Those most vulnerable to infection, an older demographic with underlying conditions, can continue to quarantine in their homes. But the rest of us need to get on with the business of living and working outside of our homes, sooner not later. With face masks, too, if that makes it easier for politicians to do what they should be doing regardless. - Tom Stauss
30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OPINION
April 2020
Brady Bunch’ board meeting photo offers comic relief
‘
L
et it be said at the outset that the Board of Directors and General Manager John Viola made the best of an unpleasant situation when they conducted the April monthly meeting entirely on-line, practicing the most exemplary social distancing techniques. All that was missing were hazmat suits or, alternatively, facemasks. Facemasks may very well be the fashion accessory of choice at the board’s May meeting, assuming that there is some relaxation of the state-at-home policy imposed by the governor by then. The Donald is making it clear in his daily briefings that he’s itching to reopen businesses shuttered by the Coronavirus. Whether Gov. Hogan will follow the lead of the White House remains to be seen, but if he does then a place to start a phased relaxation of the statewide stay-at-home policy could include homeowner association meetings in which participants maintain their distance from another and wear facemasks. Awkward, to be sure, but it may be a neecessary step in a transition to normalcy, however one defines it. One wag who shall rename nameless texted the Progress, or it may have been email, that when watching the meeting video he felt it needed a theme song, and the one from the Brady Bunch TV series seemed appropriate given the array of characters that danced on his computer screen during the livestream. True enough. It was also missing the visage of Alice, played by the late Ann B. Davis, an omission that has been remedied in the photoshopped image that appears elsewhere on this page. She has certainly been an inspiration for the board in recent months, as the board has kept itself free of dirt, clutter and personality conflicts of late. If memory serves, Alice played a pivotal role in keeping the peace in the Brady household. Meanwhile, it appears that there will be some real competition for two seats on the board to be contested this summer. Incumbency has had a mixed performance record over the years, but this year could be one of those in which property owners, generally pleased with the direction of the OPA, will be inclined to reward the two announced incumbents running for reelection, board president Doug
referendum, then a decision on whether to comply with the order, to appeal it to a higher court, or An excursion through the curious by-ways and cul-de-sacs An excursion through the curious by-ways and cul-de-sacs to reject a referendum on other of Worcester County’s County’s most densely community. of Worcester mostpopulated densely populated community. grounds would need to be made. By TOM STAUSS/ By TOM Publisher STAUSS/Publisher Director Frank Daly has said on occasion that he feels the petition for a referendum should have been rejected on grounds it failed to gather enough signatures. Under the bylaws, ten per cent of property owners must sign a petition to force a referendum, but Horn and OPA attorney Jeremy Tucker took the position that it’s ten percent of property owners in good standing at the time a petition is submitted. Good standing means having paid one’s lot assessments 35 days before the annual meeting and not having been declared in violation of restrictive covenants or Archectural Review Committee guidelines. Daly disagrees, contending that it’s ten percent of 8,452 property owners, not just those who are eligible to vote when a petition is submitted. It’s not a trivial distinction, as the Parks and former Secretary Colette clubhouse that is just now about petition drive would have failed by ready for occupancy. Horn, with new three-year terms. about 35 names had it needed 845 Lakernick in an interview signatures to succeed. Then again, maybe not. Without necessarily concluding that either of published in this edition of the Assuming Horn isn’t inclined these incumbents performed poorly, Progress doesn’t come across as a to flip-flop on this topic, Parks and OPA members might be impressed critic of the current board. Perhaps Lakernick might be forced to make enough with the challengers and some nuanced differences will it known whether they agree with emerge during candidate forums, Daly or Horn on what the threshold opt for a change. Stuart Lakernick, the first but so far it seems he’s framing should be. challenger to announce his his candidacy in terms of someone candidacy for the board, seems like who would bring a new set of eyes a compelling choice for property to the board and work well with his owners who like to see turn-over colleagues whoever they would turn as a way of bringing new ideas and out to be in August. The Ocean Pines Progress, a journal Have Parks and Horn worn out perspectives to a board that always of news and commentary, is pubhas four or five carry-over members their welcome? Well, it’s unlikely lished monthly throughout the year. that those who supported former to provide continuity. It is circulated in Ocean Pines, BerHe is married to a former board Director Slobodan Trendic during lin, Ocean City, and Captain’s Cove, member, Esther Diller, who resigned his aborted term on the board, and Va. from the board last year after less signed his petition to force a vote on 127 Nottingham Lane than a year of service for personal board capital spending authority, Ocean Pines, MD 21811 reasons related to a health issue. will be anxiously awaiting the She was early on a very competent opportunity to give these Trendic PUBLISHER/EDITOR board member who possessed strong antagonists three more years on the Tom Stauss views on issues that mattered but board. stausstom@gmail.com Trendic’s lawsuit over the board’s was able to change her mind when 443-359-7527 denial of the petition drive to force a facts changed. Case in point: she originally referendum on reducing the board’s Advertising Sales was in the camp of supporting a spending authority is set for a June Frank Bottone renovation of the Country Club trial date. It could very well be an 410-430-3660 second floor. She adapted when it issue during the summer campaign became clear that the old building season should Lakernick and other CONTRIBUTING WRITER was well past its shelf life from challengers decide to make it one. Rota Knott Should Trendic’s position prevail deferred maintenance, otherwise InkwellMedia@comcast.net known as neglect. She became an in court, which might include an 443-880-3953 enthusiastic supporter of a new golf order for the OPA to conduct a
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April 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
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