December 2018 Ocean Pines Progress by Ocean Pines Progress

December 2018

www.issuu.com/oceanpinesprogress

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Board eliminates L&N as financial services vendor

The consensus of the Board of Directors at the conclusion of a work session Dec. 7 is that Legum and Norman, one of two applicants that submitted proposals to take over or supply software for “back office” financial services for the Ocean Pines Association, is no longer in the running. With all seven directors in agreement, a rarity in what has been an arduous process that is still weeks if not months away from concluding, the board focus now shifts to a software solution offered by NorthStar Technologies. ~ Page 10

THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY

COVER STORY

Parks signals new interest in replacing Country Club

Property owners sue OPA for failing to fix drainage defects

OPA president says option of smaller, ‘golf-only’ building should be compared to renovation By TOM STAUSS Publisher t’s back -- the option of tearing down and replacing the venerable Ocean Pines Country Club with a new building. Unlike the last time the replacement option was a political issue in Ocean Pines, during the 2016 Board of Directors election season, this time the idea is to replace the building with a smaller, single-story clubhouse geared to golf-related activities. Roughly two years ago, a board consensus emerged under the presidency of Tom Herrick that the Country Club would be renovated in phases rather than replaced. The first floor renovation occurred more or less as planned, but the second floor renovation became mired in problems under Acting General Manager Brett Hill and board resistance to Hill’s contractor of choice. Hill’s proposal to hire the contractor to do the renovation at roughly $500,000 did not produce a board majority in the summer of 2017. Since then, under General Manager John Bailey, the renovation process has moved glacially, with a first round of bid solicitation producing no bids. The latest round may or may not produce proposals; bids from a mid-November request for proposals are due back in mid-December. The replacement option, confirmed by OPA President Doug Parks, has reemerged in the context of estimates of a second floor renovation, along with exterior siding and

roof improvements, that could exceed $1.2 or $1.3 million. Previously, replacement has generally been considered in the context of a two-story building replicating the square footage of the existing building, less than 10,000 square feet, and activities that traditionally have occurred there. Should a consensus emerge on the Doug Parks parameters of a smaller building, one possibility could be to build a new golf clubhouse on the footprint of the existing building, 4,700 square feet in size. That might make it possible to reduce costs associated with relocating utility lines into the building. Since roughly 25 percent of the ground level of the existing building is unusable because of the entrance level foyer and steps to the upper and lower levels, a new clubhouse on the existing footprint could actually increase the area devoted to golf activities. A smaller, one-story building whatever its square footage presumably would include a pro shop, Tern Grille, bathrooms, bag room, offices and, perhaps, locker rooms. Community functions that have been held on the second floor -- card games, OPA board meetings, dance classes, organizational meetings and the like -- would To Page 4

Property owners Michael J. and Rhonda J. Holson of 22 Moby Dick Drive are suing the OPA for what they say is failure to properly maintain drainage easements throughout Ocean Pines, causing flooding in and around their property and tens of thousands of dollars of damage. ~ Page 6

Bailey says OPA to continue ditch mowing next year Despite a legal opinion that says the Ocean Pines Association isn’t responsible for mowing grass between roadside ditches and the road, General Manager John Bailey says he does not intend to stop the practice of roadside mowing next year. During his General Manager’s Report delivered at the Dec. 1 meeting of the Board of Directors, Bailey confirmed that OPA attorney Jeremy Tucker continues to believe that OPA restrictive covenants do not require the OPA to perform this service. ~ Page 19

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The Ocean Pines Pickleball Club recently completed its after school program for Berlin Intermediate School students. The program ran weekly from Sept. 25 through Nov. 27. The program was developed and coordinated by Neil Gottesman, local pickleball ambassador and treasurer of the Ocean Pines Pickleball Board, and Linda Horst, former physical education teacher, club member, and avid pickleball player and instructor. Pickleball Club members laid out and taped lines in the gym for four regulation sized pickleball courts. Volunteer trainers from the club agreed to assist at the weekly two-hour sessions led by Horst and Gottesman, along with four to five instructors to make sure the students would each get individual instruction. Shown on the last day of the program are, back row, left to right, John Hanberry, Dolores Knerr, Ellen Waters, Linda Horst; second row, left to right, Emma Walsh, Cristina Esch, Landon Smith, Jonathan Schachter; front row, left to right, Matt Reed, Addison Davis, Julian Smith, Julian Culley, Matt Urbanski. Not pictured: Students Gavin Geiser, Graham Geiser, Kyle Mumford, Tyler Walsh, and coordinator Neil Gottesman.

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Association membership in the form of a community-wide referendum. “Although I am open to listening and evaluating all alternatives, a golf-only facility will be a tough sell; in my opinion any golf-only facility would need to be approved by referendum,” Daly said. “The very good thing about the current RFP is that it creates a ‘community centric’ space, an area to be potentially utilized by all Ocean Pines homeowners and clubs. Take that away and the dynamics of the discussion change significantly.” Parks in his comments did not weigh in on whether he believes a referendum would be a tough-sell if it involves a golf-only clubhouse. “My approach is to look at all the options available to us, so we can make an informed decision,” Parks said in his statement. “Knowing there is significant cost to renovation of the second floor and knowing there will still be part of the structure that is approximately 50 years old, it makes sense to consider the idea of a tear-down and replacement of the existing building.” He offered “purely arbitrary num-

bers” in an argument for why a replacement might make sense. “Let’s say the renovation costs come in at $1.5 million. That investment will address the immediate concerns of golf operations and provide some additional meeting space as per the original intent from 18 months ago. If we decided on that solution, I’m confident the requirements to support golf operations and meeting space will be met,” Parks said. But he said that “due diligence” requires the board to compare renovation costs to that of replacing the building. “For example, if the cost to replace the building is $2.2 million (again using a purely arbitrary number), one would consider evaluating the benefit provided by the extra dollar investment over time. Factors such as operational costs for an old building vs. a new building need to be considered,” he said. In addition, “basic utilities such as heating, A/C, plumbing and electrical can be compared, as a new building will meet updated stanq

December 2018 ress by Parks, who confirmed that he Country Club believes the tear-down-and-replacement option should be considered From Page 1 most likely have to be hosted else- once bids on a second floor renovawhere if a smaller golf clubhouse tion are returned and fully vetted. is built. With last year’s demolition One other director, Frank Daly, of the Country Club’s second floor, who is liaison to the Golf Advisory making that space unusable, that Committee, said he is open to conwould be no change from the status sideration of both renovation and requo. placement options, with the caveat The official resurrection of the that changing the use of the Country tear-down and replacement option Club into a golf-only facility would surfaced in a statement to the Prog- require buy-in from the Ocean Pines

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COVER STORY

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

From Page 4

dards and be much more energy efficient. “Additional consideration needs to be given to the question of what items currently in the building, specifically on the first floor, will require repair or replacement in the next several years and the projected costs for those requirements,” Parks said, adding that “there are numerous other specific items that can be discussed in conjunction with an evaluation of the options to renovate or replace.” Parks said he suspects a referendum “will be required” before the OPA would embark on an effort to replace the Country Club. “However, we need to get the bids back and move the process forward before knowing for sure. In my opinion, the option of replacing the building is required in the evaluation so we have as much information as possible to allow for an informed decision on this important matter,” he said.

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Parks’ new position deviates substantially from the position he took when he was a candidate for the board in the summer of 2016. He was not successful in that campaign but he was appointed to fill a seat on the board vacated by the resignation of Brett Hill that September. Parks successfully ran for the board in 2017 and was elected president. He was reelected president his past August. Back in 2016, he said he favored repairing rather than replacing the Country Club. He pointed to a 2011 study that he said recommended “retrofitting and renovating.” “What bothered me was, why wasn’t anything done?” he told a local newspaper at the time. “To watch the budget meetings [this year] – I was appalled. You’ve got people in coats having a meeting indoors. It can’t be that bad. I’m missing something here. “I don’t want to draw any conclusions, but, why is it like this? You’ve got to invest the money to make the building sustainable. That’s standard operating procedure. It’s not

political ...” Parks added. He said then that if Ocean Pines were to solicit another study that suggested spending $2-3 million to replace that building, he could produce “tangible evidence that you can’t take care” of it. “Prove me wrong,” he said. “You couldn’t take care of the last one, and now your solution is building a new one. I’m going to argue that you’re not going to be able to take care of this one either. And I’ve got evidence backing me up. “Do I want to build a new clubhouse? Absolutely not,” Parks added. “We have plenty of time for these grandiose new ways to spend money, but we don’t have a lot of time to maintain what we do have. The level of effort that goes into maintaining our current environment is not commensurate with the level of effort that goes into building new.” Parks in a follow-up email explained the change in his position from 2016 to now. “Over time situations change, circumstances change and opinions change. Armed with the information I had at that time, I stand by my comments that I was not in favor of replacing the building as noted. The cost estimates being thrown around for a building replacement were in the neighborhood of $3.2 - $3.5 million. “The condition of the building at that time was suspect with regard to basic heating and A/C. There was no indication at the time that any active discussions were being had by management on how to properly maintain the building. Additionally, we had a management company running golf operations.” Parks cited a number of differences in circumstances and situations between now and 2016. “We have a new General Manager with experience in golf operations.

We parted ways with the management company (Landscapes Unlimited) and brought the operations in house. There has been much discussion on the importance of funding maintenance as we prepare the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Management, staff, the golf advisory committee, along with other relevant and interested parties have supported the idea that a smaller facility will more than meet the needs of the golf operation. “All these factors as well as some others have led me to support a comparison of renovation and rebuilding as part of the evaluation process,” he concluded. Parks did not respond to a Progress question about whether he still feels a new building, however much it costs, would be properly maintained by the OPA once it’s built and operating, the position he took back in 2016 as a candidate. It also turns out that the Golf Advisory Committee has not yet taken a position or even addressed the issue of a new, smaller golf clubhouse, according to recent email from the committee’s chairman, xxx, and Daly, the board’s liaison. A scan of recent committee minutes found no reference to the issue. One recent set of minutes indicated that the commmittee wanted to be consulted when uses of the Country Club’s second floor were considered, so it’s possible that Parks had his issues confused. He did not respond to a Progress request for comment. Daly has said that the GAF is the only “official” committee authorized to advise the board on golf policy issues. Another organization, the Golf Member’s Council, has had members address the board from time to time, and there’s no particular reason to assume that won’t continue.

Free pickleball Clinic offered at Ocean Pines Community Center The Ocean Pines Pickleball Club is continuing to offer free clinics for beginners at the Ocean Pines Community Center. The next one is set for Monday, Dec. 17 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The clinic is free but participants are required to pay a $5 drop-in fee for use of the gym facility. This introductory class is for first time pickleball players and covers rules, terminology, primary skills, coordination and more. Equipment is provided. For more information and to register for the clinic, contact John Hanberry at Jhanberry@comcast.net or by phone or text at 703-5986119.

OCEAN PINES

December 2018

OPA sued for failing to properly maintain drainage easements Property owners say OPA to blame for property damage caused by flooding, ask for more than $225,000 in damages plus unspecified punitive damages and attorney’s fees By TOM STAUSS Publisher t was probably only a matter of time before some disgruntled property owners upset with poor drainage on their properties decided to try to hold the Ocean Pines Association responsible for failing to address conditions that cause flood-related damage to their homes and adversely affect property values. Perhaps in part to deflect blame and augment a legal strategy to counter potential lawsuits, OPA General Manager John Bailey recently announced the existence of a legal opinion by OPA counsel Jeremy Tucker that seemed to suggest that the OPA’s responsibility for ditch maintenance is not as absolute as has been generally believed over Ocean Pines’ 50 years of existence. But new legal opinion or not -and Bailey first teased the possibility of less than absolute responsibility for drainage this past spring -- it has not deterred property owners Michael J. and Rhonda J. Holson of 22 Moby Dick Drive from suing the OPA for what they say is failure to properly maintain drainage easements throughout Ocean Pines, causing flooding in and around their property and tens of thousands of dollars of damage. They’ve hired local attorney Steven W. Rakow to represent them in their suit, filed in Worcester County Circuit Court in early October. They’re alleging breach of contract, negligence and a “private nuisance” in their complaint, and are seeking

Anglers to meet Dec. 15 The Ocean Pines Anglers Club will meet on Saturday, Dec. 15, at 9:30 a,m. in the Assateague Room of the Ocean Pines Community Center. The speakers will be club members Ken Thompson and his son Adam who traveled to Nova Scotia in October and documented their trip to fish for giant Bluefin Tuna. Updates on fishing issues and awards will also be presented for the Top Anglers of the Year. Members are asked to bring a canned good or a donation for the Diakonia Shelter.

damages in excess of $225,000, plus punitive damages and attorney’s fees. The plaintiffs have asked for a jury trial. The OPA’s insurance company is handling the matter. Mark A. Kohl of the Bowie-Md., based law firm of DeCaro, Doran, Siciliano, Gallagher, and DeBassis is counsel for the defendants. In their filing, the Holsons assert that the OPA’s Declaration of Restrictions reserve for the OPA as easements all drainage ditches, or drainage easements for which OPA is responsible for maintaining. They say that the OPA has consistently maintained that it is re-

sponsible for the maintenance of all drainage easements. They also say that the OPA has created a committee or working group to address poor, or lack of, water drainage across drainage easements throughout OPA, but has yet to take any corrective action. The complaint says that the “OPA has known about serious drainage issues for decades, but has failed to take any significant action even after receiving the ‘Soule Report’ on drainage in the early 2000s.” It says that “the OPA has received complaints from the Holsons throughout their residency that the drainage easements in and around”

their property “fail to drain properly” and that “drainage easements where water flows from the drainage easements in and around their property have not been maintained.” The Holsons say that they have complained about the “failure of OPA to maintain the drainage easements (that) has resulted in flooding in and on” their property. The complaint cites flood damage on their property on August 26, 2012, that required approximately $22,000 to repair; damage on December 27, 2012, that required approximately $20,000 to repair; and flooding on July 12, 2013, that caused damage that required approximately $30,000 to repair. “The most recent flood experienced by the Holsons occurred on August 12, 2017, wherein damages over $100,000 have been estimated; however, repairs have yet to take place due to the significant structural damage that must be addressed

Thirteen builders express interest in Country Club renovation, Bailey says Bids due back by Nov. 16 deadline

By TOM STAUSS Publisher hile the long-delayed request for proposals for the second floor renovation of the Country Club missed a Nov. 5 deadline for release, General Manager John Bailey recently indicated that it was sent out to contractors Nov. 16. Bailey said in his Dec. 1 monthly report that a pre-bid meeting with contractors on the previous Monday had generated a fair amount of interest. “Thirteen contractors are interested” in responding to the RFP, Bailey told the Board of Directors. Deadline for submitting bids is Dec. 14, with vetting by staff scheduled to occur during the rest of December. Bailey said he expected a recommendation to the board on how to proceed with the renovation before the board’s regular meeting in January. There is no guarantee that the board will accept any of the bids, depending on cost. The latest RFP is the second attempt by the OPA to obtain bids for the second floor renovation. “The Country Club project is like a jigsaw project wrapped inside an enigma and covered by a Rubik’s Cube,” Bailey said during his Oct. 20 report. “So where are we? The previous version of the RFP needed to be changed due to concerns about the project schedule, the liquidated damages issue, the number of additions/alternatives, and other concerns. Thus, we delayed its release, so we could address those concerns.” Actually, the previous version of the RFP was released but failed to generate any bids from area contractors. The revised version has been tailored to address the concerns of contractors. Liquidated damages have been eliminated and the number of options reduced. Contractors will be asked to identify a completion date for the project. Options that have been moved into the “base bid” include an IPE wood deck, replacement windows throughout, new gable windows in the front of the building, conduits for future work, interior blinds, and elevator, and some roofline changes. Contractors will have an option for Hardi-plank siding or a base bid of vinyl for the entire building. The latest cost estimate for the renovation is in the range of $1.2 million to $1.3 million. That may be too rich for some directors. OPA President Doug Parks recently confirmed speculation that if the bids come in higher than the latest estimates, or even close to projections, then there may be some interest in resurrecting a previously abandoned effort to tear down the building and to replace it with a smaller, one-story building.

6 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES Drainage law suit From Page 6

first,” according to the complaint. On the count of breach of contract, the suit alleges that the OPA has failed to maintain drainage easements as required by the DRs. On the negligence count, the plaintiffs allege damage to their property in excess of $75,000 that they say was the “direct result” of “willfull” negligence by the OPA. On the count of private nuisance, the plaintiffs say that the “failure to address the drainage easement issues has been going on for decades and is a wanton and willful failure to take appropriate action to the detriment of the property rights of the Holsons.” They contend that the OPA’s “failure to address the repeated complaints has resulted in repeated flooding on the property” and that “the flooding has caused great harm to and diminished the value” of their property and has “caused serious interference with the use and enjoyment” of their property by the Holsons.

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS As would be expected in a case such as this, the defendants are pushing back against the complaint. In his response, Kohl says the complaint “fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted” and that “the defendant denies liability generally.” He asserts that the “all or a portion of the plaintiff’s claims may be barred by limitations” and that alleged damages and injuries “may have resulted from causes other than those asserted” in the complaint. In addition, Kohl says the plaintiffs “may have failed to mitigate their alleged damages” and “may have released or otherwise compromised all or a portion of their claims against one or more defendants.” Finally, the attorney says all or a portion of the plaintiffs’ claims may be barred by the doctrines of contributory negligence and assumption of risk. These are all fairly typical responses in civil suits. The initial response in such cases generally don’t go into a lot of detail, with substance left to later filings

and the trial itself, assuming there isn’t some sort of out-of-court settlement, which is always possible. According to court documents on file in clerk’s office in the Snow Hill courthouse, the defendant chose to avoid binding arbitration in the dispute. No explanation was offered for that decision. The jury trial has been schedule for May 21 in Courtroom #1 in circuit court, but Rakow, in a telephone interview, said the defendants eem to be seeking a delay until fall of

next year. Rakow said other property owners afflicted with drainage and flooding issues on their properties so far have not sought to join the suit, which he acknowledged might seem like a suitable vehicle for a class action suit against the OPA. While telling the Progress he was not soliciting additional plaintiffs, he also said he would not be adverse to talking with other property owners who have faced flooding conditions and actual damages similar to those of the Holsons.

8 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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OCEAN PINES

December 2018

Board eliminates Legum and Norman as possible financial services vendor Directors still have questions about NorthStar Technlogies software

Technologies. This option would retain the in-house model of handling the OPA’s complicated fund-based accounting system rather than outsourcing it to an outside vendor. Driving the board consensus to eliminate the Legum and Norman outsource proposal were indications that it was a much more expensive proposal in both transitional and ongoing operational costs to the OPA than the NorthStar proposal. How much more expensive appears to be somewhat of a moving target, as “apples to apples” comparisons between the two options have q

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he consensus of the Board of Directors at the conclusion of a work session Dec. 7 is that Legum and Norman, one of two applicants that submitted proposals to take over or supply software for “back office” financial services for the Ocean Pines Association, is no longer in the running. With all seven directors in agreement, a rarity in what has been an arduous process that is still weeks if not months away from concluding, the board focus now shifts to a software solution offered by NorthStar

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OCEAN PINES NorthStar Technologies From Page 10 been difficult to come by. With the board consensus, efforts to do so will almostly certainly cease. Also driving the decision to eliminate Legum and Norman was a critique offered by Director Slobodan Trendic, who said he was uncomfortable with a solution that involves locking in the OPA to proprietary software controlled by a particular vendor. The decision to focus exlusively on further vetting of the NorthStar proposal does not necessarily mean the board is committed to moving ahead with a NorthStar contract. Indeed, Trendic expressed similar reservations about the NorthStar proposal as he did about Legum and Norman. He said that instead of locking in a contract for NorthStar’s proprietary back office software, the OPA should be shopping for “best of breed” cloud-based and even open source accounting software offered by such well known companies as Microsoft, Oracle or Sage. Director Frank Daly also said he would never vote to approve a NorthStar contract unless he was

convinced that its back office software would integrate well with software used or preferred by various OPA departments, such as Public Works, golf, recreation and food and beverage. NorthStar may or may not have applications specific to these departments. Trendic said he remains concerned about the financial wherewithal of a relatively small company such as NorthStar and whether its tech support functions would be responsive and timely. He also wondered whether anyone from the OPA had actually contacted communities managed by homeowner associations that use NorthStar software, which he said is focused on managing club operations. Apparently not. OPA President Doug Parks responded that he had just received an email from a NorthStar sales executive citing three communities that use the companies software, including one with 70,000 homes, another with 6500 homes, and one with 3000 homes. Parks and Director Colette Horn are solidly in the NorthStar camp, although both are willing to allow their colleagues to further vet the company’s software solutions.

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The directors are in the process of preparing questions for NorthStar executives who are scheduled to be in Ocean Pines Dec. 13 and 14 to meet with department heads and the board. OPA Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer John Viola, speaking as a homeowner, early in the meeting said there is a lot of concern in the ccommunity about the cost of various software solutions that are under consideration. Larry Perrone, a member of a vet-

ting group set up by General Manager John Bailey, said the NorthStar solution will actually be less costly on an annual basis than the OPA’s current in-house software with outsourced support services. Director Steve Tuttle summed up the current state of play by commenting that the board will have to decide whether the NorthStar solution is a viable solution or whether the OPA will have to “start over” with a new approach.

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Board backs Trendic on independent insurance review

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Moroney offers ‘friendly amendment’ that instructs the GM to hire consultant who would conduct review of key coverage areas By TOM STAUSS Publisher hether it was a compromise or a thinly veiled rejection of an effort by Ocean Pines Association President

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Doug Parks to rescind a previous board action ordering an independent review of OPA insurance is subject to the interpretation. Whatever it was, however, a “friendly amendment” to Parks’s rescission motion preserves the essence of what Director Slobodan Trendic intended with his motion last March to order General Manager John Bailey to hire an independent insurance expert to review key insurance coverages. The friendly amendment was offered by Director Ted Moroney during the board’s regular meeting Dec. 1, after Parks had offered a motion to rescind Trendic’s March motion for an independent review. Moroney’s friendly amendment called for an “independent review” of areas that the board feels “need review” but said it should “be limited to key policy” areas where there might be “holes” in coverage, such as swimming pools. Moroney’s friendly amendment also said the review, distinct from a comprehensive audit of all coverages which Bailey had recently unsuccessfuly tried to implement, should occur outside the process, now under way, that should produce a new insurance broker early in new year. Trendic said his March motion was never intended to be a comprehensive audit of every coverage area. He seemed to suggest, without being overly critical, that Bailey had turned it into one or at least seemed to try to make into a much more omprehensive review than Trendic had intended. Parks’s initial motion called for the rescission of the March motion and acceptance of the “recommendation from the General Manager to pursue such a review as part of the scope of work provided by broker services.” According to Parks, the motion as offered would have allowed the “GM to make a recommendation on the insurance broker that will best q

12 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES Insurance review From Page 12

serve the needs of the association, including the knowledge and capacity to perform a review of the existing insurance policies, and to make any changes and/or updates to existing policies, and to shop said policies to ensure best coverage with best pricing.” In support of his rescission motion, Parks said the original motion in March “required the GM to accomplish an independent audit” of OPA insurance policies. However, while doing research on the topic, the GM found that such a review ... could be done via brokerage services and thus accomplish a review without additional expense. “The original motion required a spend of unbudgeted funds, from last year’s budget (when we were running a deficit) and again now, in a year when such an expenditure is not budgeted,” Parks said. “A review of our existing policies is included in the scope of work for the selected broker.” In recent comments to the Progress, Trendic’s take on Bailey’s actions following the March board action differed substantially from Parks’s view as expressed during the meeting and in the documentation issued in support of the motion. Bailey had opposed the board action in March, and reiterated that opposition several months later, only to be told by Moroney, with apparent board concurrence, that he needed to follow through with the original board motion in March. At the time, Bailey said he would do so. In Trendic’s perspective, Bailey gave the directive to conduct an independent review of key policy areas lip service, noting that the GM hired a company to conduct the review that he should have known does not perform the kind of review that Trendic’s motion called for. “It’s clear from their Web site that they don’t what we were asking for,” Trendic said. In effect, Trendic said, the outfit hired by Bailey could or would not perform the service for which it was hired, presumably costing the OPA some consulting fees without producing the desired result. Trendic offered no criticism of Bailey during board discussion March 1, and Bailey made no effort to defend his actions. Trendic at one point even said he

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS was “OK” with Parks’s motion because it preserved the directive for an audit of coverages, albeit not by an independent insurance expert. But it was clear that Trendic was not really happy with the motion. But Moroney stepped in with his “friendly amendnent” that preserved the independent review, focusing on a few key areas, to be determined later by the board. Parks said the friendly amend-

ment was “acceptable,” even going so far to say that “the more I think about it the more I like it.” Indeed, it passed unanimously, as did the original motion as amended. He did not address the fact that the independent review of a few coverage areas will cost the OPA some unspecified amount of money and is unbudgeted, criticisms explicit in his motion’s stated purpose and effect background information.

Trendic back in March had suggested that Bailey consider hiring an independent expert from New Jersey who works as a consultant for the Captain’s Cove property owners association, a suggestion that Bailey apparently did not act upon. Whether he will act on that suggestion in the face of the board’s third attempt to direct the GM to take specific action remains to be seen.

14 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

December 2018

Bailey’s says he’ll bring back geese control company next year General manager says population down by two thirds in initial weeks By TOM STAUSS Publisher n the heels of what he regards as a successful experiment to control Ocean Pines’ geese population through the use of border collies, General Manager John Bailey intends to bring back the company, Maryland Geese Control of Columbia, Md., to continue

its population control efforts in the spring. Bailey said the company will be invited back to focus on the removal of freshly laid eggs and nests. He did not say whether the border collies would be brought back as well, but that certainly seems possible. The general manager updated the board on the status of the exper-

imental program during the Dec. 1 meeting of the Board of Directors. He said $5500 remains in the budget for goose control in 2018-19, sufficient to cover the cost of bringing the company back in the spring. During the board’s Oct. 20 meeting, Bailey said that, from Oct, 9, when the pilot program began, through Oct. 20, the number of

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geese hanging around Ocean Pines has been lower, from “300-plus” two weeks prior to 100-plus “in the past week,” Bailey told the board. That result, he said, was produced by “consistently inconsistent” timing of border collies patrolling the South and North gate ponds, canals and the Ocean Pines golf course, every day since Oct. 9. The service by Maryland Geese Control is costing the OPA $625 per week, at a rate of roughly $31 per hour. As a pilot program rather than an annual contract, Bailey told the board that he anticipates spending between $3,750 and $5,000 on the border collie program. Bailey said that would be sufficient to cover the cost of resuming the collie program or some other mitigation effort in the spring. The general manager also said he and his staff are researching the possibility of buying a waste collection attachment, a two-behind piece of equipment “that sweeps up and collects fecal waste from gees and other sources around our trails and areas frequented by geese. Bailey has said previously that options for controlling the geese population include use of drones, blinking lights or perhaps some sort of audio device. He’s been looking for a drone fashioned in the guise of an eagle, but so far has come up empty on his Internet searches. Bailey says he’s open to ideas from residents. He has often said that no one in the OPA “wants to kill the geese,” a reference to the much criticized euthanasia of roughly 250 to 300 geese by the OPA in cooperation with an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Maryland Food Bank. Bailey has come under withering criticism from residents in Ocean Pines incensed about a program initiated to euthanize anywhere from 250 to 300 geese back in July. But so far, Bailey has made no promises to residents that, faced with similar overpopulation of geese next year or anytime after that, he would not resort to euthanasia. The difference this time may be the continued focus on his actions by a group of residents incensed by the previous killing of geese. They’ve been meeting frequently in recent months at the local library, asking members of the board to attend. Some have; most don’t.

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Software saga circles back to debate between in-house and outsourcing of OPA ‘back office’ finance functions Board opts for 45-day process to come up with IT roadmap By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer irector Ted Moroney’s “friendly amendment” during the Dec. 1 Board of Directors meeting eviscerated a motion offered by fellow Director Colette Horn to move forward with acquiring new finance and accounting software for the Ocean Pines Association. Instead, Moroney kept the door open for the Board of Directors to pursue an outsourcing option instead of keeping the functions in-house. Horn’s original motion was to accept the recommendation of an OPA review team that compared the costs of the in-house solution and outsourcing. That team recommended keeping the functions in-house and purchasing the long-debated NorthStar software “as soon as possible.” She said the purpose and effect of her motion was to provide OPA a cost-effective software solution that will increase efficiency of operations. Having already extensively debated the status of the in-house and outsourcing options earlier in the meeting, directors still couldn’t make a decision, with several saying they needed more information, there were unanswered questions, or they wanted to have a meeting with the vendors.

The software saga began in 2016 and reached a near conclusion – or so some thought -- in April 2018 with the Technology Working Group recommending purchase of the Northstar software solution. In September, the board sidelined that proposal and solicited a request for proposals for outsourcing the financial and accounting functions of the OPA. Six proposals were received in response to the RFP but five didn’t meet either the OPA’s needs or the requirements of the RFP. The lone viable option was cost-prohibitive, Horn said. Moroney didn’t necessarily see it that way. His “friendly amendment” to Horn’s motion, which was ultimately approved by the full board, stated that “the board working with the GM commits to completing all due diligence of solutions to include filling all software holes, pricing, and ancillary areas within 45 days and bring a recommendation to the full board using open working groups.” Director Slobodan Trendic, who earlier in the board meeting had suggested continuing discussions about the outsourcing option with a board decision within 45 days, said Moroney’s friendly amendment “is really language that replaces the original motion in its entirety.”

OPA President Doug Parks, who participated in the meeting via conference call, added that the amendment was essentially saying the board is not going to accept the RFP review team’s recommendation to implement the NorthStar software and will continue to look at both options. The out-sourcing option has been essentially narrowed down to a proposal by Legum and Norman, a subsidiary of the Associa, a national homeowner association management firm. Daly wanted to ensure that the board would hold working sessions with the general manager and the potential software and outsourcing vendors before making any decisions. “The important thing is to get together as a group ahead of time before the vendors come in,” Moroney said. He added the board members should “make sure were all on same page” before meeting with the vendors. “The bottom line is to come out of that with everything answered.” The board met in closed session Dec. 7 to discuss next steps. Horn ultimately agreed to accept Moroney’s proposed amendment, which was given a second by Trendic second, and approved by the

Jacobs sworn in

Cheryl Jacobs (left), a former Ocean Pines Association director, was sworn in Dec. 2 in Snow Hill as a new Worcester County Orphan’s Court judge by Clerk of Cour Susan Braniecki. She was elected as an ophan’s court judge last month in the general election. She’s pictured with colleagues Michael Diffendal and Linda Hess.

full board. The original motion as amended was then given a second by Daly and approved unanimously by the board. But she made it clear she was “disappointed” by the defacto rejection of her motion through the amendment process. Prior to introduction of Horn’s motion, Trendic led a discussion on the need for continued review of options to modernize the association’s information technology management of key functions. He said the board must discuss and decide which business model is the most beneficial long-term solution to the association to manage its key financial functions. At one point he said the solution might turn out to be a hybrid model, with some functions or positions in-house and other functions outsourced. Trendic said the association has been managing its core business and operational functions using outdated custom- developed software. Rising costs and concerns about the old system’s reliability are increasingly a problem with many functions becoming more labor intensive and taking too long to accomplish. After conducting the RFP process, the OPA now has competitive offers for both the software solution with in house management approach and a third party outsourcing option. The first option will be to keep all responsibilities with the association staff thereby handling all IT function services internally. The outsourcing option places the responsibility on an experienced third party solution provider. The board now must decide which option is best for the entire organization and provide the necessary resources to ensure successful project implementation, Trendic said. “I think it’s important for us to know what we are really embarking on. It is not a simple RFP for software or a simple RFP for outsourcing support services. It is truly a very complex corporate roadmap that takes us from very old antiquated IT platform that we have with a lot of custom code and a lot of developed software, very little resources, very costly, to where we ideally want to be and that’s what every corporate entity today is striving for, leveraging technology and taking best business practices and looking for the most cost-effective long term solution,” Trendic said. Moroney asked if it was realistic to get “closure” so the board can q

OCEAN PINES

December 2018

Software saga

Moroney signals interest in revising 20 percent delinquency rate on unpaid assessements

From Page 15

make a decision within 45 days. “We have a lot of pieces that we know and it’s a matter of bringing that together, to focus.” He added that he knows the board isn’t tied to a 45day timeline but the study on the issue is now into year two. “At some point we need to get to closure and walk through this and move forward” he said. Trendic said he believes the work can be done in 45 days if the right people are involved, people with knowledge and background in information technology. “I think it is possible,” he said, adding that those with background in the field will be able to identify any challenges or needs for more information. “We need data and if we don’t have data then we will know what’s missing and we will be able to go after the data and collect it to be able to make the decision.” Trendic suggested that key department heads be included in the process. Horn asked for information from Parks regarding how much of that work was already done by the Technology Working Group that was appointed two years ago. “None of rest of us were part of history and I don’t want us to go back and repeat actions done previously,” she said. Essentially saying, “I told you so,” Horn reminded the board that in September when a majority of directors voted to solicit the RFP for outsourcing, she suggested to the board that process was not going to give it the answers the needed to make a decision. She said she had relied upon those at the table who are experts in business and technology to prepare the board for making this decision at the Dec. 1 meeting. “And here we are (not ready to make a decision) and I’m very unhappy about that,” she said. Parks responded that the OPA has known the status of its functions since 2016 and the necessary due diligence has been done. “I think we’re at a point now where we can’t delay this any longer,” he said, adding “Every day that we run on this antiquated system that is supported by a single vendor who has highly customized that system, whose technical knowledge is the only source of any type of resolution should some calamity occur puts us in a very high risk position.”

Board reviews several committee resolutions on first reading By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer roposed changes to a trio of Ocean Pines Association resolutions are likely to be revised before the documents return to the Board of Directors for a second reading. The amended resolutions were introduced for first readings with little discussion during a Dec. 1 meeting. However, some directors cited concerns with amendments to an existing resolution that outlines the process for addressing delinquent assessments and another that provides guidelines for board liaisons’ interactions with advisory committees. Changes to two of the resolutions, F-03 on reserve accounts and F-04 on delinquent assessment, attempt to clarify issues related to the Ocean Pines Association’s financial operations, while the third, C-01 committee general policy, relates to the role of board liaison’s to the advisory committees. Director Frank Daly, board liaison to the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, presented its recommended amendments to resolutions F-03 addressing the OPA’s financial reserve accounts and F-04 on the process for handling delinquent assessments on properties in Ocean Pines. Director Ted Moroney said he wants more discussion about the 20 percent interest rate included in the amended resolution F-04 on delinquent assessments.

While Parks said the board has enough information to make a decision, Daly said he still has questions about implementation, cost, and other areas. “I clearly recognize the need for new software and I clearly understand the need for efficiency,” he said, but the board can’t just charge forward. He requested board working sessions go through all of the information for both in-house and outsourcing options. “I know there’s a damn solution out there. We run in an electronic world. I want to know what our solution is for a specific problem. And it’s not like the questions are nebulous,” Daly said. Moroney said “It’s time to stop screwing around with all kinds of different stuff. It’s come to us. We

He also suggested, “whether use it or not,” the board consider stablishing a new capital reserve fund. “Those are not for today but just issues that the board is looking at after this first reading” he said. Changes to resolution F-04 on delinquent assessments include a slight modification to the section on the authority of the OPA under the declaration of restrictions to clarify that the OPA will collect interest on unpaid assessments “from the date of delinquency.” The OPA’s policy included in the resolution sets out a timeframe for actions taken against delinquent property owners during the first year of delinquency and on subsequent years. A change to the policy during the first year of delinquency will include tacking on interest at a rate of 20 percent annually. “A letter is sent notifying member of delinquency with request for payment, which will include interest calculated at the annual rate of 20 percent, notice of suspension of recreation/amenity privileges, and a timetable of future actions that will be taken should payments not be forthcoming,” the resolution states. The letter is signed by the assessment supervisor and sent by July 1 of each year. Language related to an annual review of out-

have questions. Let’s sit down. Let’s knock the damn thing out and get it done.” He said one of his concerns is any operational “holes” that may need to be filled with other software. He acknowledged the risks associated to continue operating with the current outdated system in delaying board decision. “But more importantly we’re not doing our job,” he said of the board. Horn said the data and analysis of the outsourcing RFP have ruled out that option based on cost and the limited response to the request for proposals. Trendic told Horn everyone on the board wants to get to the point of making a decision. However, “We haven’t really discussed it as a board and we haven’t shared our

16 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

observations with each other as a board.” Daly said the board can’t rule out on solution when it has a lot of open questions about the second one, the NorthStar proposal. “It is just simply too early to rule out one in favor of the other. “ Moroney agreed and presented his amendment to Horn’s motion. “Let’s get prepared. Let’s get answers. Let’s feel that we’re confident in where we’re going and let’s get to the end of the road here.” Horn said she is disappointed in what has transpired since September, when the board agreed to solicit the RFP for outsourcing. “I absolutely do not want us to find ourselves in 45 days saying more questions,” she said, adding, “This needs to come to a close.”

OCEAN PINES From Page 16 standing accounts by March 1 is being revised to state “a review meeting including, the treasurer, a member of the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, the general manager, the director of finance, and the assessment supervisor will take place to review the process to determine the effectiveness of the association’s current assessment collections strategy and determine what, if any, further actions should be taken by the Association. “An update will be provided to the board of directors on the overall assessment status, and to make any recommendations to improve or change our policy.” Under general definitions in F-03 language is being added to clarify that “replacement expenditures are purchases of replacement capital items including buildings, articles of furniture, vehicles and equipment having a useful life of over two years and an acquisition cost of at least $5,000. Also included are groups of lesser unit cost, but where the number of items results in a substantial total investment of at least $5,000.” Currently, the resolution has a significantly lower cap for replacement expenditures at over $1,000 per item. Another change clarifies that maintenance expenditures from reserves must be major and non-routine in nature. The proposed amendment completely strikes the golf drainage maintenance and future projects reserve accounts. It maintains the capital assets replacement, roads maintenance, and bulkhead and waterway reserve funds. Under development of reserve requirements, the amended resolution states for the bulkhead maintenance and replacement the general manager shall develop a plan or schedule separately for OPA owned bulkheads and privately-owned bulkheads. Proposed changes to resolution C-01, committee general policy, include a new section on overall board liaison responsibilities. Those include facilitating communication between the board and the assigned committee; ensuring the assigned committee operates within the parameters of their charge/function statement; ensuring the work of the assigned committee stays aligned with the strategic plan, the

committee’s function statement and the annual committee tasks and/or goals; fostering collaborative working relationships between staff, committee chair, the board and committee members; and working with the chair to ensure long-term productivity of the assigned committee, including facilitating a smooth transition from the outgoing chair to the in-coming one. In the section on the relationships of board liaisons to the advisory committees, language requiring routine communication between the board and its committees to funnel through the committee liaison is being deleted. Instead, the resolution will read “Chairpersons can have direct communication with the president at any time the chairperson deems such communication necessary.” Director Colette Horn asked if that means advisory committee members can’t communicate directly with the board president. Trendic responded that he believes that to be the case, that all communications should be via the committee chairman to the board liaison. Horn also suggested that language regarding the applicability of the OPA’s conflicts of interest policy and code of ethics, which is applicable to the board and association q

Resolutions

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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From Page 17 officers, should be included in resolution C-01. Trendic responded there is a resolution on conflicts of interest that includes committee members as well as the board and association officers. “I don’t think we need to worry about (that),” he said. As for applicability of the code of ethics, Trendic said it may be easier to modify the resolution that specifically addresses that topic than to add language to C-01. Instead, he said the code of ethics resolution could be revised to add committee members as being subject to the provisions of the code. “I think we need to fix that one way or another,” Moroney agreed, but added regarding changes to the proposed resolutions “we’ll screw with this between meetings.” He seemed to be indicating that the directors would exchange emails on this top before formally meeting again in January, when the changes most likely will be approved.

An annual program that collects for those in need is set to unwrap Christmas joy in the Ocean Pines area this holiday season. The Ocean Pines Aquatics Department is once again lending a helping hand to area families through its Angel Tree program that provides toys and clothing to children and seniors experiencing financial hardship. A Christmas tree at the Sports Core Pool, located at 11144 Cathell Road in Ocean Pines, was decorated with paper angels representative of a requested donation for a child or senior who without this program may not receive a gift at Christmas. Area residents were quick to pick an angel from the tree and were set to donate a gift to be to the families on Monday, Dec. 10. Pictured with the tree at the Sports Core pool are staffers Nate Wilkins and Sandra Melito.

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OCEAN PINES

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Bailey vows to continue practice of mowing roadside grass Legal opinion won’t affect service provided for decades by OPA, GM says By TOM STAUSS Publisher espite a legal opinion that says the Ocean Pines Association isn’t responsible for mowing grass between roadside ditches and the road, General Manager John Bailey says he does not intend to stop the practice of roadside mowing next year. During his General Manager’s Report delivered at the Dec. 1 meeting of the Board of Directors, Bailey confirmed that OPA attorney Jeremy Tucker continues to believe that OPA restrictive covenants do not require the OPA to perform this service. Tucker in an email to a resident had indicated that he was reviewing his earlier opinion. Despite Tucker’s continued insistence that the OPA isn’t responsible for mowing ditches and adjacent grassy areas, there will be no change

in mowing practices next year, Bailey said. That opinion has been questioned and criticized by some OPA members, who note that the grassy areas between the road and roadside ditches are actually owned by the OPA, not individual property owners. Ownership implies responsibility for upkeep, they say. Ditches themselves generally fall within lot boundary lines and are covered by language in Declaration of Restrictions. Because of language in the restrictive covenants, however, OPA is responsible for mowing and maintaining ditches. Bailey now in effect says that for purposes of mowing, there is no distinction between the ditches and the grassy areas between the ditches and Ocean Pines’s 67 miles of roads. A press release issued by the OPA

Nov. 16, under the authority of Bailey, says that OPA Declarations of Restrictions create a distinction between who is responsible for maintaining the drainage ditches “them-

selves” and the areas generally. The press release cites as authority for this murky conclusion an opinion prepared by Lerch, Early and Brewer, the OPA’s law firm. “In summary ... the Association is responsible to maintain and repair the drainage courses (i.e. the slope at the bottom of the ditch) and to maintain and ensure the stability of the slopes that run along the roadway,” the press release says. To Page 22

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December 2018

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Mowing policy From Page 19 In preparing the opinion, the press release says that legal counsel considered responsibility of the ditches, which the press release calls drainage channels or courses, for Sections 1-14 that run along the roadways and the grassy areas between the ditches’ slope and roadways. Responsibility for areas outside of the ditches “themselves” in Sections 1-14, such as landscaping of the drainage ditches and the area between the drainage channels and the roadways, does not lie with the Association, according to the press release. “The Association is not responsible to perform landscaping, including mowing, in these areas, unless it is necessary to ensure the functionality of these specific drainage courses or the slopes,” according to the press release. Anyone who wants to read the actual text of the Lerch Early opinion won’t be able to, at least not for awhile. The press release says that because of ongoing litigation related to drainage, the counsel’s opinion will not be released “at this time.”

Water safety for fourth graders

More than 300 Worcester County Public School fourth-graders were able to dip their toes into water safety this fall at the indoor, heated Sports Core Pool in Ocean Pines with the help of a continued partnership with Ocean Pines Aquatics, Ocean City Beach Patrol, Ocean Pines Fire Department and Worcester County schools. Students, ages 9-10, from Ocean City Elementary, Berlin Intermediate and Buckingham Elementary schools participated in the seven-week water safety program that wrapped up on Dec. 6. Out of the 322 school students who have completed the program, 102 were in the beginner’s group and were taught the basics of learning how to swim, float and properly enter the water. The program is funded by the school system. Pictured at left is Julie Winterling, Ocean Pines’ Aquatics supervisor.

Merry Christmas to All the Creatures in Your House!

OCEAN PINES

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Anniversary sock hop Dec. 14 to conclude year of celebration

cean Pines ticketed residents and guests who swing by the Ocean Pines Community Center on Friday, Dec. 14 from 6 – 10 p.m. will be taken on a journey back in time when poodle skirts, scarves, leather jackets and rolledsleeves were the go-to look for many dance parties in America. “It’s an old-school night in the gym and time to relive that era before we were ‘all grown up’,” said event organizer Cheryl Jacobs. The Ocean Pines 50th Anniversary Committee will be hosting a sock hop dance party to wrap up the community’s year-long celebration. Jacobs said, “Committee members are planning a fun-filled event where you can kick off your shoes and rock in your socks.” Dance instructor Mary McCormick will teach dance steps, turns, easy spins and moves for doo-wop, 50s and 60s music. Attendees will also have a chance to show off their dance moves during a dance contest.

Showell school site work under way

Site work for the new Showell Elementary School is proceeding, with tree removal and installation of perimeter fencing and barriers, taking place across the project area during the first few months of work. Project manager Bill Moschler of Oak Contracting, LLC, during a Nov. 20 Board of Education meeting said that sediment and erosion control measures are in the process of being implemented. During the next 30 days, the contractor will strip and stockpile top soil, prepare the building pad area, place any required fill, and start installing stormwater structures and piping. As part of a monthly construction progress update, the Board of Education also reviewed a request for approval of the first funding requisition for the construction project in the amount of $124,203.45. Board member Sara Thompson made a motion to approve the Showell Elementary Replacement School Update and Requisition #1 as presented. The motion carried unanimously.

“Attendees will learn a number of dance moves to some of the most well-known music from the 50s, 60s and 70s,” said Denise Sawyer, marketing and public relations director for the Ocean Pines Association. The

Dean of Doo-Wop, a DJ from WEES 107.9 FM, will provide the entertainment for the evening. Costumes are not required but are encouraged. A prize will go to the best-dressed sock hop party-goer. Tickets will be $15 per person and will include admission, food, water or soda and giveaways. The party is open to the public and will take place at 235 Ocean Parkway in Ocean Pines. Ticket sales to begin on Nov. 12. BYOB is allowed. Guests are ex-

pected to drink responsibly and prepare ahead of time for a designated driver. Party-goers must be 21 or older. “In our efforts to have something for everyone this year, the sock hop seems like a great idea to wrap up our celebrations,” said Jennifer Cropper-Rines, 50th Anniversary Committee chairwoman. “We have already been hearing lots of interest and are looking forward to an authentic event.” For more information about the 50th Anniversary sock hop party,

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OPA FINANCES

December 2018

Board, Ortt Companies introduce possibility of adjusting contract Directors review latest draft of new Mediacom contract By TOM STAUSS Publisher epresentatives of the Matt Ortt Companies have introduced the possibility of amending the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s two-year contract with the Ocean Pines Association to manage the Yacht and Beach clubs. During a special meeting of the Board of Directors in executive session Nov. 3, there were no decisions made on that possibility, pending a recommendations on the matter from OPA General Manager John Bailey and Treasurer John Viola. The meeting of the board and Ortt Company principles Matt Ortt and John DeAngelus did not include a request by the management company to adjust the contract terms. But it was floated as a possibility that both sides agree warrant further study. It seems unlikely that there would be any change during the current 2018-19 fiscal year, but that leaves open the possibility that such a change could be implemented in the second year of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s management contract. According to informed sources, the management company has raised concerns about certain costs that affect the bottom lines at the Beach Club and Yacht Club over which the company has no control, such as utility costs or insurance costs that might increase because the OPA adjusts coverage and pays higher premiums. As one possible way of dealing with these costs, which mostly likely will affect to some extent the ability of the Ortt Companies to receive budget and performance bonuses, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s principals have suggested eliminating the bonuses altogether and replacing it with a higher management fee, perhaps raising it from $100,000 to $200,000 per year. Sources indicate that while the directors are willing to consider recommendations from Bailey and Viola on adjusting the contract, at least some directors are less than enthused about the possibility, preferring the current incentivized contract to one which guarantees the management company a management that could

be twice the current annual rate. The Ortt Companies reportedly are of the view that if the change is made, the Yacht Club would be converted from a business amenity to more of a subsidized amenity, which in turn might allow the company to offer a menu with prices lower than what otherwise might be required. In a recent interview with the Progress, Ortt and DeAngelus said the company has been having some difficulty in meeting industry standards for costs relative to revenue, suggesting that prices will have to be raised next year to bring the percentages in line with what they should be. An alternative, they said, could be to lower prices next year, while eliminating the bonuses in favor of a higher management fee. The objective would be to break even, rather than to make money for the OPA. The latest year-end projections show the Yacht Club with a projected loss of $106,000, missing its budget by $13,000, while the Beach Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $113,000 projected surplus is

ahead of budget by $12,000. If the year-end projections hold and are used for a Beach Club bonus, the payout would be $6000. No budget bonus would be awarded at the Yacht Club if the year-end projection holds. A performance bonus is paid out when thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a combined Yacht Club/

Beach Club surplus of $100,000 or more. Because of the projected $106,000 loss at the Yacht Club, a performance bonus appears unlikely at best. Also in the Nov. 3 special meeting, the directors reviewed the latest draft of a new Mediacom contract that allows Ocean Pinesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; primary Internet and cable television provider to locate its equipment within OPA-controlled easements, sources say. The company no longer has exclusive rights to offer cable television programming in Ocean Pines and never had exclusive rights to offer high-speed Internet.

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OPA FINANCES

Viola says recouping 2017-18 operating loss is ‘the right thing to do’

(Name of Muni Bond)

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Trendic says it matters a lot how past deficits are paid for

Coupon: 3.25 (00/00/00) 07/15/2036 Maturity Date: Georges (00/00/00) Cnty Md Prince 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS Callable Date: 07/15/2028 (00/00/00 or N/A) Call Price: 100 (000) 98.500 / AAA Rating: Aaa (XXX/XXX) Other: 3.25 (Obligor)

Price: (00.00) 3.25 %(00/00/00) TAX-FREE* * Coupon: 3.25 % TAX-FREE* 07/15/2036 Maturity Date: (00/00/00) Prince Georges Md Muni (Name of MuniCnty Bond) Maryland State Health and High (Name of Bo Carrie Dupuie, AAMS Maryland State Health and Higher Education (Name of Muni Bond) (Financial Advisor Name) 07/15/2028 Maryland State and Higher (Name of Muni Bond) Callable Date: (00/00/00 or Education N/A) 98.500 Price: Health (00.00) (Approved Title) 99.999 Price: (00.00) Coupon: (00/00/00) 3.25 100 Call Price: (000) (Address) 99.999 Price: (00.00) Coupon: (00/00/00) 4.00 07/15/2036 Maturity Date: (00/00/00) (City, ST 00000) 99.999 Price: (00.00) Coupon: (00/00/00) 4.00 (000-000-0000) I (Toll-Free: 800-000-0000) / AAA8/15/2045 07/15/2028 Maturity Date: (00/00/00) Rating: (XXX/XXX) Callable Date: Aaa (00/00/00 or N/A) Fax: (000-000-0000) 8/15/2045 100 Maturity Date: (00/00/00) Call Price: (000) 8/15/2025 (E-mail Address) Callable Date: (00/00/00 or N Coupon: (00/00/00) 4.00 Other: (Obligor) (Website) Aaa / AAA or N/A) Rating: 8/15/2025 (XXX/XXX) Callable Date: (00/00/00

(0.00%) TAX-FREE Financial Advisor

215 North Main Street Berlin, MD 21811 410-208-1704

Carrie.Dupuie@RaymondJames.com

By TOM STAUSS Publisher cean Pines Association Treasurer and Chief Operating Officer John Viola recently repeated that recoupCall Price: 100 (000) * Other:% (Obligor) (0.00%) TAX-FREE TAX-FREE* 8/15/2045 Maturity Date: (00/00/00) 100 Call3.25 Price: (000) ing prior year losses, to pay for them, is the “right thing to do,” a viewpoint that seems to be shared by A2/A Rating: (XXX/XXX) members of the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, which Viola chairs, and General Manager A2/A Rating:(Name (XXX/XXX) Prince Georges Md of MuniCnty Bond) Other: 8/15/2025 Callable Date: (00/00/00 or(Obligor) N/A) John Bailey. Carrie Dupuie, AAMS Other: (Obligor) Carrie Dupuie, AAMS 98.500 Price: (00.00) (Financial Advisor Financial Advisor Name) At least one OPA director and possibly others don’t necessarily agree with Viola’s viewpoint. (00/00/00) 3.25 Advisor (Approved Title) Financial Advisor Name) 100 Call(Financial Price:Coupon: (000) 215 North Main Street 07/15/2036 Maturity Date: (00/00/00) In comments during his treasurer’s report delivered during the Oct. 20 meeting of the Board of Directors, Berlin, MD 21811 (Approved Title) (Address) 07/15/2028 Callable Date: (00/00/00 N/A)Dupuie, AAMS Carrie 215 North Mainor Street 410-208-1704 Viola referenced the $600,000 in the current year’s operating budget for deficit recovery, or roughly $70 in this (City, ST 00000) 100 (Financial Advisor CallCarrie Price: (000) Dupuie, AAMS Financial Advisor Na A2/A Carrie.Dupuie@RaymondJames.com Rating: (XXX/XXX) (000-000-0000) I(XXX/XXX) (Toll-Free: 800-000-0000) Berlin, 21811 Aaa /MD AAA (Financial Advisor Name) Rating: year’s $951 lot assessment. Financial Advisor (Approved Title) (Address) 215 North Main Street Fax: (Obligor) (000-000-0000) Other: (Approved Title) 410-208-1704 “We still have a million to go,” he said, alluding to reported operating deficits of roughly $1.6 million in the 215 North Main Street (E-mail Address) Berlin, MD 21811 ST 00000) Other: (City, (Obligor) (Address) (Website) Berlin, MD 21811410-208-1704 Carrie.Dupuie@RaymondJames.com previous two fiscal years. (Address) (City, ST 00000) (000-000-0000) I (Toll-Free: 800-000-0000) Carrie Dupuie, AAMS 410-208-1704 Carrie.Dupuie@RaymondJame (Financial Advisor Name) (City, ST 00000) Viola didn’t specifically state that the remaining $1 million that he says needs to be recouped has to be off(000-000-0000) I (Toll-Free: 800Carrie.Dupuie@RaymondJames.com (Approved Title) Fax: (000-000-0000) (000-000-0000) I (Toll-Free: 800-000-0000) Fax: (000-000-0000) set all in one year, and that it necessarily has to be collected in the form of higher lot assessments that would (Address) Fax: (000-000-0000) (E-mail (City, STAddress) 00000) (E-mail Address) otherwise be necessary. Even so, that’s how it’s being done in the current year’s operating budget. (000-000-0000) I (Toll-Free: 800-000-0000) (E-mail Address) (Website) (Website) Fax: (000-000-0000) Director Slobodan Trendic said in an email to the Progress that he opposed the current year’s budget be(Website) Address) Carrie (E-mail Dupuie, AAMS (Website) cause it included $600,000 or roughly $70 in higher lot assessments to offset prior year losses. He said he will (Financial Advisor Financial Advisor Name) oppose including assessment dollars in next year’s budget for the purpose of offsetting prior year deficits. (Approved Title) * As of 9-28-18 Instead, Trendic said prior year losses can be “recovered” by reducing OPA spending, which he said is the Subject to availability and price 215change. NorthMinimum Mainpurchases Streetmay apply. The yield is the lesser of yield to maturity or yield to call. Interest is generally exempt from federal taxation and may driver for his call, as part of budget guidance to the general manager, for a 2.5 percent decrease in operational also be free of state and local taxes for investors residing in the state and/or locality where 09/28/2018 Berlin, MD 21811 **As As ofof 00/00/00. the bonds were issued. However, bonds may be subject to federal alternative tax (AMT), and 09/28/2018 **As As ofof00/00/00. (Address) profits and losses on tax-exempt bonds may be subject to capital gains tax treatment. Ratbudgets next year. Subject to availability and price change. Minimum purchases may apply. The yield is the lesser of yie ings bychange. Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of alesser security a recommendation to is gener Subject to availability and price Minimum purchases may apply. The yield is the yieldisinvestors tonot maturity orresiding yield to call. in Interest from federal taxation and may alsothe besecurity free of state and local taxes offor the stat 410-208-1704 06/07/2018 andtaxes may subjectresiding to review,therevision, suspension, reduction or were issue **As As ofof00/00/00. federal andbuy, maysell alsoorbehold freealternative of state and local forbeinvestors and/or locality where the on bonds Director Ted Moroney, in his suggested budget guidance for next year, supports Viola’s call for recovering bonds from may be taxation subject to federal minimum tax00000) (AMT),inInsurance andstate profits and losses tax-exem (City, ST at anyminimum time bytaxthe(AMT), assigning Rating pertains only the timely bonds be subject towithdrawal federal alternative and profits andaAgency. losses on tax-exempt bonds may be to subject to capital to gainsbuy ta Ratings by may Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of security is not a recommendation payment of principal and interest. No representation is madetotobuy, anysell insurer’s ability to meet its be subjec Ratings by Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of a security is not a recommendation or hold the security and may Carrie.Dupuie@RaymondJames.com to availability and price change. Minimum purchases may apply. Thedo yield isremove the lesser of Rating yield todomaturity orInsurance yield to call. revision, suspension, reduction or withdrawal at any time by the assigning Agency. prior year deficits over a three or four-year period. If indeed $1 million remains in unrecovered deficits, aSubject numfinancial commitments. Ratings and insurance not riskpertains since they nottimely guarantee revision, suspension, reduction or withdrawal at any time by the assigning RatingtoAgency. Insurance onlycommitments. to the paymentRatings of princip est. No representation is made as to any insurer’s ability meet its financial from federal taxation and may also be free of state and local taxes for investors residing in the state and/or locality where the I (Toll-Free: 800-000-0000) market value of theability bond.to meet its est. No representation isthe made as (000-000-0000) to any financial commitments. Ratings and insurance do not remove market risk sib not guarantee market value ofinsurer’s the bond. ber that is not accepted by everyone, then Moroney appears to be suggesting that deficit recovery in nextbonds year’s may be not subject to the federal alternative tax (AMT), and profits and losses on tax-exempt bonds may be subject to guarantee the market value of theminimum bond. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, member FNRA/SIPC. offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.Inc., , member FINRA/SIPC. RatingsSecurities by Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit of Services, aFax: security is, member not a FINRA/SIPC. recommendation to buy, sell or hold the security an Securities offered through Jamesrating Financial Inc. (000-000-0000) (c)Raymond 2015 Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC 15-MFI-0113 ICD BS 8/15 budget could be reduced from the current $600,000 to as low as $250,000 per year. revision, suspension, reduction or withdrawal at any time by the assigning Rating Agency. Insurance pertains only to the timely pa

06/07/2018 **As As ofof 00/00/00.

Subject to availability and price change. Minimum purchases may apply. The yield is the lesser of yield to maturity or yield to call. Interest is generally exem from federal taxation and may also be free of state and local taxes for investors residing in the state and/or locality where the bonds were issued. Howev bonds may be subject to federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and profits and losses on tax-exempt bonds may be subject to capital gains tax treatme Ratings by Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of a security is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold the security and may be subject to revie revision, suspension, reduction or withdrawal at any time by the assigning Rating Agency. Insurance pertains only to the timely payment of principal and int est. No representation is made as to any insurer’s ability to meet its financial commitments. Ratings and insurance do not remove market risk since they not guarantee the market value of the bond. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC.

Financial Advisor

215 North Main Street Berlin, MD 21811 410-208-1704

Carrie.Dupuie@RaymondJames.com

06/07/2018 **As As ofof 00/00/00.

Subject to availability and price change. Minimum purchases may apply. The yield is the lesser of yield to maturity or yield to call. Interest is generally exempt from federal taxation and may also be free of state and local taxes for investors residing in the state and/or locality where the bonds were issued. However,

©2015 Raymondbonds James Inc.,minimum member FINRA/SIPC ICD BSbonds 8/15 may Financial be subject to Services, federal alternative tax (AMT), and profits15-MFI-0113 and losses on tax-exempt may be subject to capital gains tax treatment. Ratings by Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of a security is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold the security and may be subject to review, revision, suspension, reduction or withdrawal at any time by the assigning Rating Agency. Insurance pertains only to the timely payment of principal and interest. No representation is made as to any insurer’s ability to meet its financial commitments. Ratings and insurance do not remove market risk since they do not guarantee the market value of the bond. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC.

(E-mail Address) , member FINRA/SIPC. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.(Website)

est. No representation is made as to any insurer’s ability to meet its financial commitments. Ratings and insurance do not remo ©2015 Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC 15-MFI-0113 ICD BS not guarantee theRaymond market valueJames of the bond. ©2015 Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC 15-MFI-0113 ICD BS 8/15

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26 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPA FINANCES

December 2018

Treasurer, director of finance project $9,000 operating loss for 2018-19 fiscal year Golf, Yacht Club to generate losses for the year; Aquatics forecast with healthy surplus By TOM STAUSS Publisher cean Pines Association Treasurer John Viola and Director of Finance Steve Phillips have issued a year-end forecast for 2018-19. They project a $9,000 loss or negative variance to budget in a forecast issued as part of the Treasurer’s Report delivered during the Dec. 1 meeting of the Board of Directors. It’s a major turn-around from a year ago, when the projected loss for 2017-18 was estimated at $1 million or more at the fiscal year’s half-way mark. FY 2018-19 ends on April 30 next year. Beach parking and marina operations will show healthy surpluses at year’s end, $340,000 and $206,000,

that the forecast does not include any bonuses due the Matt Ortt Companies this year. Bonuses are supposed to be based on operating results for the year, but there have been unconfirmed suggestions that

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A performance bonus is paid out when there’s a combined Yacht Club/ Beach Club surplus of $100,000 or more. Because of the projected $106,000 loss at the Yacht Club, a performance bonus appears unlikely.

OPA OPERATING BUDGET FORECAST FOR YEAR ENDING 4/30/2019

respectively, ahead of budget by $48,000 and $22,000. The Yacht Club shows a projected loss $106,000, missing its budget by $13,000, while the Beach Club’s $113,000 surplus is ahead of budget by $12,000. Aquatics is projected to earn $90,000 for the OPA this year, including $85,000 in previously unrecognized revenue from swipe cards sold this year and in previous years. The forecast suggests that Aquatics will miss its budget by $29,000 this year. Golf, including operations, maintenance and the Tern Grille, is projected to lose $96,000 this year. But that’s still $21,000 better than budget. OPA President Doug Parks noted

the Beach Club bonus could be based on results after the month when the amenity closed for the season, this past September, when the surplus stood at $141,000. If the year-end projections hold and are used for a Beach Club bonus, the payout would be $6,000. No budget bonus would be awarded at the Yacht Club if the year-end projection holds.

Source: Ocean Pines Finance Department

WORCESTER COUNTY

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Commissioners to resolve Rt. 589 rezoning Dec. 18 public hearing set on status of parcels including Ocean Downs casino

that site to additional commercial uses. Currently, the casino and racetrack property is a mix of agricultural and commercial zoning. Planning commission member Marlene Ott told the Progress recently that the owners of the racetrack and casino have advised the county that they oppose the sectional rezoning, preferring the status quo over additional commercial zoning in their immediate vicinity. She said she believes the owners can commercially develop unused areas of their holdings under existing zoning and perhaps are not enamored with potential competition on the other side of Route 589. The planning commission’s opposition arose from its consideration of five separate rezoning cases seeking to change the classification of properties in the area from E-1 Estate District to commercial districts. Ultimately, however, the planning

commission has recommended making no changes at all to the zoning of properties along the subject corridor, Ed Tudor, director of development review and permitting, told the commissioners during a Nov. 7 meeting. “However, the law does provide that in the case of a sectional rezoning you still have to hold a public hearing even though the planning commission is not recommending any changes,” he said. The county commissioners are the ultimate decision-makers in zoning decisions. Tudor said at the time zoning was established in Worcester County in 1965 the entire area under discussion was given an A-1 Agricultural District zoning classification. During a 1992 comprehensive rezoning, the portion to the west of McAllister Road and Route 589 was rezoned to E-1 Estate District, while

the wedge shaped portion located between McAllister Road and Route 589 retained its agricultural classification. The E-1 Estate District, which had a density of one lot per two acres, was a new zoning district in 1992 and was considered a transitional district between the agricultural and residential zoning districts. During the 2009 comprehensive rezoning, the commissioners chose to retain the existing E-1 Estate District zoning in the area, even though the 2006 Comprehensive Plan called for the elimination of that zoning district. Relative to the current consideration of a sectional rezoning of the area from E-1 Estate District and A-1 Agricultural District to a different zoning classification, the planning commission found that the area is primarily single-family

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By ROTA KNOTT Contributing Writer espite opposition from the Worcester County Planning Commission, the Worcester County Commissioners soon be considering a proposed sectional rezoning along the Route 589, McAllister Road, and Griffin Road neighborhood, sometimes referred to as Taylorville. A public hearing on the proposal will be held before the commissioners on Dec. 18. In April the commissioners reviewed and approved the recommendation of the planning commission to evaluate a sectional rezoning of the properties located to the west of Route 589 and north of Grays Corner Road. Those properties are currently zoned E-1 Estate District and A-1 Agricultural District. The sectional rezoning includes the Ocean Downs Casino and racetrack property, which would open

28 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

WORCESTER COUNTY

December 2018

Rt. 589 rezoning From Page 27 residential in nature and is in fact a long-established residential neighborhood, Tudor said. While there are a few uses which are not purely residential in nature, those uses are allowed either under prior district regulations or by special exception, and are not ones that would require a commercial classification. However, giving the area a commercial zoning classification would make the residences in the area non-conforming uses, Tudor said. Additionally, the planning commission found that the ability of McAllister Road, Griffin Road, and Grays Comer Road, and Route 589 to handle additional traffic created by a commercial rezoning is questionable. Public water and sewer is not available in the area at present nor anticipated in the foreseeable future. The planning commission said there is a significant amount of commercial zoning in the vicinity at present, so there is no need for more commercial zoning.

Instead consideration of a rezoning should wait until after the next comprehensive plan is completed, Tudor said. However, residents of the area cite the presence of commercial activity within the sectional area, especially the casino and racetrack, as proof that the character of the area has changed or that there was a mistake made during the last comprehensive rezoning of the neighborhood. Under zoning law, changes in zoning have to be justified using one or both of those criteria. The residents who are seeking the rezoning have embarked on a dual track, seeking commercial zoning for their individual properties as well as the sectional zoning. They argue that rezoning their properties from A-1 agricultural to C-2 commercial will combat declining residential property values caused by their close proximity to the busy casino, which recently expanded to include table games in a 35,000 square foot addition and 100 more slot machines. The group, represented by local attorneys Hugh and Mark Cropper, initially appeared before the planning commission March 1.

Commissioners elect officers for 2019 istrict 2 representative Diana Purnell was elected to serve

another year as president of the Worcester County Board of Commissioners and District 7 Commissioner Joe Mitrecic was elected as vice president. The 2018-2022 commissioners took the oath of office during their regular meeting on Dec. 4. The new board includes incumbents Purnell, representing the Central District â&#x20AC;&#x201C; District 2; Bud Church, representing the Sinepuxent District â&#x20AC;&#x201C; District 3; and Ted Elder, representing the Western District â&#x20AC;&#x201C; District 4. Also Chip Bertino, representing the Ocean Pines District â&#x20AC;&#x201C; District 5; Jim Bunting, representing the Northern District â&#x20AC;&#x201C; District 6, that includes a portion of Ocean Pines; and Joseph M. Mitrecic representing the Ocean City District â&#x20AC;&#x201C; District 7. The only newly-elected member is Commissioner Joshua Nordstrom, representing the Southern District â&#x20AC;&#x201C; District 1. The new boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first official act was to re-elect Purnell as president and to elect Mitrecic as vice president through December 2019. They have served since being elected to office in 2014. Bunting served as president for three years prior to Purnellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s election by her colleagues last year. As president, Purnell will chair board meetings. Though she will neither make nor second motions, she retains her ability to vote on each of the issues reviewed by the board. As vice president, Mitrecic assumes the duties of the president in Purnellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s absence.

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WORCESTER COUNTY

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

County Commissioners reject Ocean Pines cell tower lease Harbor Village residents show up in force to Dec. 4 meeting By TOM STAUSS Publisher

he Worcester County Commissioners on Dec. 4 rejected a proposed lease for a communications tower within Ocean Pines on property used for water and wastewater treatment facilities and owned by Worcester County. The proposed tower location was just north of the Yacht Club and just east of the golf course, near the intersection of Ocean Parkway and Maryland Route 90, near the Harbor Village section of Ocean Pines. The lease was approved by the county commissioners conceptually in October, but changes in the lease terms and opposition by residents in Harbor Village produced a dramatic turn-around Dec. 4. The tower would have been owned by Calvert Crosslands, with most of the capacity reserved for Verizon

Wireless to boost cell phone coverage in Ocean Pines and elsewhere in the area. The revised lease was rejected 4-0 by the commissioners, with Ocean Pines representatives Jim Bunting and Chip Bertino in opposition. Three commissioners abstained. The area in question is within the Northern District (District 6) represented by Bunting. Bunting told the Progress that from October to the December the height of the tower increased from 127 feet to 167 feet, with four feet reserved for future county uses. The rejected lease would have produced $20,000 in lease revenue to the county, Bunting said. He said the commissioners in October conceptually approved the lease with the understanding that they were doing business directly with Verizon Wireless.

Contributing to the reversal was opposition by Harbor Village residents who showed up in force for the commissioners’ Dec. 4 meeting. One resident, Jack Collins, had received a notice of the meeting several days before, while most of his neighbors did not. Collins said the tower would have been a detriment to property values and the residents’ quality of life. He said the tower would have been visible from the golf course, the Yacht Club and other areas around the Pines. There was also the likelihood of a flashing strobe light on top of the tower, Collins said. Collins, a member of the county’s water and wastewater advisory committee, said he found it curious that the lease could have been presented to the commissioners for final approval before receiving approval

for variance two variances (height and distance from residential structures) from the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals. A hearing on the variances had been scheduled for Dec. 13 in Snow Hill. This project apparently began as one promising to provide better cell service in Ocean Pines. It evolved into a tower with potentially more than cell phone use. The commissioners in October indicated that they wanted to retain the option of having some use of the tower for other purposes. According to a report in the November Progress, the lease would have allowed a free-standing communications tower on a 50 by 50 foot area of property at the treatment plant property. John Tustin, county director of public works, explained that the proposed five-year lease included a provision that would potentially permit four additional five-year renewals. County Attorney Maureen Howarth in Ocrober said that Verizon Wireless had authorization to build the tower up to 199 feet

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Storage area converted to apartment for harbormaster at Pines Point Marina Commissioners approve â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;minorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; change in permitted land use By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ased on a staff recommendation, the Worcester County Commissioners have agreed to allow a portion of the first floor of

WORCESTER COUNTY

December 2018

the harbormaster facility located at the Pines Point Marina in the Mumfords Landing-Innerlinks section of Ocean Pines to be converted into a residential use. Commissioner Jim Bunting of-

fered a motion to approve the proposed change of use to an efficiency apartment, which was given a second by Commissioner Ted Elder and approved unanimously. Ed Tudor, director of the county department of development review and permitting, said his department received a request from Beach Construction seeking to make a small amendment to uses in the area of the marina at the Mumfords Landing-Innerlinks planned unit development. The property is located at 869 Yacht Club Drive, not far from the Ocean Pines Yacht Club, In submitting a request for the change in use, Colleen Deptula of Beach Construction said er company wants wants to convert an area in one of the dockmaster buildings that is currently approved for storage and light maintenance uses for the marina into a dwelling unit. Deptula said the finished 460 square foot efficiency apartment would be for on-site management use. Currently the first floor has a single boat garage and the balance is being used for storage and a workshop. That level of the building was

originally outfitted with a fire-rated ceiling and garage separation walls and the entire building has fire sprinklers. There is a private exterior entry door with lots of natural light provided by egress windows. Tudor said the PUD was originally approved by the commissioners in 1989. In early 1999 the planning commission granted site plan approval for the current uses, including two buildings. The site plan included a retail area, office space, storage areas, light boat maintenance, and two apartments for the harbor master or owner/operator of the marina, one each on the second floor of each building. During the permitting process, there were two additional apartments added to the second floor of building I, for a total of four residential dwelling units. As part of that original approval the planning commission required that any changes in the uses in the future be approved and be consistent with the original Step I plan approved by the commissioners and the Step II plan approved by the planning commission.

30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

WORCESTER COUNTY

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Atlantic General outpatient center seeks access to Pines water, wastewater system Long-awaited medical complex to be developed by Berlin hospital would be the second one to serve Ocean Pines By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18 before the Worcester County Commissioners on Atlantic General Hospitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s application for inclusion in the Ocean Pines Water and Wastewater planning area for its proposed Ocean Pines Outpatient Center. The proposed medical office development will consist of a proposed 98,964 square feet for medical offices, serving a mix of varied medical specialties. It will have an initial utilization of 34 equivalent dwelling units of public water and sewer capacity to serve the proposed facilities. 2] 1R :DUS :LQGRZ DQG [ )W 2XWGRRU 2] 'HHU 2IIÂ&#x160; Although this is only a preliminary step necessary for development to 'RRU 6HDODQW ([WHQVLRQ &RUG 5HSHOOHQW 6SHFLDOO\ IRUPXODWHG IRU XVH DURXQG ZLQGRZ DQG 2] 1R :DUS :LQGRZ DQG DPS YROW :DWHU UHVLVWDQW DQG IODPH [ )W 2XWGRRU occur, this is the first indication that AGH is serious about establishing a 2] 'HHU 2IIÂ&#x160; )RU UHSHOOLQJ GHHU VTXLUUHOV DQG UDEELWV GRRU IUDPHV )LOOV DQG LQVXODWHV 6WRSV GUDIWV UHWDUGDQW 8OWUD IOH[LEOH LQ WHPSHUDWXUHV IURP 'RRU 6HDODQW ([WHQVLRQ &RUG 5HSHOV E\ WDVWH DQG RGRU 5HDG\ WR XVH WR GHJUHHV )DKUHQKHLW 6WUDLQ UHOLHI 7ULSOH 2] 1R :DUS :LQGRZ DQG DPS YROW :DWHU UHVLVWDQW DQG IODPH [ )W 2XWGRRU 6SHFLDOO\ IRUPXODWHG IRU XVH DURXQG ZLQGRZ DQG medcial campus in the immediate vacinity of Ocean Pines, closer to a sub-5HSHOOHQW WDS 2] 'HHU 2IIÂ&#x160; GRRU IUDPHV )LOOV DQG LQVXODWHV 6WRSV GUDIWV )RU UHSHOOLQJ GHHU VTXLUUHOV DQG UDEELWV UHWDUGDQW 8OWUD IOH[LEOH LQ WHPSHUDWXUHV IURP 'RRU 6HDODQW ([WHQVLRQ &RUG 5HSHOV E\ WDVWH DQG RGRU 5HDG\ WR XVH stantial patient base for the Berlin hospital. WR GHJUHHV )DKUHQKHLW 6WUDLQ UHOLHI 7ULSOH 5HSHOOHQW 6SHFLDOO\ IRUPXODWHG IRU XVH DURXQG ZLQGRZ DQG DPS YROW :DWHU UHVLVWDQW DQG IODPH WDS UHWDUGDQW 8OWUD IOH[LEOH LQ WHPSHUDWXUHV IURP )RU UHSHOOLQJ GHHU VTXLUUHOV DQG UDEELWV GRRU IUDPHV )LOOV DQG LQVXODWHV 6WRSV GUDIWV Ocean Pines already is served by a medical complex adjacent to the North 5HSHOV E\ WDVWH DQG RGRU 5HDG\ WR XVH WR GHJUHHV )DKUHQKHLW 6WUDLQ UHOLHI 7ULSOH WDS Gate that is operated by Peninsula General Regional Medical Center, bsed in Salisbury. Bob Mitchell, director of the department environmental programs, presented the request for a public hearing to the commissioners during their Dec. 20 meeting. He said the countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planning commission in November found the proposal consistent with the Comprehensive Development Plan and recommended amending the Comprehensive Water and Sewerage Plan for an amendment to revise the sewer and water planning areas for the Ocean Pines Sanitary Service Area. Mitchell said Atlantic General Hospital is requesting a reclassification www.gotomybackyard.com of the sewer and water planning area designations for two adjacent parcels in the Ocean Pines Sewer Planning Area. The amendment seeks to reclassify the water and sewer planning area for these adjacent properties from W-6/S-6 no planned service to W-1/S-1 service within two years. The subject properties are located on the east side of Route 589, just south of the Sherwood Forest section (Section 10) of Ocean Pines. One of the parcels, the former Wyatt Farm, was rezoned to C-2 commercial in 2012; thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a vegetable and fruit stand on the property now, a long-time fixture on Route 589. The other parcel is located on the opposite side of a dirt road off Rt. 589 that leads to property owned by developer Marvin Steen, the future site of a 60-unit townhouse development.

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AGH medical complex From Page 31

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AGH plans to connect to the wastewater system by connecting to a gravity manhole at the south gate of Ocean Pines that discharges to Pump Station “T”. They will similarly connect at the south gate location to a public water main that runs from Ocean Pines to the Pennington Commons commercial complex. This developer-constructed infrastructure will be built under a public

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Two parcels (marked in red), proposed for inclusion in the area that is serviced by " ) the Ocean Pines wastewater treatment plant, are located on Route 589 just south £ ¤ " £ ¤ of Ocean Pines’s) Section 10 (Sherwood Forest). One of the parcels, the former Wy" ) 25 att Farm, was rezoned to C-2 commercial26 in 2012; the parcel that adjoins it was re- 27 zoned to C-2 Official Zoning Map in 2016. Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin, which currently does not Tax Map 21 own either property, intends to develop a medical complex that spans both parcels.

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works agreement and will be turned over upon inspection and acceptance of the construction and materials by the county. The proposed expansion properties, which total approximately 30.90 acres in area, have a single zoning designation of C-2 general commercial district. The zoning district is intended to provide for more intense commercial development, and the specific uses proposed by AGH are permitted in the zoning district. County staff said the Ocean Pines treatment plan and water system has adequate available sewer and water capacity to handle this addition. The planning area’s comprehensive plan designation and zoning permits the proposed uses, but any construction in the planning area would be required to meet the provisions of the storm water program and other local and state requirements. This proposal, while expanding the original service area, does not require the expansion of water or sewer treatment facilities, Mitchell said. Additional public infrastructure will be constructed by the applicant and turned over to the county for connections to existing water and sewerage facilities in Ocean Pines. The properties were previously tested for onsite sewage and those tests were successful enough to support a large system that could serve commercial uses. But Mitchell noted that the connection to public sewer was much more preferable than developing the property on septic.

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CAPTAIN’S COVE

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

By TOM STAUSS Publisher s another year draws to a close in the affairs of Captain’s Cove property owners association, it appears that 2019 will bring little change in the Board of Directors conducting much of its business away from the community, in board meetings conducted closer to the primary residences of most directors. The shift away from holding board meetings in the banquet room of the Marina Club became more evident after an incident this past June involving former President Tim Hearn, now a director after reelection to the board last month. He was arrested on criminal charges

related to the disclosure of tax ID information, for which he was later acquitted, just as a board meeting was scheduled to begin. The charges had to do with the posting of tax ID on the member’s section of the Cove POA’s Web site, a controversy well known to Cove residents that has played out in the local court systems this past year. Hearn has said his Cove opponents are 0-8 in their efforts to hold him and others accountable for the posting of the tax information. Since that incident, no board meeting as been conducted in the Cove. Even the annual meeting of property owners last month took place in an assembly hall in nearby Chincoteague, followed by a regular

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meeting in the same location. There appears to be little support on the board to return to meeting in the Cove. Perhaps the most notable exception to that sentiment has been expressed by resident director Rosemary Hall, who posted a message on the Cove’s message board in October on the subject. “I personally feel that the BOD’s ability to fulfill its role in the management of the Association has been reduced in several ways,” she says, changes she says have been coming on for roughly a year. “Many issues get ‘administratively’ decided and BOD members find out about it after the fact. Complaints that used to be decided by the BOD at BOD meetings now get

decided without BOD input. The recent Curtis hearing was the result of administrative decision-making without BOD input,” she said, referencing a complaint about an overgrown lot that adjoins a lot owned by the Curtises. Hall wrote that “ECC decision-makers are appointed by the declarant (CCG Note) but the actual complaints are supposed to be made by the BOD before action is taken to close the complaint. Previous BODs met monthly to decide these and other important issues with input from the community.” Hall said that since the cancellation of the June Meeting after Hearn’s arrest, “all BOD meetings have been held in Towson MD. Association members who would normally attend the meetings in the Cove do not have the ability to discuss issues unless they call in or drive the four hours it takes to get to this location. This is not a good example of transparency or inclusiveness.” She said a recent meeting that q

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CAPTAIN’S COVE

December 2018

Board meetings From Page 33

began at 10 a.m. required Cove members to leave home by 5 a.m. to attend. “The first Towson meeting had three members in attendance and the last one had two. When you do not invite in the vested members of the Association to discuss issues you will fail to get buy-in.,” she said. She

cited the fact that the board heard three presentations for improving Internet services for the Cove. “But the Association members (except for the two present) did not get the benefit of the information being conveyed. One of the presenters mentioned how important it was to get buy-in by the community. I support this effort but without the community backing us, I wonder how successful this will be,” she said.

Hall said the board needs “to have more inclusivity in deciding issues that affect the Cove community.” To some extent, the board majority is of the opinion that frequent town hall meetings conducted by General Manager Justin Wilder will give Cove residents the opportunity to weigh on issues of interest. Wilder said a town meeting will be held in January on a date to be announced. Web site difficulties -- While

at least some functions of the Cove Web site are back to normal, Wilder recently posted a message saying that certain documents formerly posted on the site still are not accessible from within the site. There’s a link to a Dropbox location where relevant documents are available for viewing. Wilder said as a result of continuing difficulties, he is looking at other vendors that could cost host and maintain the Cove Web site.

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OPA FINANCES

December 2018

COMMENTARY

Is software solution none of the above?

uch remains uncertain on the way forward as the Board of Directors continues to wrestle with an issue that just doesn’t seem move to closure. Perhaps there is a reason for that. The two choices that had emerged before a productive work session Dec. 7 on the issue of back office financial management involved two vendors with solutions involving proprietary software. NorthStar Technology’s product is designed to work with an in-house management model. The other, by Legum and Norman, a subsidiary of a national company that specializes in homeowner association management, can only be used as part of an out-sourcing model. Mostly because of cost, the L&N proposal was by consensus taken off the table for further consideration during the Dec. 7 work session. As outlined by Director Slobodan Trendic in remarks at the work session, the problem is that both solutions involve locking in the Ocean Pines Association to proprietary software that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to license and use annually, irrespective of which management model is deployed. Trendic essentially argues that it would be a mistake for the OPA to lock itself into to either NorthStar or L&N because of these extravagant annual costs.

His third alternative recognizes the widespread availability of low-cost or even open source financial management software developed by major, easily recognized international players, such as Microsoft, Oracle or Sage. He calls this approach “best of breed” and he seemed to have a least some support for this concept among his colleagues. When it comes to so-called front office software needs, software used by departments such as recreation, aquatics, golf and food and beverage operations, Trendic suggests that each department head should be allowed to select the software solution best suited to their operations. He isn’t opposed to considering NorthStar modules for front end operations. He just doesn’t like it for back-end financial services currently handled by OPA’s finance department with support services provided by a computer company in Salisbury. This decentralized approach is polar opposite from the one preferred by the Technology Working Group set up OPA President Doug Parks early on in his tenure, now in its second year as president. The TWG strived for a single comprehensive solution that would tie various departments together via software, but Trendic in effect is saying there’s no urgent need for that. And even the TWG, Parks and General Manager John Bai-

Country Club replacement option back on the table

o all those cynics and conspiracy theorists out there who believe there’s been a plan all along to drive the cost of Country Club renovations to the stratosphere in support of an effort to replace it with a new golf clubhouse, there’s at least some evidence to suggest you were right all along. Not absolute, conclusive evidence, mind you, just some suggestion that your crazy suppositions and paranoid delusions had some basis, after all. OPA President Doug Parks, as covered in this month’s cover story, expounds at some length on why at least considering a tear-down and replacement option makes sense. He also makes a case for why his position on the issue of replacement back in 2016 when he first ran for the Board of Directors has “evolved” into what is today. Property owners can decide for themselves whether the Parks of 2018 on this subject is the more compelling and authentic. Parks is not yet in a position to advocate for a replacement building but he certainly planting the seed for it. He is waiting, as we all are, for the responses to the latest request for proposals for a replacement. The RFP was sent out in

mid-November (though not posted on the OPA Web site until early December), with responses due in the middle of this month. Then they will require careful vetting by staff. Contractors who submit proposals in response to the RFP have legitimate cause to speculate that at least some within the OPA will use these bids as proof that renovation is not a practical solution, and that the OPA is using them as a pretext to move on to the preferred option, replacement. What is missing in the above scenario is a third option, a lower-cost renovation of roughly $500,000 that has been suggested by local builder Marvin Steen. For reasons that also feed red meat to the conspiracy theorists among us, neither Parks nor General Manager John Bailey have called on Mr. Steen to explore the practicality and reasonableness of this third alternative. Neither will respond to Progress inquiries as to why. The silence is deafening. Sooner or later, though, this option will need to be thoroughly vetted. Any hope to pass either option one or option two in a referendum will depend on it. Tom Stauss

ley, proponents of the NorthStar solution, concede there is no comprehensive software solution out there. Trendic argues that both the NorthStar and L&N solutions are prohibitively expensive and inflexible. It appears from early indications that NorthStar is less expensive, but Trendic says that doesn’t mean it’s a solution that the OPA should lock itself into. He is concerned that the NorthStar solution, which Parks and Director Colette Horn seem excessively enamored with, has not been fully vetted. He wonders why there is no indication that anyone from the OPA had bothered to check whether any other homeowner association uses NorthStar software and what the experience has been. He also says it’s a relatively small company as vendors go. Parks belatedly contacted a NorthStar sales rep who informed him of three homeowner associations that use the company’s software, including one 70,000-home community. That’s fine, as far as it goes, but it doesn’t constitute thorough vetting. Trendic’s point was that the OPA has been using expensive proprietary software controlled by a single company based in Salisbury. It’s the model that’s been used in Ocean Pines for 25 years or so and isn’t working so well anymore. He argued that going with either NorthStar or L&N would repeat the same mistake, and there’s no reason to do so. L&N is now out of the running, but meetings are set up to further vet the NorthStar proposal. Only time will tell if NorthStar survives the next layer of scrutiny. Trendic seems to think it shouldn’t. -- Tom Stauss

The Ocean Pines Progress, a journal of news and commentary, is published monthly throughout the year. It is circulated in Ocean Pines, Berlin, Ocean City, and Captain’s Cove, Va. 127 Nottingham Lane Ocean Pines, MD 21811

PUBLISHER/EDITOR Tom Stauss tstauss1@mchsi.com 443-359-7527

Advertising Sales Frank Bottone 410-430-3660

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38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPINION

December 2018

The fine art of ‘friendly’ amendments

requent attendees of Ocean Pines Association board meetings are treated to what, in days gone by, were called the best show in town. The cast of characters change, a lot of institutional memory is lost as newcomers arrive on the scene, and yet the OPA continues to function more or less as it always has. There’s far more that’s right in this community than wrong, and what’s wrong is fixable. Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of that in the midst of all the caterwauling, which, it must be said, has diminished considerably this past year. As OPA President Doug Parks, who often says he “conceptually” agrees with Slobodan Trendic in particular and then goes on to make comments that contradict that conceptual agreement, might say, conceptually the board has been able to maintain a decent level of civil discourse over this past year. The arrival of three new directors this past August, and the election of Ted Moroney, has produced a constructive dynamic so far in this board term. Parks himself deserves some credit for that. Unless he participates remotely while driving, in which case the vice-president presides, he has presided over meetings that generally are devoid of the nastiness that

Director Ted Moroney, however, was not particularly inclined to An excursion through the curious cul-de-sacs An excursion through theby-ways curious and by-ways and cul-de-sacs embrace the NorthStar solution of Worcester County’s County’s most densely community. and his friendly amendment made of Worcester mostpopulated densely populated community. that abundantly clear. His language By TOM STAUSS/ By TOM Publisher STAUSS/Publisher obliterated the Horn language and has afflicted boards past. to an outright rejection of a motion, replaced it with language that kept A new phenomenon that’s perhaps by the failure to gain a sec- the debate alive between outsourcemerged in recent months, perhaps ond or a defeat in a close or lopsided ing and in-house management with a reflection of an effort to maintain vote. NorthStar software in a supporting the illusion if not reality of civility, Still, there is a hint of phoniness role. is the use of “friendly” amendments in these friendly amendments, beDuring a Dec. 7 work session, to motions offered by individual di- cause, at their core, these amend- out-sourcing, at least as it would rectors. It’s not yet a pandemic of ments really are not always that have transpired through a proposfriendly amendments, mind you, friendly. They’re not intended to al offered by Legum and Norman, just enough of them to garner some hurt the feelings or self-esteem of a was taken off the table. NorthStar attention by those intrepid souls director who has offered a motion, remains under consideration. who attend board meetings or watch of course, but they are not always The second occurrence of a friendthe videos and suffer through incon- offered in the spirit of constructive ly amendment Dec. 1 was a reaction sistent audio and speakers forget- criticism, either. to Parks’s motion to rescind a moting to use microphones. They’re intended to move away tion adopted in March as proposed During the Dec. 1 board meet- from the policy preference contained by Trendic, with whom Parks has ing, a Saturday affair that didn’t in the original motion, to varying de- a somewhat testy relationship, at produce much interest by non-resi- grees. least conceptually. dents or residents who work during For instance, Colette Horn offered The original Trendic motion was the week, there were two friendly a motion to accept the NorthStar constructed to instruct the general amendments offered, both of which software solution as an alternative manager to hire an independent inessentially eviscerated the under- to outsourcing OPA back office fi- surance expert to review key compolying motions initially tendered for nancial functions. A clear major- nents of OPA’s insurance coverage. board discussion. ity of directors were not of a mind Without getting too bogged in If said evisceration can occur in to accept that recommendation, the minutiae, suffice it to say that a non-hostile environment in which although it seemed somewhat evi- that the GM has resisted the idea the feelings and passions of the evis- dent, through the static that came from the get-go, and more recently cerees can be attenuated, then the through the phone line, that Parks botched the hiring of an “indepenexercise is essentially harmless and would have jumped aboard the mo- dent” expert, instead hiring a bromaybe is even marginally preferable tion as proposed by Horn. kerage across the bay that doesn’t do these kinds of independent reviews, at least not for the negotiated contract price.

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In a misguided attempt to cover up the implicit defiance of a board directive, Parks tried unsuccessfully to rescind the motion that the GM has resisted for reasons that still aren’t very clear. Once again Moroney came to the rescue, offering a “friendly” amendment than in essence retained the March directive for an independent review of key insurance componentsby an expert, before a new insurance broker is hired to shop coverages to carriers next year. The genious of Moroney’s substitute language is that it even had Parks saying that he liked it the more he thought about it. Sure he did, as much as anyone likes, say, a root canal, but if it floated his boat and saved some face, that’s preferable to a contentious debate. So conceptually, friendly amendments are OK. Keep them coming.

December 2018 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 39

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40 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

December 2018

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