Tuttle, Perrone at odds over future Sports Core addition
February 2020
It was relatively polite in comparison to past public disagreements among members of the Board of Directors, but the sparring between OPA Vice President Steven Tuttle and OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone at a Feb. 18 budget meeting was noteworthy because it revealed a rift on what has been a mostly harmonious board since last August when the current board term began. The sparring involved Tuttle’s opposition to setting aside a $100,000 allocation for a future Sports Core pool room addition. ~Page 8
County commissioner critiques criticism of spray irrigation County Commissioner Jim Bunting has pushed back against the idea that spraying treated effluent on the Ocean Pines golf course as has been proposed by county officials and the Ocean Pines Water and Wastewater Advisory Board will indirectly promote development and more congestion in the area. ~Page 29
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
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Board adopts $13 million operations budget, keeps assessments at $986
OPA seeking state grants for drainage improvements With nearly 10 percent of properties in the community draining through Bainbridge Pond to a culvert under Beauchamp Road, the Ocean Pines Association is seeking state grant funds to make significant stormwater management improvements in the catchment area. Colby Phillips, director of amenities and logistical operations, provided an update on efforts to enhance drainage during the Feb. 5 Board of Directors meeting. ~ Page 18
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Bulkhead differential raised $50 to $515 By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors approved the 2020-21 Ocean Pines Association budget on Feb. 18, with six votes in favor and Director Steve Tuttle abstaining, reflecting opposition to the board consensus in favor of setting aside $100,000 on a future Sports Core room addition not yet formally approved by the board. As expected, the board kept the base lot assessment at $986, no change from the current year and $5 more than a second version of the budget that had been crafted last month after three days of review by the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee. The initial version of the budget unveiled in December by General Manager John Viola also called for a $5 reduction in the base lot assessment. The approved budget calls for a $50 increase in the waterfront differential paid by most owners of bulkheaded property in Ocean Pines, increasing it from the current $465 to $515. Owners of most bulkhead property in Ocean Pines will pay a total assessment for 2020-21 of $1,501. This is no change from the earlier versions of the budget.
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The reversal of the $5 decrease in assessments called for in the first two budget versions resulted from estimated costs of bringing redundancy to Internet services at the Yacht Club by employing networks offered by Mediacom, the traditional Internet service provider in Ocean Pines, and Comcast, the new ISP that has entered the Ocean Pines market. A working group that included OPA President Doug Parks and former director and OPA President Tom Terry has been hammering out details of redundant Internet and premium programing services above basic. Those details had not been known when the earlier versions of the budget had been crafted. The approved budget calls for $13 million in operational spending, a modest increase over the $12.83 million called for in the original draft budget unveiled this past December. The approved final budget for departmental operations is only .1 percent higher than the forecast budget results for the 2019-20 fiscal year ending April 30, and 4.13 percent higher than the 2019-20 budget approved a year ago this month. When non-bulkhead capital spending of $1,721,164 To Page 5
Viola says OPA can’t go back 20 years to segregate out bulkhead spending from dredging collections
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2 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
February 2020
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4 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
February 2020
2020-21 OPA BUDGET
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Approved budget From Page 1 is combined with projected bulkhead spending of $1,406,000, in addition to the $13 million in operational spending, the total spending package comes to $16.129 million. The most significant change in the final budget from the second iteration involves two departments, Aquatics and Beach Club parking. The final version eliminates the venerable Realtors Beach Club package as well as the bundled Beach Club parking/pool pass. Revenue from this bundled pass had been shared between the two departments since the administration of former GM Bob Thompson, with a majority of it going to Aquatics. OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone recently called that revenue-sharing formula a subsidy of Aquatics by beach parking. The parking-pass-only option created last year is retained in the approved budget, with those who want access to the Beach Club pool able to do so by paying daily user fees or
buying weekly passes or discount coupon debit cards. [See article elsewhere in this edition of the Progress for details.] The initial effect of this change was to boost parking revenue by roughly $95,000 in 2030-21 while reducing Aquatics revenue by the same amount. In the final version of the budget, another $40,000 was added back into Aquatics, reflecting a judgment that eliminating the bundled parking/pass pass will still result in retention of Aquatics revenue. With elimination of the bundled pass and the Realtor package, the net result is that Aquatics is projected to lose $102,823 next year, compared to a modest surplus this year. Viola told the Progress that, if the weather cooperates, it’s very possible that more revenue will be generated at the Beach Club pool than is being conservatively budgeted. He also said that so far real estate companies that manage weekly rentals for property owners are not objecting to the elimination of the Realtors package, apparently taking To Page 6
Beat
Source: Final approved 2020-21 budget
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6 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
February 2020
Final budget
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From Page 5 advantage of other options to obtain access to the pools for their rentals. “We’ll know how well we’re doing in the fall,” he said, adding that he will be monitoring the revenue situation at the Beach Club pool throughout the summer on a weekly basis to guage the practical effect of eliminating the bundled option as well as the Realtors package. The projected loss in Aquatics is more than offset by a projected $489,942 surplus in beach parking next year, a $155,030 increase over what had been projected in the second version of the 2020-21 budget. The underlying assumption is that everyone who bought the bundled parking/pool pass that cost $215 this year will be inclined to purchase the parking-only pass for $180 this summer. The result should be a significant boost to beach parking’s bottom line. The approved budget overall shows that combined amenities in Ocean Pines are net revenue producers. Notably, the Yacht Club for the first time in its history is projected with a surplus, in the amount of $88,014. Combined golf and golf maintenance operations are projected to lose $40,549, with the Tern Grille, the food and beverage operation at the new golf clubhouse, projected to lose $11,687 under the management of the Matt Ortt Companies for the first time. Other amenities projected to make money for the OPA include marinas ($192,007), Beach Club food and beverage ($97,742), and pickleball ($10,108). Other amenities projected with deficits include platform tennis (-$4,323) and tennis (-$31,429). [See departmental summary for details.] In comments at the Feb. 18 meeting, Parks praised Viola and Ocean Pines staff, as well as the Budget and Finance committee, for their roles in crafting the budget. “The process, I think, went very, very well this year and hopefully it’s used as a standard as we move forward in subsequent years to prepare the budget,” Parks said. “Kudos to all those involved, and I thank them for their efforts and applaud them for getting us a budget that we [could] work with in a very reasonable and organized way.” Source: Final approved 2020-21 budget
2020-21 OPA BUDGET
2020-21 OPA BUDGET Final budget From Page 5 Viola said staff and particularly Association department heads contributed to what was, by all accounts, a smoother than normal budget process that finished several weeks early. The proposed budget was released in December, followed by a three-day Budget and Finance Committee review and one daylong Board of Directors review session in January. The Board then held a public hearing on Feb. 5 and budget adoption occurred two weeks later, on Feb. 18. “It was a team effort, we used a bottom’s up approach, held public meetings, prepared analysis, and had work plans support all numbers,” Viola said. “Everybody contributed – Golf, Aquatics, Public Works, Public Relations, Finance, Rec and Parks, Police, Racquet Sports, and the Marina.” Elaborating on the “bottom’s up” approach, Viola said, “I didn’t start off with last year’s budget and work backwards, and just change some numbers.”
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS “Everybody started off from scratch, pen to paper, considering what they thought their revenues and expenses would be,” he said. “I just think the review process, the feedback, the communication, the meetings – everything was smooth. We had due dates and we talked about the issues for each department, and then they [staff] went and did it.” At the center of the entire process, Viola said, was countless hours of work done behind the scenes by the Finance Department, led by Director of Finance and Operational Logistics Steve Phillips. Viola also singled out Accounting Manager Julia Johnson, Accounts Payable Supervisor Geraldine Tate, and Assessment and Membership Supervisor Ruth Ann Meyer. “This is their time to shine,” Viola said. “Steve redid that entire department and, to do that budget while we’re putting in a new software system, plus all the construction going on and the compensation study we did late last year – it was excellent work.” Viola previously lent a hand during Ocean Pines budget sessions,
7
Approved 2020-21 assessment rates
Source: Final approved 2020-21 budget
both as chair of the Budget and Finance Committee and as a volunteer CFO, but this was his first budget in the GM’s chair. Based on what he already knew, Viola was confident he and the team could meet all the deadlines. “There was full transparency throughout the entire process, everyone gave detailed plans and benchmarks, we held meetings out in the open, and I kept the Board up to date – and that’s a big one,” he said. “Nothing was a surprise, everything was explained, and we always
did reconciliations. Everything was communicated and the Board was kept apprised of everything we were doing.” It also helped, Viola said, that staff could use real numbers based on work that was already being done, from bulkheads to roads to drainage. “We didn’t reinvent the wheel,” he said. “The analysis we did all year gets rolled into the budget. What everyone is already doing every month is geared toward that process, and that all contributed to our success.”
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8 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
2020-21 OPA BUDGET
February 2020
Tuttle, Perrone spar over Sports Core pool addition OPA vice-president abstains on vote to approve 2020-21 OPA budget By TOM STAUSS Publisher t was relatively polite in comparison to past public disagreements among members of the Board of Directors, but the sparring between OPA Vice President Steven Tuttle and OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone at a Feb. 18 budget meeting was noteworthy because it revealed a rift on what has been a mostly harmonious board since last August when the current board term began. The sparring involved Tuttle’s opposition to setting aside in the 202021 budget approved during the Feb. 18 meeting a $100,000 allocation for a future Sports Core pool room addition. The setaside shifts $100,000 out of the replacement reserve into the newly established new capital
I
Larry Perrone
Steve Tuttle
teserve. No money on a room addition will be spent in 2020-21, but the $100,000 allocation represents a possible downpayment on the project that could be funded in the next two or three years. Tuttle abstained in the vote to approve the 2020-21 budget at the Feb. 18 meeting, while his six colleagues all voted in favor of it.
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In a response to a Progress inquiry, Tuttle wrote that he “very much wanted to support the budget and I do. However, I also was opposed to setting aside $100,000 for a pool room addition at the Sports Core Pool at this time. This was discussed briefly at B&F meetings and board budget meetings but there was no formal vote on that specfic item. “In the first budget presented [in December], the $100K was not included. It was added later in the process. This plan takes money from the general reserve account and puts it in a new account for some future expenditure. But how a decision to expend the money will be made is not determined and there is no strategic plan to advise the board as to what is the highest priority for use of the money,” he said. “As stated I was opposed to creating a new capital reserve account. What I argued for back in the fall was that we not rob Peter to pay Paul. If we need a new capital reserve account we do it by an assessment charge. The only way, it seemed to me at the [Feb. 18] meeting, that I could support the budget and show my opposition to this part of the budget was to abstain,” he concluded. Tuttle essentially made the same points in discussion at the Feb. 18 meeting, eliciting comments from Perrone disputing Tuttle’s remarks. Perrone said the room addition had been discussed and “agreed to” by the board during earlier budget meetings and a $100,000 allocation to the New Capital Reserve for that purpose had been recommended by the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee and General Manager John Viola. Perrone said agreement to include the $100,000 allocation was not a commitment to spend the money. That would require a specific board vote to spend the money after sufficient funds have been accumulated, he said, adding that accumulated new capital funds could be returned to the replacement reserve or spent on other approved new projects at a later time if the board opts for that. The cost of the room addition has
been estimated at $250,000 and could be two or three years away. Perrone said he understands that Tuttle “doesn’t approve of the new capital reserve” but that a statement suggesting that the allocation had not been approved by the board “isn’t true.” Tuttle said he initially had been reluctant to support the establishment of the New Capital Reserve but had come around to supporting it. “I don’t appreciate” having his comments about the $100,000’s inclusion in the budget “called untrue,” Tuttle said, adding that there had been no formal decision or vote by the board on the issue, only discussion. Indeed there was no formal vote, but discussion by other directors at the Feb. 18 meeting made clear that a consensus had formed on the issue, with only Director Tom Janasek saying he was in “agreeance” with Tuttle but other directors siding with Perrone. “I don’t support putting money in there just to sit there,” Janasek said. Janasek voted for the budget despite his opposition to including the $100,000 allocation in the new capital reserve. While supporting the allocation, Director Camilla Rogers said she agreed with Tuttle that the newly revived Stategic Plan Committee should be given an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed room addition. A working group established to consider procedures for how to handle the New Capital Reserve also needs time to do its work, she said. “I have faith in the process and my colleagues,” she said. Director Frank Daly said including the $100,000 in the New Capital Reserve was a “reasonable risk” given the revival of the Strategic Plan Committee and the creation of the working group. He also said the days of Ocean Pines including large expenditures for unapproved projects in a capital improvement plan were long over, giving him confidence that the new capital reserve would not be abused. Perrone then said that the new reserve was essentially a financial planning tool, “basically a savings account,” with allocated funds able to be moved at the discretion of four directors. “We can’t spend it unless the board decides to,” he said. OPA President Doug Parks reminded his colleagues that he iniTo Page 10
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
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10 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
2020-21 OPA BUDGET
February 2020
Most amenity fees remain the same Bundled pool/parking pass at Beach Club, Realtor package eliminated
By TOM STAUSS Publisher he proposed 2020-21 Ocean Pines Association budget approved by the Board of Directors Feb. 18 for the most part leaves membership rates and user fees unchanged. Harbormaster Ron Fisher had
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recommended, and the board approved, an increase in Yacht Club marina boat slip rates, 4 percent in two instances and 7.1 percent in another. For boats ranging in size from 15 to 25 feet, the fee would increase from $1,800 to $1,872. For boats ranging in size from 26
to 39 feet, the fee would increase from $2450 to $1,548. These increases are 4 percent. For boats ranging in size from 40 to 44 feet and live-aboards, the fee would increase from $3,355 to $3,594, a 7.1 percent increase. At the Swim and Racquet Club, the fee for all boat slips would be
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$1,352, a slight drop from this year’s $1,360. Amenities and Logistical Operations Director Colby Phillips and Aquatics Manager Kathleen Cook recommended fee increases in daily user fees at the pools for non-residents. The board accepted those suggestions. There will be no increase in daily fees for Ocean Pines Association members and Ocean Pines residents, a category that includes longterm renters. The purpose of the increase is to respond to complaints that there hasn’t been enough of difference in fees between members and residents and those who haven’t contributed to the cost of operating and maintaining OPA assessments through annual lot assessment. Whereas $2 has been the typical spread, the new proposed non-resident rates will increase the differential to $4 in most cases. At the four pools in Ocean Pines, non-resident adults 18 and older will be charged $12 and non-resident children 5 to 17 will be charged $10. That’s $2 more than the current rate. The pool at the Ocean Pines Beach Club in Ocean City has always had a non-resident daily rate structure To Page 13
Tuttle vs. Perrone
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From Page 9 tially had been skeptical of creating the new capital reserve but came to support it. He said the reserve is in its first year and the board is in the process of turning it into “something tangible” with the $100,000 allocation. He said the board should “stay with the original intent” and closely monitor the reserve, adding that the $100,000 allocation at issue should be considered “an exception.” Director Colette Horn said she, too, was in support of the allocation, and it’s included in the capital summary that is part of the approved budget. Parks concluded by saying that it had been a constructive debate despite the muted hint of contentiousness between Tuttle and Perrone.
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2020-21 OPA BUDGET Amenity fees From Page 10 the same as the four pools in Ocean Pines, but that has changed in the adopted budget approved by the board. Beginning this summer, non-resident daily users 18 and older will pay $15 for entry to the Beach Club pool, while non-resident children 5 to 17 will be charged $10. Ocean Pines Association members and Ocean Pines residents will not be charged more than they would be at the four mainland pools for using the Beach Club pool. In all cases children under 5 are admitted free but must be accompanied by a paying adult. The most significant changes in
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS the membership structure involve an effort to reduce the number of swimming memberships. Eliminated are the bundled parking/pool pass at the Beach Club and the six-and 12-week Realtor packages that traditionally have been purchased for the benefit of seasonal renters. A $50 pool pass created last year valued at $130 for use at all the pools also has been eliminated. The Beach Club parking-only pass has been increased from $265 last summer to $180.
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Membership rates for residents and property owners in golf, aquatics and the three racquet sports were not increased in the approved 2020-21 budget. Non-resident rates are significantly higher.
Source: Final approved 2020-21 budget
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1001287.4 Source: Final approved 2020-21 budget
14 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
2020-21 OPA BUDGET
February 2020
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edicated deep divers into the Ocean Pines Association’s 2020-21 budget might be wondering why projected food banquet revenues at the Yacht Club show a sharp decline, while regular revenues show a sharp increase. Ralph DeAngelus, one of the partners in the Matt Ortt Companies, contract managers of the OPA’s good and beverages venues, has solved that particular mystery. He told the Progress that it involves the way in which banquet revenues generated from the downstairs restaurant are accounted for. Previously, such revenues were included in the food banquet line item, but beginning in 2020-21 such revenue will be folded into regular food attributable to the downstairs restaurant. The effect of this is to boost regular food revenue while decreasing banquet food revenue. He said the reason for this is that banquets that occur downstairs have costs associated with the kitchen and staff in that location, as opposed to the kitchen and staff who work upstairs in the banquet ballroom venue. The bottom isn’t affected either way, he said.
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Aquatics budgeted for significant loss as a result of changes to member options Beach parking to receive revenue boost; overall impact on OPA could be positive By TOM STAUSS
Publisher he Aquatics Department may be headed for significant losses in 2020-21 as a result of changes in membership options that are embedded in the budget for next year that the Board of Directors approved on Feb. 18. Aquatics, which has shown surpluses in recent years, would join golf and tennis operations as amenities that struggle to achieve breakeven status. The budget drafted recommended by General Manager John Viola and the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee last month projected Aquatics with a $142,823 loss in 2020-21. The final approved budget shows a $102,823 loss. Both the recommended and final
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versions of the budget indicated a signficant shift in fortunes from the original draft budget unveiled by General Manager John Viola this past December. That budget version showed Aquatics with a $30,191 surplus and status quo in membership options. That budget was somewhat misleading, however, in that it didn’t include minimum wage and other payroll adjustments attributable to Aquatics that were lumped with other departments and included as a separate line elsewhere in that draft budget. The recommended budget allocated all those adjustments to each department, and would have resulted in a loss of about $18,000, according to a Progress calculation.
Trendic referendum lawsuit has March 25 court date By TOM STAUSS Publisher he lawsuit involving former Ocean Pines Association director Slobodan Trendic and the OPA Board of Directors is headed for a March 25 court date in Snow Hill, according to an order dated Jan. 21 by the Worcester County Circuit Court. The court also set deadlines for attorneys from both sides to respond to each other’s motions. Trendic, the plaintiff, had until Feb. 21 to respond to defendants’ motion to dismiss or, alternatively, a motion for summary judgment, either of which if granted would end the case in the OPA’s favor. The defendants have until March 16 to respond to Trendic’s response, nine days before the scheduled court date. The suit asks the Circuit Court of Worcester County to order the OPA to conduct a referendum limiting Board of Directors’ spending authority. The defendants are asking the court to dismiss the suit outright or grant a motion for summary judgment in favor of the OPA. Attorneys Jennifer S. Jackman and David M. Hornstein of the Washington, D.C. based Whiteford, Taylor, and Preston law firm argue that members of the Board of Directors named as defendants in the Trendic lawsuit relied in good faith on legal advice by OPA attorney Jeremy Tucker when rejecting a property owner petition Trendic submitted to force a referendum on board spending authority. The attorney’s also said that the OPA and individual directors are protected from court review of their business decision by Maryland’s business judgment rule. Bruce Bright, Trendic’s Ocean City attorney, argued in his filings that the Board actions violated OPA bylaws, specifically sections 4.07 and 4.08 as well as Board Resolution B-07 pertaining to petitions. He also seemed to anticipate that the defense would invoke the business judgment rule in attempt to have Trendic’s complaint against the OPA dismissed.
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Days after the recommended budget was drafted lasdt month, the directors authorized Viola to create a working group to review various membership options involving Aquatics. The result was a recommendation to eliminate the bundled Beach Club parking/pool option, the sixand 12-week Realtor bundles, and a $50 all-pool-access pass with a $130 valuation. The bundled Beach Club parking/ pool pass in recent years has been a significant revenue generator for the OPA. This past summer, it sold for $215, with $130 of each bundled pass treated as Aquatics revenue and $85 allocated to Beach Club parking. The split, which some critics re-
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garded as arbitrary, dates back to the administration of Bob Thompson. The bundled package itself dates back decades, conceived as a way to promote sales of Beach Club parking permits. For most of those years, 100 percent of the revenue from the sale of the bundled permits was allocated to Beach Club parking. Aquatics department staff and the Aquatics Advisory Committee successfully advocated for revenue-sharing as a matter of fairness during Thompson’s administration. Critics said it propped up Aquatics with a cash infusion from Beach Club parking, skewing the financial results for each department. Last year around this time, the board created a Beach Club parking pass with no pool passes included. This parking-only permit sold for $165 last summer. This summer, the cost of the parking-only pass will increase to $180, a nine percent increase.
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2020-21 OPA BUDGET
16 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
2020-21 OPA BUDGET
February 2020
Aquatics deficit From Page 15 The approved budget for 202021 anticipates that those who purchased the bundled parking/pool pass package in past years will buy the parking-only pass this summer, and then will purchase pool access through the various options that remains. All that revenue from this park-
ing-only pass gets allocated to beach parking. According to Viola, the recommended budget subtracted about $95,000 in Aquatics revenue from what had been proposed in the original budget draft from December and reallocated it to Beach Club parking. “It’s a wash,” Viola told the Progress, calling the impact “flat.” But Viola and the working group concluded that the budget showing a $143,000 loss may very well have
understated the amount of revenue that will be generated for Aquatics as a result of the membership changes. The approved budget reflects an estimated recoupment of some that lost revenue, which is why the projected $143,000 loss in the recommended budget was adjusted downward to a $102,823. Viola hopes that good weather this summer will help boost Beach Club pool revenues and says he
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thinks the Aquatics staff will come up with other ways to boost revenue. With the bundled beach parking/pool and Realtor pass options no longer available, property owners will need to purchase access to the Beach Club pool and the four pools in Ocean Pines through other means. The options include daily user fees, weekly memberships and discounted coupon cards. Annual or summer memberships are also available. Membership Director Ruth Ann Meyer told the Progress that she believes the elimination of the bundled option will result in opportunities for additional Aquatics revenue. Meyer, Aquatics Manager Kathleen Cook, Director of Amenities and Logistical Operations Colby Phillips, and Finance Director Steve Phillips also served on the working group and are on board with the membership changes. Colby Phillips told the Progress that the situation will be challenging but that she and her team will do what it can to augment revenues. “We’ll see where we are in September,” she said. Whether additional revenue will significantly offset the projected $103,000 Aquatics deficit remains to be seen. Weather will certainly be a factor, as it is for golf and other amenity operations in Ocean Pines. The bundled parking/pool pass somewhat insulated the OPA from bad weather, as property owners generally bought the combined pass early in the season. OPA Treasurer Director Larry Perrone, in response to a question posed by a property owner in the Public Comments segment of the Feb. 5 Board of Directors meeting, said that for a number of years Beach Club parking has subsidized Aquatics. He was referring to the policy change under Thompson that split the bundled parking/pool pass revenue and distributed it to both Aquatics and beach parking. He said the elimination of the bundled package will allow the OPA to gain a “true indication” of Aquatics’ profit or loss, at the same time that a “confusing” array of membership options is simplified. Aware that the decoupling will probably result in an Aquatics deficit in 2020-21, Perrone said a failure to break even “doesn’t mean we’ll be raising rates to break even” in 202122.
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Golf clubhouse add-ons will stay within $1.6 million: Viola Board approves pro shop furniture, audio-visual equipment
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Viola last month disclosed that a gas fireplace will be added to the clubhouse as well, financed from savings realized during construction. The new counter and display furniture and audio/visual equipment were approved by the board in an email vote prior to its Feb. 5 meeting and announced at that time by by Secretary Colette Horn. The board approved the audio/ visual equipment during the Feb. 5 meeting. The awning is included in the capital budget approved as part of the 2020-21 budget. OPA Treasurer and Director Larry Perrone offered the motion via email to approve the bidy by Bauer International for pro shop display furniture, counters and related items. The approval was expedited so
the furniture could be installed by the targeted May 1 opening of the new clubhouse. The Bauer bid was for $41,046. Although not the lowest of the three bids submitted, it was recommended by Director of Golf John Malinowski because the custom-built furniture sized for the clubhouse would be composed of high-quality wood,
as opposed to the pressed wood construction of the low bidder. The board packet for the Feb. 5 board meeting included photos of the Bayer furnishings and a rough layout of how the furniture will be positioned in the golf pro shop. The audio-visual equipment approved by the board at the Feb. 5 meeting also was not the low bid but it was recommended by Viola and Public Relations Director Josh Davis. The vendor is Mid South Audio of Georgetown, De., the same company that installed new audio equipment in the Ocean Pines Community Cen-
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By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors has approved a number of capital expenditures not initially included in the $1.6 million allocated from the replacement reserve for the new Golf Clubhouse, now well under way. For those who suspect that the additional expenditures were added in an attempt to circumvent the $1.6 million cap on the project, General Manager John Viola says that even with these add-ons the cost to the OPA should still be under $1.6 million. Recently board-approved expenditures include new counter and display furniture for the golf pro shop, new/visual equipment for the clubhouse, and an awning for the back deck overlooking the ninth and 18th greens.
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From Page 17 ter’s Assateague Room. The submitted bid was for $32,931.81. The golf clubhouse package includes installation of a networked audio control processor, two multi-channel anplifiers, one AV rack with battery back-up, nine ceiling speakers in the clubhouse meeting room, nine ceiling speakers in the Tern Grille, 18 ceiling speakers throughout the rest of the building. It also includes two outdoor speakers in the outside patio area, and three outdoor speakers for the golf cart staging area. The installation includes network and coax cable throughout the building and a video control system. The low bid was submitted in the amount of $20,862.64, but it didn’t include installation of video equipment and screen and the cables included in the successful Mid South Audio proposal. Both the Bauer and Mid South Audio proposals were unanimously approved by the board.
OPA on the hunt for grants to fund major drainage improvements Starting points are Bainbridge Pond, Beauchamp Road culverts By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ith nearly 10 percent of properties in the community draining through Bainbridge Pond to a culvert under Beauchamp Road, the Ocean Pines Association is seeking state grant funds to make significant stormwater management improvements in the catchment area. Colby Phillips, director of amenities and logistical operations, provided an update on efforts to enhance drainage during the Feb. 5 Board of Directors meeting. She said the Bainbridge Pond retrofit and outfall improvements and Beauchamp Road culvert additions will be the starting point for future drainage projects Phillips said sections Sections 2 and 3 are deemed the worst areas in
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Ocean Pines for drainage. “Just because I’m highlighting this area does not mean that we’re not also looking at all other areas, e s p e c i a l l y Colby Phillips ones that people bring to our attention. We are. This is just deemed the worst because it affects 761 lots and three parks.” She said 391 lots comprising 115 acres of land drain directly to Bainbridge Pond, with another 370 lots and 233 acres draining from within Ocean Pines to Beauchamp Road. Additional drainage is captured by and conveyed via the existing ditch on the north side of Beauchamp
Road. “All of that drains through the one culvert pipe under Beuachamp Road so we’re working to help get that flow out faster,” Phillips said. Working closely with Worcester County and state agencies, the OPA has developed a plan to improve the area including a retrofit of Bainbridge Pond to meet current Maryland Department of the Environment standards. The plan calls for improving the downstream swales at three of the road crossings to Beauchamp Road and adding a culvert under Beauchamp Road to increase runoff conveyance capacity. “Back in the late 2000s they added another one under there that has helped significantly in that area and we’re looking to do a second one and possibly a third…to help increase q
18 Ocean Pines PROGRESS Golf clubhouse
OCEAN PINES
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Drainage From Page 18 the runoff down there,” Phillips said of culverts under Beauchamp Road. Additionally, plans call for the removal of the high points on the southern Beauchamp Road swale to allow trapped runoff to access new Beauchamp Road culverts, with possible off-site improvements to aid this effort as well. Phillips added that it may be possible to secure Department of Natural Resources grant funding for water quality improvement components, too. “Not only are we looking to impact and help improve drainage, but in the process we’re working to also impact the water quality that’s going out into our water,” she said. Bainbridge Pond improvements will improve water quality and increase outfall capacity by retrofitting the pond to meet current standards, improving downstream swales and ditches, raising the road around Bainbridge Pond to increase pond storage and increase protection of the nearby homes.
“Those homes get really bombarded when that pond raises,” Phillips said. The project will involve a culvert pipe culvert replacement on Beaconhill, Sandyhook and Pinehurst roads. For the replacement of larger culverts, like on Cathell Road, the OPA is considering using a Snap-Tite system, which will allow pipe replacement without digging up the road bed or disturbing traffic flow and reduce costs. “We’re looking at this as a possibility,” Phillips said. The Snap-Tite system allows for pipes with equal or greater capacity than existing culverts, and installs them with a space between the new and old pipes that is filled with cellular grout. She said the pipe joints are watertight and secure, and have an indefinite service life. To help make drainage improvements, the OPA is seeking a Chesapeake and Coastal Grant through the Department of Natural Resources. The funding would be a pass-through grant to Worcester County if awarded. “We’re really excited about those efforts going forward,” Phillips said. As a community governed by a home-
owners association, the OPA for the most part is ineligible for direct grants from state agencies. A key to securing grants, consequently, is good relations between the OPA and the county government. General Manager John Viola recently praised Phillips for significant improvements in those relationships, something that over the course of Ocean Pines’ history has often been lacking. Phillips also recapped the drainage team’s goals, projects, and budget for 2019. “The team has been working really hard on our drainage issues, as I know it probably impacts almost everyone in some way, shape, ore form. And it’s been a learning experience for me for sure. I’ve learned a lot about drainage over the last almost year,” she said. The OPA staff team has worked with Vista Design Group, Worcester County, the drainage ad-hoc group, Maryland Coastal Bays Program, and community members to review drainage issues and formulate plans during the last year. “Everybody has been on board and sup-
portive of these efforts because everybody recognizes how bad it can be in some areas especially. So it’s been a group effort,” she said. Completed pipe and drainage improvements include replacement of failing culverts on Boston Drive, repair of damaged culverts on Mumfords Landing Road, raising low areas on Blue Bill Court to expedite stormwater flow, and pavement milling and repaving to help with standing drainage issues. Currently, the OPA is in the process of replacing the culvert and the catch basins at Watertown Road and replacing culverts at Borderlinks. Also at Harborview Drive new culvert installation will help alleviate existing flooding. “Nothing’s gonna fix it, but its gonna improve it,” Phillips said. During her presentation, Phillips showed the board photos of deteriorating culverts that were part of the original Ocean Pines infrastructure. “Throughout Ocean Pines we have these rusty culvert pipes. To Page 22
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Drainage From Page 19 Ocean Pines is big but it’s really important to us to start replacing those and staying on top of those due to the fact that, one, they’re rusty, and, two, they’re failing,” she told the board. The drainage team also started and has almost completed a ditch and swale maintenance list for every section of Ocean Pines that will include the location and the date of last maintenance. They will then be
placed on a rotation for regular cleanout. “These are not the ditches that are in front of your home. These are the ditches that are beside your home, behind your home. The ones that get really full of the brush. So that we can make sure that we can stay on top of those,” Phillips said. Due to the dry weather last summer, the OPA was able to clean out many of those ditches. “We’ve had some feedback that it definitely helped improve those areas, which is what we’re trying to do,” she said/
This spring, there will be two stormwater management related educational events hosted by the OPA. “We’ve been really trying to keep everybody educated in the community on drainage and things you can do, things we need to do and we’re going to have a couple drainage seminars,” Phillips said. Jennifer Dindinger, watershed restoration specialist, will hold a seminar on yard waste and lawn fertilization on March 2 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Community Center, and on April 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
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will conduct a hands-on seminar on making rain barrels and gardens. Kevin Wager, of the Maryland Department of the Environment, and Jalessa Tate, of Maryland Emergency Management, will be on hand on May 12 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. to discuss FEMA floodplain mapping and flood insurance, elevation certification and flood openings, and low cost solutions property owners can implement on their own.
Unused balances on pool cards to be extended beyond May 1
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nused balances on pool discount cards will be extended beyond May 1 despite earlier indications they might expire, the Progress had learned. According to an OPA press release issued last month, anyone who bought a pool coupon card prior to May 1, 2019 may extend the unused balance by visiting the Ocean Pines Association Administration Office on 239 Ocean Parkway. Starting on Monday, March 2, and pending budget approval, homeowners and residents who bring a pool card with an unused balance may extend the balance for one year. The card would then remain active until April 30, 2021, according to the press release. The press release also said that all cards that were bought prior to May 1, 2019 with an unused balance not brought to the administration office by April 30, 2020 will expire on that date. That statement, however, may no longer be operative. Membership and Assessment Supervisor Ruth Ann Meyer and OPA General Manager John Viola both told the Progress that the staff will accommodate members with unused balances on their discount cards after May 1 if they are unable to make it into the membership office by May 1. “We don’t anyone to lose any money they have on their cards,” Viola said. He said that replenishing coupons will be made easier in the future once Northstar software that makes interactivity possible goes live. Whether that will happen before the prime membership season kicks in remains to be seen. Anyone with questions, about the status of their coupon cards can contact the Membership and Assessment office at 410-641-7717, or email Meyer at rmeyer@oceanpines. org.
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OCEAN PINES BRIEFS
Douty lawsuit hearing postponed to May 26 The Jan. 31 motions hearing on the Nate Douty breach of contract lawsuit was postponed at the request of the plaintiff. The new date is May 26. The hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. at courtroom number two at the Worcester County courthouse in Snow Hill. The Jan. 31 hearing had been scheduled to deal with a motion to dismiss the case filed on behalf of the Ocean Pines Association by the association’s attorneys. Douty, who was fired as the OPA’s part-time human resources manager about a year ago, filed his breach of contract suit against the OPA on July 26 of last year.
Treasurer’s office to remain at Isle of Wight Center
The Worcester County Commissioners in early February voted 7-0 to keep the county treasurer’s office at the Isle of Wight Center in Bishopville, effectively killing a proposal to move the office to the Ocean Pines Library.
Commissioner Jim Bunting proposed withdrawing the move, saying it was “due to calls and emails I have received” in objection. “I would like to see us … remain at the Isle of Wight,” Bunting said. The approval vote was unanimous. A related motion “to approve the request by Worcester County to occupy an office at the Public Library for Treasury operations” was removed from the Feb. 5 OPA Board meeting, during the agenda approval process.
Board establishes rates for non-resident golfers
In the hopes that it will attract new annual memberships in the Ocean Pines golf club, the Board of Directors has set membership rates for non-residents who don’t own property in Ocean Pines. The rates are said to be ten percent higher than rates paid by residents and property owners. They were recommended by Di-
Board approves low bid for Sports Core shingles
rector of Golf John Malinowski and unanimously approved by the board in an email vote Jan. 15 announced during the Feb. 5 Board of Directors meeting.
Choptank begins upgrades of electric lines, equipment
Choptank Electric Cooperative has announced that crews will be working in parts of Ocean Pines to replace and upgrade lines and equipment for two months beginning Monday, Feb. 17. According to the utility, 90 percent of the improvements will be completed on Ocean Pines Golf Club property. Work trucks will be parked on Brandywine Drive and Hingham Lane. Contractor Tuckahoe Underground will perform the upgrades on weekdays for the duration of the project. No road closures or detours are planned.
Six percent rate set for late assessments
The Board of Directors with no debate or discussion set a six percent annual delinquency rate for those who pay their assessments late. They’re due May 1 and are considered deliquent if not paid before June 1, which also makes property owners ineligible to vote in annual OPA board elections. In previous years, the rate was set at 20 percent or higher, but a recent board made the decision to lower it to a more reasonable level, consistent with Maryland law.
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Replacement of shingles on the roof of the Sports Core pool bathhouse will cost the OPA $16,475, the low bid submitted in a three-bid proposal process. The low bidder accepted by the Board of Directors at the Feb. 5 monthly meeting was the staff-recommended Dave Dunn Contractors of Salisbury.
Vote on Yacht Club audio equipment postponed
The Board of Directors wasn’t ready to approve new audio equipment for the Yacht Club at the Feb. 5 monthly meeting, primarlily because directors wanted more information on why staff was recommending the higher of three bids sought for the project. Staff recommended Mid South Audio of Georgetown, De., for the work at a cost of $32,893.31, citing the firm’s previous work installing similar equipment at the Community Center. The company was awarded the contract to install equipment at the golf clubhouse Feb. 5. Director Tom Janasek said he couldn’t vote for the Yacht Club system because he felt there needed to be more explanation for why the company’s bid was about $12,000 more than the low bid submitted by Shore Home Solutions. Staff promised to provide that information, setting up a possible email vote before the next scheduled regular meeting in March.
Board approves compliance actions
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an expedited procedure for handling compliance issues, the Feb. 5 board meeting featured several requests for board approval of compliance action by the general manager. Properties approved for action included 3 Lord Guy Terrace (yard debris) and 84 Sandyhook Road (unpermitted pergola).
Golf cart barn estimated at $90,000 under budget
The Golf cart barn building should be completed this month,
and several other major projects remain on track, General Manager John Viola said during a Feb. 5 Board of Directors meeting. He said the biggest of the construction projects, the new 7,200 square-foot golf clubhouse, should finish by May at an estimated cost of $1.6 million, or less. “It’s on track and definitely under budget,” Viola said, citing a consensus of directors and others involved in the process He said the cart barn was delayed slightly, but should finish under budget, perhaps coming in at around $90,000 below the $400,000 estimate. A 3,400 square-foot expansion
OCEAN PINES of the Police headquarters is “really just starting, but there’s a lot of progress,” Viola said. The foundation is set and much of the brick-wall interior can already be seen in its location, next to the administration building. The total projected cost of the expansion is $1.3 million, with just over $125,000 spent to date. Viola also said the Northstar software installation project continues to be on track.
Appointments made to advisory committees
Ocean Pines advisory committees will benefit from a mix of new an-
members by virtue of a board unanimous vote Feb. 5. New members include John A. Reeves (first term, Aquatics), Ellen Hench (first term, Aquatics), Kim Meekins (first term, Aquatics), Paul Fohner (second term, Environment and Natural Assets). Also named were John Maziuk (first term, Environment and Natural Assets), Mary Corddry (first term, Recreation and Parks), John Bussard (first term, Recreation and Parks), Kathi Gottesman (first term, Recreation and Parks), and Laura Scharle (first term, Recreation and Parks).
Directors finalize resolution on election results validation Tuttle says live streaming of vote count has been eliminated
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he Board of Directors has put the finishing touches on a revamped Resolution M-06 that establishes a procedure for certifying annual board election results. The action was taken Feb. 5 when the directors unanimously accepted a revised M-06 on second reading. Director Steve Tuttle, liaison to the Elections Committe, updated the board on changes to the resolution since it was accepted on first
reading in January. The revised resolution deletes references to live streaming of the vote count, conducted by the committee on the the Friday before the annual meeting, Tuttle said. The vote counts have been live streamed in recent years, but a decision has been made to eliminate them going forward, he added. There has been no change in the approved policy of allowing OPA members to observe the vote count when the committee meets for that purpose. The resolution also specifies that candidates will be seated at committee-sponsored candidate forums in the same order as the traditional candidate drawing for ballot position. Tuttle also said that the resolution allows the moderator at these forums to ask questions in random order. There seems to be no change in the process for certifying election results from the resolution accepted on first reading. Tuttle said election results are generally certified when they’re presented at annual meetings by the Elections Committee chair. If the annual meeting lacks a quorum, as has happened in recent years, then the results are certified when presented to the board at a special meeting of the board called for that purpose. That, too, has happened on occasion. The most recent occurence was q
24 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OCEAN PINES
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
New craft club artisan shop opens in White Horse Park Official grand opening ceremony set for April 4
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he new Pine’eer Craft Club Artisan Gift Shop reopened as expected in its new location on Saturday, Feb. 8. The new building is adjacent to White Horse Park, near the site of the weekly farmer’s market. The Pine’eer Craft Club plans to host an official grand opening for the new shop on April 4. Making the opening more or less official was a Board of Directors vote Feb. 5 ratifying a ten-year lease agreement between the club and the Ocean Pines Association. The lease establishes rent at the rate of $3,300 per year, based on $2,900 in depreciation expense and estimated utility costs. Any contributions to the OPA by the club will reduce the rent payment owed to the OPA in the year they’re made. The approved motion is consistent with a board motion in February of last year. Ocean Pines crafters formed the club in 1974 and the original shop opened two years later, at the time located between the community center and administration building. Once the move to the new building is complete, the old site will be demolished to add more parking spaces. Ocean Tower Construction built
the new shop, with Ocean Pines Public Works adding some finishing touches to the interior. “Public works has been so incredibly helpful to us over the years, but particularly with our move,” Craft Club member Carol Quinto said. “[Recreation and Parks Manager] Debbie Donahue has also just been fabulous. If it wasn’t for her, I’m not sure we’d have a new building.” Quinto said the shop carries a wide variety of handmade merchandise, including woodworking, candles, pottery, jewelry, home décor, and all manner of sewn, crocheted and knitted items. All items are made locally, and most are made in Ocean Pines. “Everything is handmade, and we always have something for everyone. We have a wide range of items that
Election validation From Page 24 this past August when the annual meeting lacked a quorum by two individuals. A special meeting of the board was called a few days later to ratify the results. Once validation occurs, a successful candidate becomes a director, according to Bylaws and Resolution
continually meet people’s needs,” she said, adding the shop also showcases local artists like Helen Smith and Jim Adcock. Craft Club President Sharon Puser said the shop regularly gets new items. “It’s continually changing. As we get new members we get different things, so it’s always a different selection,” she said. “It’s not the same merchandise all of the time, and it’s because it’s hand crafted it’s always one-of-a-kind.” Puser said profits from the shop are donated back to the Ocean Pines community. To date, the club has provided more than $160,000 in donations for Ocean Pines Police, Fire Department, Recreation and Parks and Public Works, as well as the local li-
25
brary and neighborhood watch, and the Worcester County Veterans Memorial. “It’s a community effort, and we’re proud to be a part of this and to be able to give back to the community. That’s our whole purpose,” she said. Along with a new location, the Pine’eer Craft Club Artisan Gift Shop will also have expanded hours, open Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday hours will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting on March 7, to coincide with the farmer’s market. “We’ve waited a long time for this and we’re all very excited,” Puser said of the reopening. “We’re going to fill it with fresh new things, and we’re close to the Farmer’s Market, so we encourage everyone to stop by.”
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OCEAN PINES
February 2020
Comcast, OPA negotiating details of Internet services at Yacht Club, other amenities and facilities Senate bill makes it easier for Choptank Electric to enter high speed Internet arena By TOM STAUSS Publisher omcast and Mediacom will be competing for consumer business in Ocean Pines, as Comcast continues to lay fiber optic cable throughout the community and solicits customers for Internet, cable television, and telephone services using introductory rates good for two years, if the company’s Web site can be believed. But in the case of providing cable service to the Ocean Pines Associaion, particularly at the Yacht Club but at other amenities and administrative departments as well, it appears that Comcast and Mediacom will be sharing the OPA as a client, with both companies offering ser-
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vices that will give the OPA needed redundancy. That will be useful in the event one or the other suffers an outage. OPA General Manager John Viola earlier this month said that Comcast would be the lead provider of Internet and basic and premium television programming at the Yacht Club, with Mediacom in some sort of back-up role in the event of an outage. He had hinted as much last summer when details of the contract with Comcast were made public. Details are being worked out for wi-fi and premium programming at the Yacht Club, with a modest impact on the 2020-21 budget and assessment, Viola said. These discus-
sions with Comcast are one reason the Board of Directors voted Feb. 18 to adopt next year’s budget with no increase in the lot assessment of $986. The original draft had the assessment at $981. But in a Feb. 18 telephone interview, Viola said he believed that the working group that has been in discussions with the two companies had worked out an arrangement which doesn’t necessarily favor one company over the other at the Yacht Club. OPA President Doug Parks and former OPA President and Director Tom Terry served on the working group. Terry said in a telephone interview that software is available that allows two Internet service provid-
ers to function concurrently. Although Viola had declined to get into the particulars of why OPA initially had seemed to prefer Comcast over Mediacom, one obvious factor are favorable components of the Comcast contract. Free services that Comcast agreed to provide effectively ended the OPA reliance on Mediacom for both cable television and Internet services. Comcast will provide at no charge up to 25 cable television outlets in OPA facilities, with high definition digital starter cable services along with the necessary customer equipment. The free service does not include premium services or pay-for-view upgrades, and such services are what OPA and Comcast have been discussing. Some premium services are likely for the Yacht Club, Viola said, mentioning various sports packages as definite possibilities. As listed in the Comcast agreement’s Exhibit A, the outlet locations include Ocean Pines Associq
26 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
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ation Administration building, the Pine’eer Craft building, the Ocean Pines Community Center, the Ocean Pines Police Department, and the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Company’s Southside and Northside firestations. The outlet locations also include the Ocean Pines Public Works Department, the Ocean Pines Yacht Club, the golf pro shop, and the golf maintenance shop. Four OPA swimming pools are outlet locations, including the Swim and Racquet Club Pool, the Mumfords Landing Pool, the Sports Core Pool, and the Beach Club pool in Ocean City. The Yacht Club pool is not included in the Exhibit A list. Ocean Pines Association General Manager John Viola last summercalled that omission a likely oversight. Other outlet locations include the Racquet Sports Complex on Manklin Creek Road and the Ocean Pines Beach Club in Ocean City. In addition, again at no cost to the OPA, Comcast agreed to provide WiFi, or wireless high-speed Internet, in common areas at OPA facilities, presumably the same ones listed in Exhibit A. There will be 35 Wi-fi hotspots in OPA public buildings, with specific locations to be determined by the mutual agreement of the OPA and Comcast. Comcast will be responsible for installing and maintaining all equipment required to provide WiFi hotspots, but the OPA is responsible for network adapters, computers, notebooks, mobile devices, and
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MOC’s DeAngelus reluctant to shift Yacht Club winter ops to golf clubhouse Says kitchen at Tern Grille is geared to ‘grab and go’ menu items By TOM STAUSS Publisher hile General Manager John Viola is receptive to the idea of shifting winter food and beverage operations from the Yacht Club to the new golf clubhouse under construction, to do so would come with some operational challenges. Ralph DeAngelus, a partner in the Matt Ortt Companies, the contract food and beverage firm that will take over management of the Tern Grille in the golf clubhouse later this year, said in a telephone interview that kitchen limitations at the Tern Grille would mean that the menu patrons have been used to at the Yacht Club could not be replicated at the golf clubhouse. “In theory it sounds good,” he said, acknowledging that the Tern Grille would be much less expensive to operate when compared to the Yacht Club. “But the functionality doesn’t work, not even remotely close. The Tern Grille is designed for grab-and-go items, such as sandwiches and salads. There’s no way the kitchen could handle the same number of customers” as is currently served during the winter months at the Yacht Club, even if the equipment is upgraded to handle a robust menu, “The cost of doing that would be tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars, and even then the kitchen (at the Tern Grille) is not large enough to handle the expected volume,” DeAngelus said, adding that “we still do enough business” at the Yacht Club during the winter months” to justify it staying open. Actual financial results at the Yacht Club this past December, the last month for which revenue data is available since the amenity was closed in January, make a case for why keeping the restaurant open can be justified as a service to the community. While the Yacht Club lost money for the month in the amount of $36,271, that was better than budgeted expectations by $11,400. The business amenity generated $134,000 in revenue for the month, ahead of budget by $33,154. After cost of sales are factored in, net revenues were ahead of budget by $9,168.
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From Page 26
tablets needed to take advantage of the free service. Viola first disclosed that Comcast will be providing wi-fi at the Yacht Club in comments he made at the Aug. 31 Board of Directors meeting. It turns out that free wi-fi will be extended to OPA facilities throughout Ocean Pines, courtesy of Comcast. In the meantime, there is at least the theoretical possibility that Choptank Electric will at some distant point in the future provide Internet and programming services in Ocean Pines. A bill has been introduced in the Maryland Senate, Senate Bill 540, that gives the member-owned electric co-op the authority to offer Internet services throughout the rural Eastern Shore, including unserved or underserved areas of Worcester County, without the rate-setting involvement of the Maryland Public Service Commission. District 36 Senator Mary Beth Carozza is a co-sponsor of the bill that builds on a bill passed last year that makes it easier for Choptank to enter the high-spped fiber optic field. Last year’s legislation enabled the company to use its existing rights-of-way to lay fiber optic cable. The co-op’s Web site makes it clear that underserved and unserved areas will be the first priority for service. Ocean Pines, with two Internet providers competing for business, would not qualify as either underserved or unserved. So while Choptank would not appear to have Ocean Pines on its radar, there is nothing in the legislation that would prevent it from entering already served communities if financially justified, a big if.
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28 Ocean Pines PROGRESS Yacht Club
OCEAN PINES
February 2020
From Page 27 Yacht Club critics over the years have argued for closing down the amenity during the months when it loses money. Viola’s compromise idea for a possible closure of the Yacht Club during the winter while keeping the Tern Grille open could result in a food operation that is unable to meet demand, according to DeAngelus. Viola told the Progress last month that MOC had seemed receptive to the idea of shifting operations, but DeAngelus’s comments suggest that it’s not necessarily a slam dunk decision. As the contract manager of both the Yacht Club and now the Tern Grille, MOC has been given a lot of latitude to run these facilities as it sees fit, with minimal interference by the OPA. The shift would be made somewhat more feasible by a recent change in management structure that is transferring responsibility for the Tern Grille, the golf operation’s food and beverage operation, from the Director of Golf John Malinowski to MOC.
Ocean Pines Boat Club wants equal display space at Ocean Pines Yacht Club By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Ocean Pines Association runs the risk of offending a sizable bloc of Ocean Pines residents if it ignores a request by the Ocean Pines Boat Club for display space at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club, similar to what has already been provided to the Ocean City Power Squadon, a boat club representative and former OPA director has made clear. Doris Lloyd, the boat club representative and a frequent attendee of board meetings since her days as a director, asked the board to revisit the decision, reinforced in remarks by OPA President Doug Parks during the Feb. 5 Board of Directors meeting, to deny the boat club cabinet space in the Yacht Club. Lloyd told the board that at one
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Robert D. Park, DMD, MSD ORTHODONTIST
time both organizstions had an area to display promotional materials but that currently the Matt Ortt Companies has made space available only to the Power Squadron, apparently because it asked first. During the Public Comments segment of the Feb. 5 board meeting, Lloyd and an another member of the club said that’s unfair because the boat club is an Ocean Pines-based organization whose purpose is in keeping with the mission and purpose of the Yacht Club. There’s room in the Yacht Club for both, they said. Parks initially seemed to throw cold water on prospects for revisiting the decision, seeming to shift blame on MOC for how the situation has unfolded. Parks said that initially MOC wanted to deny the Power Squadron’s request for a display cabinet but reluctantly relented when organization officers reminded MOC that the company had promised space. When that decision was made, the decision was also made to deny
space to any other organization that asked, Parks said. That decision does not appear to have been targeted at the boat club, but it’s the only other organization that traditionally has had its promotionaj materials present in the Yacht Club. “We said we would say no (to additional requests),” Parks said, without elaborating when that decision was made and who made it. The subject had not been previously presented for discussion at any board meeting since MOC took over management of the Yacht Club for the OPA. No other director contradicted Parks or defended the boat club’s request. The seeming hard-line by Parks seemed to melt later, however, when General Manager John Viola and Public Relations Director Josh Davis began checking out a possible compromise suggested by an OPA member. The suggestion was to ask the Power Squadron and the boat club to share the cabinet space now occupied solely by the Power Squadron. Davis told the Progress the first step would be to ask the Power Sqadron if it was willing to share. If the organization is willing, then he plans to check with the boat club. MOC’s Ralph DeAngelus told the Progress he’s OK with a space-sharing compromise.
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OCEAN PINES
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Proposed county budget would fund irrigation feasibility study
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Ross and others discussed the proposal during an Ocean Pines Water and Wastewater Advisory Board meeting on Feb. 10. He said several area golf courses already use Jim Bunting county treated effluent for irrigation. Eagle’s Landing, the Ocean City-owned course on Route 611, started last summer. Glen Riddle, located south of Ocean Pines on Route 50, sprays on all 36 holes of its two 18-hole layouts. Lighthouse Sound, on St. Martin’s Neck Road across the bay from Ocean City, also uses highly treated effluent from the county, Ross said. He also mentioned River Run, a golf course on Beauchamp Road just north of Ocean Pines. A proposal for a similar operation in Ocean Pines originated from the Water and Wastewater Advisory Board, late last year. “Highly treated effluent” refers to the water meeting current Bay Restoration standards of the Maryland Department of the Environment. County Public Works Director John Tustin previously said effluent nitrogen levels would be at or below 3 milligrams per liter (or three parts per million), and phosphorus at or below 1 milligram per liter (or one part per million). Before anything moves forward in Ocean Pines, however, “we need to put numbers to it and see what those numbers do,” Ross said. The proposed fiscal year 2020-21 Ocean Pines Service Area budget includes $25,000 for an independent feasibility study. Ross said those funds, if approved, would be available starting in July. After that, he said the county would look for grants and/or bond money to help overhaul the irrigation system at the Ocean Pines golf course. Repayment of any bond would likely not come from the Ocean Pines assessment, but rather through county utility charges spread out over several years. One estimate called for increases of $2-$3 per quarter, while projec-
tions to replace the irrigation system currently range from $1 million to $3 million. The original irrigation system dated back more than 50 years and cannot handle spraying treated effluent. According to Ocean Pines records, the Association has spent upwards of $850,000 for repairs and maintenance of the system since 1992, for an average of about $30,000 per year. Actually sections of the system in Ocean Pines are not the original system. Damaged sprinkler heads on two fairways were replaced in the first year of Billy Casper Golf’s operation of the Ocean Pines. Hired in 2010, BCG took over operations in 2011, naming a director of golf who preceded the hiring of John Malinowski, still in the job almost ten years later under in-house OPA management.
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By TOM STAUSS Publisher ounty Commissioner Jim Bunting has pushed back against the idea that spraying treated effluent on the Ocean Pines golf course as has been proposed by county officials and the Ocean Pines Water and Wastewater Advisory Board will indirectly promote development and more congestion in the area. Bunting, who represents a portion of Ocean Pines on the commission, told the Progress that “rumors” that spray irrigation will lead to more development by freeing up treatment capacity at the Ocean Pines treatment plant are incorrect. The proposal would divert treated effluent to the golf course rather than the Isle of Wight Bay through a bay outfall pipe, the current method of effluent disposal. Bunting said spray irrigation is only permitted six months out of the year by the state. That means the Ocean Pines’s treatment plant, which produces tertiary-treated effluent that’s the highest quality in the state of Maryland, can’t be rerated to process more effluent, Bunting said. A rerating of the plant that allows for more effluent discharge could lead to more development in theory, he acknowledged, but because that won’t happen residents need not be concerned. “Spray irrigation doesn’t lead to the creation of more EDUs (equivalent dwelling units of treatment capacity),” Bunting added. That said, Bunting said that the county-owned Ocean Pines treatment plant already has excess capacity that could be sold to accommodate development in the Greater Ocean Pines Service Area. That right exists, he said, quite independent of any considerations about spray irrigation. There are some parcels along Route 589 that have been rezoned for commercial development, but in Worcester County development occurs slowly. Funding for a feasibility study to spray highly treated effluent on the Ocean Pines Golf Course is included in a Worcester County budget request, according to County Deputy Public Works Director John Ross.
During that first year of operation prior to Malinowski’s arrival, BCG made a point of bringing in its own personnel to run the pro and golf course maintenance operations, losing a lot of institutional memory in the process. That in turn led to extensive damage of the irrigation system during aeration operations that some blamed on the previous golf course superindendent failing to leave detailed “as is” plans for the irrigation system for the new BCG personnel. It was never explained why a terminated employee would go out of his way to educate those who followed him in the job on the location of irrigation equipment. In any event, the OPA had no choice but to rebuild the irrigation system on those two holes at that time. General Manager John Viola told the Progress in a recent telephone interview that around that same time, the OPA augmented the original system by adding sprinkler heads on the edges of the fairways q
Commissioner Bunting pushes back on critique of spray irrigation proposal
29
OCEAN PINES
February 2020
Viola says OPA can’t segregate 20 years of bulkhead spending from dredging collections
Spray irrigation From Page 29
of all 18 holes. He said that information was provided to him by Andre Jordan, the current golf course superintendent who worked for the golf course before the arrival of Billy Casper Golf. He was shifted over to the Public Works Department during BCG’s tenure in Ocean Pines, subsequently moved back to the golf course when in-house management of the course was restored. In any event, it’s clear that while some of the system dates back 50 years, some of it is much newer, less than ten years on two fairways and along the edges of the entire course. Viola said he would continue to research the age of the system and include the information in a town hall meeting he is planning “in a couple of weeks” on spray irrigation. If the project were to move forward, it would likely be a two-tofour-year process before spraying started, Ross said. Viola, during the meeting, said the Association was “in favor of this very preliminary study,” but that he and other officials need much more information. Board member Larry Perrone added, “From a theoretical standpoint we’re in favor of this, but we need to see what the numbers do.” Advisory Board member Jack Collins, a former OPA director, agreed any immediate decision would be putting the cart before the horse.”
Question raised on whether reserve funds have been used for their intended purpose By TOM STAUSS Publisher cean Pines property owner Richard Marchesiello pressed the Board of Directors during its Feb. 5 monthly meeting to update the community on an issue he and his wife Pat raised in June of last year. He was promised at that time for information on the portion of the waterfront differential that is supposed to be allocated to dredging of canals in Ocean Pines. Marchesiello used the Public Comments segment of the Feb. 5 meeting to renew his concerns that the co-mingling of funds intended for dredging has been improperly co-mingled with bulkhead revenues over the years. The waterfront differential in Ocean Pines paid by most waterfront owners currently is $465, of which $90 is supposed to be allocated to canal dredging. Marchesiello raised questions about whether that has occurred or whether that portion of the waterfront differential has been used for bulkhead repair and replacement instead.
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In the 2020-21 budget approved by the board Feb. 18, the waterfront differential has been raised $50 to $515, and there are expectations that it will be raised more in at least two fiscal years that follow to pay for a revived bulkhead replacement program whose costs have increased significantly on a linear foot basis. Marchesiello asked the board and General Manager John Viola to produce 20 years of data showing the extent to which funds allocated to the bulkhead and waterways reserve have been used for bulkheads rather than dredging. Viola told Marchesiello that the finance department was unable to come up with information requested, but that going forward the OPA would segregate the $90 that is supposed to be earmarked for dredging from bulkheading money. One possible means of accomplishing that would be to create a separate dredging reserve, an idea that Viola and OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone are considering. This option would continue to collect the $90 as part of the waterfront diffrential.
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Another option would be to eliminate the $90 in the waterfront differential that is supposed to be allocated for dredging, but to some extent apparently hasn’t been. “Do we want to continue to assess it (the $90),” Viola said in framing that option. Both Viola and Perrone said it was simply too difficult to segregate out funds for dredging and bulkheading for the past 20 years. Marchesiello said it was “very difficult” for him to understand why not, and he again urged Viola, Perrone and the finance department to come up with the numbers. Perrone raised the specter of having insufficient funds in the bulkhead and waterways reserve in the event of some disaster, citing an example of one of the sub-associations in Ocean Pines having insufficient funds to pay for renovations after a fire in one of its buildings. Six property owners were assessed a share of $450,000 because of inadequate insurance and a lack of reserve funds, Perrone said, a situation he said the OPA should not emulate. “We should not abate $90 (to property owners who pay for their own dredging),” Perrone said, adding that “we’re not going to segregate funds for property owners who pay for their own dredging.” Viola went on to say that the $90 collected in the waterfront differential ostensibly for dredging pays for other items, such as lights and signage, which complicates the task of accomplishing the 20-year look-back that Marchesiello was seeking. “We could segregate going forward, separating dredging from bulkheads, but we can’t go back,” he repeated. Other directors offered views on the topic. Collette Horn said the issue won’t be “solved tonight,” and Tom Janasek said that it would be conceivable that the OPA could spend all of the dredging money in the reserve “in one year.” Frank Daly said it was “inexcusq
30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OPA FINANCES
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OPA scores another positive month; $641,000 surplus through January
By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Ocean Pines Association’s operating surplus for the year through January is $641,333. For the year, revenues were over budget by $430,661 while expenses were under budget by $26,673. There was a positive operating fund variance in January of $18,417, with revenues under budget udget by $8,256 and expenses under budget by $26,673. That compares favorably to December, when revenues were under budget by $9,472 and total expenses were under budget by $45,131 . The January results were issued by Finance Director Steve Phillips on Feb. 21. The OPA is doing substantially better financially for the first nine months of the fiscal year than it did for the same period last year. The year-over-year positive swing in net operating results was $678,102 through January. In a report to the Board of Directors Feb. 5, General Manager John Viola said he and Phillips expect that the operating surplus for the remaining four months of the fiscal year will erode by roughly $250,000. If that prediction holds up, the operating surplus surplus for the year would end up around $375,000. In December, all three racquet sports performed close to budget. The same was true in January The Yacht Club lost $54,338 in January but exceeded budget by $4,258. In December the loss was $36,272 for the month, but that exceeded budget by $11,450. For the year through January, the Yacht Club had an $187,010 surplus, ahead of budget by
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Dredging From Page 30 able” that the OPA had not segregated the dredging money from the waterfront differential over the years. He suggested the creation of a working group to determine the proper “split” between these dual purposes. That seemed to be the consensus view after discussion, and Viola later told the Progress he was in the process of forming a working group to address the topic, with Marchesiello among those the general manager would like to appoint. The issue had surfaced in June of last year after a meeting of Marchesiello and his wife with Viola, OPA President Doug Parks, Colby Phillips (then the OPA Director of Operations), Perrone (then the chairman of the Budget and Finance Advisory
$191,021. A year ago, the Yacht Club had a surplus of $40,169. Golf missed its budget by $17,327 in January and lost $58,607. The Tern Grille was ahead of budget by $1,418 on a loss of $1,644. Year to date, golf is in the black by $29,448 but is under budget by $57,394. Tern Grille for the year is in the black by $18,183, ahead of budget by $21,560. Last year in January, golf had already slipped into the red, in the amount of $13,423.
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Aquatics on a loss of $19,054 exceeded its budget in January by $6,023. For the year it was in the black by $122,420 but under budget by $30,803. For the year through January, all assessment departments were ahead of budget, with the exception of Compliance and Permits (-$29,732) and Police (-$29,732). Recreation and Parks was ahead of budget by $79,487 and General Maintenance was ahead by $153,329. Status of reserves: The OPA’s reserve balance through January was $8.33 million, with a $5.34 million surplus in the replacement reserve, $2.05 million in the bulkheads and waterways reserve, and $894,946 in the roads reserve.
Net Operations by Department, January 2020
Source: Ocean Pines Association, Finance Department
Committee) and Assistant Treasurer Gene Ringsdorf, who left the position in August of last year. Public Works Director Eddie Wells and Public Works Operations Manager Nobie Violante were also consulted on the matter. According to a June 12 press release, the OPA promised to review, as part of the 2020-21 budget review process, the portion of the waterfront differential that is supposed to be allocated to canal dredging. That review had not occurred as of the Feb. 5 board meeting, an oversight that Marchesiello hoped to remedy. Some context on the topic was provided at the June board meeting last year. According to comments attributed to Ringsdorf at the meeting, the dredging differential was original-
ly $50, but it gradually increased and has remained $90 for some time. He said about $500,000 in total was collected during the last two decades and that money went into the bulkhead and waterways reserve. Perrone said then that the funds have largely been used for “spot dredging,” or dredging as needed rather than operating on a schedule, and he noted Ocean Pines is responsible for maintaining its canals, which also includes upkeep of signage and other items in the waterways. According to Colby Phillips, now director of amenities and logistical operations, dredging requests are passed on from Ocean Pines lot owners to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has the final say on work performed. She said
requests so far, if approved, would total about $55,000. Apparently, no work was done in 2018. Marchesiello estimated about $145,000 each year is collected from 1,600 waterfront lot owners, meaning it appears much more is collected than used. He suggested once a reserve is established and it is determined how much funds are needed each year, collections can then be reduced or possibly even eliminated. Viola vowed that both the collections amount and fund level would be evaluated during the next budget process, and he asked Marchesiello to be a part of that discussion. Marchesiello said he had written letters “well over a year ago” that had been ignored, but praised the current action, and especially Phillips for taking a lead on answering his questions.
LIFESTYLES
February 2020
‘ATTICS OF MY LIFE’
Whimsy abounds in electic store on Selbyville’s Church Street By SUSAN CANFORA Contributing Writer here’s a kitchen towel in the showroom of Attics of My Life with the words “There, They’re, Their.” It immediately catches the attention of a writer, making owner Ashley Abell laugh and nod. “I know. My mother was an English major,” she said, explaining the Selbyville shop the Ocean Pines resident owns on Church Street has an artist who hand letters the towels. Others have the lighthearted messages, “It isn’t drinking alone if the cat is home” and “I’m afraid if I give up wine I’ll have to replace it with murder.” The business, with a sign shaped like a sawblade, is a treasure trove of handmade wooden tables, trays and other delightful items, as well as collectibles from planters to quilts to candles and vases. A trio of llamas made of heavy metal sits on a shelf and all around are pillows and throws. Whimsy abounds, but there’s much more in the 3,000-square-foot building that was originally a feed store. “We mill our own wood,” Abell
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The edge of this table follows the natural line of the wood.
said, leading the way to one of the rooms in the establishment opened about seven years and briefly located in Berlin before settling in its present location. Leaning against one wall are slices of wood from trees that her partner, Brad Sonczewski, fashions into tables and other attractive items. Abell sands, stains and paints them. In the showroom are bracelets, necklaces, pillows, rugs, statues, trivets and glassware. On a zippered bag is this message of exasperation: “Some days I amaze myself. Other days I look for my phone while I’m holding it.” Abell described herself on the shop’s Website, www.atticsofmylifellc.com, as loving music, art and literature since childhood and always liking what is vintage, what has a story. She described herself as being “a big believer in spirituality” and said bringing furniture and other rustic pieces back to life is her calling. She believes every piece she works on has a story and strives to revive beauty and charm. Some, she said, call her the furniture whisperer because of her belief that a piece will tell her not only its story but how it should look once completed. At a young age, Sonczewski developed his work ethic and love of woodworking, learning from his grandfather. “After graduating from Calvert Hall, Brad went to Elon where he played football. Transferring to Towson University, Brad began to work in the construction industry and develop his skill set. Brad now owns Bluefin Contracting and Development. A licensed and insured company that has built exquisite million dollar homes in the Baltimore area. “Woodworking is Brad’s gift. Meticulousness, knowledge and passion are what sets Brad apart from the others,” the Website states. Together, Abell and Sonczewski match his woodworking and design skill with her painting and refinishing knowledge. They tear down and salvage old homes that are beyond repair and
tom builds and refinishes pieces. Those interested in learning her specialty techniques can attend a workshop like the one planned for spring. Call Abell at 410-430-0413 about the workshop, or if there is interest in home staging, interior
Owner Ashley Abell holds a tray made of different kinds of wood, fashioned by Brad Sonczewsk
prepare the wood to make furniture. They also reclaim moldings and mantels. Before she was born, Abell said, her father bought land with a barn on it. He salvaged the building and used pieces of it inside of the family home. “Wood beams, reclaimed lumber walls, barn doors and steps and accents finished in shou sugi ban technique. I loved it,” she said, referring to the practice of charring a wood surface to make it deep black. “Being in the arts was what always brought me joy. Whether music, drama, drawing and most importantly making something beautiful, I was happy,” she wrote on the Website. To fulfill clients’ desires, she cus-
design or decoration. “I’m a flighty artist,” she said, explaining her store was named for the Grateful Dead song Attics of My Life, with lyrics, in part, “In the attics of my life, full of cloudy dreams, unreal full of tastes no tongue can know, and lights no eye can see, when there was no ear to hear, you sang to me.” She grew up in the days when music -- like that made by Grateful Dead -- was still good, she said, only half joking and showing a guest a charcuterie board, used to serve meats, cheeses and jams, made of woods including sycamore allowed to rot for variation through the grain, ambrosia maple and black walnut. q
32 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
LIFESTYLES ‘Attic of My Life’ From Page 32 Protected with hemp oil, it costs $115. “It’s Brad’s design,” Abell said, excusing herself to talk to a customer who wanted furniture with an original wood finish painted white, to fit in with lighter seashore décor, since she and her husband are retiring to the Delaware beaches. Abell also gets help from her teenage sons, Blake and Gage, polite young men who help carry heavy furniture in and out of the shop and assist their mother with everything from lifting, tending to customers and even finding her misplaced cell phone. Blake works at Crabs to Go in Ocean Pines and Gage is a photographer. “He takes nature pictures, really beautiful pictures. I sell his photography in here and it sold out. They
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February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS both help me,” she said. “Having these pieces adds character. You have a bit of history in your home,” she said, pausing to catch her breath on a busy afternoon. “When you make something from wood, these pieces are the best built. It’s not pressed board. It’ s made with love. “Say a beautiful tree in your grandfather’s yard falls over in a storm. It’s knocked down and it’s a beautiful tree that you love. We can take that and mill it so it’s still in your life,” she said. “Refinishing a piece might bring the value down, but I would rather have somebody use that piece than discard it, even if the value does go down. “These things make conversation pieces and we all need conversation pieces in our homes. We salvage the wood. We know how old it is. And most importantly, we know its story.”
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Ocean Pines Aquatics offers Red Cross certifications
cean Pines Aquatics will host a series of Red Cross lifeguard classes, from basic re-certifications to certified instructor courses. Red Cross Lifeguarding classes are designed to teach the basics in water safety and the proper protocol when dealing with any emergencies around water. The classes blend lectures style with hands-on training to teach effective techniques to deliver prompt care to those in need. The courses include eight hours of online training prior to the first water session. A pretest is required prior to class admission. Classes are scheduled April 17 from 4-9 p.m., April 18 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 19 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and April 26 from 8 a.m. to noon. Those enrolled must attend all sessions and must be 15 or older on the first day of class. Cost is $250 for Ocean Pines swim members, $300 for residents and $325 for non-residents. Red Cross Lifeguard Instructor classes are available on the same schedule. A pretest is required and the cost is $375. For those looking to renew their certifications, a Red Cross re-certification course will be offered on April 26 from 7 a.m. to noon. Participants must either be currently certified or have certifications expired by no more than 30 days. The cost is $138. The registration deadline for all classes is two weeks prior to the start date. Amenities Director Colby Phillips said the courses are “a great opportunity to receive your lifeguard certification, which gives you a potential job with Ocean Pines,or elsewhere. The training includes testing of hands-on skills and comprehension on written tests. “The certification, includes First Aid, CPR and AED training, is valid for two years upon completion and is accepted nationwide,” she said. For more information, contact Ocean Pines Aquatics at 410-641-5255 or email Aquatics Manager Kathleen Cook at klcook@oceanpines.org
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Short’s Marine in Millsboro has been chosen as one of the Top 100 Boat Dealers in North America for the 15th consecutive year by Boating Industry Magazine. Donald and Dianne Short accept the Top 100 Award from Boating Industry Magazine during the recent ceremony in Orlando, Florida. This highly regarded award is given based on several criteria, not just sales. It is ultimately a report card based qualitative information that gives consumers a resource to find the best boat dealers to provide a top notch ownership experience, from boats to parts and accessories, sales to service, storage and more. “I am very proud of it for a lot of reasons,” said Don Short, president of Short’s Marine. “We have not only received the award for 15 consecutive years, but we have been chosen to be a part of the Top 100 every year since they started giving the award. So it reflects our great dedication to doing things the right way. We believe in what we do and want our customers to know that we will always take are of them.” Short’s Marine celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2019. They opened after World War ll in a small one-car garage in Oak Orchard. Short’s Marine is located at 32415 Long Neck Road in Millsboro and online at www.shortsmarine.com.
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February 2020
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February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
Silfee to step down as Cove HOA president Replacement to be selected at April board meeting By TOM STAUSS Publisher or undisclosed personal reasons, Captain’s Cove association president Jim Silfee is stepping down, keeping his position on the board while giving up the presidency, board secretary Tim Hearn has confirmed. Silfee’s replacement will be selected at the scheduled April 2 board meeting, Hearn said, from among the other directors. The meeting is set to begin at 5 p.m. in the banquet room of the Marina Club. He said he would be willing to serve as president if the other directors want him to. In a Feb. 18 telephone interview with the Progress, Hearn said he
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has not had any discussions with his colleagues to know whether any other director is willing is step up or would be agreeable to Hearn assuming the role, a position he held for about six years beginning in 2012. Broadband Connect -- Captain’s Cove residents recently learned by reading the Cove Web site that Broadband Connect LCC has executed a contract to begin laying fiber optic cable for high speed Internet in about 90 days. The announcement said that Broadband Connect needed a 90day window to secure financing for the project, which has led to some speculation on the site’s message board suggesting that Broadband
Boating Safety Course
Connect might not have the financial resources to begin the project. Hearn pushed back against that skepticism. He said that the company is in the process of securing financing for multiple projects and appears to be in a good position to secure it. “I’m hopeful,” he said. After that financing is secured, he said laying of fiber optic cable should begin shortly thereafter. All of the terms agreed to and disclosed in a community meeting last March remain in force, Hearn said. There had been a waiting game for an executed contract because Broadband Connect initially had delayed signing an agreement that
The US Coast Guard Auxiliary is offering the ety course Maryland Basic Boating Safety Course March 3, 4, & 5 at the Ocean Pines Library. The Maryland Safe Boating cate is required for all t Guard Auxiliary is offering the Certifi Maryland Basic Boating Safety Course March 3, 4, & 5 at nes Library. Theoperators Maryland Safe Boating required for all boat operators born boat born afterCertificate July 1stis1972 and 1972 andisisawarded awarded after successful completion of the course. after successful completion of theThe Class includes piloting s, tying nautical weather tactics,piloting legal issues and common course.knots, Thefoul Class includes in local wa- marine maintenance. ee evenings. or get more information by calling Barry Cohen at 410-935-4807, or ters, Register tying nautical knots, foul weather tactics, X1205@Gmail.com legal issues and common marine maintenance. $15 for all three evenings. Register or get more information by calling Barry Cohen at 410-935-4807, or Email CGAUX1205@Gmail.com
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reflected terms that had been negotiated when the Cove voted to award the contract to that company. That prompted an effort by the Cove board, led by Silfee and Hearn, to see if the original deal could be salvaged. It took awhile, but eventually the two sides agreed to the contract. As of Feb. 18, the agreement had not been posted on the Cove Web site. The contract as reported on by Hearn specifies that Broadband Connect will 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 the availability of 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, q
CAPTAIN’S COVE
36 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
CAPTAIN’S COVE
February 2020
Broadband From Page 35 Hearn said. 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 previ-
ously 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 en-
sues, customers will then commit. Broadband Connect had presented the board with a proposal for serving the entire Captain’s Cove community with broadband fiberto-the-home in March. Captain’s Cove General Manager Justin Wilder has responded to a request from Cove resident Larry Berger asking that a copy of the Broadband Connect contract be posted on the Cove Web site, as had
been promised earlier. “I just responded to Larry Berger’s request to see the contract on the Member site. Since CCGYC is not a party to the contract between CCG Note and Broadband Connect – and it features an NDA (no-disclosure agreement), I won’t post it to the site unless both BBC and CCG Note grant permission,” Wilder told the Progress.
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OPINION
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
37
COMMENTARY
Golf course spray irrigation worth exploring
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he decision by the county commissioners to fund a $25,000 feasibility study on the pros and cons of spray irrigating the Ocean Pines golf course using highly treated effluent from the county-owned Ocean Pines wastewater treatment plant is credible and defensible. Recommended by the county’s Public Works administrators and local Water and Wastewater Advisory committee, and supported by the Ocean Pines Association, the feasibility study may or may not lead to a decision to spray irrigate the golf course. This is hardly a new idea. It’s never made it passed the ideation stage previously because the advantages have always been difficult to quantify. Given that the Ocean Pines treatment plant and the high quality of effluent discharged into the bay is already the best in the state, exempting Ocean Pines from the state’s flush tax, arguments that bay water quality will improve by employing golf course spray irrigation may not actually be supportable. If spray irrigation can’t lead to a measureable improvement in bay water quality, a feasibility study could lead to a conclusion that treatment plant operating costs will decrease. That, however, seems counter-inuitive, unless the county would provide for less intensive treatment of waste during the six months of the year when the state permits land-based spray irrigation. It’s doubtful that there would be much support for less stringent treatment protocols at the plant any time during the year, however, and if so, it’s difficult to suppose any decrease in operating expenses If operating costs can’t be reduced and bay water quality won’t measurably improve, then
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it’s difficult to see why spray irrigating the Ocean Pines golf course would be worth the slight increase in quarterly EDU charges that might result from construction financing costs. A feasibility might shed some light on these matters, so by all means let’s explore the options. As for implications that a new county- or grant-funded irrigation system would save the OPA substantial sums by not having to replace it at OPA expense, it needs to be understood that parts of the system are not, in fact, 50 years old. Substantial repairs and replacement have been done over the past 20 or 25 years, according to numbers provided by the OPA, and a lot of it has occurred in the last ten years. New sprinkler heads were installed along the edges of the golf course during the Billy Casper Golf tenure, according to General Manager John Viola. Sprinkler heads on two fairways were damaged by BCG crews and needed to be replaced at roughly the same time. Whether this newer equipment needs replacement any time soon should be part of any feasibility study. The questions becomes more difficult to answer if, as Viola says, the system is essentially all one unit, with parts very old and other sections much newer. As for published criticism elsewhere that spray irrigation will lead to increased development and traffic in the area, that has been effectively rebutted by county commissioner Jim Bunting in comments reported elsewhere in this edition of the Progress. Increased development related to spray irrigation would only occur if the treatment plant would be rerated for higher treatment capacity as a result of less discharge into the bay, and that
notion is fanciful at best. The state seems unlikely to rerate the plant simply because discharge is diverted from the bay to a land-based site. What would be the motivation for that? State environmental officials aren’t in the business of promoting new development. Simply stated, the Ocean Pines treatment plant already has excess capacity that could handle additional commercial development in the Greater Ocean Pines Service area, which includes areas on either side of Route 589 from the South Gate to Route 50. When and if developers get around to exploiting their commercially-zoned parcels, the county no doubt will be receptive to having these developments tie-in to the Ocean Pines treatment as an alternative to land-based waste disposal. Those tie-ins benefit the Ocean Pines service area financially because developers are required to pay a hefty entrance fee for the privilege of disposing of waste in a treatment plant already paid for by Ocean Pines property owners. Additional development along Route 589 might result in more traffic, sure, but it’s difficult to imagine that this will result in a huge hit on anyone’s quality of life. Perhaps it will result in a Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or Harris Teeter supermarket, in which case the trade-off would be worth it. If that happens some day, it won’t be because some effluent is sprayed six months out of the year on the Ocean Pines golf course. With all that said, when fully vetted, the cost-benefits of spray irrigation may prove less obvious than some might hope for. Spending millions on a system overhaul may not in the end be worth the time and money. A feasibility study will help determine that. -- Tom Stauss
A responsible launch of the New Capital Reserve
cean Pines Association members should be content if not elated with the responsible launch of the recently established New Capital Reserve in the approved 2020-21 budget. While two directors - Tom Janasek and Steve Tuttle -- take exception to setting aside a $100,000 downpayment for a Sports Core pool room addition that could be built in two or three years, by and large there is a consensus that the New Capital Reserve itself is a good idea that need not devolve into a slush fund as OPA President Doug Parks once articulated. Aside from the $100,000 allocation in which reasonable people can differ, the board only allocated $67,000 out of the new capital fund for various expenditures in 2020-21. It’s likely that the golf clubhouse back porch awning and display furniture in the pro shop would have been funded even if the New Capital Reserve had not been established. Under the old method of funding new capital expendi-
tures, they would have resulted in an assessment increase or at least pressure to increase the assessment by whatever their cost happened to be. That’s the essential logic of the New Capital Reserve. It allows the board to pay for desirable new capital items without having to worry excessively about the impact on the assessment. At the same time, the board is taking steps to make sure controls are put on this reserve to ensure responsible use of it in the future. The revival of the Strategic Plan Advisory Committee and creation of a working group to devise ways and means of how this new reserve should function are both solid indicators that the board and General Manager John Viola are serious about this. Janasek and Tuttle both were of the opinion that the $100,000 set aside for the Sports Core pool room addition was premature until the work product of the strategic plan committee and working group was further along. A board
majority differed on that point, and so the $100,000 set-aside remains. As noted by OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone, the set-aside doesn’t guarantee that it will be spent on a room addition. It could also be reallocated to the replacement reserve or used for some other purpose. But board discussion of this item does establish a pre-disposition of the current board majority to spend it and perhaps another $150,000 to be allocated in the next year or two for this project. Amenities Director Colby Phillips has already presented a convincing business case for the addition as a venue for class instruction and parties, all revenue-generators for the OPA. So far, Viola and the board have been very transparent in their discissions and intentions regarding the New Capital Reserve. That’s very positive for the OPA and its membership. -- Tom Stauss
38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
OPINION
February 2020
Lounge chair drama at the Yacht Club pool
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t’s never too early for lounge chair drama at the Yacht Club pool, a popular venue for splashfree tanquility during the summer season in Ocean Pines. The Aquatics Advisory Committee recently discussed the vexing issue of those who claim lounge chairs at the pool for extended periods of time. This practice -- one can think of it as a fibrous filibuster -- involves claiming the chair, even when not being used for sun-bathing, by leaving personal belongings on it. The rules for the Yacht Club “quiet pool” put a two-hour limit on lounge chairs detached from human residency. The problem comes with enforcement. Who’s going to keep a timer on lounge chair disuse and who’s going to remove belongings that have overstayed their welcome? It’s just one of the absurdities easily found in the quiet pool’s rules. Minimum wage hardly covers the potential pain and suffering of youthful guard staff supervising their misbehaving elders. The committee according to a write-up in a local weekly doesn’t seem to have any real solutions for the problem other than to recommend that staff at the sign-in desk remind pool users not to abuse the
Rick Menard
LIFE IN THE LIFE INPINES THE PINES
She was the first chairperson of the aquatics committee, established An excursion through the curious cul-de-sacs An excursion through theby-ways curious and by-ways and cul-de-sacs back in the 2006-07 timeframe when of Worcester County’s County’s most densely community. of Worcester mostpopulated densely populated community. the Sports Core pool was converted By TOM STAUSS/ By TOM Publisher STAUSS/Publisher into a year-round enclosed pool. She had discussed the possibility privilege of lounge chair use. Will old dad who in defiance of the “quiet” of a bubble over the Sports Core pool that suffice? Probably not, but it’s a rules decides it’s time for a cannon as early as the 1980s. start at least. Certain behaviors at ball of prodigious volume. After a brief hiatus from the comthe Yacht Club pool are entrenched The latter event, of course, is an mittee after six years of service as and hoary with age, dating back to entirely justified act of civil disobe- chair, she volunteered again to serve the days when it was an adults-only dience against age discrimination; and remained a member until her pool in violation of all sorts of feder- lounge-chair hoarding not so much. passing. al and state regulations. Perhaps there is another solution She was a Red Cross safety inThe Yacht Club pool, especially to this festering controversy. structor. on hot summer weekends, is a venCheck out the cartoon below for She also will be remembered as ue that can’t always accommodate some insight. one of the founders of the Ocean those who want to get in. With a deficit in Aquatics looming Pines Swim Team, the HammerThere have been occasions, not next year, clearly there is a need for heads, which remains active to this often, when lines develop and entry revenue. day. is prohibited because there are no The passing of Ginny ReisShe was preceded in death by her chairs remaining for use. ter: Ginny Reister, long-time Ocean husband, Dr. Henry Clay Reister III, Perhaps it isn’t too surprising Pines resident and first to be initi- and her sister, Carole Ferguson. that competition develops for a ated into the Ocean Pines Aquatics In 1981, she and her husband scarce commodity, with some pool hall-of-fame (if there was such a were awarded the Ocean Pines Citpatrons unable to suppress an enti- thing, she would have been) passed izen of the Year Award, in 1992 the tlement mentality. away on Feb 8, surrounded by fam- Aquatic Council Honor Award, and They want what they want. ily. She will be sorely missed by her also the Daily Times Unsung Hero That’s another way of saying that friends and associates. Award. some people act as if they own the Ginny was the first aquatics diIn lieu of flowers, a donation place exclusively. rector in Ocean Pines, back in the may be made to: Women SupportThey don’t of course, and it’s the 1980s. She served briefly as Aquat- ing Woman, 1320 Belmont Avenue, staff who has to deal with the occa- ics Manager during the administra- Suite 402, Salisbury Maryland sional miscreants, like the 40-year- tion of former GM Bob Thompson. 21804. A celebration of life will be planned at a later date. Condolences may be shared with the family via: www.burbagefuneralhome.com.
The Ocean Pines Progress, a journal of news and commentary, is published monthly throughout the year. It is circulated in Ocean Pines, Berlin, Ocean City, and Captain’s Cove, Va. 127 Nottingham Lane Ocean Pines, MD 21811
PUBLISHER/EDITOR Tom Stauss stausstom@gmail.com 443-359-7527
Advertising Sales Frank Bottone 410-430-3660
CONTRIBUTING WRITER Rota Knott InkwellMedia@comcast.net 443-880-3953
February 2020 Ocean Pines PROGRESS
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February 2020
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