No evidence that OPA has been hurt by anti-MOC campaign, Jacobs says

Two directors dissent in part from Parks statement

By TOM STAUSS

Publisher

There were at least two takeaways from emails among the Board of Directors recently obtained by the Progress following the release of a statement by Ocean Pines Association President Doug Parks on an ongoing campaign against operations of the Matt Ortt Companies in Ocean Pines and elsewhere.

One is that there is no evidence to date that the campaign has actually adversely affected food and beverage revenues at OPA food and beverage venues managed by MOC.

The other take-away is that there were two Board members, Colette Horn and Steve Jacobs, who dissented from the Parks statement, which was critical of some within the Do It for Gavin movement for encouraging bands, service groups and individuals not to do business with OPA food and beverage venues operated by MOC under a management contract.

Horn and Jacobs said they would have preferred what in their view would have been a more balanced and less inflammatory statement in support of MOC.

“Threats, violence, and threats of vandalism have no place in our public debate,” Jacobs said in one email. “No one is blameless in this, and I would not have singled out one side over another. Let me add, that at present there is no indication that our revenue streams from the food and beverage amenities have suffered.”

Bands have pulled out from performance agreements, and the Ravens Roost organization decided to hold an event elsewhere. Some wedding business has been lost, but the Yacht Club is such a popular venue for nuptials that dates have been filled, according to sources.

Knupp Foundation

From Page 7 cal charities — $2,000 to the Ocean City Surf Club, $6,244 to a bingo event at Sterling Tavern to raise for an 11-year-old local girl fighting for life and $4,000 for local residents to attend Camp Woodward on a scholarship.

In his statement issued at the March 18 Board of Directors meeting, Parks suggested that if the campaign against MOC campaign succeeds and OPA members stop supporting the food and beverage venues operated by MOC for the OPA, then these amenities could cease to be profitable and OPA assessments would rise to subsidize operating losses that at one time were routine in Ocean Pines.

Limited

Since MOC has been operating these venues, they’ve been profitable, contributing to conditions that have resulted in decisions by the Board to lower assessments for two consecutive fiscal years.

In his statement, Parks called on OPA members to rally against the anti-MOC campaign and continue to support OPA food and beverage venues.

In the emails obtained by the

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Western Omelet …................................ $8.00

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With Butter $3 With Cream Cheese $4.45

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Bagel with Sliced Nova or Lox Salmon … $10.95

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Includes a Side of Macaroni Salad Ham …………............................….……. $9.45

Turkey ………...................................….. $9.45

Roast Beef …..................................…… $10.45

Cappicola …….................................….. $9.45

Genoa Salami …................................… $9.45

Italian Combo …...........................…… $10.45 (Roast Beef, Cappicola, Salami and Provolone)

Roast Beef & Turkey Combo ..............….. $10.45

Liverwurst …...............................……… $7.95

Bologna ................................................. $7.95

Chicken Salad ........................................ $9.95

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Tuna Salad ………..........................…... $10.25

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Add to any sandwich Cheese $1 • Avacado $.50

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Lemon/Pecan Bar …….....................…… $2.55

Muffin …….........................……………. $3.55

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Crumb Cake ............................................$3.55

Turnover ………..........................……… $3.55

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1 Flagel (weekends only) .............. $1.40

Bagel ………..............................…. $1.40

Half Dozen Bagels …..........……… $8.00

Dozen Bagels …............….......… $14.50

Cinnamon Crunch Bagel ….....….. $1.90

N.Y. Kaiser Roll ……............….. 75 cents

Portuguese Roll ……........…….. 75 cents

Knot Roll ................................... 75 cents

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Plain Cream Cheese 1 lb. …......… $6.40

Flavored Cream Cheese 1 lb. ...... $7.90

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Two dissenters

From Page 9

Progress, which were in response to questions posed to Parks by a reporter for a local weekly, he said that in the days prior to the March 18 meeting he shared a draft of his statement with his Board colleagues.

“Not that my statement required approval, [but] it is notable that five of the seven Directors agreed with the statement and supported it being read as my President’s remarks,” Parks said. “That said, the statement was representative of a super majority of the board.”

Parks in response to another question that he decided to compose and release the statement because he and other directors “had been approached by OPA members asking what was being done to address these matters and as the leadership group it was our responsibility to ensure the concerns of the membership were made public. The need to make a statement was spurred by both the issue of the Veterans Memorial and complaints from the community.”

The Veterans Memorial issue pertained to an anonymous phone call to a member of the Veterans Memorial Foundation that the memorial in Ocean Pines would be vandalized if the group proceeded to have a fund-raising event at the Yacht Club. A police report was filed about the phone call, recently confirmed by OPA Director and Vice-President Rick Farr.

The foundation had its event while losing the original entertainer for the event and then losing a replacement within hours of the fund-raiser. No vandalism has been reported at the memorial.

Parks confirmed that there have been incidents of children and others being bullied because of their perceived association with MOC.

“Several instances of this behavior were shared unsolicited with board members. In one instance that was shared, a high school student who worked at the Yacht Club was told by some other students that he should just go kill himself since he worked there,” Parks said.

Jacobs provided an explanation in an email for why he was not in support of the Parks statement as written.

“Doug did inform all of the Board members that he would be making a statement on the subject and provided us with one draft and a second that incorporated some suggestions. Most of the comments from my colleagues were supportive, there were some suggestions as to content, including my suggestions,” Jacobs said.

After acknowledging that the OPA president for a number of years has been making remarks at the beginning of monthly board meeting, and is free to say whatever he wants, Jacobs said he “would not have taken the same tack as [Parks[ did. I would have much preferred to recognize that this is a difficult subject that has raised a great deal of anger, frustration and meanness in our community. It has served to heighten the disagreements in Ocean Pines and raised the nastiness on both (or all) sides when one reads social media.”

Jacobs said that peaceful protest, boycotts and other demonstrations are accepted and protected means of addressing community

OCEAN PINES Two dissenters

From Page 10 issues, while threats, violence and threats of vandalism “have no place” in our public debate.

He went on to say that he would have preferred a statement that calls on all to be civil in the public debate.

“I am concerned that Doug’s statement did not accomplish that aim,” he said, adding that some of the allegations concerning anti-MOC actions “are more than a few months old. There are those who have continually raised them up again and again for the sole purpose of further inflaming passions. We can and should do better.”

Horn in her response to the reporter’s questions said that as an alternative to Parks’s statement “I proposed something that would ask for support of our amenities and fund-raising, which was included in the final draft of the statement. I was not in favor of belaboring the accusations and outrage about the allegations of bullying etc. In my opinion the rhetoric was inflammatory and would not serve the goal of lowering the temperature within the community on this topic.”

In a follow-up email to Parks, Jacobs offered some words of conciliation.

“I fully understand what could be Board policy when a vote it taken as opposed to making a statement as provided for in the agenda by you, the President. I made a point of both commending you and expressed my appreciation for your willingness to share your statement with all of us,” he said.

Jacobs told Parks that he never suggested that the OPA president did anything improper or out of order. “To the contrary, I fully support your use of that item to speak as you see fit. I disagreed with the tenor of the statement and as I said in previous emails, I would pursued a different train of thought,” he said.

Jacobs added that he had never suggested that unanimous consent was needed before Parks read his statement.

“I think it is fair to say that you and I have a different opinion on the entirety of this topic, going back to the issue of [renaming] the skatepark [after Gavin Knupp].

“That said, when possible we have tried to work cooperatively, shared opinions and as a general rule where we differed we did so in a civil manner,” he told Parks.