December 2019 Ocean Pines Progress by Ocean Pines Progress

Comcast begins fiber optic cable installation

December 2019

The era of real competition for cable television and Internet services in Ocean Pines became even more starkly evident at a town hall meeting Dec. 3, when representatives of Comcast fielded questions and provided a service implementation timeline for their entry into the community. What was foremost in the minds of the 50 or so residents attending the town hall meeting was how much Comcast services for cable television, Internet broadband and Internet telephone services will cost relative to Mediacom, which has had a monopoly of these services for many years in Ocean Pines. ~Page 5

Yacht Club model boat mystery solved by builder’s son Area resident Farrell John Lynch read local newspaper coverage of the recent dedication of the Yacht Club’s model boat display. No one seem to know who had built the model, which was dated back to the 1950s. “My father built that boat,” he told the OPA. “My father’s name [was] Farrell Wrendel Lynch, and that boat was built right over here on Gum Point Road.” ~ Page 31

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COVER STORY

Viola compensation package now close to predecessor’s

Directors suggest lawsuit to be handed off to insurance co. The lawsuit recently filed by former Ocean Pines Association Director Slobodan Trendic will be turned over to the OPA’s insurance company to handle in accord with normal procedures, two directors suggested to the Progress in recent interviews. OPA President Doug Parks has not returned recent phone ~ Page 13 calls to confirm.

www.issuu.com/oceanpinesprogress

Board approves 30-month contract extension By TOM STAUSS Publisher t took awhile, but General Manager John Viola’s compensation package is now close to that of his predecessor, John Bailey, who parted ways with the Ocean Pines Association early this year. Viola signed a six-month agreement in early June that expired on Dec. 1. He signed a new deal the first week of December. It runs from Dec. 1, 2019, to June 30, 2022, a somewhat unusual two-and-a-half year contract. “The Board (of Directors) thought a contract covering three budget cycles made sense,” Viola told the Progress in a recent telephone interview. The contract is similar to the agreement the Novak Consulting Group developed for Bailey, although Viola agreed to waive medical benefits in order to save the Association money. He did so in the earlier six-month contract as well. Viola had been named interim gen-

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eral manager in a special meeting in March. The action was then ratified and clarified in a closed session of the board following its regular meeting April 6, reportedly to fix what some considered inelegant or imperect language in the original motion in March appointing Viola. The initial March appointment was intended as an unpaid, voluntary role. He retained some insurance coverage as an officer of the corporation.

The arrangement was subsequently revised to pay Viola $700 per week, a minimum payment required under federal labor law. The action brought the OPA into compliance with its bylaws, which require an interim GM after the departure of a prior manager and during the period before a new one is hired and on board. At the time, Viola remained in a role as treasurer and chief financial officer of the OPA. He relinquished that role in August, after results of the annual board election were announced, with newly elected director Larry Perrone succeeding him. The six-month contract that Viola and the board agreed to in June paid him $70,000 over the six-month term and did not include insurance or retirement benefits. At that point he was no longer in an acting or interim capacity, but general manager of the OPA. The agreement specified that Viola’s tenure could be extended in To Page 37

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December 2019

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December 2019

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December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Comcast begins fiber optic installation; first customers eligible for service next spring New provider’s intro rates lower than Mediacom’s ‘regular’ rates By TOM STAUSS Publisher he era of real competition for cable television and Internet services in Ocean Pines became even more starkly evident at a town hall meeting Dec. 3, when representatives of Comcast fielded questions and provided a service implementation timeline for their entry into the community. What was foremost in the minds of the 50 or so residents attending the town hall meeting was how much Comcast services for cable television, Internet broadband and Internet telephone services will cost relative to Mediacom, which has had a monopoly of these services for many years in Ocean Pines. Although no direct answer to that question was provided, there were enough clues given to lead to the conclusion that Comcast rates should provide cost relief to Mediacom customers who switch providers, at least for an introductory peri-

od. After that, it’s not quite so clear. Rachel Buckley, a residential development professional for Comcast who will act as liaison between the company and the Ocean Pines Board of Directors, directed residents to the Comcast Web site for rate information and to her company’s Ocean City retail store at 8301 Coastal Highway. She confirmed that Ocean Pines will be part of the same region as Ocean City, Berlin and Salisbury, with the same rates as these communities. According to the Comcast Web site, introductory Internet-only service costs $39.99 per month with no term agreement, with up to 100 Mbps download speeds available. But after the introductory period, which is not spelled out on the site but which probably is for one year, the service spikes to $74.95 per month. Taxes and fees appartently are not included in that price. The intro rate expires Feb. 21 next year.

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Mediacom’s Web site offers a $49.99 monthly intro rate for one year of high speed Internet for download speeds up to 100 Mbps, not including activation, installation, modem rental and taxes. That rate doesn’t apply to long-time Mediacom customers in Ocean Pines. A typical Mediacom montly bill for this level of Internet-only service is $83.48 per month, including taxes and fees. This suggests that cord-cutters may not experience much difference in Internet-only rates between Mediacom and Comcast once Comcast’s introductory promotional rates expires for individual subscribers. Internet-only service is becoming increasingly prevalent as customers elect to purchase streaming services such as Sling TV, YouTube TV, and AT&T Now. The cost advantage for services that bundle Internet with cable television appears to reside with Comcast, but much depends on the pack-

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age selected. A typical Mediacom bill for Internet and robust television programming can reach more than $170 per month, including local broadcast channels, regional sports channels, various taxes and fees. According to the Comcast Web site, the “standard” bundled rate for Internet and TV is $69.99 per month for one year, increasing to $89.99 per month in the second year with a two-year agreement. This is a promotional rate available for a “limited time.” This option offers download speeds of up to 200 Mbps and 125plus channels. Additional fees apply, including a broadcast (local TV) up to $14.95 per month and a regional sports fee up to $8.75 per month. What happens to rates after a two-year lock-in is anyone’s guess. The site says only that regular rates will apply and are subject to change. Regular rates might very well be comparable’s to Mediacom’s for similar services after two years. Then again, Mediacom could decide to respond to Comcast’s promotional rates once Comcast is signing up customers, a process expected to To Page 7

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Comcast From Page 5

begin in the spring of 2020. The new competitive environment in Ocean Pines was made possible by a ten-year right-of-access agreement signed by the Ocean Pines Association and Comcast in September. The Dec. 3 town meeting was the first effort by Comcast officials to provide information to the community on their construction timeline and planned roll-out of services. Tom Yates, a senior director of construction at Comcast, said he divided the community into seven sectors and the company would supply a timeline for each sector. “What we’re building here is a hybrid fiber [and coaxial cable] network, so we’ll deploy fiber and then that fiber will feed a specific node or a specific area of homes,” he said. “Each node will feed approximately 60 homes.” He said there would be about 130 nodes throughout Ocean Pines, with connections directly to homes only occurring if a homeowner buys Comcast service. “We actually just started construction the day before ThanksgivComcast’s sector map of Ocean Pines.

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December 2019

ing,” Yates said. “We’ll need about a month to understand how much we can do in a given day and then sort of do the project planning off of that.” At present, he said estimates are that the project will run through the first quarter of 2021, with perhaps the first two sectors receiving service by the second quarter of 2020. The sectors, as defined by Comcast, do not correspond with the sections of Ocean Pines. [See map on Page 7.] Yates said the company would place door tags on homes a few days prior to construction in their area, to include a contact number in case there are any issues. He added the “open trench construction” would generally include cable buried two-feet deep. “This is, as you know, an old community [and] there’s lots of utilities in the ground,” he said. “We sort of work around the other utilities that are there. We do not cut driveways

and we do not cut roads.” Yates said Comcast would offer regular construction updates for the Ocean Pines website and “This Week in the Pines” e-blast. “Every two weeks, we’ll upload that to the website and give you a view of exactly where we’re going to be working,” he said. Buckley added if anything else came up between the scheduled updates, Comcast officials would work with Ocean Pines Public Relations to distribute the information. Along with the Ocean Pines website and e-blasts, Buckley said the Comcast Xfinity retail store on 8301 Coastal Highway in Ocean City could supply more information on Comcast services. For more information on Comcast’s channel lineup, visit www. xfinity.com/support/local-channel-lineup and search zip code 21811. Comcast officials have a larger map of the construction sectors, with street names included, which has posted to www.OceanPines.org. Ocean Pines President Doug

Parks, prior to turning over the town hall meeting to Comcast officials, recognised former Association President Tom Terry for his efforts in crafting the contract. Terry called the landmark agreement, which marks the first time Ocean Pines residents will see competition in cable TV and internet services, “a big deal.” He added there would be Ocean Pines oversight of Comcast during the installation period. “We have taken a look at their plan, their execution, their construction schedule [and] the methodologies they’re going to use, and they’re all very professional [and] very well planned,” Terry said. He cautioned that, with many months of infrastructure installation ahead, Ocean Pines “is going to be a construction site.” “This is going to have dirt dug up and things placed in people’s yards in advance of construction,” Terry said. “We’ll try to make sure people know what’s going on and when, but please be aware that this is not going to be a pristine, finger-food ef-

fort. This is going to have machinery and shovels, and a lot of things going on which will be a construction site throughout all of Ocean Pines for approximately the next year and a half to two years.” Buckley, Comcast’s liaison with the board, said she would help oversee communication with residents and homeowners. “We are very excited to be here and really looking forward to bringing you our services,” she said. “Hopefully, you all are sharing in that excitement as well.” “Every two weeks, we’ll upload that to the website and give you a view of exactly where we’re going to be working,” he said. Buckley added if anything else came up between the scheduled updates, Comcast officials would work with Ocean Pines Public Relations to distribute the information. Along with the Ocean Pines website and e-blasts, Buckley said the Comcast Xfinity retail store on 8301 Coastal Highway in Ocean City could supply more information on Comcast services.

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December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Trendic lawsuit to be turned over to insurance company, two OPA directors suggest Daly confirms lawsuit filed by former human resources consultant, Nate Douty

human resources consultant Nate Douty earlier this year has been handled. Daly said that the board is rarely notified of every legal ma-

neuver in ongoing litigation, but is apprised of any significant developments. The Douty litigation is a con-

tract dispute involving allegations of wrongful termination, Daly said, adding that this suit is in the discovery phase, in which attorneys submit requests for information from the other party related to the matters at issue in the suit. The Douty litigation was not cited by Tucker in his annual report to the OPA membership at the annual meeting in August, which is a departure from the practice of former counsel Joe Moore, whose reports always included the status of pend-

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By TOM STAUSS Publisher he lawsuit recently filed by former Ocean Pines Association Director Slobodan Trendic will be turned over to the OPA’s insurance company to handle in accord with normal procedures, two directors suggested to the Progress in recent interviews. OPA President Doug Parks has not returned recent phone calls to confirm. The directors, OPA Vice-president Steve Tuttle and Frank Daly, said in early December that the board as of that time had not received confirmation that the litigation is now in the hands of the insurance company. Both said, however, that they expect that this will occur in the near future if it hasn’t happened already. General Manager John Viola also told the Progress that the OPA’s insurance company normally handles litigation, adding that he’s not been involved in the adminitrative response to the suit, which names the OPA and all seven OPA directors as defendants. The suit alleges that the directors mishandled a petition request for a referendum on board capital spending authority. Daly said he wasn’t certain on the precise details of the way litigation is processed internally, but he said he presumed that OPA general counsel Jeremy Tucker will hand off the matter to the insurance company’s lawyers prior to the filing deadline for a response to the suit. It was filed in Worcester County Circuit Court last month, and the OPA has a 30-day window to file an initial response, which could include little more than a denial of the assertions made in the suit by Trendic’s attorney, Bruce Bright, of the Ocean City law firm, Ayres, Jenkins, Gordy and Almand. The response would normally be handled by lawyers chosen by the insurance company, Daly said. He added that he believed the Trendic litigation would be handled similarly to the way in which a lawsuit filed against the OPA by former

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14 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

December 2019

Trendic lawsuit

From Page 13 ing litigation. The Douty litigation has not been well publicized. In an exchange with Joe Reynolds of oceanpinesforum. com earlier this year, Douty declined to confirm that he had filed a suit against the OPA, asking Reynolds where he obtained information that it had been filed. But at the Dec. 5 meeting of the board of directors, Parks indirectly confirmed that it had been filed before shutting off a discussion with Douty, apparently in the mistaken belief that he intended to ask Parks about matters raised in the pending litigation. Actually, according to a post by

Douty on oceanpinesforum.com, he had intended to ask Parks about an incident at the annual meeting in which a member of an Ocean Pines advisory committee engaged in activity Douty regarded as verbally abusive towards him. Douty confirmed that he discussed the matter with Director Tom Janasek after the Dec. 5 meeting, with no indication that the board was intending to address the matter substantively. Meanwhile, not much is happening on the Trendic law suit, but Daly raised the possibility that the OPA could at some point in the litigation process shift its position that Trendic had collected a sufficient number of signatures to force a referendum, only to fail to comply with OPA bylaws in the way the petition was

worded. Daly said he and one other director he didn’t name believe that the bylaws should be interpreted to require petitioners to collect 845 signatures, ten per cent of the number of properties in Ocean Pines. Trendic and his team collected about 810, which was more than the ten percent of property owners with paid-up assessments when the petition was submitted to board secretary Collette Horn. Daly said in his view the bylaws are not perfectly clear on the number of petition signatures needed to force a referendum. He said he believes the standard of “eligible voters” means the total number of votes that theoretically could be cast in an OPA board election or referendum,

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or 8,452. He acknowledged the possibility of another interpretation. Tucker, in a memo to the board after Trendic submitted his petitions, went with a standard of lots with paid-up assessments. In order to vote in any OPA election, property owners must have their assessments paid in full. Daly said he was not certain how or whether the board could in effect jettison the Tucker standard during the litigation process, acknowledging that it would be awkward to abandon or modify a position taken by the OPA attorney. However, he said it’s possible that the insurance company’s attorney would be receptive to a change in position by the OPA, or at the very least could raise the possibility of another interpretation of the bylaws. Daly went on to say that one upside of the litigation is that it could provide an opportunity for a court ruling on how OPA bylaws should be interpreted regarding the number of petitions needed to force a referendum. Daly also said when the motion by OPA Vice President Steve Tuttle for a revised referendum was presented to the board, failing on a 1-6 vote, Daly mentioned that he opposed the motion in part because he believes a future board could easily circumvent the lower capital spending threshold sought by Trendic by a simple work-around spelled out in the bylaws. He said the bylaws allow a board to break a capital project into discrete phases, only requiring that one phase of the project be completed before the next one is authorized. He said the original golf course drainage project avoided a referendum by citing this provision. Each year under the program, boards approved two or three holes on the course for drainage improvements. About half of the holes were rebuilt under this program. He said if a referendum is required as a result of the Trendic lawsuit, it might also be revised to include a provision to “clean up” the ability of future boards to circumvent spending limits in the bylaws. As written, the bylaws allow boards to spend, without a referendum, up to to 20 percent of the annual dollars collected in annual asssments for a capital improvement project. That equates to roughly $1.7 million.

OCEAN PINES

December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Former OPA human resources consultant complains of verbal assault by advisory committee member By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer former Ocean Pines Association contractual employee called on the Board of Directors during a Dec. 4 meeting to address the alleged confrontational behavior of an OPA advisory committee member – or at least he tried to bring the matter before the Board – but was shut down by OPA president Doug Parks. Nate Douty, who served as the OPA’s human resources consultant, spoke up during the public comments segment of the monthly board meeting. He began his comments by lauding the OPA for improved financial results for the fiscal year, the board’s decision to build a “modest” clubhouse at the golf course, and road maintenance activities, and mentioned the results of a compen-

sation study of OPA staff positions as essentially validating the work he did for the OPA. But then he brought up the OPA’s decision to end his human resources position with the association. He apologized to new board members and members of the audience and the meeting and said “apparently 11 months ago four members of this board voted to terminate my employment for politically motivated reasons.” Parks immediately called for a “point of order” and said public comments should be limited to things that are relevant to the meeting. He said there is open litigation regarding Douty’s employment and therefore it shouldn’t be discussed during the Public Comments segment during a board meeting. Director Larry Perrone then called time on Douty’s five-minute

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limit for public comments. “More importantly, this is not going to be a pulpit since there is open litigation. I will not allow that,” Parks said. Undeterred, Douty said “fair enough” but then continued by saying “You’re the ones that put this…” “I said I will not allow that,” Parks interrupted. “That part of the conversation is over. Thank you very much.” “It’s not been a good year for me. It was amateur hour at best,” Douty continued. Parks told him that “you’ve now forfeited your time for public comments. Public comments are dealt with in a very courteous and professional manner. You’ve exhibited the fact that you can’t do that. You are now finished. Thank you for your time.” “I want to deal with a very im-

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portant …” Doughty replied, but was cut off by Parks again. “I want to talk about a professional…” Parks again thanked Douty for his time in an effort to cut of his comments, but Douty persisted and asked Parks to “allow me one more…” “No I will not,” Park said. Indicating that he no longer wanted to talk about his dismissal from the OPA’s employ, Douty said his comments were “regarding a former board member that cursed me out at the end of last month’s meeting.” “Eexcuse me…” Parks told Douty. “I’ve made a decision… If you can’t exhibit proper decorum I’m going to ask you to leave the meeting. “No.no.no. You had a former board member that cursed me out,” Douty said. He did not name the individual. There are at least three former directors who are currently serving on advisory committees. “Excuse me we are not talking…I am not going to sit here and argue with you. Your time is up. Please sit down. In a very professional and q

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December 2019

From Page 14 courteous manner, I’m asking you to please sit down,” Parks said again. Perrone called for a point of order in an effort to end the exchange. But Douty persisted. “You should respond when I ask for an inquiry when people curse me out. I do not appreciate that.” Parks called for others in the audience wanting to make public comments, but no one rose to speak. “It was right after a board meeting, Doug,” Douty told Parks. “Mr. Douty, I don’t know what else I need to say to you, but I am not going to sit here and debate and argue with you. Your time is up,” Parks said. “You should respond when I ask a question…” Douty told Parks, who again asked the audience “are there any other public comments?” Finally, Director Tom Janasek spoke up and told Douty that he needed to stop or the police would be called over to the building. Douty said he just wanted someone to respond to him. Janasek said “we will respond to you after the meeting.” Douty said “thank you” and stepped down, apparently satisfied. Later, on oceanpinesforum.com, Douty said Janasek honored his commitment to speak with him following the meeting. “We had a civil and respectful short conversation following the meeting,” Douty said. On the forum, Joe Reynolds asked Douty what he wanted to ask during the public comments segment of the Dec. 4 Board meeting. “My intent/attempt was to ask

the board why they have chosen not to respond to the confrontation that occurred immediately following the Aug. 31 board meeting by a board-appointed advisory committee member,” Douty said. He added that the former board member “repeatedly directed obscene language and an obscene gesture at me totally unprovoked. You will recall I was completely caught off guard and shocked at the behavior directed at me by this individual.” Douty said he reported the matter to the board within an hour of the being “verbally accosted by this individual. I asked if this type of behavior by a volunteer representative of OPA is OK? Yes, I have challenged the conduct/decisions of the board... does that make this behavior OK?” he told Reynolds. “You have challenged the board on many occasions ... would you be OK if a representative of the association demonstrated this type of conduct towards you?” He said that, other than Janasek and Director Steve Tuttle saying after the Dec. 4 meeting that the board has no jurisdiction, he has still received no response to his question. He added that, given that section 10.03 of the OPA by-laws state “All members serve at the pleasure of the board and may be removed by the board, with or without cause, at any time,” he isn’t sure he agrees that the board has no jurisdiction over actions of a committee member. Douty called it “just another example of selective choices to ignore the by-laws when convenient. For the record I have not asked that this individual be removed … but they absolutely serve under the jurisdiction of the board.”

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Former HR consultant says new compensation study is consistent with the one he did for the OPA Daly says Douty study led to requested salary increases in excess of $200,000, while the Sibson study has produced justification for roughly $62,000 in increases By TOM STAUSS Publisher n remarks during the Public Comments segment of the Dec. 4 Board of Directors meeting, former human resources consultant Nate Douty claimed that the compensation study recently completed for the Ocean Pines Association by Sibson Consulting was consistent with the one he completed for the OPA last year. Douty was fired by former General Manager John Bailey on the direction of the board in January of this year. Displeasure with Douty’s compensation study was not the reason for his termination, according to reporting at the time by the Progress. Rather it was his involvement in what turned out to be a failed effort by President Doug Parks to investigate a complaint against former Director Slobodan and remove him from the board. When that effort failed, Trendic remained on the board until he resigned a few months later to lead a petition campaign aimed at reducing board spending authority. Douty got caught in the crossfire, asserting he was fired because he failed to deliver proof that would have justified Trendic’s removal from the board. During the Dec. 4 board meeting, when Douty and Parks sparred over another matter [see separate article in this edition of the Progress for details], Douty said the findings in his study were more or less consistent with the Sibson study relative to the number of employees considered underpaid and overpaid. “I think it basically validates the results of a previous study. And though you said you’re not underpaid I think your numbers reflect that over 30 percent of your full-time nonseasonal is underpaid,” he told OPA General Manager John Viola regarding the document, “and you also mentioned that no one was overpaid and I know that was previ-

16 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES From Page 16 ously debated as well. I think it just basically validates prior results. You might have used a different survey group, comparative group, but I think it gives you the answer that we knew about.” In his comments on Ocean Pines Forum, he said he has heard absolutely nothing as reported from the recent “independent” compensation study that is inconsistent with what he reported in his evaluation while serving as the human resources consultant for the OPA. “I guess one can never be a prophet in their own land,” he concluded. One OPA director, Frank Daly, in response to questions posed to him by the Progress, said he thought there were consistencies in the two studies, but differences as well. This past March, Daly questioned the findings of the Douty study, saying that he had never seen a wage study that showed no employee was overpaid. Douty’s study did, Daly said. It turns out that the Sibson study

showed only one OPA employee overpaid. General Manager John Viola told the Progress that it was a summer employee who has been only modestly overpaid compared to similar position in other HOAs and governments in the area. Daly and others were also critical of the Douty study because they said it relied on comparisons with local governments to the exclusion of area homeowner associations. The Sibson study included some HOAs in its study for comparison purposes, such as Captain’s Cove in Virginia, but local governments were well represented. Viola told the Progress that data from the Maryland Association of Counties was used, in addition to Berlin and Ocean City town governments. Daly said in a Dec. 7 interview that the Douty study was used by Bailey to justify a large increase in salaries for employee positions in Bailey’s draft budget for 2019-20 presented in January of last year. The proposed increase in salaries exceeded $200,000 across all

positions, Daly said, on average $17,000 per affected employee. “Along with another $2,000 or $3,000 in a proposed cost of living increase, some employees would have received a $20,000 raise,” Daly said. That kind of increase would be unfair to Ocean Pines property owners and had no support on the board at the time, he added. In contrast, the Sibson study only identifies $62,000 in additional resources needed to bring up underpaid employees to a recommended minimim, Daly said. The Sibson study identified 22 non-police employees and eight police department employees as underpaid, out of 215 employees studied, for an underpaid percentage of about 14 percent. Douty seemed to suggest that his study was roughly consistent with the Sibson study in the number of employees identified as underpaid and the percentage of underpaid relative to the total number of employees. Daly didn’t dispute that. But the difference in dollars

identified as needed to bring underpaid employees up to an acceptable level would suggests that the degree of underpayment identified in the Sibson study was substantially less than in the Douty study, Daly said. He acknowledged that it might be argued that some basic data points in both studies were similar, whileapplication of these data points relative to salary increase recommendations were significantly different. Daly also said the Sibson study evaluated health benefits offered by the OPA, finding them within an acceptable range for the area. Neither the Douty study nor an earlier one by the 5-L organization included benefits, Daly said. The OPA director said he still would like to do a deeper dive into the respective studies to determine areas where they differ and overlap. His initial reaction to the Sibson study was positive, as was the reaction by his board colleagues, with results and recommendations that he suggested wouldn’t encounter a lot of push-back from the board in the 2020-21 budget review process that will begin in earnest next month.

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Viola, Steve Phillips incorporating compensation study results into 2020-21 draft budget About 14 percent of OPA employees are underpaid, report shows By TOM STAUSS Publisher he just-completed compensatation study of Ocean Pines Association employee wages and benefits cost $50,000 but unlike some studies the OPA has conducted over the years, this one won’t be sitting on a shelf somewhere, gathering dust. Results from the study completed by Sibson Consulting indicated about 14 percent of OPA employees are underpaid relative to similar organizations in the region, including HOAs as well as local county governments. These results have been incorporated into the draft budget for 2020-21 that is being assembled by General Manager John Viola and Finance Director Steve Phillips. Based on the data collected, Sibson said Ocean Pines in aggregate is “at 84 percent of the market 50th percentile of the competitive range.” The company defined the desirable range as 90 to 110 percent of the market 50th percentile, meaning the overall compensation package currently offered in Ocean Pines is slightly below the recommendation. Sibson developed a minimum, mid-point, and maximum salary range for each position, and Viola and other staff graded each em-

ployee on a 1-to-5 scale during midyear reviews. Out of more than 200 non-police employees, Sibson determined that 22 are being paid below the minimum salary range. The cost to bring those workers up to the minimum, as recommended by Sibson, is about $34,000. Additionally, eight employees of the Ocean Pines Police Department were below the minimum, with the total cost to bring them up to the recommended minimum about $28,000. Combined, the cost to the OPA of bringing those considered underpaid up to the recommended minimum is $62,000. The 30 underpaid employees represent about 14 percent of 215 OPA seasonal, non-seasonal and police employees. Sibson only considered one employee above the maximum compensation range, which Viola told the Progress is a summer employee whose overage is relatively modest. Viola said the proposed budget for 2020-21 that he and Phillips have drafted includes $62,000 in funding to bring the underpaid employees up to the recommended minimum. That would be separate from the typical two percent average increase in employee compensation that next year’s draft budget will likely include, subject to board review and

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amendment. According to an OPA press release on the results of the study, OPA employee wages and benefits show the Association generally is inline with comparable organizations,

if not slightly below those levels. During the Dec. 5 meeting of the board, Viola put it a little differently. “We’re not underpaid,” he said in summarizing the study’s conclusions. “We’re definitely not overpaid.” In conducting the study, Sibson said that: • As the “largest HOA in the area, Ocean Pines is in essence a municipality organized for governance as an HOA.” • There is “a need for a multipronged market comparison approach involving other HOAs, small q

18 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

* Wicomico and Worcester counties did not participate in the custom study. As a proxy, Sibson used their market data from the Maryland Association of Counties survey. The participation rate was 68%. Source: General Manager’s report, Dec. 4 Board of Directors meeting

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Compensation study From Page 19

municipalities, counties, and companies within the local area.” •Employees “are the backbone of OPA, and feel like the organization is family. There is a good, collaborative, team-based work environment, especially with the recent introduction of combined Board and Staff Work Groups for various initiatives and trust being built by the new General Manager.” During the last three months, the company spoke with stakeholders, including board members, “to understand the challenges of the current compensation program and hear about the desired future state.” Sibson developed a compensation philosophy based on that information, conducted market assessment of positions, and developed salary structures and ranges. Sibson received organizational aid from Viola, Executive Secretary Michelle Bennett, Payroll/Human Resources Coordinator Kathy Stryjewski and department heads “to review the matching of the jobs to the market and preliminary costing results.” The market assessment included 11 comparable organizations: Captain’s Cove, Crofton Civic Association, Berlin, Ocean City, Rehoboth Beach, Salisbury, Salisbury University, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Wor-Wic Community College, Wicomico County, and Worcester County. Wicomico and Worcester counties did not participate directly in the custom study. As a proxy, Sibson used their market data from the Maryland Association of Counties survey. The overall participation rate was 68%. Viola said the study was “objective, independent and data driven.” “It was also important to have current job descriptions and a current organizational chart, and staff available for phone interviews with Sibson. All of that happened,” he said. Equally important, according to Viola, was that everyone understood the study results. “Several meetings were held [by Viola] for every department. Their feedback was very valuable and their comments were positive,” he said. “I believe that staff was appreciative that the study was done, that it was explained and communicated, and that leadership listened

Source: General Manager’s report, Dec. 4 Board of Directors meeting

to them.” Stryjewski agreed it was a worthwhile endeavor. “This objective and independent compensation study through Sibson has assisted OPA in providing transparency to our employees regarding compensation and benefit benchmarks for comparable positions outside of OPA,” she said. “It has also assisted in the development of an improved rating structure, with appropriate salary ranges revised for all positions. “It’s important that OPA employees understand thoroughly their compensation and benefits, and how we compare to outside businesses, so they can feel confident in their employment,” she added. Association Secretary Colette Horn thanked Viola for his part in the process, which included a review of the study methodology and results during a Budget and Finance Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday. “The work that John and his staff did contributed to the achievement of the timeline and the cost containment while still getting everything we wanted from this study, and then some,” she said. “The work done by the Sibson Group met my expectations for independence in the review of our job descriptions and classifications, and for appropriateness and breadth in the selection of business entities used to benchmark our compensation and benefits offerings. “The final product achieved the objectives I had in mind when I submitted the motion to the Board to approve the study: to provide the information we need to forecast compensation costs, to focus an analysis of our organizational structure, and to give us a framework for annual com-

pensation decisions that are based on marketplace benchmarks, as well as the ongoing appraisal of the link between employee performance and attainment of organizational objectives,” Horn added. What’s more, Horn said the study helped to “trigger much-needed

changes in our employee performance appraisal process, such that we now are in line with current best practices.” “Our Board has worked hard over the past two and a half years to implement the mandate of our governing documents that things run in a business-like way,” she said. “I can now say that our HR practices are much closer to meeting that ideal than in the past. And the bonus is that we were able to achieve all this at well below the cost figure that was projected for the study.” Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Dick Keiling added his group was “pleased to review the completed compensation study. “Having been involved in this type of study in my past, it’s evident the process was professional, thorough, and included all of the important components,” he said. “This is something OPA has clearly needed and now provides our valued employees with a comprehensive, first-rate compensation program.”

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Board informally endorses process to establish committee chair orientation

Communications committee recommends creation of working group

ot for the first time in the annals of Ocean Pines, some advisory committees are having trouble trying to figure out their proper role. The issue arose earlier this year when the Clubs Advisory Committee asked the Board of Directors to

give it permission to meet regularly with represenatives of the Matt Ortt Companies to convey committee ideas of how to improve operations at the Yacht Club and Beach Club. The committee referenced regular meetings with the MOC in its annual report, again appealing to the

board to respond affirmatively to that request. While the Clubs Committee’s request was not mentioned during the Dec. 4 meeting of the board, it nontheless provided some context to a discussion on whether the OPA should inaugurate an orientation

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program for new advisory committee chairpersons, somewhat analogous to the orientation given to new and returning board members early in their terms. Director Colette Horn said the issue came up during the Nov. 6 Executive Council meeting of committee chairs. According to Horn, “there was discussion regarding inconsistencies in understanding of procedures for advisory committees related to communication with each other, OPA staff and OPA contractors.” “There also was discussion as to inconsistencies among the committees in application of HOA Open Meetings law and in their understanding of procedures for the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee review process,” Horn said in a formal motion. She didn’t define those inconsistencies in the area of communications, but they could refer to the fact that while the clubs committee has no direct access to Mart Ortt personnel, an omission that panel contends adversely affects its effectiveness, Director of Operations Colby Phillips meets regularly with the Aquatics Advisory Committee and has met recently with the racquet sports membership and other groups. The difference in treatment may lie with the fact that the MOG is a paid independent contractor with a lot of independence in managing the OPA’s food and beverage amenities. Horn said the Communications Advisory Committee recommended leading a work group to develop an orientation for new chairs and board liaisons “to prevent breakdown or confusion in processes for the work of the advisory committees.” Horn said the committee sought board approval for the concept. Director Camilla Rogers said the discussion was an important one, noting the new board member orientation held in August was helpful to her. “I felt that I walked away from that fairly comfortable with what the expectations were going to be [for a new board member],” she said. Association President Doug Parks said the Executive Council also endorsed the idea. “It was well received, the idea of … putting on a framework around what it takes to be a committee chair versus a committee member,” he said. “There’s a lot of intellectual capital that’s been collected over q

22 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Revamped bulkhead replacement receives financial infusion By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer atching of the cart paths at the golf course, repairs at two swimming pools, and a replacement sound system for the Community Center were among unbudgeted capital projects approved by the Board of Directors during a Dec. 4 meeting of the Ocean Pines Association’s governing body. General Manager John Viola presented a series of expenditures for Board approval, noting that three of the major projects were not included in the current budget but still need to be done. Viola said the golf cart path repairs are necessary due to encroaching roots that are disrupting the paving. Staff recommended awarding a contract for $39,980 to Chesapeake Paving, which is already working in Ocean Pines on road paving. Funding for the work was not budgeted but the project is included in the OPA’s reserve study. Chesapeake Paving was the low bidder on the road paving contract and will be able to perform the cart path repairs at the same rate of $100 per ton of asphalt. The two other bids were from Lynch at $191.60 per ton and Terra Firma at $110. “They’re giving us the guarantee same price as their current contract to continue on and do the cart paths,” Viola said, adding that Chesapeake Paving hasn’t finished paving roads near the golf course and may be able to do the cart paths at the same time, as a result the OPA will benefit from economies of scale. He said it would cost more to hire a contractor to just do the art paths. Viola noted that not all of the cart paths are being repaired and repaved, only certain areas that are deteriorating. The contractor will mill the existing pavement, remove intruding roots, and patch the affected areas. He said Chesapeake Paving will be able to ensure a smooth transition between the patched areas and the rest of the cart paths. He said root intrusion on the paths is a problem that is damaging the golf carts. “This has taken its toll on the golf carts,” he said, adding “You can see it if your using them. It’s affecting the golf carts. It will cost us more in maintenance.”

Director Larry Perrone wondered whether the OPA should just have all of the cart paths repaved instead of just doing spot repair work “My question is should we just go ahead and bite the bullet and redo the whole course, the entire cart path for the course.” He acknowledged there are areas that are in “pretty good shape, but sooner or later it’s all going to have to be done.” Viola said the cost would be approximately $250,000 to redo all of the cart paths, and added that at this time that isn’t necessary. “I believe it can be seamless and I think we’ll be fine,” he said of the repairs. “I do believe we do need to address this regardless, the roots, because its taking its toll on everything. I don’t believe at this time that we need to do the entire thing. I really don’t.” OPA President Doug Parks asked about the funding source for the unbudgeted work, and Viola responded that the money will come from replacement reserves. Director Collette Horn asked if there would be a significant cost saving to do the rest of the cart paths if the contractor is already there to do patch work. Viola again said the cost would be about $250,000 to do all of the cart paths, and reiterated that “they’re telling me that they can seamlessly blend it in with the rest of the cart paths.” He said the reason the cost for repairs and patching is so low is because Chesapeake Paving will already be in the area doing work for the OPA. Director Tom Janasek said he wouldn’t agree to do all cart paths at this time, and when the OPA decides to do so it needs to get several bids for the work. “We need to have three competitive bids just for the cart paths. Period. Because it’s a whole different animal.” The board unanimously approved the expenditure for cart path repairs, and also gave its ok to purchasing a new Dakota 410 Turf Tender Top Dresser and John Deer Pro Gator, which was budgeted in 20192020, for golf course maintenance. The contract was awarded to Finch Services, Inc. for $31,444.90. Viola pointed out there was some damage done to some greens this year by the

current equipment. “The current vehicle needs constant maintenance, is very old, and does need to be replaced.” Viola presented another unbudgeted capital expense for replacement of the Rubaroc decking material around the splash pad at the Swim and Racquet Club splash pad and the Mumford’s Landing pool. He said the area around Mumford’s pool and the Swim and Racquet splash pad have started to break apart and is becoming a hazard. The health department has told OPA to make repairs prior to opening the amenities for summer 2020. “So its mandated that we must do this,” he said. Earlier this year, Rubaroc was installed at the Sports Core pool. He asked for, and the board approved, awarding a contract for $31,805 to Rubaroc. While the expenditure was not budgeted, in order to schedule the work for spring the OPA needs to give the contractor a deposit of half the contract amount. It will be funded from the replacement reserve. The other half will be budgeted in 2020-21. Janasek asked if the material was under warranty at the amenities because it wasn’t installed very long ago. Viola said there is no warranty on the existing materials but the new company will warrant its work. What was not mentioned is that the materials were installed about three years ago at the direction of

Committee orientation From Page 22 time and I think it’s only prudent to share that information in a more formal manner, rather than having people have to ask for it.” Director Tom Janasek, who chaired the Environment and Natural Assets Advisory Committee prior to his election to the board in August, also backed the orientation. “The main thing is getting information from the committee to the Board … that’s what the biggest struggle is in all the committees,” he said. “We have all these people that want to help, but they have no idea, when they get ideas, what to do with them.”

a former general manager who, to save money, opted for a material that resembled Rubaroc but wasn’t the genuine article. Nor did it come with a warranty. It began to deteriorate within a year or so of installation. Repairs were made at the Sports Core pool, but didn’t solve the problem. In the end, the decision was made to replace the defective material with authentic Rubaroc. Another major unbudgeted expenditure approved by the board based on a staff recommendation was $16,788.15 to Mid-South Audio for a new sound system in the Community Center. “As we all know in the past year or two there’s been situations with the audio and the video, especially the board meetings,” Viola said. He said the OPA received two other bids for the equipment, but one of the vendors backed out and recommended that the OPA hire Mid-South Audio. The the other one only submitted a bid for one of the four rooms in the Community Center. Despite the expenditure, Viola said with this change in equipment, from an operational standpoint the OPA expects to save approximately $17,000. Additionally, the old equipment can be sold. According to earlier reports, the $17,000 in savings is related to recording board meetings by an I-phone model controlled by Marketing and Public Relations Director Josh Davis rather than by having an on-site technician controlling cameras. The OPA is no longer live-streaming meetings but uploading recordings of them to YouTube. In response to an email query, Davis said the new equipment “will q

Cart path patching, pool deck replacement, new sound system approved by board

Director Frank Daly suggested making the orientation meetings mandatory, but Janasek worried that could scare aware potential volunteers. “We’re asking a lot of them anyway,” he said. “What I’m hearing from the board tonight is that they would like to be the owners of a work group to achieve this objective,” Horn said. “I will also say that the Communications Advisory Committee and specifically [Chairwoman] Jenny Cropper-Rines has done a lot of work on this already, and I think she certainly should be a vital member of whatever workgroup is put together.” Parks asked Horn to reach out to Cropper-Rines to get the process started.

24 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

December 2019

McMullen hired for part-time racquet sports facility role

OPA hosts meeting with Racquet Sports membership

ong-time Ocean Pines resident Tim McMullen is taking on a part-time role with the Ocean Pines Association as manager of the Racquet Sports complex on the Southside, aiding Terry Underfoffler who is staying on as tennis pro. The announcement of McMullen’s appointment was made by OPA Operations Director Colby Phillips Nov. 18 at an information meeting with the racquet sports membership. The meeting was called to update the members on upcoming programs and initiatives. Phillips, who has overseen the department for several years, said she meets regularly with leadership from the tennis, platform tennis and pickleball clubs that make up the amenity’s membership. “I’ve built a really good relationship there, where they fill me in on their requests and their concerns,” she said. “One of the hopes that I had [for the department] … was a little more growth happening at the Racquet Sports center, especially in the tennis community.” Phillips said several of last year’s 50th anniversary celebrations highlighted the Manklin Meadows Racquet Sports Complex that houses courts for all three sports.

“We had quite a few events go on, and it was really nice to see all of the people there and what a fabulous place it is,” she said. Regarding McTim McMullen Mullen’s appointment, Phillips said he would be “involved in each sport, working to establish great communication links, as well as working with Terry on your growth … and on bringing in more events,” she said. McMullen has owned property in Ocean Pines since 1974 and said during that time the racquet center has seen four different homes. “I remember playing tennis there on [Route] 589 and thinking, ‘Why would they build courts here?’” he said. The center later moved to the Swim and Racquet Club and then to Mumford’s Landing, before finally settling at Manklin Creek Road. “My mission is to make sure we have the best racquet facility on the Eastern Shore,” McMullen said. “And I know of no other place where we can play platform, pickleball and tennis at the same location.” Among his other goals, McMullen said, is to “alleviate some of Colby’s workload.” He said members with

questions and concerns were welcome to approach him. “Let me know what the problem is and then I will work … to get it solved as quickly as possible,” he said. “I really believe in what we’re doing here. It’s the best place to live and I love this place, so we’re going to do everything we can to give you the facility you deserve,” McMullen added. Underkoffler outlined his plans to increase tournament play at the center with help from the United States Tennis Association. “They love the site [and] they think it has a lot of potential,” he said. “We want to have the site sustain itself, so we felt that if we could develop a partnership with USTA Mid-Atlantic, they could send some tournaments our way. We are a destination area already.” Potentially, that includes a national ranking tournament in the spring or summer, and a “consolation tournament” related to national team play. Also, Underkoffler has plans to offer more classes and lessons, with a “stroke of the day” clinic for members, video analysis of players’ technique, and more youth clinics. Phillips said the proposed fiscal 2020-2021 budget would include

replacing the bocce courts at White Horse Park and moving them to the Racquet Sports center, in the grassy area near the platform tennis courts. She cautioned that putting an item in the proposed budget does not necessarily mean it will be funded. Phillips also answered questions from the crowd. One woman asked why there is not more indoor playing time in the community center gym, especially during the afternoon when the room seems empty. Recreation and Parks Program Supervisor Debbie Donahue said the gym reserves certain times for drop-in basketball (for a fee), especially during the colder months when playing outside isn’t practical. “In order for there to be time in the gym for other people to do other things, we leave the gym open for that drop-in time,” she said. “We have basketball that goes on in there a couple of days a week, for kids after school and for adults, anybody that wants to use the gym.”

Capital projects From Page 23 be strictly an audio setup and will replace what was an undersized system to start, not to mention the speakers in the Assateague Room were blown and unusable. I had been using a pair of large Bose speakers for meetings, borrowed from the golf course, but they were just passable.” He said the new system will be “state-of the-art, pristine, and make it much easier for our older population to hear not just during board meetings, but during any functions held in that building. For board meetings specifically, they’re going to tune the new system to our microphones and create a program, so setup from now on will literally be with the push of a button. No feedback, clarity like you’ve never heard before in Ocean Pines. It’s going to be money well spent.” Finally, the board approved two contracts for bulkhead replacement work, one to McGinty Marine for $140,535 for work in Wood Duck and another to Fisher Marine at a cost of $325,335 for OPA-owned property on Ocean Parkway. Viola said the bulkhead replacement was budgeted in 2018-19 but wasn’t completed. With a new staff team in place, “right now everything’s operating on all cylinders.” Treasurer Larry Perrone said the OPA has the money in the bulkhead reserve “so [funding is] not an issue.”

OCEAN PINES

December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

he Board of Directors during its Dec. 4 monthly meeting accepted on a first reading for an amendment to Board Resolution B-01, governing adoption and classification of board resolutions. Bylaws and Resolutions Advisory Committee Chairman Jim Trummel said the original Book of Resolutions was established by the committee in 2009, when that group “had full control” of creating the document. “That’s changed. We’re [now] … in a situation where we’re in a maintenance mode,” he said. “Over a year ago, the committee began to see what we felt was an uneven, disorganized, confused process of getting a resolution amendment started … and over the last year we worked on developing a guidance, and that guidance is what you see in the attachment proposed for B-01.” Trummel said it was a “complete committee effort” to craft the updated version of B-01, which tries to clarify procedures to amend future resolutions. The proposed new language is available in the committee’s annual report, posted on the OPA Web site. The Board will consider a second reading and adoption of the amendment during a future meeting. The proposed new language says that: • All appointed committees should review their assigned resolutions at the time the committees are preparing their annual reports or whenever they see the need for changes to a resolution. • All resolutions assigned to the board or the various departments

Board accepts proposed changes in B-01, a resolution governing changes in board resolutions within Ocean Pines should be reviewed annually or whenever the need for a change is required. • When it is determined that a change is required, the committee chair, or responsible individual known as the originator, should review the proposed change with the committee’s board liaison for any additional input regarding the proposed changes. • The committee chair, or the originator, should then prepare a “dated red line mark-up copy” of the existing resolution denoting the additions, deletions or changes required with the date of submission included. • The committee chair, or the originator, should then provide a copy of the “dated red line mark-up copy” to the board liaison. On the first reading of a proposed change in a board resolution, the revised B-01 language says that: • The board liaison should have the request for the proposed resolution changes added to a board meeting agenda for consideration on first reading. • Prior to the scheduled board meeting, the board liaison will provide all directors with a copy of the “dated red line mark-up copy” for their review, as defined in Resolution B-01.

priate committee chair or the originator advising that the changes were reviewed and that the resolution is ready for the second reading. • If conflicts are found, the committee chair will advise the OPA president, with a copy to the appropriate committee chair or the originator of the conflicts and, as appropriate, provide guidance to eliminate conflicts. On Second Reading of a proposed change in a board resolution, the revised B-01 language says that: • The originating committee will apply the necessary changes to eliminate any conflicts. • This is in accordance with Resolution B-01, Section 4. (c), “If an amendment to existing Resolution is recommended, it is the responsibility of the entity making the recommendation to prepare the document, including the red line draft for board review, and to provide the OPA secretary with a signature copy of any approved action (B01, paragraph 3.b). • The secretary shall verify that ΊΙΙΛΘΟΎ Princesigned Georgescopy CntyisMdfiled in the original ΍χϚϋͧ йрͿкй the Book of Resolutions.

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OCEAN PINES

December 2019

Northstar software roll-out about half finished Clubhouse, cart barn, other projects on target By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer mplementation of the Northstar software package and system conversion is being phased in throughout the Ocean Pines Association’s various departments but will not be completed until next year. General Manager John Viola, during his Dec. 4 report to the Board of Directors, cited the “big milestone” of producing financial reports for the previous mponth using the Northstar system that was achieved in November, but acknowledged that the organization-wide conversion is only about half finished. He said the full roll-out should be completed by May 2020. Steve Phillips, director of finance, said the Northstar software has gone live in the OPA administrative

offices, recreation and parks, Sports Core and public works department, as well as the finance office. In October all association employees participated in an intensive training with the Northstar consulting team, he said. He said the implementation team reviewed all of the OPA’s financial processes “for opportunities to increase efficiency and strengthen internal controls” as part of the conversion from the decades-old LANSA software system. The monthly financial reports were produced in new system for the first time in November for the previous month of October’s financial data. “We were able to close the financials - a little bit late. I appreciate the patience. We were able to get those out before Thanksgiving…” Phillips said. “We are hap-

py with that result.” Phillips said the implementation team is working through a list of open items related to the Northstar conversion project. “The work’s not done. We have a lot of other pieces to phase in.” Next, the team is turning its attention to bringing the dining clubs and amenities online before the start of the 2020 summer season. Phillips said the new system will be rolled out at the Yacht Club with staff training in January and a golive date in February. Northstar will go online at the Yacht Club marina prior to its April 1 opening day, and at the Beach Club and other swimming pools in late April. Phillips said project spending for the Northstar implementation is forecasted to be slightly over the

budget of $400,000. Viola reviewed a list of other outstanding OPA projects and said most of them are on track for completion. He said the new golf clubhouse is scheduled for completion by May 2020 at an estimated cost of $1.6 million, with spending so far at $256,204, and the golf cart barn will be finished in January at a budgeted cost of $400,000, with $118,248 spent to date. “If you’ve been there you can see that the concrete has been poured. The foundation’s in,” he said of the new clubhouse. Since then, the building went under roof. A new Pine’eer Craft Club building in White Horse Park is slated for completion in January at a total cost of $85,000, with $71,145 spent so far. Viola said the structure is “basically complete” and the association is just waiting for the last invoice from the builder. Meanwhile, he said staff has developed a transition plan for the craft club to move from the existing q

26 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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OCEAN PINES

December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Projects update

The golf clubhouse project as shown under roof the first week of December.

for issues such as drainage and completed 48 work orders, including six that carried over from the previous month. “We’re on top of that,” Viola said of drainage complaints. Viola reviewed the OPA’s spending for bulkhead repairs and replacement to date. “That was jump started this year,” he said of the bulkhead work. The fiscal year budget for bulkhead work is $1.619 million, with current contracts out for $1.37 million in work. Both Viola and Phillips noted that staff is preparing a draft fiscal year 2020-21 operating budget for consideration by the Board and expects

to issue it before Christmas. Phillips said the OPA used an “internal bottoms up process” that kicked off in early September to develop the annual spending plan. “There’s been a lot of collaboration. All of the budget managers and the department heads have been involved in the process,” he said. Budget proposals submitted by the budget managers were reviewed by the general manager and finance office staff prior to incorporation into the overall operating budget, Phillips said. He added that the finance office works with various OPA depart-

ment heads to forecast their current year spending as part of the budget development process. “We’re looking at that forecast, analyzing it versus budget for savings opportunities. Looking at other areas where we need to add additional expenditures and such,” he said. In addition to department operational spend, the OPA’s finance office analyzes and accounts for the administration, capital and reserve account activity, including depreciation, interest, reserve balances, benefit costs, utilities and inflation q

From Page 26 building to the new one. The project is just getting under way but construction of a new police department building should be finished by June 2020 at estimated cost of $1.3 million, said Viola adding the OPA is “basically just starting there.” In reviewing a dashboard of activity for October, Viola said “The bottom line here is that this metric … shows that we are responding. There has been improvement is customer service.” He said staff has responded to every call received and “And I believe it’s in a timely fashion.” During October the OPA received 34 service calls for drainage, bulkheads, and other homeowner issues. All of those calls were addressed by the appropriate department, including public works and operations via email, telephone call or visits. A total of 39 property violations were reported to and visited by compliance, permits, and inspections staff, and 34 violations were complied out by property owners. The OPA received 42 work orders

OCEAN PINES

December 2019

OCEAN PINES BRIEFS

Waterfront differential increase probable in 20-21 draft budget

hile there can be a huge difference between what a general manager includes in a draft budget and what the Board of Directors approves in final form after a protracted, tedious and at times lively review process, sometimes what the GM proposes makes it through the process more or less intact. In a recent interview with the Progress, General Manager John Viola said it’s likely that his draft budget to be unveiled just before Christmas will include an increase in the waterfront differential paid by owners of bulkheaded property in Ocean Pines. It also will include a restoration of the $19 in the base lot assessment, not included in the current year’s budget, for common area bulkheading owned by the OPA. He emphasizes that he proposes and the board disposes, but in this instance a solid case can be made for increasing the differential and restoring funds for common area bulkheading.

Projects update From Page 27 costs, as part of the annual budget development process. “We’re working through the reserve balances to come out with a recommendation on

the reserve spending and the balances in each of those for the budget,” Phillips said. The Budget and Finance Advisory Committee has meetings scheduled Jan. 6-8 meetings to begin reviewing the document.

The uncontestable fact is that costs to the OPA now that it has restored a bulkhead replacement program that is running on all cylinders are considerably higher than they were a few years ago. To sustain the restored program the OPA will need more resources from property owners. Viola made that argument in remarks to the Progress. On the flip side, Viola has also made it clear that his draft budget -again, subject to change by the board -- will not include earmarked funds from the assessment for further reductions in the operating fund deficit, which ballooned up to more than $1.5 million two years ago but which since then has been cut dramatically. With a budget surplus expected this year in the neighborhood of $385,000 -- 70 percent of the surplus accumulated through the first six months of the fiscal year -- the operating fund deficit will drop automatically by that amount, or whatever the surplus turns out to be. Viola seems to be betting that a surplus is plausible for 2020-21 even though his draft budget will be evenly balanced between revenues and expenses. That unbudgeted surplus, like this year’s, will also go toward reducing the operating fund deficit.

Rec manager says gym space is limited

General Manager John Viola asked Recreation Department Program Manager Debbie Donahue at a recent meeting with members of the racquet community if she had adequate space to meet the demand for programs. “Is this something that’s restraining us from everything that we want to do?” he asked. “Honestly, as we look at the programs that we’ve done ... we outgrew the building before it was ever finished,” she said. “For all of the growth that we have made, all of the programs that we still get challenged to bring in, the revenue that we’re challenged to bring in … we are limited on the space that we can offer. It’s one gym and that’s all I have to work with.” q

28 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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OCEAN PINES

December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES BRIEFS

Trendic closing in on funding goal for referendum litigation

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ormer Ocean Pines Association Director Slobodan Trendic is closing in on a $3,000 fund-raising goal to finance litigation challenging the Board of Directors’ continued resistance to a referendum on a proposed reduction in the board’s spending authority. Trendic, founder of the advocacy group START, collected $2,345 in donations as of Dec. 13 and is continuing to appeal to supporters for financial contributions. “With your generous help we were able to fund our earlier efforts and to engage the support from an attorney. Unfortunately based on the position the OPA Board has taken, our attorney recommended that we bring our case to the court and let the judge decide the fate of our petition,” Trendic said in recent e-mail to supporters. Trendic said that “bringing our case before the court will incur several thousand dollars in new legal expenses. I need to ask those who have not donated yet to please support us now and those who have to please consider doing it again.” He said his attorney will be asking for reimbursement of legal expenses should Trendic prevail on the merits of the case. Trendic asks contributors to make their checks payable to START and mail it to 20 Drawbridge Road, Ocean Pines, MD 21811.

Pines Police officer cited for bravery

Recently, PFC Jason Burns received the Ocean Pines Police Department’s highest award, the Silver Star Award for bravery. He single-handedly disarmed a resident who was attempting to commit suicide with a knife.

Lighting Up the Pines map available online

A map of Ocean Pines homes with their halls decked out for the holidays is now available on the Ocean Pines Web site. The map contains the addresses of two dozen community residents who registered in the annual “Light Up the Pines” outdoor display event. The first 20 who signed up received gift bags courtesy of Choptank Electric Cooperative, the program’s sponsor. This year’s program focuses on participation rather than on the selection of winners, as has been done in the past. Instead of voting for their favorite homes, Ocean Pines community members are encouraged to make viewing the decorated homes a part of their holiday traditions. Households interested in being added to the map, which will be updated through the end of the month, should submit a name, address and phone number via email to info@oceanpines.org or by calling 410-641-7717.

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In a push to make fire department responses to area homes more efficient, the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department recently purchased approximately 500 small, blue reflective road markers to identify fire hydrant locations. The reflective markers will be placed on the roadways wherever there is a fire hydrant, so the hydrant can be located quickly, at any time of day. It is okay to drive directly over the markers, as they should not damage vehicles or come off the road. This tool has proved to be successful in other jurisdictions. Most agencies show all hydrants on district maps and local companies are familiar with their assigned areas. Because of landscaping or overgrowth, the hydrants can be difficult to actually locate, even more so at night in darkened areas. They will also be helpful for other departments that come to Ocean Pines to assist. The Ocean Pines Fire Department will be out in local neighborhoods in the coming weeks installing these fire hydrant markers.

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Wood sculptures of old Eastern Shore and Chesapeake Bay work boats by Denny’s Dinghies are being displayed at the Ocean Pines Library during the month of December. These scratch built models include skipjacks, buyboats, bay schooners, sneak boats and rowing skiffs. Each boat is unique and constructed in the same manner that the majestic old wood boats were originally built.

30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPA FINANCES

December 2019

After six months of fiscal year, OPA ahead of budget by $550,000

Viola, Steve Phillips project end-of-year surplus at about $385,000

eneral Manager John Viola and Finance Director Steve Phillips are projecting a $385,000 end-of-year surplus for the Ocean Pines Association. That’s based on an operating surplus of more than $550,000 through October, the first six months of the 2019-20 fiscal year. At the Dec. 4 meeting of the Board of Directors, Viola said that by year’s end roughly 70 percent of the $550,000 operating surplus

would remain when the fiscal year concludes on Aoril 30 of next year. That equates to about $385,000, which would be the OPA’s largest operating surplus in history, although Viola didn’t mention that number himself. He left the math to anyone interested enough to do the calculation. The deficit will be used to further reduce the OPA’s operating fund deficit, which had ballooned to about $1.5 million several years ago.

Ocean Pines Association financial results by department as of Oct. 31

Source: Ocean Pines Association Department of Finance

The $550,000 operating surplus represents a more than $433,000 improvement over the prior year. Year to date, revenues beat budget estimates by $480,711, while expenses were lower than budget by $70,664. “Keep in mind, [in] the next six months we do utilize cash [and] we don’t have the revenue coming in that we normally do, so this number will come down,” Viola said. “We do have an estimate. [Finance Director] Steve [Phillips] and I feel comfortable saying that we definitely will be favorable to budget for the year.” In October, the Association finished more than $33,000 better than budget, a nearly $11,000 improvement over the prior year. Year to date, the Yacht Club, Beach Club, Marinas, Tern Grille and Aquatics all have exceeded numbers from the prior year, while Beach Parking and Racquet Sports were down slightly. Golf was positive nearly $13,000, but that figure was roughly $4,000 behind 2018 numbers. Viola said there was a need for contract services at the golf course, which contributed to the decrease. The Recreation and Parks, Public Works, Administration and Finance

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departments were also ahead of the previous year, while Fire/EMS/ Police and Public Relations posted worse than budgeted numbers. In both cases, Viola said timing was a factor and the departments should finish in the black. He also said half a dozen major initiatives either remained on target or had already wrapped. The Sibson Group employee compensation study has been completed, and construction of a new Golf cart barn and craft building are on track to finish next month. The new Golf clubhouse and Northstar software rollout should both finish by next May, Viola said. Treasurer Larry Perrone said the impact to reserves was a projected $4.4 million balance by April 30, 2020, a decrease from just over $8.8 million at the start of the fiscal year. That includes almost $2.8 million in replacement reserves, $1.1 million in bulkheads and $569,000 in roads. “We’re comfortable with those numbers, at this point,” Perrone said. The fiscal 2020/2021 budget, meanwhile, is well ahead of schedule. Viola plans to deliver his budget draft to the Board before Christmas. “We are committed to handing over the binders and the proposed draft budget to [the Budget and Finance Committee] and the Board, Dec. 23,” he said. Phillips provided additional detail on the Northstar software implementation, specifically that the new systems are now live for Administration, Recreation and Parks, Public Works and the Sports Core pool. A landmark for the project was producing October numbers using the new software. The department summary published elsewhere on this page is the result. “We were able to close the financials a little bit late, [but] we appreciate the patience,” he said. “We were able to get those out before Thanksgiving and produce them in the new system, so we are happy with that result.” Phillips said the Yacht Club should go live in February, followed by the Marina in April and the Beach Club and the rest of Aquatics by the end of April. He added total spending for the software transition forecasts to finish slightly over budget.

LIFESTYLES

December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Builder’s son helps solve decades-old model boat mystery Schooner was built by the late Farrell Wrendel Lynch on Gum Point Road By JOSH DAVIS Special to the Progress

he restored three-mast model schooner on permanent display at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club is familiar to many, but few know the true story of its origin. When members of the 50th Anniversary Committee hosted a dedication and unveiling of the restored and newly encased model in November, they told the large crowd present that Boise Cascade gave the boat to the Ocean Pines Association during the opening of the first Yacht Club in 1975. Committee member Sharyn O’Hare said her research suggested the boat originated during the mid 1950s, but its builder was unknown. As chance would have it, Farrell John Lynch read local newspaper coverage of the dedication and reached out to Ocean Pines with surprising new information. “My father built that boat,” he said. “My father’s name [was] Farrell Wrendel Lynch, and that boat was built right over here on Gum Point Road.” As evidence, he produced a faded clipping from an old newspaper that shows the model boat. The size of the model and shape of the bow, bowsprit and stern line up, as does the location of the cabin. Mark Hordeman added the sails during a restoration, years later. Josh Davis is the public relations director of the Ocean Pines Association.

The clipping’s caption reads: “The result of an interesting hobby of Farrell Lynch is pictured above...a three-masted schooner 7 feet long. The model boat took nearly two years to complete. On the table below the model are pictures of Farrell, Jr. a paratrooper at Fort Bragg and Ronnie, a navy man on the destroyer USS Blue.” “That picture was taken right in my mom and dad’s house on Gum Point Road,” Farrell said. His uncle, Roland B. Powell (no relationship to the former Ocean City mayor), took the photo around or just after 1965. “My dad was very handy at crafts,” Lynch said. “He could carve decoys, but he was an exceptional boat builder. A lot of my dad’s family on his side and his mother’s side were all boat builders, back in the day. My dad, somehow, inherited skills to build boats and whittle and carve.” Farrell Wrendel Lynch was born in 1914 in Taylorville, right behind the church. The elder Lynch was a fisherman who occasionally worked for the Martin Fish Co, according to his son. He also was a carpenter for E.S. Adkins & Company and owned the campground formerly on Gum Point Road, and he was a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and served during World War II in the Navy. He passed away about 20 years ago. The younger Lynch, now 74, recalled as a child hunting on what’s presently Ocean Pines. The community wasn’t developed until 1968. “There was nothing here when I was growing up, nothing but a forest and a swamp,” he said. Lynch said his father built the model boat in the garage next to his childhood home, near the

The builder of the boat model at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club has been identified as the late Farrell Wrendel Lynch.

present location of the Worcester County Boat Ramp. “We used to live in an old farmhouse up in the field. All of that’s gone now,” he said. “Almost everything we’re talking about’s long gone. There’s hardly anybody living [from] the family except for myself and my brother. You’re lucky you got us before we died, or you’d never know where that boat comes from!” His best guess is his father built the model during the late 1950s and early 1960s. “I went into the Army in 1963, and I kind of remembered that boat being in the house when I left,” he said. After building the first seven-foot schooner, Lynch’s father crafted a sister boat to the model, which his brother, Ronnie, still has. Lynch said he’s uncertain of the details, but the boat somehow changed hands and became a display piece in a local bar. “This boat went from mom and dad’s house … to the Yankee Clipper Motel in Ocean City, which is no longer there,” he said. “The boat ended up at the Yankee Clipper Motel in the Pirate’s Den lounge. I can’t tell you whether somebody bought that boat from dad. I can’t tell you if dad gave it to them. I can’t tell you if it was family. “My father was the type of person, he probably never would sell you this boat – he’d probably give it to you before he’d sell it to you,” he added. Lynch also is unsure how the boat might have traveled from the motel to Ocean Pines, but more than half a century after he last saw it in person, he opened up a newspaper in November and recognized the model that once sat in a chicken house next to his childhood home. His first reaction? “Jesus, I know who built that boat! That’s dad’s boat,” he said. Lynch said he talked it over with his wife, and later called his brother to ask what he should do: reveal the boat’s origin or “let it be a mystery forever.” “He said, ‘I want them to know where it came from … Ocean Pines probably deserves to know and dad needs to get the recognition,’” Lynch said of the conversation. Lynch was not surprised the boat became a showpiece in Ocean Pines. “I figured it would end up on display somewhere,” he said. “I always knew where the sister boat was, but I kind of lost track of the first one dad built.” As for those missing years between the Pirate’s Den and the Yacht Club, Lynch believes someone, somewhere has a clue to what happened. “Whoever had it in the Pirate’s Den, who knows what they did with it. Where did it go all those years from when it left mom and dad’s house, I don’t know,” Lynch said. “It could have traveled all around different places until it ended up in your Yacht Club … it just didn’t sail over there, I’ll tell you that!” The model boat amassed many other stories between 1975 and the present day, but exactly how it traveled from the Pirate’s Den to Ocean Pines remains a mystery. If anyone has more information, email info@oceanpines.org.

32Ocean Pines PROGRESS

LIFESTYLES

December 2019

Pine’eer Craft Club plans move in late January

Ocean Pines offered the building to the craft club. We would pay the rent, and all the volunteers would have to commit to a certain number of hours. Now, they have to agree to volunteer 35 hours a year,” Puser explained. An extension of the Pine’eer Craft Club, started in 1974, the shop offers handbags, totes, floral To relocate to new gift shop in White Horse Park arrangements, towels, coasters, runners and pictures made from jewelry. There are candles, wreaths, wooden By SUSAN CANFORA signs, cards, mirrors and prints by artContributing Writer ists including local painter Jim Adcock. n January, merchandise from delicate earFor babies, crocheted baby blankets are rings to miniature paintings will be carefully in stock, plus hats, sweaters, plaques and transferred from the existing Pine’eer Artisan bibs. and Gift Shop to the new store. “Everything is original. It has to be It won’t be a long move, just across the parking handmade, hand-crafted. Anybody can lot at White Horse Park, but it is meaningful to join the club, even if they don’t live in the 65 members of the Pine’eer Craft Club who Ocean Pines. It doesn’t matter where create scores of items that line the shelves at they live,” said Puser, who, with her late the shop, possibly one of the best-kept secrets in husband, built a home in the Pines in Ocean Pines and beyond. 2000 and retired here in 2008. She makes The plan, said Sharon Puser, president of the clothes that fit American Girl dolls, inclub, is to be relocated by the third or fourth cluding a cute ski outfit complete with week in January. The current building, one of plastic skis, and pillows in the shape of The Pines’ original structures, will be razed and boats, seashells and fish that sell for $18 the land used for parking near the Community each. The craft shop and artist each reCenter. ceive a portion once a sale is made. With a fresh layout, the inside of the new There are socks, greeting cards and building will look different from the current one, lamps made from jars. One plaque says, which was a bath house in the early years of “The beach is calling me” and another Ocean Pines. There will be four windows, display invites, “Come out of your shell in Ocean cases, shelving and a counter. The floor will have Pines.” a hardwood look and there will be a new heating Pins and magnets are fashioned from and air conditioning system. No restrooms will postage stamps and patrons can find be inside, but they’re in a separate building next aprons, soaps, wreaths, clocks and sculpdoor. tures made of tiny shells and delicate fish The OPA is paying for the $75,000 structure scales. Unique hats are shaped like cupand club members are responsible for the cost of cakes and snowmen. the interior. Prices range from $5 to about $200. As items are transferred, the shop might close Sharon Puser, president of the Pine’eer Craft Club, holds a Although Puser declined to say what for a week or two in January. Once stocked, there pillow she made. Hundreds of handmade items will be the annual operating budget is, how moved into the new building next month. will be a soft opening, followed by a grand open-

ing in the spring, with those attending receiving handmade tote bags. The OPA is planning a ribbon-cutting, Puser said. A sign will be erected on the side of the building that faces the Farmers and Artisans Market booths and another sign will be secured into the ground. New, regular hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays will begin in January. Until then, there will also be extended holiday hours, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays and 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Fridays. During the summer, the shop will follow farmers market hours. Times will be posted on the door and also on the Facebook page and Ocean Pines Association Web site. First-time visitors might be surprised by the ingenuity and variety from the hands of talented and ambitious men and women who contribute to what has become a thriving venture. “Ten years ago, it was very low-key as far as a business. It was just a little craft shop that was closed in the winter. Now it’s a year round business. Years ago when Ocean Pines was a campground, this building had bathrooms and you could get bread and milk. In the early 1970s,

Hundreds of items are on display and for sale at the Pine’eer Artisan & Gift Shop.

Among gifts on display is a mosaic mirror that reflects some of the crafts on display and for sale.

LIFESTYLES

December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

much is realized in a typical month or year or what percentage of proceeds goes back to the club, the financial gains are impressive. Each year, crafters donate thousands of dollars to local organizations. Since its inception, the club has donated more than $151,000. This year, they will give away about $5,500, divided among the community’s police department, fire department, public works, library, Recreation and Parks Department, Neighborhood Watch and Worcester County Veterans Memorial Park. Checks were scheduled to be presented at the December meeting, when officers were installed. Craft shop officials ask the organizations what they need each year. Puser said the police department will receive funding for bicycle helmets, the fire department for turnout gear, public works to thank employees for helping crafters, library to buy supplies for children and adult craft programs, recreation and parks to sponsor concerts in the park, Neighborhood Watch to thank members for helping with parking during craft fairs and the Veterans Memorial to pay for student tours. Money raised comes from the sales of crafts in the shop and at two annual fairs. The Arts and Crafts Festival is on the first Saturday in August from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Ocean Pines Community Center. The Winter Wonderland Holiday Artisan & Craft Fair is in the Community Cen-

ter the first Saturday in November from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Membership to the craft club is becoming more popular. In November, there were 20 people on a waiting list, said Puser, who joined in 2009. For many, having the new store has been an enticement. Members don’t have to make crafts to join, but about 75 percent of them do. Creations must pass approval of a committee. On the third Thursday of every month, crafters gather at the Community Center for meetings that are open to the public. After business is discussed, it’s time to make crafts. Anyone interested can attend and enjoy refreshments at 9:45 a.m., followed by the business meeting at 10 a.m. “Anybody from the public can come in around 11 a.m. to make crafts. We ask that The club’s new home in White Horse Park. they sign up ahead of time and pay a fee because we have to know how many supcustomers who read about the shop in ads and plies to buy. There’s usually an announcement in hear about it within the community. the window of the shop. We put press releases in “There are hundreds of items in our inventory the papers so they know who to call,” Puser said. and it changes all the time. As we get new memIn December, there won’t be a business meet- bers, they make different things,” Puser said, as ing. At the Jan. 16 meeting, there will be plan- she led a guest to a display of nautical scenes ning, including what crafts will be made each painted on small canvases by artist Helen Smith. month in the upcoming year for the pleasure of “We have some really nice stuff.”

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December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Provider submits new draft of contract to bring fiber high-speed Internet to Cove Hearn hopes contractor will accept terms agreed to in April By TOM STAUSS Publisher

he lack of new information in recent months on the execution of an agreement to provide high speed Internet services to Captain’s Cove doesn’t mean that the Cove Board of Directors and the company selected in June to usher in broadband have reached an impasse. But it’s safe to say that negotiations have been difficult. According to a recent post by General Manager Justin Wilder on the Cove Web site, Broadband Connect LLC of Oxon Hill, Md., “has declined to execute the previously negotiated agreement, and submitted a new draft document on 11/25/2019 with new revisions and adjustments.” According to Wilder, the draft document is being reviewed by Captain’s Cove attorneys and CCG Note, the Cove developer and declarant, “to determine the impact of these changes. Given these details, it is not anticipated that this process will be completed prior to the holidays. As more information becomes available, the details will be posted and circulated.” In a Dec. 11 telephone interview with the Progress, Cove director Tim Hearn provided more detail about the contract difficulties, which he said he hoped would be resolved in a scheduled meeting Dec. 19 between the Cove and Broadband Connect. Those expected to attend include Cove President Jim Silfee, Hearn, and Broadband principal John Huggins, along with attorneys. Hearn said that a contract had been negotiated and was ready for signing by both parties in October, but then matters hit a snag when Huggins became concerned about the ability of the Cove and CCG Note to follow through on an executed contract. More specifically, Hearn said, Huggins became concerned by comments by Cove resident John Ward that CCG Note, a party to the proposed agreement, is not the develop-

er and declarant and therefore does not control the rights-of-way that Broadband Connect needs to install and operate broadband services in Captain’s Cove. As a result of those concerns, which he called unfounded, Hearn said that Broadband Connect attorneys proposed a revised contract that changed key provisions. The October contract, consistent with an agreement on terms reached by the parties in April, said that Broadband Connect would complete installation of fiber optic cable and equipment in Sections One through Twelve within one year of executing a contract, while cable and equipment in Sections 12 and 13 would be installed concurrently with water and electric services. In addition, the company accepted two years of exclusivity in providing broadband services, and agreed to provide a slice of the revenue generated by the system to the declarant after two years of operation, Hearn said. The revised contract submitted by the company’s lawyers asked for more time in both provisions. “These are major transaction points,” Hearn said, adding that he hopes the Dec. 19 meeting will clear the air and that the contractor will agree to return to the terms initially agreed to in April and included in the October contract that was close to being signed. “I’m pleased to see that people will be meeting to discuss these matters and will working to reach a satisfactory conclusion,” Hearn said, declining to speculate on what would happen if the parties remain at odds. The Cove board in June agreed to begin exclusive negotiations with Broadband Connect for high speed Internet services, delivered through fiber optic cable. The board chose the Broadband Connection proposal over that of Think Big Networks, which previously had attempted to bring high speed service to Captain’s Cove but couldn’t pull it off. That company

sought commitments from homeowners for its services as a precondition of starting build-out. Broadband Connection had not been asking for such commitments, apparently taking the approach that once high speed Internet is available in neighborhoods as the roll-out ensues, customers will then commit. In response to the Captain’s Cove Golf and Yacht Club’s request for proposals, Broadband Connect presented the board with a proposal for serving the entire Captain’s Cove community with broadband fiberto-the-home in March. In addition, Broadband Connect made a community presentation outlining their plans at the April 17 general manager’s community meeting. Broadband Connect LLC (BBC) is a Veteran-owned business, with a management team that has more than four decades of technology systems experience; operating telecommunications, Information Technology (IT), fixed-wireless networks, data centers and computer facilities; and designing, installing, operating and maintaining inside plant fiber/copper/coaxial cable infrastructures; broadband and telephone systems for municipalities, school systems, state, commercial and government clients throughout the United States. Broadband Connect LLC (BBC) in partnership with Last Mile Broadband of Maryland LLC, Noovis and KCI intends to provide the project management, engineering, installation, operation and maintenance support for all efforts to provide a reliable fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network and customer-oriented broadband services for the Captain’s Cove community. Noovis and KCI have been active in Captain’s Cove for some time, having been selected by the Cove board to craft and manage the process leading to the issurance of an RFP earlier this year. Noovis and KCI made it clear they wanted the option to respond to the RFP once

issued, one of the reasons the board awarded the RFP process RFP to Noovis/KCI over competing proposals. Directors wanted to be sure that at least one viable proposal would emerge from the RFP once it was issued. As it turned out, there were two responses. Starboard Street committee -As a follow-up action item from the recent board and annual meetings where discussions concerning Starboard Street water issues occurred, the board recently approved a consent agenda motion to approve the appointment of a Starboard Street Road Committee. The board routinely conducts consent agenda actions between regular meetings. Within its organizational documents, the board is authorized to appoint committees. According to a recent posting on the Cove Web site by Hearn, as there are a variety of points of view regarding the condition of Starboard Street as well as possible solutions, “it seems appropriate for these members to organize the data and develop recommendations for this board (or future boards) to have. The Starboard Street committee would be made up of the property owners on this street in the affected area, spefically owners of lots 14481468 in Section 3. The goals of the committee include: • Interviewing and selecting an engineering firm, according to a threebid process, for the purposes of completing a study of the water frequency, water depth, water ingress and water egress on the road condition • After completion of the study, developing a set of possible recommendations by the engineering firm that the Cove could include in its capital reserve study scheduled for the 2020-2021 time frame. “Implementation of these recommendations would be based on funding and prioritization to be approved by future CCGYC Board of Directors and subject to prioritization of other required capital needs within the community; the securing of necessary regulatory permits; the securing of construction bids if applicable; and other items which become more visible after the engineering reports are completed,” Hearn wrote. He said that goals could be done in the current fiscal year, while the tempo of implementation “will be q

CAPTAIN’S COVE

36 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

CAPTAIN’S COVE

December 2019

Starboard From Page 35 based on the committee’s efforts. There is not consensus among the property owners as to whether an improvement is even possible, given that the elevation of the road is within one to two feet of the Gut and Chincoteague Bay, and the prior bulkhead elevations along the Flying Fish Canal were set decades

ago.” But Hearn added that “if nothing else, their participation in this process will provide them with first-person details as to the limitations for each solution. I think it will also lower the level of false accusations made towards CCGYC BOD members and staff.” The recommendation for forming this committee has been reviewed and approved by CCGYC’s counsel.

Members of the committee include James Maffucci, John W. McAlack, Louis and Ellen Raieta, Dennis and Deborah Baer, Craig and Cynthia Willard, James and Josephine Finneran, Sandra Hitchner, Robert and Marie Merenda, Robert and Rachel Kennedy, CCG Note LLC, Jason C. Lennox, Frederick J. Horne, Captain’s Cove Golf & Yacht Club, Michael A Nugent, Scott and Jeanette Delude. Some of these members own

more than one lot. These would be the initial committee members, and if and when members sell their Starboard Street properties, their membership on the committee would be terminated. If new owners of a Starboard Street property were to become a member of Captain’s Cove, they would then be appointed to this committee.

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4323 Captain’s Corridor Greenbackville, VA. 23356 302-381-6910 (cell) • 757-854-1604 (office) 757-854-1606 (fax) • Email: candhwelsh@aol.com

OPINION

December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

GUEST COMMENTARY

Ortt Companies management leads OPA turnaround

iring Matt Ortt Company to manage the Yacht Club and Beach Club proved to be the catalyst for a financial renaissance in the Ocean Pines Association. More than any other single action by any board or any General Manager, hiring Ortt impacted OPA financial results to a greater degree than anyone might have imagined. The OPA financial report for the first six months of the current fiscal year provides ample evidence of Ortt’s positive impact on the bottom line. At the end of October, the Yacht Club net operating bottom line was in the black to the tune of $312,088, after what looks to be the best month-of-October results for the Yacht Club in the history of Ocean Pines. OPA’s financial picture is brighter, but six of the typically worst months in the OPA fiscal year calendar remain. Few would disagree that OPA currently has an excellent management team in place, led by General Manager John Viola. However, it is always beneficial to have a clear

picture of where we are, and how we arrived. Looking back, the fiscal year ending in April 2018 was an absolute disaster. The Yacht Club operations alone lost $673,211. A sense of panic engulfed OPA. John Bailey was hired as General Manager. Bailey pushed the Board of Directors to hire Matt Ortt Company. In a strange turn of events, the Board of Directors subsequently fired Bailey. In spite of all the changes within the OPA management team over the past five years, including changes on the Board of Directors, the one major impact on OPA’s bottom line was the hiring of Matt Ortt Company, and Ortt’s ability to turn around OPA’s food and beverage operations. This is clear to anyone looking at the audited financial reports on the OPA Web site. Major departments outside food and beverage operations continue to operate at more or less consistent cost levels, despite management changes. Golf has seen some improvement, but due to accounting changes, it is virtually impossible for the average association member to look at

Viola contract

the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee for four years, and also served on a volunteer basis as the Association’s chief financial officer, prior to becoming general manager. In just over six months as general manager, he led an effort that saw the Association turn a corner financially. The latest monthly financial report shows Ocean Pines more than $550,000 ahead of budget for the fiscal year and more than $400,000 ahead of the same period during the previous fiscal year. Along with overseeing tighter financial controls, Viola has stressed teamwork and nurturing and developing talent among Ocean Pines employees. He has also taken advantage of expertise in the community in the form of more than a dozen workgroups on issues ranging from employee compensation, to construction of a new Golf clubhouse and expanded Police station. “I enjoy working with the team and I feel we’re getting a lot done,” Viola said. “We hope to continue that momentum and to continue to develop our talent from within, as well as cross train to help our employees both now and in the future. “I’m looking forward to continue being a part of this team that’s clearly producing for the Association across the board, as we work towards many needed projects and initiatives,” Viola continued. “For Ocean Pines homeowners, we’ll also strive to improve customer service and to keep the assessments reasonable.” Association President Doug Parks said it was an easy decision to retain Viola, based on his initial success in the general manager role. “We’ve mutually agreed to terms and we’re very, very happy to have John continue on in his role in Ocean Pines,” Parks said. “We’ve already

From Page 1 monthly increments after that. Instead of monthly increments, the board implicitly expressed its confidence in Viola by negotiating a much longer contract period when the six-month agreement expired. The new two-and-a-half deal gives him a raise to $155,000 per year, roughly the same as Bailey’s when he departed. Viola continues to waive health care benefits, but in an implicit quid pro quo for that waiver the board agreed to a retention bonus of $15,000, payable in three increments of $5,000 each. The first payment was payable Dec. 1, with additional $5,000 payments on the first and second anniversary dates of the contract’s effective date. The contract specifies 12 days of vacation time per year, 12 days of sick leave with no carry-over provision and five days of personal leave also with no carry-over provision. The contract specifies a limit of 17 days of accrued vacation time. As was the case with Bailey and other general managers over the years, the contract allows for termination without cause, Viola said. Viola has been an Ocean Pines homeowner for nine years and before that had vacationed in community for three years. A New York native, he has an MBA with a specialization in finance and tax management from Pace University in New York and earned an undergraduate degree at Manhattan College. He worked in the private sector as a certified public accountant, including 28 years with Avon, where he finished as the assistant global controller. In Ocean Pines, Viola served as chairman of

monthly financial reports and make any comparisons to prior years. This applies to Aquatics as well, where it actually is impossible to make any reasonable year-to-year comparisons of late. Major expense areas like Public Works, Recreation and Parks, and Police continue to operate very well within rather consistent budgets over many years. Big-picture or 30,000-foot view of OPA finances? Other than the anomaly of food and beverage losses in fiscal 2017-2018, OPA is humming along rather well from an operations cost standpoint. The hiring of Matt Ortt Company not only corrected the anomaly but put OPA on a course for improved financial results overall for the next five years or more. Politics aside, the Board of Directors could very easily reduce the assessment for the next fiscal year by at least as much as the $35 increase this year, and still maintain a positive bottom line for the next fiscal year compared to budget. - Joe Reynolds

Kiwanis thanks Violante

Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City recently presented a check to Norbert Violante (right), an Ocean Pines employee, for his work supporting set-up of the club’s weekly meetings and other club events held in the Community Center, like the three annual Pancake Breakfasts. He’s pictured with Kiwanian Ralph Chinn, who organizes the weekly meetings and refreshments.

seen the success of the partnership he’s forged with the Ocean Pines workforce and the Board and I are very anxious to continue that, and maintain not only the progress we’ve already made, but to continue our planning for the future.”

38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPINION

December 2019

Comcast arrival ushers in needed competition

nyone frustrated with Internet service prone to outages, both intermittent and protracted, should be pleased by the fact that Comcast, supplier of Internet and cable television services to Ocean City, Berlin and Salisbury, has already begun laying fiber optic trunk lines in North Ocean Pines. While it is by no means certain that Comcast will in the long-term offer rates better than incumbent supplier Mediacom -- at least in the long-term, after introductory rates expire -- a new hybrid system that includes both fiber optic and upgraded versions of co-axial cable ought to satisfy those who want, even more than competitive or lower rates, reliable Internet. Newer equipment should be able to outperform older trunklines and equipment operated by Mediacom. Mediacom, of course, has already replaced some older cable with newer fiber optic, and there’s reason to expect that it will continue to pour investment into Ocean Pines to improve Internet reliability. It’s hard to imagine that Mediacom will simply cede what has been its exclusive territory to its bigger rival. The competition between the two companies should be fierce as they battle over the customer base. That competition should directly benefit users whose bundled rates for Internet, cable television and telephone (oftentimes unwanted by the customer) under Mediacom are in excess of $170 per month, including taxes, fees, reasonable download speeds and a fairly robust channel line-up. At the recent town hall meeting featuring Comcast representatives, one official directed residents to the Comcast regional Web site for information about current rates. It was a calculated deflection. It was a tacit admission by the company that its knows its success or failure in the Ocean Pines market will hinge largely on whether customers perceive that Comcast rates are more attractive than Mediacom rates. Visting the company Web site certainly gives that first impression. As one resident told Comcast representatives during the meeting, the “elephant in the room” is what kind of rates Comcast intends to charge customers for Internet-only or bun-

keeping his business with Mediacom. When the rate inevitably returns An excursion through the curious cul-de-sacs An excursion through theby-ways curious and by-ways and cul-de-sacs to the status quo ante, the customer of Worcester County’s County’s most densely community. of Worcester mostpopulated densely populated community. picks up a phone and calls Comcast, Publisher By TOM STAUSS/ By TOM STAUSS/Publisher securing a low rate for two years. This sort of juggling may not be dled Internet and cable television Tube TV and Amazon Prime. everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s a sceservices. When she threatened to cut off nario that at least is conceivable Perhaps understandably, there bundled service, the company of- when there are two competitors was no declaration by Comcast that fered a lower rate for a period of fighting over a limited customer its rates will be lower than Media- time. base. com’s for similar services. The same thing happened when Eventually, if it loses enough Instead, the advice given prospec- she threatened to cut off Inter- customers to Comcast, or sees it tive service provider switchers was net-only. revenues erode from lower retento access the Comcast Web site for But negotiated lower rates don’t tions rates, Mediacom might close current rates or to visit the company last forever, and higher rates soon up shop or sell its customer list and store in Ocean City for more infor- returned. When she moved out of depreciated assets to Comcast for mation. the area to take a new job, she had whatever it can get. The Web site offers compelling been paying roughly $100 for InterThe same could happen to Comreason to believe that Comcast will net-only. cast, but this scenario seems less be offering lower rates for cord-cutThat’s about $20 more than Medi- likely. ting Internet-only customers and acom customers in Ocean Pines pay Check on-line for Comcast’s curusers of bundled services. for similar service when teaser rates rent capitalization. It far exceeds But clicking some of the fine print expire. that of its smaller competitor. makes it clear that these are introAnother possibility is that ComIf it comes down to which compaductory rates for new customers, cast could decide to keep intro rates ny can outlast the other, Comcast and after a period of time, two years beyond the two years advertised on would seem to have the upper hand. it seems, regular rates kick in. the Web site for bundled service. Until one or the other secures the It’s no accident that regular rates Savvy customers might even at- lion’s share of the customer base in after intro expire are nowhere to be tempt to lock in a longer term for a Ocean Pines, the customer is in the found on the Web site. That would commitment that rates remain con- driver’s seat. give customers an easy way to make stant, with only modest increases It’s as unfamiliar situation and apples-to-apples cost comparisons, for inflation. perhaps not likely to last forever. and it’s not in the company’s best inSimilarly, to keep its customers So customers should enjoy it terest to do that if Comcast regular rather than allow them to migrate while it lasts and in the meantime, rates are actually higher than Me- to Comcast, Mediacom might be shop for the best price and best diacom’s. forced to lower rates for its long- quality of service. Mediacom customers are accus- time customers. tomed to these kind of intro-rate That would be a marketing remarketing ploys. Indeed, it seems to sponse fraught with risk, as lower be an industry-wide practice to lure revenues from long-time customers in customers in this way in the hopes would undermine the system’s profof keeping them even after regular itability. The Ocean Pines Progress, a journal rates replace the teaser rates. But there is also risk associated of news and commentary, is pubIt may even be an effective tech- with allowing its customer base to lished monthly throughout the year. nique in communities where one erode. Higher revenues from a dwinIt is circulated in Ocean Pines, Berprovider essentially has near-mo- dling number of customers may not lin, Ocean City, and Captain’s Cove, nopolistic control over the market. be a good strategy for Mediacom’s Va. That is no longer the case in longevity in Ocean Pines 127 Nottingham Lane Ocean Pines. Another possibile scenario in a Ocean Pines, MD 21811 With the new competitive envi- competitive environment is that ronment in which both companies customers will simply shop the best PUBLISHER/EDITOR will engage in trench warfare to prices for Internet-only or bundled Tom Stauss gain and keep customers, there are services, opting for Comcast’s lower stausstom@gmail.com several scenarios which could play intro rates, keeping the service for 443-359-7527 out in the coming months and years. two years or whatever period of time It’s possible that Comcast will that Comcast offers them. Advertising Sales avoid what has occurred in nearby When the company opts to begin Frank Bottone Salisbury, where one long-time cus- charging a customer a higher rate, 410-430-3660 tomer told the Progress that she was then that customer simply picks up paying about $200 a month for bun- the phone and calls Mediacom to CONTRIBUTING WRITER dled services and then $100 a month lock in a new intro rate. Rota Knott for Internet-only service, with adThis would also work in reverse, InkwellMedia@comcast.net ditional fees paid to streaming ser- with a Mediacom customer negoti443-880-3953 vices such as Sling, Netflix, You- ating a new lower in exchange for

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December 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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40 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

December 2019

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