Ocean Pines Progress November 2012 by Ocean Pines Progress

410-641-6029

Vol. 8, No. 8

November 2012

www.oceanpinesprogress.com

Hurricane Sandy damages pool at Yacht Club It initially appeared that Hurricane Sandy left Ocean Pines relatively intact, especially when contrasted with the devastation in New Jersey and points north. Other than heavy flooding along waterfront areas and downed trees, which Public Works crews dealt with as they learned of them, it initially seemed that Sandy was relatively easy on Ocean Pines. But now it seems that the hurricane may have left a very lasting souvenir of her visit – a Yacht Club swimming pool whose northeast corner is pushed up by roughly three inches, according to Aquatics Director Tom Perry. /Page 3

Pines golf drainage project expanded by $90,000 The Ocean Pines Association board of directors were scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to vote on a proposed golf course-Hingham Lane drainage project costing $540,286, $90,286 more than the $450,000 budgeted for the golf course reconstruction earlier this year. Two directors, Marty Clarke and Dave Stevens, have raised objections. /Page 12

Golf overtakes Yacht Club as focus of scrutiny Operations at the Ocean Pines golf course continue to cause concern among OPA officials. General Manager Bob Thompson excludes golf from his otherwise upbeat assessment of the OPA’s current financial condition, while OPA President Tom Terry declares himself “not at all happy” with where golf operations sit financially through September. Thompson announced during the Oct. 27 monthly board of directors meeting that Billy Casper Golf, the course manager, had brought a new director of golf and golf pro on board to replace the departed Damian Cosby, who had asked to be transferred to another BCG-managed course closer to family. He has been replaced by John Malinowski, whose official start date is Tuesday, Nov. 13./ Page 15

THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY COVER STORY

Natural gas pipeline arrives in Worcester County Timeline for conversion in Ocean Pines remains unknown The Maryland Public Service Commission is considering the application by Chesapeake Utilities to purchase Eastern Shore Gas Co., as well as Chesapeake’s proposed countywide blended rate structure that would charge all residential propane and natural gas customers in the county an equivalent rate, regardless of whether they are using propane or natural gas. The monthly rate would drop gradually for everyone as more customers are converted to natural gas. For ratepayers, it would make no difference in their monthly bills if Ocean Pines, Berlin or some other area has bragging rights as the first in the county to be converted.

By TOM STAUSS Publisher

ven with a new natural gas pipeline extending down from Delaware to a storage and operations center near Berlin, it still is too early to know when conversions from propane to natural gas in Ocean Pines will occur. But it’s possible that the company could begin to make natural gas available somewhere in Worcester County by fall of 2013, Ocean Pines Association General Manager Bob Thompson disclosed in a town meeting he conducted in Ocean Pines Oct. 10. At one time, it seemed probable that Ocean Pines would be the launching point for natural gas conversion in the county, but that no longer is necessarily the case. Chesapeake’s Berlin storage and operations center will be located on Friendship Road – that’s the highway that intersects Route 50 between an Arby’s restaurant and a gasoline service station, across Route 50 from Stephen Decatur High School and the Berlin McDonald’s. Eastern Shore Gas, the current supplier of propane to Ocean Pines and other communities in Worcester County, has been working quietly to convert the underground pipe system in Berlin to accommodate natural gas in recent years. ESG sized the Ocean Pines gas pipeline during its installation in the 1990s in anticipation To Page 27

YACHT CLUB UPDATE

Planning Commission OKS Yacht Club site plan Thompson says construction could begin in December-January timeframe By ROTA KNOTT Contributing Writer econstruction of the Ocean Pines Yacht Club earned site plan approval from the Worcester County Planning Commission on Nov. 1, following administrative approval the previous week of a reduction in the required number of parking spaces for the proposed new 20,000-square-foot building. Pleased with the site plan approval, Ocean Pines Association General Manager Bob Thompson told reporters after the planning commission meeting that construction of a new Yacht Club could begin in the December-January timeframe, once a building permit is pulled.

During the meeting, planning commission members focused their attention largely on building design and landscaping issues. They were satisfied that the parking issue had already been resolved. Commissioners systematically addressed a series of waivers requested by the OPA. In lieu of providing a ten-foot wide strip of foundations plantings along the water side of the Yacht Club, the OPA asked for a waiver that will allow for the use of potted plantings. Thompson said the OPA wants to use large clay pots containing plants that are appropriate for the climate and stra-

tegically placed along that side of the building, instead of doing in-ground plantings. He said that will allow for the OPA to more efficiently use the space and will also provide for easy relocation of the plants during the winter months. Thompson said the potted plants will be used as a way to delineate the Yacht Club’s outside dining area and to separate it from the general public area around the building. They will also help with reconfiguration of that seating area as necessary, he said. Commission member Wayne Hartman cautioned Thompson to make To Page 22

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Yacht Club pool damaged by Hurricane Sandy A section of the pool elevated by the storm has produced a ‘good-sized’ crack that runs from one end of the pool to the other, Aquatics Director Tom Perry says By TOM STAUSS Publisher

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t initially appeared that Hurricane Sandy left Ocean Pines relatively intact, especially when contrasted with the devastation in New Jersey and points north. Other than heavy flooding along waterfront areas and downed trees, which Public Works crews dealt with as they learned of them, it initially seemed that Sandy was relatively easy on Ocean Pines. Electricity, cell phones, cable television, and satellite television all were operational during the storm. But now it seems that the hurricane may have left a very lasting souvenir of her visit – a Yacht Club swimming pool whose northeast corner is pushed up by roughly three inches, according to Aquatics Director Tom Perry. The elevated section of the pool – perhaps caused by a storm surge, perhaps by some other unidentified process, even wind – has produced a “good-sized” crack that runs from one side of the pool to the other, he said. What’s not known is whether there is other damage – skimmers out of alignment, for instance – and that can’t be known without digging out the infrastructure under the pool and doing a thorough inspection. “We could have a real problem, or maybe an opportunity, on our hands,” he said. “The uneven elevation and the crack and what may have been damaged underneath could be very expensive to fix, even if it’s possible to do so.” OPA staff now has to deal with a vexing issue: Decide whether to attempt repairs on a 40-year-old pool or recommend to the board of directors that it be replaced entirely. Perry said the issue is something that he, the Public Works department and OPA

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4 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

By TOM STAUSS Publisher onfirming the poorly kept secret that the Ocean Pines Association since earlier in the year has had a standing offer on the table for the purchase of the Pine Shore Golf property on Beauchamp Road, just north of Ocean Pines, the OPA board of directors has voted unanimously to take the offer, for $1.49 million, off the table, probably, but not necessarily, for good. The vote to withdraw its offer to Cecil Bank for the property, which is just under 100 acres, was taken in executive session after vigorous debate following the board’s Oct. 27 meeting. Details of the original purchase offer were to be confirmed in a press release issued by the OPA during the week after the meeting. But that had not happened by the end of the day on Friday, Nov. 2, with the possible explanation that Hurricane Sandy threw off the scheduled release. Unhappy that the OPA had not issued a press release about the Pine Shore offer by the agreed upon deadline, Clarke said he advised OPA President Tom Terry on the afternoon of Nov. 2 that he would confirm the Pine Shore offer if asked by reporters. “We were able to send out a press release on the Yacht Club site plan approval, the day after, it happened,” he said. Clarke told the Progress that he was the director who introduced the motion to withdraw the offer. OPA General Manager Bob Thompson, who originally brought the proposal to purchase the property to the board, was not present to defend it, having left to attend an emergency preparedness meeting in Ocean City related to Hurricane Sandy. According to Clarke, Terry reminded his colleagues that he had opposed the offer to purchase the property earlier

OPA board votes to confirm offer for Pine Shore property Board votes 7-0 to take $1.49 million bid off the table in the year because of potential adverse reactions in the community, at the time focused on a debate whether to approve the reconstruction of the Ocean Pines Yacht Club. Director Dave Stevens told the Progress in a conversation prior to the executive session that any purchase of the Pines Shore property, regardless of price, should only take place after a referendum of property owners. The offer apparently did not include a provision making a purchase contingent on a successful referendum. Earlier this year, Stevens let slip that the financing mechanism for purchasing the property was borrowing, something he said at the time he found objectionable. Prior to the executive session, Director Dan Stachurski did not attempt to refute a reporter’s comment that the announced subject of the executive session – a contractual matter involving negotiations – most likely was the Pine Shore offer. Stachurski told the Progress minutes before going into the closed session that he was concerned how the proposed expenditure of almost $1.5 million for Pine Shore would be perceived in the community, so soon after property owners authorized $4.3 million for a new Yacht Club. “It would undermine the good will we’ve built up with the successful passage of the Yacht Club referendum,” he said. A possible tipping point in the process leading to withdrawal of the offer

was Clarke’s reported reaction when he was told how the association arrived at its $1.49 million purchase offer earlier in the year. “It was based on a calculation of what purchase price was needed to avoid a referendum,” he told the Progress. When informed of that, Clarke said he went ballistic. “Referendum avoidance should not be the reason we do anything,” he told the Progress. One of the reasons initially propounded for buying the Pine Shore property was its potential use to help solve drainage problems along Beauchamp Road, but that, Clarke said, has been overtaken by more recently proposed solutions that would carry stormwater out of Ocean Pines through water mains that would run out to the St. Martins River from River Run, a subdivision located just east of the former Pine Shore property. Another possible use for the Pines Shore parcel is as a disposal site for dredge spoil or leaves. Clarke said the property’s estate zoning would not permit that kind of use, even through a special exception or variance. It has been suggested that some of the Pines Shore property could be developed for use as a soccer facility that could be rented out to local sports teams, but a couple of soccer fields within Ocean Pines, including one in Bainbridge Park, have fallen into disuse. Clarke there is no evidence to show how much demand there would be for a dedicated soccer facility.

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Clarke said that one director suggested that the property could be valuable as a way of “protecting” areas around Ocean Pines from development, citing concerns expressed about the lot clearing on the Gillis property adjacent to the North Gate. Clarke said he responded that protecting Ocean Pines residents from nearby development is not a proper function of a homeowners association. Stevens told the Progress in a recent conversation that there might be value in buying the property simply as an investment. Clarke told the Progress that the OPA should not be in real estate investment business. Clarke confirmed that the latest purchase offer on the table, not accepted by representatives of Cecil Bank, was for $1.49 million, slightly higher than an unconfirmed $1.3 to $1.35 million offer reported by the Progress in July of this year. There have been reports that the bank has not being willing to accept anything less than $1.7 million for the property. One source told the Progress recently that the individual previously in charge of the bank’s loan portfolio was no longer with the bank and that his replacement might be more receptive to an offer lower than its previous floor. The reported board action, while not absolutely taking the OPA out of the market for a possible purchase, means whoever is in charge of selling the prop-

Yacht Club pool From Page 3 General Manager Bob Thompson will be addressing in the days ahead. Ocean Pines Association Director Marty Clarke also said the problem could turn out to be an opportunity. “The pool is old and probably needed to be replaced anyway,” he said. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if the recommendation from OPA management is to rebuild it, but he said that pool experts should be brought in to help with the evaluation. “Neither Bob (Thompson), nor I or anyone else around here can really make that call,” he said. “We’re not pool experts.” Thompson did not return a phone call before this edition of the Progress was sent to the printers. Thompson had proposed more than a year ago to reposition the pool and rebuild it in relation to then proposed new Yacht Club, but that option was jettisoned because of cost concerns. The general manager said at the time that he would revisit the swimming pool option at a later time Clarke said relocating and rebuilding the pool – along with new decks, restrooms, pump rooms and pool plumbing – could easily cost $1 million. Rebuilding on the existing footprint is another option.

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES erty no longer has a formal offer on the table from the OPA that can be accepted or countered. The Progress in July reported that while widely reported and discussed on the OceanPinesForum.com, no one was officially confirming that the OPA had made a formal purchase offer. The property’s appraised value is reported to be in the neighborhood of $2 million. Clarke, then a candidate for the OPA board of directors, had posted on the Ocean Pines Forum a comment that individuals in the Ocean City banking profession have been actively discussing the alleged OPA offer among themselves. He told the Progress that when he specifically asked Terry to confirm the offer, and told Terry that it isn’t right that Ocean City bankers seemed to know more about the financial affairs of the OPA than do property owners, Terry declined to comment. “He basically told me he doesn’t care” that area banks seem to have information that has not been shared with property owners, Clarke said at the time. “I have a problem with that,” he added. Since then, he has consistently said “no comment” when asked what he’s learned about the purported offer. Terry told the Progress in late June that he couldn’t comment on the alleged offer, stopping well short of a blanket denial that it had been made. Thompson also declined to either confirm or deny that an offer was on the table. Several weeks earlier, Stachurski had come close to confirming the OPA’s interest in the property, a 100-acre parcel that for decades was operated as an executive 27-hole golf course. Long-time resident and course owner Al Janis lost the property to Cecil Bank in foreclosure a few years ago; it is now largely overgrown. Janis also owned another golf course on Route 611 in West Ocean City. Stachurski had said he didn’t think it was likely that the OPA would be buying the Pine Shore property any time soon, but he did not reject out of hand rumors that Thompson had been talking with representatives for the bank that owns the property and may have discussed his findings with the board of directors. “Bob stays very much on top of everything that goes on in the area, so it wouldn’t surprise me that he’s been talking with the bank,” Stachurski said then. He also said then he can think of any number of purposes for the property – solution to drainage problems, equipment storage, and leaf disposal among them. More recently, Stachurski moved even closer to confirming that an offer had been made for the property. “We can’t talk about ongoing negotiations with a bank in public,” he said. “Hopefully, when there is something to report,” the board can be more forthcoming with property owners, he said. A press release may yet be in the offing.

OPA directors add $140,000 for road repaving Funding to come from anticipated casino revenues in coming months in the worst condition,” he said. He wants to try to repave as many roads as possible before the weather turns cold and the asphalt plants close down for the winter. To do so, he asked the board to beef up the road resurfacing budget with the money yet to come from the casino. Thompson said when he advertised the roads repaving project he didn’t place a limit in the cost but rather asked paving contractors to submit bids for repaving a certain number of roads. Based on the bids, he recommended awarding a contract to Chesapeake Paving and Sealing for an expenditure of up to $540,000. The contractor may not be able to resurface all of the roads on the priority list before the asphalt plants close for the winter, but Thompson said it will do as many as possible. Director Sharyn O’Hare asked if the OPA has received any gas tax money that can be used for the road resurfacing. Thompson responded that it was a negligible amount compared to that from the casino. Director Dan Stachurski said it has been three years since the OPA did any repaving of its roads, so it is already three years behind schedule. He said the original road resurfacing program was for ten years, so that over a ten year cycle all roads in Ocean Pines would have been repaved. “This will begin to catch us up to that program again,” Stachurski said. Thompson agreed, but said he has modified the road resurfacing plan to stretch it out to a 15-year plan. Stachurski said that approving the road resurfacing plan and accelerating it to use the additional slots revenue will help the OPA catch up on the overall program. “We certainly now have X number of

roads in Ocean Pines that haven’t been touched for at least 13 years. Certainly some of them are getting pretty rough,” he said. O’Hare said it is not the OPA’s fault that the repaving program has fallen behind. She said the reason the association has not done any resurfacing is because the money traditionally used for the program that is passed through by the county has not been available. “It sounds like we just dropped the program, and that’s not the case,” O’Hare said. Terry said the county can’t give Ocean Pines money it doesn’t have. “The county is not receiving the money so it can’t be passed through,” he said. The OPA receives a portion of the highway user revenue, or gas tax, given to Worcester County based on the percentage of roads in the county inventory that it maintains. Director Marty Clarke opposed designating the additional slots revenue for the road resurfacing project because it was not budgeted. “If we just ignore the budget completely, we can save a lot of time in January and February,” he said. Director Dave Stevens said in this particular case the OPA has the additional $140,000 in unallocated money, and the intent was to use the casino revenue for the roads project. Therefore, it makes sense to proceed as recommended by Thompson, he said. Clarke said being over budget is being over budget. “Guys, these are tough times. If I spent money like this I’d be living out of my trunk,” he said. Stachurski made the motion to approve Thompson’s recommendation to spend the total amount of $560,000 for road resurfacing. Only Clarke opposed the motion.

Clarke hits ‘delay’ in posting Sandy evacuation notice on OPA Web site

the notice was issued, and immediately called (OPA President) Tom Terry to tell him that we would be posting the notice shortly on the Web site and in an e-blast.” Thompson said he did not feel that the notice provided by the OPA in any way jeopardized the safety of Ocean Pines waterfront residents. Other OPA directors have not joined in the criticism of Thompson and indeed are lauding the general manager and staff for the way in which they coordinated emergency response during and after Sandy’s arrival on the scene. The other six directors issued a letter to the editor – published in this edition of the Progress – that went to great lengths commending staff and volunteers involved in dealing with Hurricane Sandy. Clarke said he was invited to attach his name to the letter along with the other directors but he declined. “That’s what they get paid to do,” he said of the OPA staff.

By ROTA KNOTT Contributing Writer he Ocean Pines Association will use more than $500,000 in local impact revenue generated by the Ocean Downs Casino to repave many of its aging side roads. The OPA board of directors during an Oct. 16 meeting agreed to proceed with the road resurfacing project, using about $400,000 in budgeted revenue and another $140,000 in slots money that it expects to receive through March 2013. The additional $140,000 in capital roads represents spending not originally included in the budget for Fiscal Year 2012 budget, approved this past February. Because state gas tax revenue hasn’t been passed down to Worcester County and then through to the OPA for three years, the community’s road resurfacing program was put on hold. As part of the current year’s budget, the board of directors approved using the slots revenue, which averages about $20,000 per month, to revive road resurfacing. During the board’s Oct. 27 monthly meeting, OPA General Manager Bob Thompson asked the board to also designate slots money that has not yet been received by the OPA but will be coming in during the next few months, for the roads as well. “We’re looking at resurfacing our roads,” he said. “We’re looking at using the funding from the casino to do so.” Thompson said delaying the resurfacing program has had a significant impact on the condition of the side roads. Originally, Ocean Parkway was scheduled for repaving as the top priority, he said, but many of the side roads are in such poor condition that they now need to be resurfaced first. “The Parkway is not the road that’s

By TOM STAUSS Publisher cean Pines Association director Marty Clarke believes OPA management was slow in posting the initial evacuation notice for waterfront homes in Ocean Pines issued by the Worcester County Commissioners on the day Hurricane Sandy arrived in full force in Ocean Pines. The county’s evacuation notice, issued in late morning, was applicable to residents in Ocean Pines with homes east of Ocean Parkway. Oceanpinesforum.com sent out a copy of the county’s notice in late morning. The OPA Web site did not post the notice until mid-afternoon, a couple of hours later, Clarke said. An OPA e-blast went out at roughly the same time.

“There’s no good excuse for why it took so long to notify residents of the evac notice,” Clarke said. “In this same timeframe, the iceberg had sunk the Titanic.” Clarke said that either the general manager didn’t know the evac notice had been issued by the county, or he didn’t have staff on hand that knew how to do the posting. Thompson told the Progress in his own defense that he didn’t regard the time lapse between the county’s posting and the OPA’s as a delay. “That’s not accurate,” Thompson said. “We were simply waiting to coordinate with the county, which posted as soon as they heard from the National Hurricane Center. I was in a meeting with emergency first responders when

6 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

OCEAN PINES

Directors approve budget guidance for FY 2014 Board asks general manager to produce business plans, calls for continuation of five-year funding plan By TOM STAUSS Publisher lthough one Ocean Pines Association director insists that the budget guidance for Fiscal Year 2014 approved by the board of directors Oct. 27 does not guarantee a $30 increase in the base lot assessment for next year, odds that it will happen seem better than 50-50 as a result of the approved budget guidance. Director Marty Clarke told the Progress that the provision of the guidance that calls for the continuation of the five-year’s funding plan only allocates an additional $30 from whatever revenues are collected next year to the OPA’s major maintenance and replacement reserve. To avoid an assessment increase, Clarke insisted that the general manager and board could fashion a budget that makes cuts in operational areas of the budget to offset what otherwise would be a programmed increase in the assess-

ment relative to building the reserves. How likely such an offset is remains to be seen. Some components of the approved budget guidance, which in most respects is a repetition of guidance given last year and in previous years, could lead to assessment increases. For instance, the board approved guidance that said “the operational portion of the

budget should support the operational segment of the dues, if possible, remaining at the same level” as the current year. This somewhat opaque language seems to suggest that assessments related to the operational side of the budget will remain stable, “if possible.” A reduction would be necessary to accom-

OPA launches disaster relief effort

hile Ocean Pines was fortunate to have been spared the brunt of Hurricane Sandy, communities to the North were not so lucky. Since clean-up efforts in Ocean Pines’ public spaces are being handled by the Ocean Pines Association’s public works department, OPA General Bob Thompson is suggesting that those who want to help out in the aftermath of the storm should join in a disaster relief effort to provide non-perishable food items, bottled water, clothing, and similar items to be sent north. The OPA has already begun collecting these items. Drop-off points include

the Community Center, Public Works, Sports Core Pool, Yacht Club, golf pro shop and the administration building, including the Police Department. OPPD officers will also pick up items from homes on request. Suggested items are powdered drink mixes, Gatorade, coffee, telephone cards, chewing gum, canned fruit and nuts, games, and playing cards, books, newer clothing, coats and accessories including gloves, hats and socks. Toilet tissue, men’s and ladies’ toiletries such as tums, toothpaste and toothbrushes, hand sanitizers, hand towels, wash cloths, emery boards, nail clippers, foot powder, talcum powder, body lotion,

plish Clarke’s hope for an operational offset to the $30 increase from the fiveyear funding plan. The guidance implies that it might not be possible, in which case the general manager may propose, and the board could approve, a FY 2014 budget that increases the assessment even more than $30. To Page 8 chapstick, and deodorant are acceptable, but no liquids or perishable items. Gift cards can be donated so that needed supplies can be purchased. Shelby Trucking and Construction of Selbyville has volunteered to drive the tractor trailer load of supplies to a designated location. First State Packaging of Salisbury will donate shipping and collection boxes. The goal is to raise enough items to provide a tractor trailer load of organized relief. For more information about the relief effort, residents may contact the OPA 410-641-7717 or by email at info@oceanpines.org. All donated items must be collected by Nov. 15.

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8 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

Budget guidance From Page 6 For the current year’s budget, OPA General Manager Bob Thompson applied similar guidance language and proposed a budget with no increase in the assessment relative to operations. Another pressure point in the approved board budget guidance is its call for “realistic amenity budgets” that “reflect continuing efforts to increase revenues through greater usage and a decrease in expenses. The budget should emphasize a continuation of increased marketing for broader utilization of amenities.” The difficulty here is that three major amenities – golf, the Yacht Club and aquatics – are under-performing relative to budget this year, with all three entering the time of year when actual operating losses dwarf surpluses that normally accumulate early in the fiscal year. Golf, in particular, is more than $270,000 behind budget and almost $122,000 in the red for the year thus far. If budget forecasts for the remaining months of the current fiscal year show these amenities continuing to under-perform relative to budget, what constitutes “realistic” budgeting for these amenities could change when the

board considers next year’s budget. The approved budget guidance makes an adjustment in the budget guidance relative to staff compensation. “The board does not direct, nor propose that the general manager provide raises for the staff,” the guidance says. “The GM, however, may propose salary increases (raises) that in the aggregate amount to 3 percent of total employee salaries (not restricted as to individual employees). These raises need to be tied to specific merit measurements and not across the board. (The 3 percent maximum is not to be budgeted across the board by department, but should be placed in a separate fund for allocation at the appropriate time).” Last year’s approved guidance seemed somewhat more supportive of the premise that Thompson could raise salaries by up to three percent, although even last year the board made it clear in its guidance they were not to be given across the board and were to be merit-based. Last year’s guidance did not include the requirement that funds be set aside for merit raises in a separate fund, and Thompson’s draft budget included proposed salary increases that were applied in each department, a budgetary treatment that was retained in the final, approved budget.

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OCEAN PINES Then a member of the budget committee, Clarke objected to that practice and more recently called salary increases that are budgeted but not awarded a means to inflate the budget and, when needed, that funding is used to offset areas of the budget that underperform in revenue. The establishment of a separate fund for salary increases may or may not address what Clarke calls a “budgetary gimmick.” The approved budget guidance for FY 2014 incorporates previous year guidance that envisions the expenditure of association resources on major projects, such as road resurfacing and technology upgrades. In addition, the approved guidance renews that board’s call for “business plans, executive summaries or business cases for new major programs or services, as well as for the operations” of the OPA’s most significant amenities, such as the Yacht Club, golf and aquatics. “The (draft) budget should be accompanied by such business plans, executive summaries or business cases, even though they, understandably, may be preliminary and not completely developed,” according to the approved guidance. The budget guidance of a year ago did not refer to the fact that business plans might not be completed and, indeed, an initial draft of next year’s guidance didn’t either. When Thompson failed to produce a complete business plan for the Yacht Club last year, he was taken to task by the budget committee and his most persistent critic on the board, Dave Stevens. Similar criticism has dogged Thompson throughout much of this year, although he submitted a draft business plan for board review several months ago, asking for board input. If that input has been compiled and added to the draft business plan, it has not been announced publicly. Stevens recently said as far as he’s concerned, Thompson still has not fol-

lowed through on last year’s guidance to produce a Yacht Club business plan. Revised budget guidance considered during the Oct. 27 meeting would seem to give the general manager an out if, as part of his draft budget for FY 2014 that he will make available to the board in late December, he includes business plans that aren’t yet complete. The board’s 7-0 vote approving the budget guidance concludes a process that took longer this year than in prior years. The board discussed but was unable to finalize Fiscal Year 2014 budget guidance to Thompson during their September regular monthly meeting. At the conclusion of that inconclusive discussion, board member Terri Mohr, recently elected as OPA treasurer, suggested that the directors wrap up the budget guidance via e-mail. “We’ve done it before,” she said, with respect to the board dealing with policy matters via e-mail. The directors agreed to send comments to her about a draft set of guidelines presented during the meeting by Friday of that week. But that Friday came and went with only a couple of directors – Sharyn O’Hare and Marty Clarke reportedly – sending comments or offering suggestions. Predictably, Clarke said he is opposed to any guidance that presumes an assessment increase next year. Subsequent to that meeting, Director Dan Stachurski, who serves as the board secretary, said that the issue of providing budget guidance was sufficiently important that it should be decided in public. OPA President Tom Terry told the Progress if need be he could call a special meeting to deal with it, reacting to a media request to have access to board e-mails if the matter would be conclusively addressed that way. Subsequently, Mohr informed the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee that the board would not decide budgetary guidance until its October meeting.

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OCEAN PINES

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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10 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

OCEAN PINES

Thompson says it isn’t necessary to ask for more greens project money Contends OPA Board previously authorized sale of lifetime memberships with no timeframe By TOM STAUSS Publisher cean Pines Association General Manager Bob Thompson told the Board of Directors during its Sept. 12 monthly meeting that, since there has been a shortfall in the number of lifetime golf memberships sold and the revenue collected, he would come up with an alternative funding mechanism to complete the second nine holes of the greens replacement project that he expects to resume later this year. He said he would have a proposal for the board to consider at its Oct. 27 regular monthly meeting. He has had some apparent second thoughts about the need to revisit the issue. Thompson told the Progress in a brief hallway interview Nov. 1 that he did not recall if he said in September that he would to return to the board with an alternative funding mechanism for green replacement. Whether he did or didn’t, Thompson said he does not believe it’s necessary to

ask the board for additional funding to make up the shortfall from the sale of lifetime golf memberships. “There was no time limit for the sale of lifetime golf memberships (when the project was approved in February),” the general manager said. While the goal hasn’t been met, he said he was “optimistic” that it would be eventually. He said that his optimism in other situations – he probably had the successful Yacht Club referendum in mind and the recent approval of a site plan for the project – had worked out just fine. Director Dave Stevens told the Progress in late October initially that he thought Thompson had referenced green replacement in addition to drainage during the Oct. board 27 meeting. On the second thought he said he didn’t recall any mention of it. He said he would raise the issue with Thompson when the board meets again in special session Nov. 6 to resolve the drainage issue. [See separate story in this edition of

Kiss Your

the Progress for an update on golf drainage.] Green replacement on the front nine was funded out of the OPA’s major maintenance and replacement reserve, and it would not be a stretch to think that if pressed Thompson would propose the same for the back nine to the extent necessary. As it practical matter, if the invoice comes in for the back nine green replacement and the lifetime golf memberships have failed to produce the requisite revenue, that reserve looms as a possible, if not likely, funding source. But it now appears possible that, if pushed by Stevens or another director to propose an alternative to lifetime memberships, Thompson will insist that the earlier board approval of the financing mechanism is still in force, absent any countermanding action by the board. Thompson told the board at the September meeting that to date the OPA has collected $254,000 in lifetime memberships, which leaves somewhere between $150,000 and $200,000 that will

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be needed for the back nine’s greens replacement that previously was estimated at about $450,000, but could be less. At last count, 17 lifetime memberships have been sold, according to OPA President Tom Terry. In February, the board authorized greens replacement at a total cost not to exceed $850,000, with the cost and project spread over two fiscal years. The front nine was substantially completed in the Fiscal Year 2012, which ended this past April 30, while the back nine is supposed to be launched before the end of this calendar year. Greens reconstruction involves removing the old greens completely and rebuilding them from the ground up, then installing new sod for a putting surface. The board approved taking funds from the OPA’s major maintenance and replacement reserve for the front nine Lifetime golf memberships, approved separately by the board, were identified as a funding source for the back nine. According to an approved board motion, the goal was to raise about 50 percent of the authorized $850,000 total project cost from lifetime memberships. The motion did not specify the recourse if Thompson and the OPA was unable to sell a sufficient number of lifetime memberships to reach the 50 perTo Page 12

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12 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

Golf course drainage project in limbo, may include Hingham Lane addition Directors consider adding $90,286 to previously approved $450,000 reconstruction of eleventh and twelfth holes. Also under reconsideration is a previous decision to finance the project through borrowing. By TOM STAUSS Publisher ig-ticket expenditures in Ocean Pines just keep on comin’, courtesy of your board of directors with a nudge if not an able assist from Ocean Pines Association General Manager Bob Thompson. The directors have not yet decided to approve a proposed golf course-Hingham Lane drainage project costing $540,286, $90,286 more than the $450,000 budgeted for the golf course reconstruction earlier this year. A scheduled Nov. 1 special meeting to resolve the issue, which in turn had been rescheduled from Oct. 31, was rescheduled to Monday, Nov. 5, ostensibly because of Hurricane Sandy. An OPA press release said the special meeting was delayed again at the request of OPA President Tom Terry “because several days of work (was) disrupted by Hurricane Sandy, (and the) damage assessment (from the storm was) still under

way.” Then, just as the Progress was approaching its press deadline, word came down again of yet another postponement, this time to Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 4 p.m. [Visit www.oceanpinesprogress.

Golf memberships From Page 10 cent goal. In July, Thompson and former director Pete Gomsak proposed, and the board approved, an adjustment in the lifetime membership program designed to stimulate sales. Specifically, the board lifted previously approved caps on the number of memberships available in each age bracket. In implementing the lifetime memberships, the board had placed limits on the number that could be sold by age category. While the sale of memberships in the older age categories had been brisk, the

OCEAN PINES

com after Nov. 6 for an update on this story.] OPA Director Marty Clarke, however, questioned the decision to cancel the Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 meetings and said the subsequent attempts to find an agreeable day and time had little to do with the hurricane. He said he suspects that Terry and OPA management is aware that the votes might not have been

there to approve the project expansion and wanted Director Dan Stachurski, a presumed yes vote, to be in attendance. Stachurski was out of town and unable to attend the scheduled Nov. 1 special meeting, but Clarke said he understands his colleague would be back in town to attend the Nov. 5 gathering. O’Hare and Stevens reportedly had problems with the Nov. 5 date, although Stevens has denied that he told Terry he couldn’t make it, only that he would have to reschedule something else to do so. To Page 14

OPA encountered resistance to memberships for those aged 60 or younger. The policy change did not generate a ground swell of interest by younger golfers in the program. Stevens, an OPA board member, Ocean Pines golf club member and critic of lifetime memberships, told the Progress recently that he’s heard that some of those who purchased lifetime memberships are experiencing buyers’ remorse, in part reflecting the less than optimal condition of course fairways. Director Marty Clarke is another critic of the way the OPA is spending money not anticipated by the approved budget. “A shortfall in lifetime golf mem-

berships means we have a shortfall in how we pay for the back nine green replacement,” Clarke said. “If the money isn’t there in lifetime golf membership, Thompson has to propose an alternative, and he hasn’t. He seems to be suggesting that if it takes ten years or whatever to sell these memberships, that’s OK. It isn’t.” He said that it’s clear to him and that it should be clear to others that the lifetime golf memberships have failed to raise the needed funds for green replacement. The result, he said, is likely to be another unbudgeted hit on OPA reserves by a golf program plagued by out-of-control losses.

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When reviewing the impact of taxes on your investments, it is important to understand that many items currently in the federal tax code are scheduled to expire after December 31, 2012. Although future actions to amend tax rules are anyone's guess, keeping abreast of developments in this area may be to your advantage. Consider the following when making decisions about your investments during 2012. • When taking capital gains, make them long term. Legislation passed by Congress in 2010 continues the 15% tax rate on long-term investment gains, those generated on investments held for more than one year, through December 31, 2012. In contrast, short-term capital gains on investments held for one year or less are taxed as ordinary income, where marginal tax rates currently can be as high as 35%, depending on how much you earn. • Tax rates on qualified dividends are subject to change. Current tax rules maintain the favorable 15% tax rate on qualified dividends through December 31, 2012. Although dividends are not guaranteed, an allocation to dividendpaying investments may provide an ongoing source of income that can help cushion the ups and downs of capital gains and losses. The opportunities are plentiful: As of February 2012, 395 of the 500 companies within the S&P 500 paid a dividend.1 • Accelerate activities that generate higher taxes. The top four federal income tax rates will be maintained at 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35% through December 31, 2012. If you are considering an activity that is likely to result in a bump in your income or a federal tax payment, you may want to complete it while the lower rates remain in effect. Examples could include converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and selling real estate or a business that has appreciated significantly in value.2 • Escalate gifting strategies. Through December 31, 2012, estates valued at more than $5.12 million are subject to a federal estate tax rate of 35%. In addition, the tax code "unified" the estate tax and the gift tax, permitting an individual to gift $5.12 million between now and December 31, 2012, without triggering the federal gift tax. Rules relating to estate planning are complex, so be sure to seek counsel from a qualified attorney before taking action. • Capitalize on tax-advantaged accounts. By contributing regularly to an IRA, and keeping the money invested until qualified withdrawals are made, you can benefit from tax-free compounding. With a traditional IRA, qualified withdrawals after age 70½ are taxed as income. In certain instances, if investors adhere to income thresholds established by the Internal Revenue Service, contributions may be tax deductible. With a Roth IRA, contributions are never tax deductible but qualified withdrawals after age 59½ are tax free. Maximum contributions for either the 2011 tax year (must be made by April 15, 2012) or the 2012 tax year (must be made by April 15, 2013) are $5,000 per taxpayer, plus an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution for those aged 50 and older. There may be additional items unique to your situation, but these tax moves can help you make the most of your hard-earned dollars during 2012. 1 Source: Standard & Poor's. 2Restrictions, penalties, and taxes may apply. Unless certain criteria are met, Roth IRA owners must be 59½ or older and have held the IRA for five years before tax-free withdrawals are permitted.

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14 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

Golf drainage From Page 12 Terry has denied there’s been any political maneuvering to secure the votes for the expanded drainage project. He told Ocean Pines Forum owner Joe Reynolds that it’s been difficult trying to find a day and time when all the directors can attend. Clarke said that admission proves that Terry has been working overtime to assure that there are four likely votes to approve the drainage project expansion. That, Clarke said, is only feasible if all seven board members are present to vote. “I don’t know if the votes are there or not,” Clarke said, “with or without Dan. Right now the board is on a spending binge, and maybe there will be the votes to stop it. We’re looking at almost $700,000 in proposed or actual spending over what was approved back in February, and that doesn’t include last year’s operating deficit caused by booking the losses in the IRS case. That’s all on top of the $4.3 million approved in referendum for a new Yacht Club. We’ll see if a board majority really wants to add to the spending.” To arrive at his $700,000 estimate, Clarke starts with this year’s cumulative negative variance to budget of

OCEAN PINES

$235,505, adds $152,600 in road resurfacing overages – Thompson intends to fund that out of future casino revenues -$90,286 in additional drainage expenses that includes Hingham Lane fixes, and $210,000 in what Clarke describes as the failure to collect all the revenues in lifetime golf memberships needed to fund the second phase of green replacement this winter. “And that doesn’t include last year’s actual operating deficit of $307,652 resulting from losing the IRS case and booking the potential liability,” Clarke said. “We’re really talking about $1 million in unbudgeted or unanticipated expenses.” Thompson introduced details of the expanded drainage project during the board’s regular monthly meeting Oct. 27. Because of objections raised by Director Dave Stevens that he needed more time to consider the expanded project, including issues of financing, Terry proposed the special meeting on Oct. 31, subsequently pushed back one day to Nov. 1 and finally to Nov. 6. Thompson told the board that delaying a decision until the board’s regular meeting in November could jeopardize the planned construction timetable of Dec. 15 through April 15 next year. During discussion, Clarke said he didn’t like the fact that the Hingham

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Lane portion of the project was not part of the approved budget for the current fiscal year. Stevens objected to the financing mechanism, questioning use of the OPA’s major maintenance and replacement reserve as the funding source. During the Oct. 27 discussion, other directors seemed more receptive to Thompson’s argument that solving the drainage problem on Hingham Lane, the access road into the Innerlinks section of Ocean Pines, would be less expensive now if it was combined as part of the golf drainage portion of the project. Thompson argued that Hingham Lane drainage issues really are inseparable from the drainage problems on the eleventh and twelve holes of the Ocean Pines golf course and therefore should be addressed together. Thompson recommended that the entire cost of the $540,286 project should be “borrowed” – effectively that means it would be taken out and spent -- from the OPA’s major maintenance and replacement reserve, rather than from a bank at typical commercial interest rates of six or seven percent. The bank borrowing option had been approved by the board in February as part of the approved budget for the current fiscal year. Thompson identified the portion of the replacement reserve attributed to historic depreciation, rather than the funding stream created by the five-year funding plan four years ago, as the specific funding source. Subsequently, Stevens told the Progress he wasn’t sure of the propriety of using a reserve built up from funded depreciation for the proposed purpose. He said the reserve set up specifically for golf drainage has been underfunded in recent years, but that it, rather than the major maintenance and replacement reserve, was the more appropriate source for funding the proposed golf course

drainage improvements. Under OPA bylaws, a super majority of directors, five of seven, is needed to repurpose funds parked in any particular reserve. A similar concern about the appropriate use of particular reserves was expressed by Stachurski several months ago in the context of golf course greens replacement. He was subsequently satisfied that in fact the major replacement and maintenance reserve is an appropriate source of funding for greens replacement. OPA general counsel Joe Moore reportedly rendered an opinion in support of that approach. Whether the same logic will apply to drainage improvements – or whether a majority of directors believe that it does – remains to be seen. As explained by Thompson, the golf course portion of the project would involve rebuilding the eleventh and twelfth holes by regrading the fairways in an undulating pattern and, roughly in the center of the fairway in newly created trough areas, installing underground pipes that will carry stormwater from Ocean Pines through new outfall drain pipes. The holes were originally built using 1970’s technology, in which the fairways were built higher in the middle with the expectation that stormwater on fairways would drain to ditches that run along the holes. It often doesn’t work as intended, with water pooling in low lying areas and then effectively boiling grass on hot summer days, creating unsightly bare spots. Over the years, an outfall pipe that was designed to drain Hingham Lane, a street that bisects the eleventh green and the twelfth tee box on its way into the Innerlinks, failed, causing a pooling problem on the road that also floods the To Page 17

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November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

Golf overtakes Yacht Club as prime focus of scrutiny OPA president, general manager acknowledge sub-par financial performance at Pines golf course

to a loss of $33,958 in August. Essentially, that means that the cumulative golf deficit did not worsen in September. But relative to budget, the picture

wasn’t much better in September than it was in August. The BCG-prepared budget for September projected a $54,316 surplus for the month. The

OPA Net Golf Operations through Sept. 30, 2012

OPA Net Financial Operations through Sept. 30, 2012

actual $187 surplus resulted in a negative variance to budget of $54,316, a slight improvement over August’s negative variance of $61,432.

By TOM STAUSS Publisher perations at the Ocean Pines golf course continue to cause concern among OPA officials. General Manager Bob Thompson excludes golf from his otherwise upbeat assessment of the OPA’s current financial condition, while OPA President Tom Terry declares himself “not at all happy” with where golf operations sit financially through September. Thompson announced during the Oct. 27 monthly board of directors meeting that Billy Casper Golf, the course manager, had brought a new director of golf and golf pro on board to replace the departed Damian Cosby, who had asked to be transferred to another BCG-managed course closer to family. He has been replaced by John Malinowski, whose official start date is Tuesday, Nov. 13, according to an OPA press release. What will confront him from day one is a golf operating budget substantially in the red as of Sept. 30 -- $121,700 – and more than $270,000 off budget, two numbers that could be difficult to reverse in the remaining months of the current fiscal year. If there’s any good news relative to golf in the latest financial summaries released by OPA Controller Art Carmine, it’s that during September, golf recorded a modest $187 surplus. That compares

OPA finances

November 2012

From Page 15 The trend line is not a cause of optimism heading into the winter months. The golf course remains in a tenuous condition, with greens reconstruction on the back nine and drainage improvements scheduled to begin for holes 11 and 12 before the end of the year. Revenue shortfalls continue to be the prime drivers behind the golf losses. Greens fees were $14,816 under budget, cart fees were $15,168 under budget, and member dues were $7,805 behind for the month. The driving range, food and beverage revenue in the Terns Grill, and pro shop merchandise sales were all under budget. These negative variances were somewhat offset by lower than budgeted costs in those line items. Net revenue for the month was $118,739, a $58,547 negative variance to budget. Because golf operations virtually broke even for the month, they were not a major factor in the OPA’s less-thanstellar financial performance in September, during which a negative operating variance of $58,568 was recorded. According to a financial report prepared by OPA Controller Art Carmine and made available to the board of directors in mid-October, revenues were under budget by $95,647, total expenses were over budget by $37,745, and new capital expenditures exceeded budget by a demonic $666. For the first five months of the fiscal year, the OPA had a negative operating variance to budget of $263,798, up from the cumulative number through August of $205,233. Through September, revenues were under budget by $327,678, total expenses are under budget by $92,174, and new capital is over budget by $28,294, according to Carmine’s summaries. Aquatics, not golf, was the worst performing major amenity as measured by operating losses for the month, with an actual deficit of $31,236, followed by the

Yacht Club with a $17,135 loss, and inconsequential losses at the Beach Club and in Beach club parking, marina, and tennis operations. Aquatics was still in the black through August with a $48,310 cumulative surplus. That’s $68,915 less what had been budgeted year-to-date, however, and aquatics tends to lose money during the off-season because of costs associated with operating the Sports Core enclosed swimming pool. Aquatics operations were budgeted to lose $49,016 for the year, but that goal may be unachievable because of off-season deficits. An analysis of the aquatics financial summary for September suggests that a major reason for aquatics’ underperformance is a significant shortfall in swim class revenue relative to budget. Aquatics recorded $6,139 in swim lesson revenue for the month, but the budget had projected revenues of $18,711. That resulted in a negative variance to budget of $12,572. Other aquatics revenue sources, however – member dues, coupons and cash fees -- all did better than budget. In fact, cumulatively through September, coupon and cash fees are ahead of budget by more than $13,000. Member dues through September are behind budget, suggesting that some former pool members may have swapped out their memberships for debit cards and cash fees this past summer. But it’s also clear that swim lesson revenue for the first five months of the year is substantially off budget, suggesting that it’s possible these revenue projections were never very realistic to begin with. Hiring an in-house swim instructor was supposed to increase revenue and surpluses for the OPA as a replacement for lessons taught by an outside contractor, but so far that hasn’t happened. Actual lesson revenue collected through September was $31,900, $39,877 less than the $71,867 budgeted number. On the expense side, OPA Aquatics

OCEAN PINES Director Tom Perry has made improvements in Sports Core pool operations to save money in utilities; that line item was $4,258 under budget for the month. The same is true for maintenance costs, which were $1,740 under budget. But those savings were offset by continued difficulties in controlling wage and benefit expenses relative to budget. Actual expenses in this category were $30,258, $10,856 more than the budgeted $19,672. Aquatics operations are actually doing better this year over the same time period last year. The cumulative $48,310 surplus through September compares to the September 2011 surplus of $39,805. Even so, the numbers are suggesting that aquatics may have been aggressively budgeted for the year with projected red ink of slightly more than $49,000. Absent some major cost-cutting regimen, it seems more likely that the aquatics operating loss will be somewhere in excess of $100,000. Carmine normally produces a six-month revised projection for the rest of the fiscal year, so OPA management expectations for aquatics should emerge when that revised projection is made public. Behind aquatics, the Yacht Club was the second worst performing major amenity in September, losing $17,135 against a projected loss of $4,054, for a $13,081 negative variance to budget. The year-to-date surplus of $3,998 is $61,530 less than the $65,528 surplus budgeted for the Yacht Club through September. Historically, the Yacht Club loses money in most off-season months, a fact noted by Director Dave Stevens in a contentious exchange with Thompson during the board of directors’ Oct. 27 monthly meeting. Stevens said he doubted the Yacht Club would be able to meet its budget given the fact that a surplus hasn’t built up during the summer, but Thompson said he believed he would make budget “and do it well.” The general manager said Food and

Beverage Manager Dave McLaughlin, as a result of a cut back in days of operation at the Yacht Club immediately after Labor Day, had in fact made progress in cutting expenses in wages and benefits. The numbers bear that out. Actual wage and benefit expense for September was $56,361, $9,548 less than what had been budgeted ($65,909). Unfortunately for the club’s bottom line, however, net revenues for the month fell short of the budget by $23,221, more than offsetting the savings for controlling labor costs. Through September, in fact, Yacht Club net revenues are $57,596 behind budget. Cumulative net revenues of $607,215 are slightly below September 2011, cumulative net revenues of $610,820. Here, too, there is some evidence to suggest that, like aquatics, the Yacht Club was aggressively budgeted to show revenue increases that have not manifested so far into the fiscal year. The most significant negative variance on the income side for September was banquet food (-$7,620), but all revenue categories, with the exception of facility rentals, were under budget. Status of reserves – A reserve summary released as part of the September financials shows that the OPA’s total reserve balance through Sept. 30 stands at $7,456,260. The major maintenance and replacement reserve is the most flush, containing $5,866,838. Of that, $1,352,181 is attributable to the controversial five-year funding plan, currently in its fourth year of programmed assessment allocations amounting to $26 per year cumulatively, and another $4,514,657 attributable to historical depreciation expense. The approved $4.3 million expenditure for a new Yacht Club will take a substantial bite out of the major maintenance and replacement reserve whenever it is spent. The intent when the current year’s budget was approved last February was to spread the construction cost over two fiscal years. Drainage improvements that are scheduled to occur during this fiscal year are budgeted to come out of this reserve in the amount of $450,000. The board may approve another $90,000 in drainage expense in a special meeting in early November, also to come out of this reserve. [See separate story on golf drainage elsewhere in this edition of the Progress] As of the board of director’s October monthly meeting, there had been no proposal from Thompson on how to pay for a portion of the greens replacement program resulting from a shortfall in funds generated by the sale of lifetime golf memberships. Thompson subsequently told the Progress that he had no plans to propose a new funding source. [See story elsewhere in this edition for details.] A likely candidate would be this same reserve fund should the board decide to force the issue. Each year, the OPA collects about $3

16 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES Golf drainage

From Page 14 golf course, Thompson said. The failed pipe effectively has moved to such an extent that instead of directing water out of Ocean Pines, it effectively moves stormwater “in the opposite direction,” he said. The project would install 40 inlet points for stormwater on the two golf course holes, add one mile of drainage pipes, and, according to Thompson citing an earlier drainage study on the golf course’s back nine, will impact more than 23 acres of Ocean Pines development. The original four outfalls serving the back nine holes will be expanded to eleven, he said, providing flexibility to continue drainage improvements on other back nine holes, specifically holes 13 through 16. The project would also enlarge the pond on the right side of the twelfth hole close to the green, allowing for more water to collect. The existing pond is not outfitted with a pipe that drains to an outfall, and Thompson said the project includes a new drain outfall to remove water from the expanded pond. The enlarged pond would expand stormwater storage, allow more water to flow away from neighboring homes, provide soil to raise the fairway, and allow golfers to “see the pond better,” according to Thompson. Thompson said that the holes would be reconstructed at the same time as greens reconstruction takes place on the back nine. McDonald and Sons, the company that completed front nine greens reconstruction earlier this year, will do all the work at one time. That would seem to make it effectively impractical to have the back nine open for play in the mid-December to mid-April timeframe. During discussion of the project at the Oct. 27 board meeting, Clarke asked whether the Innerlinks homeowners association had some responsibility to address drainage problems on Hingham Lane.

OPA finances

From Page 16 million in assessment dollars that are allocated to various reserves. What is depleted in the form of capital expenditures is replenished by this infusion of new assessment dollars. Casino revenues – The OPA continues to reap local impact funds for casino operations at Ocean Downs and elsewhere in the state. Through September, the OPA had collected $399,685 in casino funds, starting in January of 2011, according to the OPA’s September balance sheet. The board of directors has decided to use these funds for road improvements, beginning in the current fiscal year.

Thompson said he didn’t believe that Innerlinks property owners were responsible for replacing the failed outfall pipe. During discussion of the financing mechanism, Stevens said he “flat out opposes borrowing” to pay for golf course drainage, reminding directors that, when the program was put on a hiatus two years ago, he said the board should have continued to fund the drainage reserve in the amount of $250,000 per year. Clarke pressed Thompson to come up with an estimated cost to complete the rest of the golf drainage project. To date, the first seven holes, and the driving range, have been done. Once the eleventh and twelfth holes are complete, that would leave the

eighth and ninth holes on the front nine and thirteen through eighteen on the back nine needing work. Thompson did not offer an answer to Clarke’s question on the cost of finishing the project. Stevens then engaged in a testy exchange with Thompson on why it took him so long to present a drainage funding proposal to the board. He said the delay “put the spring season of golf at risk,” adding that he “would put the blame on the general manager” for that. After Thompson said he had just received an updated copy of the drainage plan from the contractor, Stevens replied it was “not reasonable” for Thompson to expect the board to vote on it that day. The general manager told Stevens

Clarke pressed Thompson to come up with an estimated cost to complete the rest of the golf drainage project. Thompson did not offer an answer ... “you’re one vote” and he suggested that Stevens could “vote against it” if he wanted to. Terry, in his familiar role of mediator, then suggested a special meeting to vote on the proposal. That, as it turned out, was easier said than done.

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18 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

A November 2012

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Ranch Style Home has 3 BedTwo-story Contemporary Home 2012 BRER Affiliates, Inc. An independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates Inc. Prudential, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are registered service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc., and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Used under license with no other other affiliation with Prudential. Equal Housing Opportunity. Prudential PenFed is an independently owned and operated member of BRER Affiliates, Inc. PenFed membership is not required to conduct business with Prudential PenFed Realty rooms, 2 Baths, Kitchen, Dining has 3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths, Living

PenFed Realty November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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WATERFRONT & WATERVIEW LOTS INTERIOR LOTS • $12,000 1/1142 Wooded, W & S (477852) U/C • $59,900 1/1238 Cleared, W & S (464021) • $75,000 4/1862 Wooded, Septic Approved (476403) • $80,000 1/956 Cleared Canal, W & S (477690) U/C • $90,000 3/1443 Cleared Canal, W & S (477567) • $97,500 1/943 Cleared Canal, W & S (472439) • $150,000 3/1296 Cleared, Direct Bay front W&S (477086)

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• $15,000 2/308 Cleared, Septic Approved (475003) • $17,000 2/273 Cleared Septic Approved (477472) • $19,500 2/453 Mostly Cleared, W & S (472279) • $20,000 2/136 Wooded (468729) • $23,000 2/172 Cleared (471489) • $23,000 2/267 Cleared, Septic Approved (476341) • $23,900 2/354 Cleared, Septic Approved (475475) • $24,900 2/313 Cleared (470230) SOLD • $28,500 2/125 Wooded, Septic Approved (463848) • $28,500 2/150 Wooded, Septic Approved (463847)

Captain’s Cove Association Lots Starting At $7,500

• $4,000 1/1060 Wooded (478966) • $5,500 6/15 Wooded, Septic Approved (474537) U/C • $6,000 5/2446 Wooded, Septic Approved (477727) • $6,400 6/77 Wooded, Septic Approved (472520) SOLD • $6,900 10/8 Mostly Cleared (465781) • $6,900 7/227 Wooded (465783) • $6,900 4/1948 Wooded (465820) • $7,500 9/40 Cleared (477717) U/C • $7,500 9/20 Cleared (477718) • $7,500 6/89 Wooded (477723) • $7,500 5/2545 Wooded (477724) • $7,500 4/2150 Wooded (477725) • $7,500 4/2014 Wooded (477726) • $7,500 6/63 Wooded (477728) • $7,500 4/1980 Wooded (477730) • $8,000 5/41 Wooded, Septic Approved (470205) • $8,500 11/2 Wooded (479198) • $8,500 11/3 Wooded (479197) • $8,500 8/36 Cleared (479201) • $8,500 9/145 Cleared (479206) • $8,500 9/101 Wooded (479207)

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• $8,500 8/24 Cleared, Septic Approved (470484) • $8,900 5/2556 Wooded, Septic Approved (478133) SOLD • $8,900 3/1723 Wooded, Septic Approved (478995) • $8,500 11/10 Wooded, Septic Approved (478998) • $9,000 5/2462 Wooded, Septic Approved (473531) • $9,500 4/2313 Wooded, Septic Approved (New) U/C • $9,500 8/61 Cleared, Septic Approved (478997) • $9,900 5/2438 Wooded, Septic Approved (478432) • $10,000 6/85 Wooded, Septic Approved (466989) U/C • $10,000 9/119 Wooded, Septic Approved (476379) U/C • $10,000 9/89 Cleared, Septic Approved (478202) U/C • $10,000 3/1782 Wooded, Septic Approved (478723) U/C • $10,000 2379 Wooded (479420) • $10,000 6/39 Wooded (479422) • $17,500 4/2240 Wooded, Septic Approved ( 478726)

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT/ INVESTMENT LOTS • $1,000 16/103 (474214) • $9,900 13/97 (465835) • $3,900 17/81 (465778) • $20,000 1/748 Direct Bay Front (477962) • $3,900 18/109 (465841)

CALL FOR LIST

2012 BRER Affiliates, Inc. An independently owned and operated broker member of BRER Affiliates Inc. Prudential, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are registered service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc., and its related entities, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. Used under license with no other other affiliation with Prudential. Equal Housing Opportunity. Prudential PenFed is an independently owned and operated member of BRER Affiliates, Inc. PenFed membership is not required to conduct business with Prudential PenFed Realty

20 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

OCEAN PINES

Clarke, Stevens spar with general manager on how well key amenities are performing Terry announces that Billy Casper Golf executives will be invited to discuss poor operational performance at the Ocean Pines golf course during pending budget deliberations next year By TOM STAUSS Publisher y now it’s a familiar occurrence: Monthly meetings of the board of directors feature sparring between one or two directors, sometimes Dave Stevens and Marty Clarke in a tag-team, versus Ocean Pines Association General Manager Bob Thompson, on management practices generally, on occasion, but usually focused on just how well certain amenity departments are performing. The give-and-take sometimes remains polite but just as frequently becomes testy. Testiness describes the general tenor of the sparring that occurred during the board’s Oct. 27 meeting, with Thompson at one point telling Stevens that he didn’t have to get “emotional.” Perhaps not, but such admonitions are probably just as likely to induce the opposite reaction. The meeting was also punctuated by Thompson defending himself from

property owner Ernie Ardis during the public comments segment of the meeting, who charged that Thompson had “lied” during the campaign to promote a new Yacht Club. The general manager said he had done no such thing. Thompson’s sparring with his two most persistent board critics occurred during the general manager’s report segment of the meeting, when he normally is well fortified with a PowerPoint presentation to buttress his points. He described OPA departments as “everything performing well, except golf operations.” Even then he said that golf “still is in positive” territory for the fiscal year through September, acknowledging that it’s well off budget for the year. Yacht Club operations are improving, he said, noting that Food and Beverage Manager Dave McLaughlin has been able to reduce labor costs relative to budget, an area previously identified as

weak. What Thompson didn’t mention, though, is that both net and gross revenues have fallen behind budget even while they’re tracking very closely to the Yacht Club’s revenue performance in 2011, year over year. OPA President Tom Terry, perceived to be one of Thompson’s solid supporters on the board, opened discussion by commenting that he is not at all happy with golf operational performance this fiscal year. He announced that executives from Billy Casper Golf would be invited in to discuss golf operations during the board’s budget deliberations early next year. “Performance is not what we want it to be,” Terry said. Stevens then launched into a critique of Yacht Club budget performance that he said he believes will result in the amenity’s second worst year ever as measured by operating deficit, second only to last year. He told Thompson that while the

Yacht Club may have a slight cumulative surplus through September -- it is way off budget, $61,530 year-to-date – it is heading into the time of the year when the Yacht Club traditionally loses money. The September 30 financial statement for the club shows that it is in the black for the year by $3,998, a slight improvement from September of last year, when the cumulative surplus stood at $2,228. “These are terrible results,” Stevens said. “We’re going to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars” at the Yacht Club this year, he said. “What are you going to do about it?” Stevens then said. Clarke joined in, calling the numbers – which he later clarified as including golf, aquatics and the Yacht Club – “awful.” He employed a colorful metaphor to describe the situation with respect to these amenities. “We’re losing money like a broken fire hose,” he said. Thompson took a far less apocalyptic view of Yacht Club prospects, pointing out that while the significant losses are baked into the amenity’s budget during the cooler months of the year, he and McLaughlin went to a four-day-a-week schedule immediately after Labor Day. He said that McLaughlin had trimmed labor costs in September relative to budget by about $10,000. The general manager then employed To Page 22

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22 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

Card party

The Assateague Chapter of The Questers held another card party at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club in September. Welcoming players were members Nancy Norris, Linda Barrett (Assateague Questers President), Marie Stenger, and Mary Page. Over 130 attendees participated in the event. The Questers is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to the study of antiques and the financial support of local preservation efforts. Funds from this year’s card party benefit the Julia A. Purnell Museum in Snow Hill.

Yacht Club From Page 1 sure the designated outdoor dining area doesn’t exceed the 1,500 square feet shown on the site plan. “I think it’s hard for us to regulate by saying there’s going to be a number of clay pots,” Hartman said. “It’s such a vague issue.” He asked if the OPA could use more permanent landscape materials for inground plantings that would be more suitable to that area along the water. Commission member Coston Gladding said the building needs some type of plantings on that side of the building to help dress up what is otherwise a boring facade. “Right now it looks like a school building,” he said, and called it “very plain” on that water facing side. “It needs some pizzazz or something...” He said the OPA will need to use plants of a substantial size in order to adequately serve the purpose as landscaping. Hartman said “it’s very barren right now.” He said something needs to be done to break up the bulky appearance of that side of the building. Commission Chairman Marlene Ott agreed but said if the pots are large enough that they can’t be easily moved, then they essentially become like inground plantings. “I’m generally ok with it,” she said of the requested waiver to the foundation plantings. Thompson agreed and said he knows the OPA needs to do something with plantings “to break up the edge of the building.” That is easy to do with a myriad of potted plants, he said. OPA Attorney Joe Moore proffered to the planning commission that the association will place “whatever the number of pots that you all believe reasonable” along that building facade. He said the OPA’s primary concern is that it be able to reconfigure the pots as necessary and have the ability to remove the plants to safe keeping during the winter. Ott recommended add some potted plants in other locations too, like at the building entrance columns. Moore said the OPA will “do same

type of things on both sides of the building so it looks uniform.” When commission members asked about the specific types of pots and plants to be used at the Yacht Club, Thompson responded that it’s impossible to tell at this point. He said both the pots and plants come in all shapes, sizes and varieties and the OPA just hasn’t picked out specific ones yet. If the plans showed one type of pot and plant, when it comes time to order them something different may be available. But, he added, “we know we’re putting them out there.” Commission members ultimately approved a waiver for the water side of the new Yacht Club contingent on the OPA installing large potted plants at a rate of 25 percent of the required number of foundation plantings. On a related landscaping and buffering matter, the commission also approved a conditional waiver to the landscaping requirements on the Ocean Pines-owned side of the Yacht’s Club property line at Osprey Point. Instead of requiring landscaping to be installed on the OPA property, the commission agreed to allow the association to install it on the Osprey Point side of the property line. In addition to plantings, a fence will be installed between the two properties to help buffer the residential community from the commercial area at the Yacht Club. Engineer Matt Drew, of AWB Engineers, Inc., said installing the buffer plantings on the OPA side would interfere with a proposed bioretention area for the Yacht Club parking lot. He said there will still be some landscaping on the OPA’s land in that area but it will not be heavily landscaped to act as a buffer for Osprey Point. “Ocean Pines can’t physically do it and comply with the bioretention requirements,” Drew said. Instead, the OPA has an agreement with the Osprey Point condominium association to install the required plantings on its side of the property line. Three existing large trees on the Osprey Point property will remain as well. Additionally, Moore said the existing second level decking around the Yacht

OCEAN PINES

Club swimming pool provides screening between the residential community and the restaurant. Gladding asked if having the OPA install the plantings on the Osprey Point property will meet the county’s code requirements. “You can grant a waiver based on it being planted on the other side,” Ed Tudor, county director of development review and permitting, told him. County Attorney Sonny Bloxom added that the planning commission can grant a waiver to the landscaping requirements with the condition that the OPA install landscaping on the adjacent property. In order to meet the code requirements for two unique architectural features to dress up the building, Thompson said the OPA plans to install a flagpole and a fire pit. The site plans only showed the flagpole, so commission members asked about the second feature. When Hartman suggested the OPA could install a fountain or water feature, like a marlin statue, Moore joked that “We can steal the one in Ocean City,” referring to the marlin statue in the fountain at Entry Park in the resort. Moore quickly retracted that statement, telling reporters that it was off the record. Thompson then chimed in saying the OPA had “talked about putting an element out there.” However, a precise location had not been determined. That’s when he mentioned installing a block wall with a firepit.

The planning commission also approved waivers for a sidewalk along Fishing Creek Lane and required “human scale” lighting to be installed along other sidewalks included in the project. Another waiver to “transparency” requirements was granted so the OPA would not have to install windows in the portions of the building where storage and the kitchen are located. Gladding was also concerned about preventing people from parking their cars along the Mumford’s Landing Road and on grassed areas at the new Yacht Club. He said the planning commission had received comments previously about vehicles being parked “all over the place” because of inadequate parking at the existing restaurant. He wanted to know how that will be addressed at the new building. “We don’t want somebody to come back and say we didn’t provide enough parking,” Gladding said. Moore said the parking issues were addressed as part of the administrative review process, with the OPA being granted a 10 percent reduction in parking. “Our parking is a considerably better circumstance that what you saw the last time,” Moore told Gladding. Last month, the planning commission rejected a request from the OPA for a joint parking agreement that would have allowed it to use parking at the Mumford’s Landing swimming pool to meet the requirements for the restaurant. Bloxom said the OPA can post those

Amenity performance

“I’m sorry we have a board member betting on failure,” Mohr said, prompting Stevens to repeat the assertion that in its 40-year history, the Yacht Club has never made money during the winter months. “I wish him (Thompson) all the luck in the world, but the numbers don’t lie,” Stevens said. Director Sharyn O’Hare offered a defense of Thompson and his management team, commending both McLaughlin and the new chef for marked improvement in October. She said she had never seen more people in the Yacht Club during October in all her years as an Ocean Pines resident. Terry then moved to wrap up the discussion, seeming to side more with Mohr, Unger and O’Hare on the subject of the Yacht Club. But “when it comes to golf, I’m not happy at all,” he concluded. Perhaps realizing that the discussion with his two board critics had become confrontational, Thompson said he fully understood where they were coming from. Later that evening, the Ocean Pines gossip mill was churning with news that McLaughlin had relieved the muchpraised chef of his duties. That may result in a short-term decline in food quality, but on the other hand may help McLaughlin continue to reduce labor costs at the club, making Thompson’s pledge to meet budget easier to fulfill.

From Page 20 his own colorful, if somewhat trite, metaphor, describing the Yacht Club as a ship that had been sailing in the wrong direction for 40 years. He said it will take time to reverse course, adding that if the board wants him to cut back days of operation from the Thursday through Sunday, or the hours the club is open, he will do so. Not all directors are convinced that the situation at the Yacht Club is dire. “Your turn-around is working,” Director Terri Mohr told Thompson, but Stevens said he’s seen no turn-around in the numbers so far. “Are you going to make budget?” he asked Thompson, who responded that his intent was to make budget “and do it well.” Director Ray Unger then joined in the fray, commending Thompson for improvements at the club, including the quality of meals prepared under the supervision of a new chef. Unger added that the Yacht Club is an amenity, and that “not every amenity” in Ocean Pines needs to make money. Stevens remarked that there still is no completed business plan for the Yacht Club and he expressed skepticism that in fact Thompson would be able to make the Yacht Club budget by the end of the fiscal year (April 30, 2013).

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November 2012

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OPA obtains Yacht Club parking reduction By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Ocean Pines Association has obtained a special exception for reduced parking to accommodate the new Yacht Club, following the submission of a revised parking plan to the county that more than met the minimum requirements for receiving the exception administratively, without the need to obtain approval from the Worcester County Board of Zoning Appeals. The action was the last significant hurdle the OPA needed to clear in order for the new Yacht Club’s site plan to be considered by the planning commission Nov. 1 in Snow Hill. [See separate story in this edition for details.] With the planning commission approving the site plan Nov. 1, the way is clear for construction to begin. OPA General Manager Bob Thompson told the Progress that should happen in the December-January timeframe. The special exception was formalized in findings of fact dated Oct. 23 and signed by the county’s director of development review and permitting, Ed Tudor. At an administrative hearing Oct. 9 in Snow Hill, Tudor had signaled his willingness to consider parking at the

Director of development review and permitting grants parking special exception administratively nearby Mumford’s Landing pool to help the OPA meet requirements for a parking reduction under the county code. At the conclusion of the Oct. 9 hearing, Tudor told the OPA’s representatives, General Manager Bob Thompson and OPA General Counsel Joseph Moore, that he would “continue” the hearing pending submission of a revised site plan showing how the OPA intends to stay within the requirement that a parking reduction under a special exception be no greater than 20 percent of the number of parking spaces otherwise mandated by the code. The OPA was informed during the meeting that it needed to “find” another ten parking spaces to meet the 20 percent threshold, perhaps by reducing the width of some parking spaces. That revised site plan was submitted to the county Oct. 17. According to Tudor’s findings of fact, the revised plan squeezed another 22 additional spaces in the Yacht Club parking lot and adjacent parking that accommodates the nearby

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Mumford’s Landing outdoor swimming pool. The overall parking reduction turned out to be only 10.9 percent rather than the allowable 20 percent. Ten-foot spaces in some cases were resized down to roughly nine-and-a-half feet. In an email clarification to the Progress, Zoning Administrator Jennifer Burke explained how the percentage was dropped to 10.9 percent from the earlier 20 percent. “Additional spaces (were) picked up by the modification (joining Yacht Club and Mumford’s Landing pool parking lots), and (the OPA requested) only 1,500 square feet of outdoor dining as opposed to the 2,000 square feet that was proposed at the Planning Commission meeting,” she said. The OPA was “required to provide 319 spaces, and provided 284. This calculation (includes) both the Yacht Club parking lot and the Mumford’s Landing pool parking lot, which as a condition of approval they will be required to do a Declaration of Consolidation between the two parcels,” she wrote. Tudor, acting in the capacity of hearing examiner, generally does not grant administrative special exceptions, preferring to let the Worcester County Board of Zoning Appeals deal with those kinds of applications. But his findings of fact clearly indicate he was comfortable with acting administratively. He determined that o “special conditions and circumstances exist” with respect to the Yacht Club property, including its location in a residential area that allows many residents to walk or ride bikes to it o special circumstances exist in the consideration of “normal” hours of operations at the Yacht Club and the nearby Mumford’s pool o approving the special exception “will not significantly impact environmental conditions and stormwater management facilities” associated with the redevelopment of the property o redevelopment will be “in harmony with the general character of the neighborhood” and will not ‘be detrimental to the use, peaceful enjoyment, economic value or development of surrounding properties” and o the approved parking lot “will have no detrimental effect on vehicular or pedestrian traffic and will not adversely affect the health, safety, moral or general welfare” of residents, workers in the area … Tudor’s special exception approval includes a requirement that the OPA record a temporary declaration of consolidation in the land records of the county with respect to the approved parking modifications and the overall parking

reduction affecting the Yacht Club and Mumford’s Landing pool parcels. In addition, he determined that any vegetation removed as part of the parking modifications would need to be mitigated at a 2:1 ratio and that the OPA would need to “stipulate” the hours of operations for the two affected swimming pools, something that is already done routinely. In addition to an obvious inclination to accommodate the request of a local governing body – as a homeowners association the OPA operates in ways similar to that of a municipality, with many of the same core functions – Tudor also heard testimony by residents of the adjoining Osprey Point condominium in support of the parking reduction. Jean Ford, president of the Osprey Point association, submitted a letter in support of the OPA request. The version of the Yacht Club site plan submitted before its Oct. 17 iteration was ten parking spaces over the maximum number allowed under the 20 percent rule. Zoning administrator Jennifer Burke’s earlier calculations indicated, based on proposed square footage, that the Yacht Club bar and restaurant needs 159 parking spaces. In addition, she found that outside dining needs 12 spaces and the harbormaster one. With 22 spaces needed for the marina and 46 for the Yacht Club swimming pool, the total came to 240 spaces. The earlier OPA site plan showed that the Yacht Club parking lot, including some new parking that will be located in the vicinity of the existing building’s circular drive, included only 184 spaces, which is 80 percent of 230 spaces, not the 240 required. In order to stay within the 20 percent allowable variance, the OPA had to find ten more spaces by reconfiguring the existing lot or reducing square footage devoted to restaurant operations. It did so by squeezing in more spaces, 22 in all, 12 more than the minimum of ten needed. The total to be provided is 206. During the Oct. 9 administrative hearing, Thompson had suggested that by excluding planned storage space on the first floor and the bridal suite on the second floor of the new Yacht Club from the square footage used in calculating parking space requirements, the number of parking spaces needed for the new building would be reduced. But Burke effectively nixed that hope, indicating that storage space and the bridal suite square footage had to be included for purposes of establishing parking requirements. However, her calculations credited the OPA a couple of parking spaces related to the attached harbormaster office, which she said is not integral to the Yacht Club’s food and beverage operations. Perhaps the most significant develop-

OCEAN PINES ment during the hearing came when Tudor indicated that he would consider the location of the nearby Mumfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Landing pool parking lot in his evaluation of whether to grant the special exception. Tudor said that, as a hearing examiner given independent authority under the code to grant special exceptions administratively, he was not bound by the recent rejection of a joint use parking agreement incorporating the Mumfordâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pool by the Worcester County Planning Commission. That decision was made during the commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regular monthly meeting Oct. 4. The commission chairman, Marlene Ott of Ocean Pines, said she was â&#x20AC;&#x153;concernedâ&#x20AC;? about parking provided under the joint use agreement scenario. She noted that, on a recent Friday night in which a wedding event took place on the existing Yacht Clubâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s second floor, the parking lot was full, and some cars were parked on the grass. The commission voted 5-2 against the proposed joint use. Tudor said during the Oct. 9 hearing that joint use agreements were set up under the code to accommodate two separate entities wanting to use a parking lot at separate times or days of the week. In the case of the joint use that the OPA had requested, the parking lot in question was owned by a single entity, the OPA. Tudor also suggested that the OPA consider working out an arrangement with the nearby Pines Point Marina for valet parking for weddings and other special events. That possibility was downplayed by Thompson after the meeting in a conversation with Moore. The general manager said he did not believe such an arrangement would be necessary, and it was not included as part of the Oct. 17 submission. Tudor said that with a revised site plan, he would still have to consider the proposal in the context of peak usage during the summer months, when two swimming pools and both floors of a new Yacht Club conceivably could be open at the same time. He asked Thompson at one point during the hearing whether he believed it would be possible for the second floor, currently planned as a catering hall, could be opened for regular dining during peak summer months if demand warrants, especially if a new Yacht Club really â&#x20AC;&#x153;takes offâ&#x20AC;? as he thinks it would. Thompson downplayed that possibility. He said that during the summer months, the emphasis and demand will be on outside dining on the expanded decking area, rather than the upstairs. During the colder months, Thompson said the plan is to close off the first floor and use the upper floor for regular dining, mainly â&#x20AC;&#x153;for the view,â&#x20AC;? he said. Tudor advised Thompson and Moore that if the OPAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s site plan contractor, AWB Engineering, was able to quickly complete a revised site plan bringing the OPA into compliance, he could rule on the parking reduction application, in time for the site plan to be included on the planning commission agenda Nov. 1.

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPA sticks with political sign policy but opts for minimal enforcement Thompson said the issue of sign enforcement surfaced after CPI inspectors informed some property owners that they are only permitted to have one sign on their lot for each political candidate. Signs bearing the names of more than one political candidate still count as a sign in support of each candidate whose name appears on that sign. Thompson said some property owners thought that were entitled to post two signs on their lot if the signs contained two candidate names, such as Romney and Ryan or Obama and Biden. Thompson said two sections of the Architectural Review Committee guidelines set sign criteria. Regarding political signs, one section of the guidelines specifically states that â&#x20AC;&#x153;only one sign per candidate may be displayed at any one time in the front of the property...â&#x20AC;? Other property owners complained about the removal of signs from easement and median areas. Another section of the ARC guidelines addresses the permitted location of any types of signs in Ocean Pines. It states that â&#x20AC;&#x153;no signs will be permitted to be placed in the right-of-way or in easement areas.â&#x20AC;? That rule is ignored on weekends when yard and garage sale signs are routinely posted in the Ocean Parkway median areas. OPA board members didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disagree with the sign regulations but simply queried Thompson regarding their strict enforcement by CPI inspectors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These are the rules. Do we want them to keep doing that (with respect to political signs)?â&#x20AC;? Terry asked board members.

By ROTA KNOTT Contributing Writer ith the presidential election scheduled for Nov. 6, some members of the Ocean Pines Association board of directors are hoping that OPA inspectors will ease up on enforcing community regulations on political signage. They hope that the OPA enforcement personnel wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go out of their way to seek out signage that may be in violation, but instead will remove them only in response to specific complaints. No vote was taken to instruct General Manager Bob Thompson to modify enforcement procedures, and the general manager, during discussion at the boardâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Oct. 27 monthly meeting, said that members of the Compliance, Permits and Inspections staff will on occasion discover sign violations on their routine inspections throughout Ocean Pines. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Do we want our CPI people driving around looking at peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s yards and removing signs?â&#x20AC;? OPA President Tom Terry asked his fellow directors. He said he has heard that inspectors are removing political signs from right-of-way and easement areas and cautioned that the OPA cannot appear to favor any candidates by removing the signs of some specific political personalities and not others. The issue mostly focused on whether the OPA has the authority to remove political signs on private property. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no debate that the OPA has the authority to do on OPA-owned property.

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Director Ray Unger, a former CPI inspector, said that OPA inspectors have never had authority to go onto someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s property to remove political signs. He said the OPA guidelines may say that only one political sign per candidate is allowed, but the associationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s authority to remove them only â&#x20AC;&#x153;can go as far as the ditch.â&#x20AC;? Unger didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to think enforcement was much of an issue at this point in the election. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will all be over in a couple of weeks anyway,â&#x20AC;? he said. Director Dave Stevens disagreed with Unger regarding the OPAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s authority to enter onto private property to remove a political sign. He said there is a notification process that must be followed â&#x20AC;&#x153;but we can do it.â&#x20AC;? Director Sharon Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hare said the concern about enforcement seems to stem from confusion about what to do when two names of political candidates appear on a single sign. Stevens said that some people feel â&#x20AC;&#x153;if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got two names on a sign, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m entitled to two signs.â&#x20AC;? Thompson agreed that is â&#x20AC;&#x153;where confusion comes inâ&#x20AC;? but confirmed that only one sign per candidate is permitted even if two or more names appear on it. Thompson said inspectors do respond to complaints about violations of the sign regulations and will remove them if they are found in violation. Inspectors also regularly drive through sections of Ocean Pines looking for any violations of the guidelines and, if they spot a sign violation, will address it as well, he said.

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November 2012

OCEAN PINES

Thompson plans to propose IT position for OPA, again By ROTA KNOTT Contributing Writer or the third time in his tenure as general manager, Bob Thompson plans to propose creating an information technology position for the Ocean Pines Association as part of the fiscal year 2013-2014 budget process. Thompson told the board of directors during an Oct. 27 meeting that he is still investigating the alternatives for providing technology improvements within the association, but will be asking for approval of a full-time employee to oversee technology. The personnel issue surfaced during discussion of pending hardware and software upgrades within the OPA’s buildings. Thompson said he is still putting together a plan for those upgrades and wants to have a full understanding of what the capital investment will be before he broaches the issue of who should manage technology for the association. That discussion has been going on since long before Thompson took over as general manager. Off and on for nearly 14 years, the OPA board has discussed, and shot down, proposals to put someone on staff to manage IT operations. Instead, the association has opted to

The board of directors has rejected creation of a full-time technology manager for the past two years, but GM has hopes that his third attempt will succeed contract out services to local companies. Director Dan Stachurski brought up the issue of how to manage the association’s technology during the board of directors Oct. 27 monthly meeting. He said he is concerned about the large investment in capital for technology upgrades, and the OPA needs to be careful about its management. If using an outside company to do so works, then he said that is fine with him, but if not then the board needs to discuss other options during the upcoming budget process. Thompson said for the last two years he has recommended that the OPA hire a full-time IT person, but that request has been rejected by the board of directors during the budget process. He said before he presents the request for a third year, he wants to understand the association’s technology needs more thoroughly. One of the board’s objectives for the current year is to focus on technology improvements, including both hardware and software upgrades. Thompson said he has formed a staff committee to re-

view the software needs for the various departments and he is continuing to talk with two local technology companies about the OPA’s hardware needs. “Unfortunately, as you all know, technology is not cheap,” Thompson said, adding that some funding has been budgeted for improvements in the current fiscal year. However, he has deferred a planned phone system replacement until after upgrades are made to infrastructure like servers. Director Sharyn O’Hare asked about a proposal to put WiFi service in the Community Center in White Horse Park. Thompson responded that he is investigating the possibility but that a bid for doing so came in at about $7,000, which was more than he had expected. He said the cost is so high because of the way WiFi would need to be configured in order to accommodate all necessary connections, including for classes offered at the Community Center, and maintaining secure staff access and fast access speeds.

Director Ray Unger said a cost of $7,000 is not really expensive “for something like this,” installing WiFi in the building. He said the only way to save on expenditure for such technology is to install it when a structure is built. In response to ongoing complaints from property owners about not being able to hear the comments of board members during meetings, the OPA spent about $9,000 on a new sound system that includes individual microphones for each director and the general manager. The system was used during the Oct. 27 meeting, but the volume wasn’t properly adjusted so residents still complained about not being able to hear board comments. Some OPA technological equipment remains stubbornly resistant to improvements including the sound system at the Yacht Club. Microphones used during the recent Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce citizen of the year banquet failed consistently during participants’ remarks. “I give up,” said State Senator Jim Mathias at one point while offering his comments. Presumably, the new Yacht Club will be equipped with microphones that actually work.

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OCEAN PINES Natural gas From Page 1 of natural gas arriving in the county as an energy alternative to propane. With both Ocean Pines and Berlin equipped with the pipeline infrastructure for natural gas, either could be selected as the first where natural gas service would be rolled out. Thompson told Ocean Pines residents attending his town meeting that he has lobbied Steve Ashcraft, ESG’s local manager, to consider Route 589 as a logical starting point for service roll-out, with its concentrated commercial development. Previously, Thompson has said that the nearby Sports Core enclosed pool operated by the OPA could be served by a natural gas pipeline that runs along Route 589. “From a business standpoint, I suggested that it would make sense (to start there),” Thompson said. But he added that ESG is in the process of being acquired by Chesapeake. He’s been told that no decisions on how natural gas service will be rolled out in the county will be made until the purchase application is approved by the Maryland Public Service Commission. The application was submitted in September, along with a proposed rate structure for natural gas and propane customers in the county. “It takes a while for that (purchase approval) to happen,” Thompson said, adding that he’s been informed that Chesapeake’s first priority is to close on its pending purchase of ESG. Thompson said Chesapeake’s goal was to lay the last thousand feet or so of pipeline before meeting up with the Berlin storage and operations center site, then to pressure test the line, by late October. From its natural gas system in Delaware, Chesapeake months ago began laying a pipeline down Route 113, crossing the state line in Selbyville and then extending down Route 113 to Route 589, where the line was diverted to run all old Route 113 (Worcester Highway) and then turned again down Friendship Road. Thompson said the “bad news” from his perspective is that “they’re not telling us (when Ocean Pines natural gas conversion) will occur. They don’t know,” he said. The complexity of converting a community the size of Ocean Pines is well known, given the fact that appliances that use propane have to be converted to accommodate natural gas. In some cases, such as in gas furnaces, the conversion is relatively easy and inexpensive; a valve switch will do the job. In other cases, though, it may not be that simple. Stoves, hot water heaters and gas fireplaces each have their challenges. Costs vary. Worcester County Commissioner Jim Bunting, whose District 6 includes a portion of Ocean Pines, told residents attending the town meeting that appliance conversion costs could range from a couple of hundred dollars to a few thou-

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS sand dollars. In some cases, he said, appliances might not be convertible and, therefore, would have to be replaced. He said he understands that conversion roll-out would occur in relatively compact sections of maybe 20 houses at one time, after which the propane is turned off in the lines that serve those homes and natural gas turned on. It will be a slow process, requiring a lot of interaction and coordination with customers and contractors hired to do the conversions, he said. Homeowners can’t be forced to convert to natural gas. But once natural gas replaces propane in the pipeline that serves a home’s neighborhood, an owner who wants to continue to use propane will have to arrange to have it trucked in and stored in a tank. Thompson said that current OPA regulations do not allow above-ground propane or oil tanks in Ocean Pines, and that any change in that policy would have to be approved by the OPA board of directors. Thompson said that as part of the Public Service Commission’s review and disposition of Chesapeake’s purchase and rate application, the PSC may require Chesapeake to come up with a plan to help customers who can’t come up with the money to convert their appliances. “Chesapeake is trying to set up some sort of payment plan,” Thompson said, adding that he didn’t expect a lot of clarity on that subject until February at the earliest. Bunting said that while it is true that natural gas currently is a “lot cheaper” than propane on the wholesale market, Chesapeake will be incurring large infrastructure costs and will be entitled to recover a reasonable rate return on those investments. Worcester County rates “won’t be the same as they are in Delaware. It will be cheaper, but not as cheap as everyone

“Chesapeake’s proposal is to charge all customers the same rate schedule, regardless of whether they are on propane or natural gas and regardless of their location.” thinks,” Bunting said. Chesapeake’s tariff application on file with the Public Service Commission provides some insight on how the company intends to bill customers in the county as natural gas conversion rolls out. Chesapeake will operate under a newly formed subsidiary, initially called “Newco” according to the filing, which would hold the assets acquired from ESG. Newco’s proposed tariff contains two primary rate schedules, residential and commercial/industrial, with a third rate for negotiated contract rate service for very large customers. “Chesapeake’s proposal is to charge all customers the same rate schedule, regardless of whether they are on propane or natural gas and regardless of their location,” according to a separate fourpage document filed with the purchase and tariff applications. “We believe this is the fairest way to offer all customers some level of savings while we begin an orderly conversion from natural gas to propane.” The document indicates that proposed rates will be applied in both propane Ccf and natural gas Ccf, “designed to be equivalent in that they result in the same total dollar amount. A customer would be charged either one set of rates or another, depending upon whether their meter measures consumption in either propane Ccf or natural gas Ccf.” Ccf is defined as 100 cubic feet of volume. The document said the company anticipates “that rates for all customers will then decline over time as more and more customers are utilizing the lower

price natural gas fuel.” The rate structure, if approved by the PSC, would incorporate what’s called a gas sales service rate comprised of both propane and natural gas purchase costs. It’s a “weighted average” and will be identified and presented in both propane and natural gas Ccf, according to the document, with the average decreasing over time as more and more natural gas is purchased and deployed in the county relative to propane. “Chesapeake proposes to change this gas sales service rate on a quarterly basis,” the document states. One document included with the filing seems to indicate that rates during 2013 would not decrease from what ESG customers are paying now, which implies that the company is not expecting a lot of revenue from natural gas conversions next year. The PSC filing says that ESG currently charges different rates to customers on different propane distribution systems. “Chesapeake’s proposal is to apply the same delivery service rate schedule to all customers in a particular customer class, regardless of their physical location,” the document states. “In other words, the rate schedule applicable to a residential customer in Ocean City will be the same as that applicable to a customer in Ocean Pines or a customer in Pocomoke.” The implication is that it will not matter so much whether Berlin or Ocean Pines or some other community is the first to be converted to natural gas. Rates would be the same, regardless.

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Board votes to retain auditing firm by slim 4-3 majority Clarke narrowly loses bid to shop annual audit to area companies By TOM STAUSS Publisher 4-3 split on the board of directors emerged on a proposal by Director Marty Clarke to solicit competing proposals from local accounting firms to serve as the Ocean Pines Association’s auditors. During the board’s Oct. 27 monthly meeting, Clarke’s proposal failed on a 4-3 vote, which effectively meant that TGM Group, LLC, formerly known as Trice, Geary and Myers, a Salisbury accounting firm, will remain as the OPA’s auditors through another auditing cycle. Clarke’s motion to solicit competing bids had the support of directors Dave Stevens and Ray Unger. In opposition were OPA President Tom Terry, Terri Mohr, Dan Stachurski and Sharyn O’Hare. Mohr, the OPA treasurer, led the effort to retain TGM, arguing that there have been no allegations of wrong-doing or negligence by the firm, that it has a lot of institutional memory regarding OPA financial operations, and that the accounting profession generally supports the idea of continuity absent any allegation of wrong-doing. She said that former OPA director and treasurer Pete Gomsak, now serving as an assistant OPA treasurer, supports the retention of TGM, and that the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, on which she serves as board liaison, does as well. Had Clarke’s motion carried, it would not necessarily have meant the replacement of TGM Group by another accounting firm. The original version of Clarke’s motion implied that it would have, but he amended it in a way that made it clear that TGM Group was eligible to submit a proposal to retain its relationship with the OPA. Clarke defended his motion on the grounds that it has been 18 years since the OPA last changed its auditors. Stevens agreed saying that it only makes sense to have a “fresh set of eyes” review OPA finances. “We shouldn’t be so complacent as to assume” that all of Ocean Pines’ financial procedures are in order, Stevens said. Stachurski responded that TGM does not do a comprehensive review of OPA financial procedures but only determines whether financial results are presented in a manner consistent with generally accepted accounting principles. Stevens didn’t disagree, suggesting that the OPA might be well advised to hire another firm to conduct a comprehensive financial audit of the OPA. Earlier in the meeting, Mohr summarized a recent memo she wrote to the board in favor of retaining TGM. She said that the OPA shouldn’t change au-

diting firms “just for the sake of changing,” that the cost of doing so would exceed any benefit, citing the “institutional knowledge” that TGM brings to the task of conducting the annual audit. She also referred to an e-mail from the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee saying that it did “not feel it’s necessary (to change auditing firms) unless it’s a matter of just cause. There is no just cause,” she said. Unger responded that he’s “always wondered” whether TGM may have “overlooked” some aspect of the OPA’s problems with the Internal Revenue Service that cost the OPA significant sums of money, but Mohr pushed back against that idea. “It’s still questionable about whether the IRS is correct (in its interpretation of tax law that was litigated in court for several years),” she said. This past summer, the board passed a motion that opened up sale of parking passes at the Ocean Pines Beach Club to the general public. The failure to do so in prior years was cited by the IRS in court to justify income tax on parking pass revenues as a source of income unrelated to the OPA’s purpose as a 401 (c) (4) tax-exempt social organization. Clarke noted that the IRS dispute occurred on TGM’s watch and that he considered that fact “just cause” for considering a change in auditors. Later he clarified his statement to say that he did not believe TGM was responsible for the OPA’s tax problems. No evidence has surfaced that TGM recommended that the OPA begin selling parking passes to the public as soon as the IRS position emerged. Clarke said he recalls that a previous board of directors took the position that any change in its policy with respect to the public sale of parking passes would have undermined its position in court, something Clarke said that he disagreed with at the time. “I don’t believe it would have,” he said. But he said he didn’t hold TGM responsible for a position that he said ultimately lay with the board of directors. During the Oct. 27 meeting, Clarke also said that under association rules the audit report must be submitted to the board of directors two weeks prior to the annual meeting of the association in August and that this past year that deadline was missed. “It just wasn’t done,” Clarke said. “That’s just cause (to consider a change in auditors).” Stevens said that under the logic offered by Mohr and the budget committee, “we’ll never change auditors.” He said that it “makes sense to determine whether it is possible to get a better deal,” something he said could only occur if the OPA solicited competing proposals. Mohr said the issue isn’t one of receiving better service from another firm, as TGM has been responsive to OPA requests for help and information. She

said it would be possible to “switch auditors” internally within the firm to obtain a fresh set of eyes, and she said that “research” has yielded the conclusion that large businesses only switch accounting firms when there is a suggestion of negligence. She also said that “it takes a long time” to bring a new accounting firm “up to speed,” a claim that both Stevens and Clarke disputed. “I respectfully disagree,” Stevens said. “I’m very confident in other area firms.” Clarke said conducting an audit to determine that results are reported in conformance with accepted accounting principles is simply a matter of adding and subtracting numbers, suggesting that a competent accounting firm would not be overly challenged by taking on a new client. OPA General Manager Bob Thompson, who often spars with Clarke and Stevens on matters of policy and pro-

cedure, offered comments in support of Mohr’s position. He said the OPA’s IRS problems were “not the audit firm’s fault” and that OPA management is “very comfortable with the level and quality of service” provided by TGM over the years. During the board discussion, Clarke said that it’s been 18 years since the OPA last changed auditing firms, which is seven years longer than the 11 years mentioned during the September board meeting. Clarke told the Progress that he received an e-mail from Thompson confirming the 18-year relationship with TGM. That relationship came up for some discussion during the board’s September organizational meeting, with some directors indicating that they were open to a change. No dissatisfaction about TGM was voiced during the meeting, but some directors seemed willing to at least consider shopping the auditing contract to other accounting firms.

AROUND THE PINES St. Martin Lane residents lodge drainage complaints

With Hurricane Sandy swirling toward the Eastern Shore, residents of the St. Martin Lane and White Horse Drive area of Ocean Pines approached the board of directors during the public comments segment of the Oct. 27 board meeting with concerns about drainage. St. Martin Lane resident Ron Mason, along with several of his neighbors, addressed Ocean Pines Association officials about ongoing drainage problems in their neighborhood. Mason said many residences on St. Martin Lane, which is located to the south of White Horse Park, and adjoining roadways have been flooded because of stormwater back-ups. He said houses, cars and sheds have been flooded because of the faulty drainage in the area. “Our yards are used as stormwater basins basically,” he said. Mason said the drainage issue is caused by elevation problems with a culvert that runs through several properties and under his driveway. He said the pipe is level with the driveway so it has to fill to about 75 percent before the water will flow through it. He said he has contacted the public works department several times about the problem, and crews have responded and cleaned out the culvert but never replaced it, even though supervisors indicated that they knew it needed to be. Mason said that he and his neighbors were at the October board of directors meeting to ask for help with the drainage problem. He pleaded with directors to “look at the problem and see if we can get pipe across the street.” OPA General Manager Bob Thompson said Ocean Pines as a whole struggles with stormwater issues because

its drainage structures were only built to handle a 2-inch rainfall during a 24hour period. He added that he has never been approached by residents of the St. Martin Lane area about their specific drainage problem but is willing to look into it. “These are things community members need to come see me about,” he said, adding “We’ll definitely look at it for you.”

Interviews under way for facilities manager

A search team is preparing to conduct the second round of interviews as part of the Ocean Pines Association’s effort to fill a new facilities manager position. The facilities manager will be charged with overseeing maintenance of existing OPA buildings and facilities as well as helping to plan for future needs. OPA General Manager Bob Thompson told the board of directors on Oct. 27 that he has developed a job description, advertised the position and assembled a search team to assist in the interview process. The first round of interviews is complete, and top candidates will be called in for a second interview soon.

Some kitchen equipment to be used in new building

Some of the equipment and furnishings in the existing Yacht Club may be saved and used in the new building, OPA General Manager Bob Thompson told residents attending his Oct. 10 town meeting. The Adirondack chairs on the outdoor deck will be among the items saved. Thompson said that he’s received some calls from residents asking for “souvenirs” from the existing building To page 29

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

AROUND THE PINES From Page 28 when it’s razed. He will be receptive to requests.

OPA may seek grant funds for bicycle trails

OPA General Manager Bob Thompson recently told residents that he is receptive to efforts to seek state and federal grant money to establish a bike trail system in Ocean Pines. At his Oct. 10 town meeting, he mentioned that a new member of the Ocean Pines Budget and Finance Advisory has experience in grant writing; a member of the Ocean Pines Police Department also has skills in that area. A resident attending the town meeting announced that an outreach committee working to establish a bike trail in Bainbridge Park will be meeting in the Ocean Pines library from 7 - 9 p.m. on Dec. 3.

Structural repairs made to Yacht Club

Following a structural inspection of the Yacht Club, repairs were made to the facility to ensure that it is safe for both workers and patrons. “We’re trying to make sure the club stays safe for operation,” said Bob

Thompson, Ocean Pines Association general manager, during an Oct. 27 meeting. He said engineers inspected the building in September and issued a follow-up report in October. As a result of the inspection, public works crews corrected structural issues identified by the engineers. “We have the engineers come in, and top to bottom they look at the facility,” Thompson said. He said they also follow-up to ensure that the repairs were made correctly.

Dog bowl policy at Pines dog park

Users of the new dog park in South Ocean Pines may be unaware that the Ocean Pines Association is concerned about canine sanitation and will take steps to remove dog water bowls that forgetful owners leave in the park. In his Oct. 10 town meeting, OPA General Manager Bob Thompson mentioned that it isn’t sanitary for dogs to drink out of one another’s bowls and that OPA staff will “get rid” of any that remain. The issue arose when a resident questioned why water fountains accessible to dogs weren’t installed in the park. Thompson said it was a conscious decision not to do, because the specialty fountains would have been too costly, several thousand dollars each.

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November, December meetings consolidated

Only one regular meeting of the Ocean Pines Association board of directors will be held yet this year. During an Oct. 27 meeting, directors voted to consolidate the regularly scheduled November and December board meetings into a single meeting. Director Dan Stachurski made the motion to hold the board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 28 but to cancel the meeting set for Wednesday, Dec. 19. He said it does not make sense to have two meetings so close together. He added that many directors, including himself, have busy schedules in December anyway and may not be able to make three meetings. “I personally think we ought to give ourselves the month off, go have a great Christmas and come back refreshed and ready to work on the budget,” Stachurski said. He added that the board will have already “made all the big capital decisions” that it is going to make before that meeting and will be preparing to begin the budget process.

No exercise room in new Yacht Club

Residents concerned about the lack of exercise equipment in the new Yacht Club recently received an explanation

for why that’s the case from OPA General Manager Bob Thompson. During his Oct. 10 town meeting, Thompson said the reason is that there would inevitably be complaints from Yacht Club patrons who think the music used during exercise classes is too loud. Such complaints are common at the Community Center, he said. Also involving the new Yacht Club, the general manager fielded a question about whether a stage will be added to the new facility. “Yes, it’s being considered,” Thompson said.

Leaf removal to begin Nov. 26

The Ocean Pines leaf program will begin in November. Bagged leaves will be picked up from Nov. 26 through Dec. 21. Ocean Pines Public Works will be picking up bagged leaves on the north side of Ocean Pines on Tuesdays and Fridays and on the south side on Mondays and Thursdays. Waste Management customers can also have up to four bags collected for each pick up day. The leaf vacuum program will begin on Monday, Nov. 26, until completion, which is usually in mid-January. The leaf vacuum program is for leaves in the ditches only. Residents are asked not to

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30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

rake yard leaves out to the ditch. Public Works will be making a few passes throughout each section. The Public Works yard, located behind the South Side Fire Station, will be open Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., (excluding holidays) starting Saturday, Nov. 24, and continuing through Saturday, Dec. 22, for drop-off of yard leaves and debris.

Thompson deflects charge he’s a dictator

He’s used to occasional flak from residents and even from some members of the board of directors, so it was probably not too surprising that, during his Oct. 10 town meeting, one resident accused OPA General Manager Bob Thompson of

being a dictator, a reference to his prominent role in selling the $4.3 million new Yacht Club to property owners in the recent referendum. Thompson deflected the charge by telling Dutch Oostveen that the referendum ballots were counted by the Elections Committee using the same process used in previous elections, and that he was proud that 68 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in the referendum.

Overgrown wetlands in Pintail Park

The protected wetlands area created years ago in Pintail Park – a collaboration between the Ocean Pines Association and Worcester County and funded with grant money – is, in the view of

some residents, an eyesore. A resident took to the microphone during General Manager Bob Thompson’s Oct. 10 town meeting to complain of the wetland’s overgrown condition. Thompson said state and federal environmental officials are very touchy about tampering with wetland areas but that “if there’s anything we can do (to improve the area’s appearance), we will.” County commissioner Jim Bunting told the group that it is possible to get state permits to kill phragmites, and that grant money may be available.

Tenth hole sell-off still possible, GM says

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there any evidence that it’s on anyone’s radar at the moment, but an earlier idea by General Manager Bob Thompson to sell-off a portion of the tenth hole on the Ocean Pines golf course to raise funds for a new Country Club is not dead. Thompson made the statement during his Oct. 10 town meeting, with body language suggesting that he has doubts the idea will gain much traction. Homeowners who live on the opposite side of the canal that runs along the golf course were not pleased with the idea of losing their unobstructed view of the golf course, and golfers are resistant to the idea that the golf course would be reconfigured in a way that destroys the original Robert Trent Jones layout. Thompson also mentioned during the meeting that he will be meeting with Worcester County Director of Public Works John Tustin soon to discuss the condition of bridges in Ocean Pines, including one on Clubhouse Drive that was tied in to the general manager’s idea for the tenth hole.

Gomsak voluntarily exited budget panel

Former OPA Director Pete Gomsak denies reports in recent editions of the Progress that he was removed as board liaison to the Budget and Finance Committee more than a year ago. Gomsak said he suggested to OPA President Tom Terry that it was best that he (Gomsak) remove himself from that role because his relationship with certain committee members had become contentious and unproductive. Terry agreed with the request and took over the role from Gomsak. The committee’s new board liaison is Terri Mohr. E-mail about the incident supplied by Terry supports Gomsak’s account.

Board begins finding continuing violations

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Prompted by comments from one member, the Ocean Pines Association board of directors has decided to start specifying that violations of the declaration of restrictions and Architectural Review Committee guidelines on individual properties are “continuing violations” before sending them to the OPA attorney for legal action. OPA General Manager Bob Thompson presented a series of property violations during an Oct. 27 board meeting. All of the items were referred to the board for action. Director Marty Clarke said the board is required to find properties in continuing violation in order to take action against the owners, but has never done so. Some directors argued that voting to send violations to the OPA’s attorney, Joe Moore, for legal action constitutes finding them as continuous violations. The board members agreed to simply state that a violation is continuing in nature as part of each motion to forward it to the attorney.

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

WORCESTER COUNTY

State has no money to continue Route 589 widening project

By ROTA KNOTT Contributing Writer o funding is available to continue planning for the future widening of Route 589, State Highway Administration officials told the Worcester County Commissioners during an Oct. 16 meeting. “We are out of money for the project,” Gregory I. Slater, director of the SHA’s

office of planning and preliminary engineering, said. That makes it impossible for the SHA to revisit the proposed rightof-way widths for the entire stretch of the highway at this time. He said it would be “hard to go back” right now and look at the rights-of-way again in any detail, but that can occur when the “project gets picked up again.” In the meantime, when property along

Route 589 is developed or redeveloped, SHA will determine the appropriate rights-of-way for that specific site, he said. During public hearings held last year, several owners of property along Route 589 took issue with the rightsof-way widths as proposed in the state’s Maryland 589 Corridor Vision Plan. The SHA’s plan designates those rights-ofway for future improvements to Route 589; they vary from 111 to 160 feet based on the cross section of the road. All properties that have frontage on the current right-of-way line and any parcel or lot

Residents seek ‘judicial review’ of Burbage rezoning Former county planning commission member is one of the litigants By TOM STAUSS Publisher t’s now official: five local residents are asking for judicial review of a recent decision by the Worcester County commissioners to rezone a 31-acre parcel just south of Ocean Pines for commercial purposes, more specifically a planned medical complex that developer Jack Burbage hopes to develop in tandem with Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin. Salisbury lawyer Steve Smethurst filed the petition for judicial review in October with the Worcester County Circuit Court on behalf of Gum Point residents Mackey and Pam Stansell, Jeanne Lynch, an Adkins Road resident who formerly served on the Worcester County Planning Commission, Paul Roger Bredehorst and Carole Schauer.

Both roads feed into Route 589, which serves as the western boundary of Burbage’s property. When her term expired in December of last year, Lynch was replaced by Richard Wells, who subsequently voted for the rezoning when it came before the planning commission for action before it was presented to the county commissioners for action. Lynch, based on her opposition to rezoning the Burbage property when it came up for consideration as part of a comprehensive rezoning several years prior, would probably have continued to oppose the commercial rezoning had she remained on the planning board. Smethurst’s initial filing, as is customary in such matters, did not make or allude to any arguments that he might make on behalf of his clients later in the proceeding. But it would not be surprising if the attorney challenges the legal basis and the findings of fact used by the commissioners in making their decision, made

in a 4-3 vote following an Aug. 7 public hearing. Burbage recently said he had heard rumblings of a possible appeal by residents. He said none had come forward to discuss the matter since the Aug. 7 decision. The litigants will have an uphill battle to overturn the rezoning, as courts often defer to elected officials absent a clear violation of law or abuse of discretion. The commissioners granted the rezoning on the grounds that the character of the neighborhood in which the Burbage property is a part had changed since the rezoning had last been considered. To underscore that assertion, the commissioners’ findings of fact cited the expansion of Ocean Downs Racetrack to include a casino. To overturn that determination, the litigants would normally have to show that it violated some state law or regulation and thereby exceeded the commissioners’ discretion in such matters.

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that now or in the future has frontage on the proposed right-of-way line are subject to the setbacks. In an Oct. 9 letter to the county, Slater said the SHA has “identified and analyzed issues associated with reducing the typical section width from what was proposed in the Maryland 589 corridor vision document.” Two typical sections, over three different roadway segments, were originally proposed in the corridor vision plan. For the roadway segment from Route 50 to Turville Creek, an open typical section roadway with a 160-foot wide rightof-way is proposed. From Turville Creek to Beauchamp Road a closed typical section roadway is proposed with a 111-foot wide right-of-way. From Beauchamp Road to Route 113 an open typical section with the 160-foot wide right-of-way is again proposed. “The open typical section was developed with the intent to reflect the context of the existing rural roadway, while still being able to support the treatment of stormwater runoff. The closed typical section was proposed within segment 2 in order to reduce potential environmental and potential rights-of-way impacts. SHA considered the context of the existing roadway in addressing these sensitive issues with a variety of stake-

Commissioners continue to support reduction of the highway’s right-of-way to 100 feet, which could affect future bicycle lanes and sidewalks along the heavily traversed thoroughfare

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32 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

WORCESTER COUNTY

State officials support continued construction of Route 113 By ROTA KNOTT Contributing Writer

trio of state elected officials, during an Oct. 16 meeting with the Worcester County Commissioners and representatives from the Maryland Department of Transportation, pledged to do whatever they can to help ensure the widening to four lanes of the remainder of Route 113. State Senator Jim Mathias, Delegate Norman Conway and Delegate Charles Otto were all on hand for the MDOT’s annual meeting with local elected officials to discuss pending highway projects in Worcester County. Topping the list was the continued dualization of Route 113 in southern Worcester County.

Conway said the state legislators had met with Gov. Martin O’Malley just a week earlier to talk about finding money to dualize the rest of Route 113. He said that widening Route 113 has been one of three major highway projects in the state that have been proceeding on a continual basis. He said progress on the project is “slow, but it has been continuous.” According to Conway, the governor is the one who has to put money in the state’s budget for widening additional sections of Route 113. He said he hopes O’Malley “will continue that forward movement.” Conway noted that “we’re talking about significant amounts of money,” but still the governor was open to discussion on the issue.

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Mathias agreed, and said it was a positive meeting with the governor about continued funding for Route113 as a capital project request. “We were very high on the list” of items on the governor’s list to receive funding, he said, adding that “doesn’t mean it’s going to happen, but we have his attention.” Otto also supported continued work to make Route 113 a dual highway. “We do have some serious concerns with 113 and the safety of all of Worcester County,” he said. Donnie Drewer, SHA district engineer, said the design is fully funded for phases 3 and 4 of the Route 113 widening project. However, the state has not been able to identify any funding source for the acquisition of the rights-

of-way necessary to actually build the four-lane highway or for continued construction. He said that rights-ofway funding is estimated for phase 3 at about $10 million and $7 million for phase 4 of Route 113. Commissioner Louise Gulyas said it is taking too long to complete the expansion of Route 113 to a four-lane highway. She said there are major new roads projects getting under way on the Western Shore of Maryland but “not down here.” She added of the Route 113 dualization, “for what we are, we’re so small you could have it done in no time at all.” In the meantime, the SHA is proposing to construct “J” turns at the

Route 589

said in his letter. He said reducing the “widths of these facilities could be considered as the project advances, but roadway standards and policies require us to provide adequate facilities for all roadway users.” These aesthetics and roadway amenities were recommended as necessary typical section features from various Worcester County representatives, stakeholder group members and the surrounding communities during an open house meeting in September 2008 and at the public hearing in November 2009, he said. District Engineer Donnie Drewer said he believes the rights-of-way width can be adjusted. “I think we can still use the same footprint but reduce it down,” he said, adding that he does not think that the SHA needs to rewrite the entire e adjustments to reduce land consumption. He added that Ocean Downs Casino has already deeded to the SHA sufficient land to accommodate widening that southernmost stretch of Route 589, as have the owners of property on the other end of the highway north of Beauchamp Road. Slater told the commissioners during the Oct. 16 meeting that if the state is “able to find funding” to pursue the Route 589 widening project, then it will reinitiate the study groups for input on the rights-of-way issue. He said the SHA appreciates the commissioners’ concerns regarding typical section widths and their desire to implement 100-foot typical sections. He said to do this it would require a more detailed analysis, similar to what was put forth through the original Maryland 589 corridor visioning process and could be considered in the more detailed phases of the project. “In the short term, we can coordinate with other areas within SHA to investigate opportunities for short-term improvements for motorists, bicycle compatibility measures and pedestrian facility improvements within the current 100-foot typical section,” he said.

From Page 31 holders,” Slater said in his letter to the county. “We have a really clear vision of what we want out there; we’re down to the specifics,” Slater said. The commissioners had asked the state to revise the corridor plan to require only a 100-foot wide right-of-way in order to preserve more of the abutting properties. “The SHA appreciates the desire to reduce potential project impacts. In reviewing the request to reduce the proposed typical section to 100 feet, several items need to be considered. A reduction in the proposed typical section width would result in the removal, or reduction, of median widths and grass buffers along the corridor, and the proposed sidewalk, bicycle and travel lane widths would also be impacted by a potential reduction in the typical section,” Slater

No funding source identified for rights-of-way

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Casino money could be used for business loans

Worcester County officials want the entire county to be designated as an area eligible for business loans through a Maryland Casino Small and Minority Revolving Loan Fund that the state is considering creating using revenue derived from slots. However, the Department of Business and Economic Development has asked for more closely targeted areas for such loans. Bill Badger, economic development director, met with the Worcester County Commissioners on Oct. 16 to discuss the proposal. He said initially the original request to DBED was for the entire county to be considered as impacted by the casino. But the state wants more specific areas of impact, so Badger suggested focusing on Ocean Pines, Ocean City, West Ocean City and Berlin because of the proximity of those areas to the Ocean Downs Casino. Since the designated areas do not have to be contiguous, Badger suggested including Snow Hill and Pocomoke City as well. Despite the more narrow target areas

AROUND THE COUNTY identified for DBED, Badger said all eligible businesses in the county will still be able to apply for the revolving loan funds.

Health Department receives recognition

The Worcester County Health Department was recognized by the National Public Health Information Coalition in a national competition honoring excellence in public health communication. “We are extremely proud that the top nationwide voice of public health communication has recognized our work,” Debbie Goeller, Worcester Coun-

ty health officer said. “Public health is about preventing illness and injury, and that means educating people to help them understand and reduce their individual health risks.” Katherine Gunby, the health department’s public information officer received the bronze award in the In-House Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication Category – Thinking on your Feet for public information efforts during Hurricane Irene. The submission included internal staff and external public messages such as fact sheets, news releases, Web postings, tweets and Facebook posts released during the emergency hurricane activation. NPHIC is the leading national orga-

nization for public health communication professionals. Its award program offers gold, silver and bronze awards in 17 public health communication categories. As a recipient of the NPHIC award, the Worcester County Health Department has been designated by an independent panel of judges as among the year’s best in public health communication.

Real estate bus tour promotes county

Worcester County’s Economic Development Department on Sept. 28 held its first VIP Real Estate Tour. Bill Badger, the county’s economic development director, along with area business leaders, took interested investors on a chartered

Route 113 From Page 32 intersection of Routes 113 and 12 near Snow Hill in order to separate turning traffic and prevent direct cross traffic. The SHA originally proposed to construct an overpass at that intersection as phase 5 of the Route 113 widening project. But in response to the county’s concern about the number of traffic accidents that have occurred at that intersection, SHA instead is proposing “J” turn lanes. Drewer said he is hoping funding will be available from the state in fiscal year 2014 for improvements at the intersections so construction could begin the following summer. Commissioner Virgil Shockley was not convinced that “J” turns are the best option for controlling traffic at that intersection. Shockley added that many nearby residents are concerned. He suggested the SHA hold a community meeting to explain the proposal. Commissioner Jim Bunting asked about the cost of building “J” turns at Routes 113 and 12 versus the expense of installing a traffic signal at that location. Drewer responded that it is significantly more expensive to add the “J” turns, but that it would be more effective in controlling traffic and preventing collisions. He said “J” turns are used successfully all over the state. “I think that a light would be more dangerous than what the “J” turns are,” Drewer said, adding, “People can run through lights.” However, usually in traffic accidents at intersections with “J” turns, “nobody’s going to get hurt real bad,” he said.

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34 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

AROUND THE COUNTY From Page 33 bus tour of the growth areas in northern Worcester County. During the tour, investors both saw and heard many reasons why they should choose Worcester County as a location to grow their businesses. “Worcester County is committed to paving the way for new strategies and innovations that lead to job creation and investment in our economy,” Bud Church, Worcester County Commissioner President, said. Church said the county received positive feedback about the economic development tour, as well as the public and private partnerships that are being created. The tour was designed to promote business development, expansion and relocation, and to increase the career opportunities that are available to local residents. More than 25 properties currently available were featured on the tour. Some of the properties were the Ocean Pines North Gate medical office complex and Pines Plaza Shopping Center west of Ocean Pines, the former Cropper concrete plant in Ocean City, the Sea Isle Motel and Light Corner Pad Site in West Ocean City and the 56-acre former Tyson Plant property in Berlin.

Mathias comments on unemployment tax

Maryland State Senator Jim Mathias said a reduction in the state’s unemployment insurance tax rate by 55 percent will ensure that small businesses have the resources necessary to succeed while also making certain that the state maintains a fully solvent and secure unemployment trust fund. “Throughout the recession, small businesses have been hurting. As a former small business owner, I know how critical this issue is to small businesses,” Mathias said. He said most small businesses operate off the smallest of margins, and every dollar that can stay with them is another dollar that can be reinvested back into their businesses and the local economy. “As a former member of the House of Delegates and current State Senator, I have worked on this issue for years, and am grateful to the leadership and partnership of the Governor and my colleagues in the House and Senate in making this rate reduction possible,” Mathias said. “I look forward to continuing to work with all members of the General Assembly in continuing to lower the burden on small businesses and providing the tools necessary to grow our economy.” Mathias represents District 38, which includes all of Somerset and Worcester counties and part of Wicomico County. He is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over health care, energy, and business legislation.

WORCESTER COUNTY

SDHS implements anti-bullying program Anonymous hotline number available to report abuse to staff members By ROTA KNOTT Contributing Writer

new program aimed at curtailing bullying has been implemented at Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin. SDHS Principal Tom Zimmer and teachers Todd Martinek and Jessica Patterson discussed the anti-bullying program Character Kickoff with the Worcester County Board of Education during an Oct. 16 meeting. Zimmer said through an MDS3 grant, Stephen Decatur High School teachers have been trained to help promote anti-bullying and the “Decatur Way of Pride, Achievement, Respect and Responsibility.” The Character Kickoff program was developed and led by students. A component of the program is the availability of an anonymous hotline number to report bullying activities to SDHS staff members. Tamara Mills and Marlyn Barrett, coordinators of instruction, and Jane Chisholm, extended school administrator, presented information to the Board of Education about the Science and Technologies Academy held during the summer months. The program focused on aviation and was held for students in grades 6 through 8. The presentation included participation rates, demographics, need for these types of programs and highlighted the experiences of middle school students who participated in the program. Also during the meeting, Stephanie Zanich, coordinator of instruction, reviewed the 2012 Worcester County public school system’s update of the Bridge to Excellence master plan. The master plan was accepted by the board as presented. The master plan will be submitted to the Worcester County Commissioners and to the Maryland State Board of Education. Final approval will come from the Maryland State Board of Education. Principal Aaron Dale, teacher Jenifer Heimer and guidance counselor James Henderson reported on the Young Men United Program that is held at the middle school level. The program focuses on reaching at-risk youth. As a result of this after school program, there has been a decrease in office referrals and tardiness, and an increase in daily attendance, and an increase in grade point averages. Vince Tolbert, the school system’s chief financial officer, and Ron Hickman, of the accounting firm Trice, Geary and Myers, presented the school system’s audited financial report and supplemental information for the year ending June 30, 2012. The audit report showed a fund balance of $621,281. The fund balance will be available for the fiscal year 2013 school year. Hickman said that all accounting practices were followed and a clean audit with no areas of concern

has been issued. Daniel Beck, a Worcester Technical High School student, was recognized by the Board of Education for receiving the Skills USA national gold medal in principles of technology. The school board also met for a work session to prioritize improvements outlined in new Superintendent of Schools Jerry Wilson’s entry plan. The board members reviewed numerous suggestions for improvement as a result of the superintendent’s meetings with more than 55 representatives from the community. Each board member was asked to identify at least five priorities from the list of suggestions presented by Wilson. Wilson will then use the prioritized list to develop concepts for strategic direction, which he will discuss with the board at a future meeting. In other school news, Worcester County students from Stephen Decatur,

Pocomoke and Snow Hill high schools joined forces for peer leadership training at Delaware’s Camp Arrowhead this October. The purpose of the two day retreat was to provide members of SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions, with multiple strategies to strengthen their leadership skills in modeling good decision making. The activities and workshops provided at the camp this year were the low ropes course, training in tobacco prevention, preventing texting and driving, and building students’ developmental assets. The peer leadership training was made possible through a Worcester County Health Department grant. Teachers Penny Butler, Paul Becker, Susan Wallace and Zena Tunnell, together with health department representatives and counselors, helped to make the experience meaningful for more than 30 participating students.

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Sunday, Nov. 4 Kiwanis’ annual Germanfest, Ocean Pines Community Center, 4:307 p.m. Bratwurst, sauerkraut, green beans, red cabbage, potato salad, applesauce and fresh baked bread, dessert, coffee or tea. $12 adults, $6 child (12 and Under). Reservations/tickets call 410-208-6719. Carryout available 5-7 p.m.Walk-ins welcome. Proceeds benefit youth of the community. Monday, Nov. 5 Special meeting, Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors, Ocean Pines Community Center, Assateague Room, 4 p.m. Consideration of agenda items left over from Oct. 27 regular meeting. AARP monthly meeting, Ocean Pines Community Center, 9:30 a.m. social time, meeting 10 a.m. Guest speaker is Rob Hart from the Dept. of Aging. Thursday, Nov. 8 Worcester County Tea Party, monthly meeting, Ocean Pines Community Center, 7 p.m. Guest speaker Paul Sanders’ topic is the “Global Warming Hoax.” Public invited. 410430-7282, WorTeaParty@gmail.com, or WorcesterCountyTeaParty.com. Saturday, Nov. 10 Delmarva Chorus’ coffee, tea and laugh-in harmony, Ocean Pines Community Center, 7 p.m. Donation $10, free homemade desserts and beverages, Door prizes, 50-50 and more. 410641-5091 for advance tickets. Flag Retirement Ceremony, Veterans Memorial in Ocean Pines, 2

HAPPENINGS p.m. Bring your old flags to be retired or drop them off at the Ocean Pines Community Center. Annual bazaar luncheon and carryout, Buckingham Presbyterian Church, 20 S. Main St., Berlin 9 a.m.1p.m. Lunch served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Variety of soups and chicken salad sandwiches. Craft, bake, book tables, fabulous finds in Taylor Hall. Suddenly single program, hosted by the Worcester County Commission for Women and the Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services, Ray Community Room, WYFCS offices, 124 North Main Street, Berlin. Featuring Clinical Director Jennifer Leggour, Psy.D. Assistant Director Lori Carson, LCPC, of WYFCSP, and Pat Winkelmayer talking about the Ocean Pines Widows and Widowers Social Club. To attend, call 410-208-1272 or email f.daly@mchsi.com. Donuts and coffee. Sunday, Nov. 11 Ninth annual Veterans Day ceremony, Worcester County Veterans Memorial at Ocean Pines, Rt. 589 in Ocean Pines, 11 a.m. All veterans will be honored but there will be a special recognition of those who served during the Desert Shield/Desert Storm Era (1990 to 1991. Bring a lawn chair for your comfort. Ceremony will be moved to the Ocean Pines Community Hall if the weather is inclement. Tuesday, Nov. 13 Salisbury Ski Club of Delmarva, monthly meeting, Nights of Columbus

Hall, 1504 Emerson Ave., Salisbury. Ski swap/auction, Elm Mt. day trip Jan. 16, New Hampshire ski week Feb 28/ March1. www.salisburyskiclub.com Thursday Nov. 15 Pine’eer Craft Club of Ocean Pines, monthly meeting, Ocean Pines Community Center, 9:45 a.m. Discussion of funds donated to the community, election of 2013 officers. After the business meeting, members will create a candy cane centerpiece; bring candy canes and styrofoam cone. Also be prepared to pay $20 for the holiday installation of officers luncheon Dec. 20. Saturday, Nov. 17 Turkey Shoot, Synepuxent Rod and Gun Club, 7909 Purnell Crossing Road, Berlin. Benefitting Ocean City/Berlin Boy Scout Troop 225. 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. Registration 7:30 am. Bring a 12 gauge shotgun; ammo provided. Rounds start at $2 per person. Gift certificates from area restaurants, hotel accommodations, sporting goods, turkeys, chickens, several prizes worth $50 or more. Raffle tickets to win a Ruger 10/22 rifle. Breakfast, lunch and bake sale. Rain date is Sun., Nov. 18. John Savage, 410-430-9369, or scoutmaster@octroop225.org. Tuesday, Nov. 27 Small business workshop, sponsored by the Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce, Ocean Pines library, 11107 Cathell Road, 5 p.m. Local professionals and state representatives will be on hand. Designed to help individuals

achieve the dream of owning a business. Attendees will have an opportunity to network with other business professionals in related fields. 410-641-5306 or visit www.OceanPinesChamber.org. Wednesday, Nov. 28 Worcester Chorale holiday concert, concluding with “Handel’s Christmas Messiah: A Cantata,” 7 p.m., Stevenson United Methodist Church, 123 North Main Street, Berlin. Refreshments. 02-524-8084. Friday, Nov. 30 Worcester Chorale holiday concert, concluding with “Handel’s Christmas Messiah: A Cantata,” 7 p.m., Atlantic United Methodist Church, 4th Street, Ocean City. Refreshments. 302524-8084. Saturday, Dec. 1 2nd Annual Craft Show, sponsored by the Worcester County Council on Aging, Charles and Martha Fulton Senior Center, 4767 Snow Hill Rd., Snow Hill. Vendors needed, $40 table. Soup/ deli wraps available for purchase. 410632-0111. Proceeds benefit adult medical day services. Ongoing Pine’eer Craft and Gift Shop, White Horse Park, Ocean Pines (off Ocean Parkway), 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sunday. The shop features handcrafted home decor, jewelry and fashion accessories created by members of the Pine’eer Craft Club. Open Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. thereafter.

36 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Kiwanis taking orders for holiday fruit packages

he local Kiwanis Club has launched its annual holiday fruit sale. Orders by the case can be placed by calling Roy Foreman at 410-641-6082 or Pat Winkelmayer at 410-641-5036. Choices include apples, oranges, grapefruit separately and in combinations. Prices are: grapefruit, 20 pounds, 1624 count, case for $17.50; navel oranges, 20 pounds, 36-44 count, case for $18; apples, 24 count, red delicious, case for $26; grapefruit and oranges, approximately ten grapefruit and 16 oranges, $19; trio package, approximately 12 grapefruit, 12 oranges and 12 apples, $27. Deadline for ordering is Tuesday, Nov. 20. Pick-up at the South Side fire station is scheduled for the week of Dec. 9. Customers will be called for exact date and time and pick-up. All order must be placed in advance. Proceeds benefit the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City’s Scholarship Foundation awarded to local youth.

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Cove to hire Billy Casper Golf to manage restaurant, golf and aquatics operations By TOM STAUSS Publisher he newly reorganized Captain’s Cove property owners association board of directors, in its first business meeting Nov. 3, took some significant actions that constitute a major shake-up in the way the community will be managed going forward. The board, under the leadership of newly elected president Tim Hearn, voted to continue the process already started to execute a three-year contract with Billy Casper Golf, the golf course management firm that operates the Ocean Pines golf course, to manage the Cove’s nine-hole course. In addition, the pending contract with BCG calls for the company to take over management of all Cove food and beverage operations and the community’s two swimming pools. More specifically, Casper officials will take over day-to-day running of the community’s landmark Marina Club facility overlooking Chincoteague Bay, as well as the inland convenience store and snack bar operation adjacent to the community’s older outdoor pool and golf pro shop. The Cove association’s pending contract with BCG includes a $90,000 management fee, payable in monthly installments. Before voting to continue with the process that will lead to a BCG contract, the board of directors hosted a presentation by BCG regional vicepresident Michael Cutler, who told board members and assembled property owners that of the 120 restaurant operations that BCG manages all over the country, none lose money for the company’s clients, including HOAs. Hearn said the motivation for hiring BCG was “to stop the bleeding”

in restaurant and golf operations in Captain’s Cove. The Cove board, during its Nov. 3 business meeting, also voted to transfer to L&H Consultants, a Baltimore-based accounting firm, day-to-day control over Cove association accounting functions. The changes result in a reduction of nine separate management areas to four, with BCG handling two of them – food and beverage and amenities, including golf and aquatics, Hearn said. L&H Consultants will handle financial management, while Cove General Manager Lance Stitcher will continue to supervise roads, general maintenance and security, Hearn said. BCG will report directly to the board of directors. Hearn told the Progress in a recent interview that the board decided to hire BCG after interviewing its executives and considering competing proposals from other management companies. He said the Cove directors decided to expand the company’s responsibilities to include food and beverage services “because we heard a lot of good things from their client clubs concerning food service.” Hearn said the purpose of the changes is to bring more fiscally sound management to the Cove, in the expectation that amenity operating subsidies can be reduced or eliminated. With respect to the golf course, he said he believes BCG will be able to improve upon the roughly 18,000 rounds of golf played on the course every year, in which “less than five percent” is attributable to outside, non-member play. In Captain’s Cove, annual property assessments include prepaid greens fees for unlimited play, with golf carts extra. Hearn said that if BCG is able to better market the Cove course to bring

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in only 2,000 additional rounds, at $15 per round, the golf course’s bottom line would be much approved. He said that might be a low estimate “because there’s been exactly zero exposure” of the Cove golf course outside the community. Hearn said the new board is determined to restore the Cove’s financial health, which he said had been eroded in recent years by poor financial management by prior boards, resulting in a reduction of the Cove’s reserve funds from a high of $1.7 million several years ago to about $500,000 currently. He said about $500,000 in reserves that are supposed to be earmarked for capital improvements were used instead to finance what, in the end, were futile legal battles against the Captain’s Cove Utility Co., of which Hearn is the managing partner, and CCG Note LLC, the Cove’s primary developer. This depletion of reserves was largely responsible for the previous board’s decision to raise the base assessment in Captain’s Cove this year by $100. New officers: During their Nov. 3 organizational meeting, the Cove directors elected officers for the coming year. In addition to Hearn assuming the presidency, Tom Nagle was elected vicepresident, Michael Glick will serve as treasurer, and John Ward was elected secretary. Earlier that day, at the biannual meeting of the association, election results were announced. The winners were Nagle, with 1606 votes; Hearn, with 1562 votes; Glick, with 1506 votes; and C. James Silfee, with 1442 votes. Hearn has a home in the Cove,and is president and majority shareholder of the Captain’s Cove Utility Co. Glick is managing partner in CCG Note, and Silfee also is associated with the

HAPPENINGS Pancake breakfast every Saturday, 8 a.m. till noon, Ocean City Airport, to support the Ocean City Aviation Association’s Huey Memorial Display restoration and continuous maintenance fund. The display is located near the Terminal and requires no security procedures to view. Contact Tom Oneto, 410-641-6888, or Airport Operations,410-213-2471 Kiwanis Club meets every Wednesday at 7:45 a.m. in the Ocean Pines Community Center except Wednesday, Nov. 14, and the third Wednesday of the month when they meet at the Woodlands in Ocean Pines from January through May 2013 for an evening dinner meeting starting 6 p.m., $18 per person. Doors open 5:30 p.m. all

developer. Developer-controlled votes were cast in this year’s election. In addition, to fill another recent resignation from the board, the Cove membership elected resident Bob Miller to the board during the annual meeting, also with developer support. “We (developer interests) don’t control the board with three members, but we believe we can work with the the new board to improve the Cove for everybody,” Hearn said. “Homeowners will still be in charge, but I don’t expect the new board to be spending large amounts of money on unnecessary and unsuccessful legal actions that only divide the community.” The new Cove association president last year ran unsuccessfully for the board when the former board refused to accept ballots cast in behalf of developerowned lots in that election. That decision was litigated and, as a result of an out-of-court settlement early this year, developer voting rights were recognized and restored, making this year’s election outcome probable. The new board, in effect, represents a changing of the guard in Captain’s Cove, with a faction of homeowners that has run the community for years on the outs, replaced by a new board that is, more or less, an alliance between developer interests and a local citizens group, called the Concerned Citizens of Captain’s Cove. During the Nov. 3 board business meeting, Hearn also announced a change in the status of various advisory committees to make them independent community committees. The affected committees are golf, yachting, library, CERT, social, arts and crafts, pool and IT. Under the change, the committees no longer will report to the board of directors but will function with autonomy. The board also adopted a meeting schedule that includes six board meetings a year in Captain’s Cove and another six on an alternating basis “in the Rt. 95” corridor closer to where many non-resident property owners live.

410-641-7330. Ocean Pines plant clinic, Ocean Pines library lobby, every Tuesday 1-4 p.m. May 1 until Sept. 25. Got plant problems or bugs? Bring your bagged samples by and let expert master gardeners find solutions to your questions. Sanctioned duplicate bridge games, Ocean Pines Community Center, Sundays 1 p.m., Mondays noon, Tuesdays 10 a.m. Partners guaranteed. $5, special games $6. Third Sunday of every month is Swiss teams (no partner guaranteed for teams). Felicia Daly, 410208-1272; Pat Kanz, 410-641-8071 The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 12-05, meets the first Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the U.S.C.G. Station, Ocean City. Visitors and new members are welcome. Dennis

CAPTAIN’S COVE SHAKE-UP

38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

OPINION

Comity gives way to board/GM sparring

LIFE IN THE LIFE INPINES THE PINES

ot that anyone would notice, Stevens dug in and unleashed more given the sparse attendance at verbiage in Thompson’s direction. meetings, but members of the An excursion through the curious cul-de-sacs He saidthe it curious was “not reasonable” for An excursion through theby-ways curious and by-ways and cul-de-sacs An excursion through and cul-d An excursion through theby-ways curious by-ways OPA board of directors aren’t exactly Thompson to expect the board to vote of Worcester County’s County’s most densely community. of Worcester mostpopulated densely populated community. of Worcester County’s County’s most densely populated com of Worcester most densely popula basking in the warm fuzzies of late. on the expanded drainage program that Publisher By TOM STAUSS/ Publisher By TOM STAUSS/ Publisher By TOM STAUSS/ Publisher By TOM STAUSS/ The state of relations among Direcday. tors Dave Stevens and Marty Clarke -The general manager told Stevens especially Clarke -- and their colleagues tors among themselves of late, for the the golf drainage project, which more re- “you’re one vote” and suggested is cool at best and contentious at worst, most part Thompson apparently retains cently has morphed into something a lit- that he could “vote against it” if he depending on the occasion. Stevens and the trust and support of a solid board tle bit more. Thompson has proposed an wanted. Perhaps without intending to, Clarke also are making no effort to hide majority. The bloc he can most depend expansion of the next phase of the proj- Thompson conveyed the impression that their increasing disdain -- let’s call it for on is composed of OPA President Tom ect, originally intended to deal with poor he thought he had the votes without what it is -- of the management skills Terry and directors Sharyn O’Hare, Ter- drainage on the 11th and 12th holes Stevens. of General Manager Bob Thompson. It ri Mohr and Dan Stachurski. Ray Unger on the Ocean Pines golf course. The exMaybe he did, and still does. would not be too surprising if the gener- seems to hold Thompson in high regard panded scope would take into account OPINION Falling back into his all-too familiar al manager has detected a pattern and on a personal basis, but that doesn’t poor drainage on Hingham Lane, the role of mediator-facilitator-in-chief, has begun to take some of it personally. mean his vote is easy to predict. street that bisects the two golf course Terry suggested a special meeting the Put another way, if somehow after Stachurski’s more recent move into holes on its way into the Innerlinks following week to vote on the drainage next summer’s election several direc- the Thompson camp wasn’t assured or section of Ocean Pines. Additional Hingproposal, and it seemed likely that tors are elected who view Thompson in even probable when he was elected to ham Lane work would increase the cost the four votes there to pass Thethe Ocean Pinesfrom Progress, a journal Thewould Oceanbe Pines Progress, a journ the same way that Stevens and Clarke the board in the summer of last year, of project $450,000 to aof little it. Likely yes votes were Terry, Mohr, news and commentary, is published apparently do, Thompson’s tenure in but there has been an warming trend over $540,000, $90,000 more than what news and commentary, is pub Stachurski -- the new h the curious cul-de-sacs on through theby-ways curious by-ways and cul-de-sacs monthly throughout the year. budget It is for O’Hare and monthly Ocean Pines would be and fast approaching evident, no doubt influenced by the gen- was included in the approved throughout the year. dominant bloc -- and possibly Unger. y’s most densely community. circulated in OceaninPines, Berlin, West its unceremonial denuement. The goodcommunity. eral manager’s successful management the er County’s mostpopulated densely populated year adopted February. circulated in Ocean Pines, Berlin, That’s when the directors took City,board’s Snow Hill, Ocean City and Stenews for the general manager is that of the recent Yacht Club referendum Ocean At the Oct. 27 meeting, Ocean City, Snow Hill, Ocean Cit blisher the scenic route through even more Stevens is in his sixth year as a director process. vens in particular engaged in a testy Capain’s Cove,Va. Capain’s Cove,Va. divisiveness. and can’t run for reelection. Were Thompson to stumble in some exchange that involved unproductiveLetters Letters andwith otherThompson editorial submissions: and other editorial submis After three or four scheduled and Clarke will be in his second year as a sort of catastrophic way, Stachurski something more thanonly. a simple Please submit via email We dodisagreenot Please submit via email only. We d announced dates for the special meeting, director and would need to recruit some might swing back in the other direction. ment acceptover faxespolicy. or submissions that require faxes submissions that re the date and accept time for a or final resolution like-minded individuals to succesfully One factor that suggests that is not retyping. Stevens slammed the GM for taking Letters should be original and retyping. Letters should be origina run for the board. likely to happen is the almost palpable as long as in presenting the ex- seems set for Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 3 p.m. exclusive to he the did Progress. Include phone exclusive to the Progress. Include Clarke has gone public with his p For all the sparring among Thomp- dislike evident between Stachurski and panded funding proposal to the board. son and two directors and several direc- Stevens that dates back to the previous The subtext: Stevens was questioning opinion that Terry kept changing the decade when both served on the board Thompson’s competence as general meeting day to assure that all seven 127 Nottingham Lane, directors would be127 there to vote, seven together and butted heads. So long as manager. Nottingham Lane, Stevens competes with Clarke for the assurePines, four votes Stevens saidPines, the MD delay “put the being the only way toOcean Ocean MD director most likely to publicly castigate spring season of golf at risk” and that to pass the expanded drainage project. Thompson in public on some perceived he “would put the blame on the general It’s apparent that Clarke doesn’t PUBLISHER/EDITOR PUBLISHER/EDITOR PUBLISHER/EDITOR PUBLISHER/EDITOR management failing, Stachurski is not manager” believe Terry’s assertion to the contrary. for that. Tom Stauss Tom Stauss Tom Stauss as likely to desert Thompson. The enemy Whether all this dirty laundry Tom Stausswill Thompson pushed back on the notion The Ocean Pines Progress, a journal of tstauss1@mchsi.com tstauss1@mchsi.com of my enemy is my friend, or something that he affect board and GM relationships going could have submitted a proposal tstauss1@mchsi.com tstauss1@mchsi.com news and commentary, is published 410-641-6029 like that. 410-641-6029 forward is difficult to say. There’s no rule any earlier than he had, just having 410-641-6029 monthly throughout the year. It is 410-641-6029 One recent example of board mem- received an Advertising that says policy-making is supposed to Advertising updated copy of the proposed circulated in Ocean Pines, Berlin, West Advertising bers falling out with each other involves plan from the be easy and harmonious.Advertising contractor himself. Ocean City, Snow Hill, Ocean City and ART DIRECTOR ART DIRECTOR Capain’s Cove,Va. ARTRota DIRECTOR ARTRota DIRECTOR Knott Knott Letters and other editorial submissions: Hugh Dougherty Hugh Dougherty Please submit via email only. We do not Room 1, 7-8 p.m. Fourth Wednesday of Republican Women of Worcester HAPPENINGS CONTRIBUTING accept faxes or submissions that require CONTRIBUTING every month. Pre-registration is not necCounty, fourth Thursday of each WRITERSWRITER CONTRIBUTING retyping. Letters should be original and WRITERS CONTRIBUTING WRIT information, please Kalinowski, 410-208-4147. Web site month, 11 a.m. meeting (doors open essary. For further exclusive to the Progress. Include phone Rota Knott 410-641Knott at 10:30), lunch at noon, local restau- call Pastoral Care Services, Rota Knott Knott http://a0541205.uscgaux.info. Reistercall membership 9725. Ginny Reister For Ginny information, Inkwellmedia@comcast.net Kabbalah class with Saturday rants. Inkwellmedia@comcast.n American Legion Post 166 chair Barbara Loffler at 410-208-0890. services, coffee, juice and bagels, 9:30 443-880-1348 443-880-1348 a.m., Saturdays, Temple Bat Yam, 410- January through June and again Auxiliary monthly general meeting, 127 Nottingham Lane, September and October. Dinner Ocean City, third Tuesday of the month 641-4311. Ocean Pines, MD Life after loss support group, sec- meeting in November. No meetings at the post, 11:30 a.m. Tai Chi classes, Wednesdays, 4-5 ond and fourth Tuesday of each month July, August and December. PUBLISHER/EDITOR PUBLISHER/EDITOR YOGA, James G. Barrett Medical p.m. and 6-7 p.m., Mondays 4-5 p.m., at the Community Church at Ocean Tom TomStauss Stauss Building, Berlin, rotunda, James G. Barrett Medical Office buildPines, 11227 Race Track Road, Berlin, Office tstauss1@mchsi.com Tuesdays 5:30-6 p.m. All levels welcome. ing, corner of Healthway Drive and Old 11 a.m. Help in coping with any type of tstauss1@mchsi.com 410-641-6029 Contact Georgette Rhoads at 410-641- Ocean City Boulevard, Berlin. There are loss. 410-641-5433. 410-641-6029 Advertising Worcester County Democratic 9734 or grhoads@atlanticgeneral.org 2 sessions offered on Wednesdays, one Advertising Club meeting, fourth Thursday of with any questions. Cost: $72 for 8 ses- 4-5 p.m. and one 6-7 p.m. Instructor Jani Kendy, www.atlanticgeneral.org/visions each month, 7 p.m., Marlin Room of sions, or $10 drop-in fee for first time. ART DIRECTOR or 410-641-9268. Ocean Pines Community Center. No T.O.P.S. of Berlin, Group 169, ARTRota DIRECTOR Knott Survivors of Suicide support December meeting. Club membership Atlantic General Hospital, Conference Hugh Dougherty is not required. All those interested in Room 1. Mondays 5-6:30 p.m. Take Off group meeting, third Wednesday of CONTRIBUTING Democratic platforms and agendas are Pounds Sensibly is a support and educa- every month, 6 p.m., Worcester County WRITERSWRITER CONTRIBUTING welcome. tional group promoting weight loss and Health Department, 9730 Healthway Beach Singles, every Thursday, healthy life style, meeting weekly. For Drive, Berlin, adjacent to Atlantic Rota Knott Knott 4-6 p.m., Castaways, Coastal Hwy. at more information contact Edna Berkey, General Hospital. Open to anyone who Ginny Reister Inkwellmedia@comcast.net has lost a friend or loved one to suicide. 64th Street, Ocean City, 45+ singles for 410-629-1006. 443-880-1348 socializing and monthly activities, 302Bereavement Support Group, No cost. 410-629-0164. 436-9577. Atlantic General Hospital, Conference

E PINES N THE PINES

LIFE IN THE LIFE INPINES THE PINES

November 2012 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPINION

COMMENTARY

Gaming expansion deserves a yes vote

SPINESuestion 2 on the ballot in the Nov. 6 general election

us cul-de-sacs heby-ways curious by-ways and cul-de-sacs in and Maryland authorizes the expansion of gaming enterprises in the state.community. It is the one ballot question with sely populated community. most densely populated

a direct effect on operations of the Ocean Pines Association. This referendum question authorizes table games at the local Ocean Downs casino and other gambling venues in the state and would allow for the creation of a new gaming venue at the National Harbor in Prince George’s County. Strange bedfellows indeed: Governor Martin O’Malley and conservative local state Delegate Mike McDermott both support this initiative. McDermott believes, with good reason, that expansion of gaming at Ocean Downs and elsewhere will be an economic boon to the county, including casino impact funding distributed to county government, the county’s four municipalities, and the OPA. It will lead to an increase in jobs in the casinos. That in turn would stimulate the local economy, as casino workers need homes to live in and would spend money in local business establishments, just like everyone else. ean Pines Progress, a journalhave of been reticent in their responseOddly, local officials and tocommentary, is published McDermott’s urging that they vocally support the gaming y throughout year.toItexplain is referendum.the It’s hard the squeamishness, since the ed incounty Oceangovernment’s Pines, Berlin,interests West and those of its residents are City,very Snow Hill,involved. Ocean City and much s Cove,The Va. OPA’s monthly share in impact funding has been relandatively other editorial submissions: steady, averaging somewhat less than $20,000 per submit via email We do month sinceonly. January of not last year, but that’s still substantial

axes or submissions that require g. Letters should be original and ve to the Progress. Include phone

enough to finance the resurrection of the OPA’s moribund road resurfacing program. More casino activity should mean more local impact funds over time.

With state gasoline tax revenues still being diverted by politicians for non-transportation purposes, a breach of the public trust if ever there was one, casino impact funding remains an important funding source -- perhaps the only funding source

A reasonable proposed natural gas rate structure

front page article in this edition of the Progress provides an update on the ongoing efforts to bring natural gas to Worcester County. It’s a subject of interest to Ocean Pines homeowners, who understandably are looking forward to the time when lower cost natural gas becomes available as opposed to higher priced propane. Unfortunately, there is no answer available to the question that almost everyone interested in natural gas wants answered: When exactly will the roll-out begin in Ocean Pines, given that a new pipeline that will serve the county is in the ground, extending from Selbyville to a future distribution location near Berlin, and already is undergoing pressure testing? Chesapeake Utiliities, the company that will soon become the exclusive natural gas distributor in the county, has been mum on roll-out details and will remain so until such time as its application for acqusition of a local gas retailer, Eastern Shore Gas, is considered and approved. That application is now with the Maryland Public Service Commission, which should be ruling on the matter sometime early in 2013.

While the pending acquisition has been reported in the local media, what hasn’t received much, if any, attention is a related filing with the PSC, one involving the proposed rate structure, or tariff as its called, that Chesapeake intends to implement in Ocean Pines and elsewhere in the county if its application to purchase Eastern Shore Gas is approved, as it’s likely to be. The proposed tariff structure may strike some as delaying the time when significant cost savings in monthly heating bills can be realized. Its key feature is a kind of “blended” rate structure that would charge all residential propane and natural gas customers in the county an equivalent rate, regardless of whether they are using propane or natural gas. The monthly rate would drop gradually for everyone as more customers are converted to natural gas. For ratepayers, it would make no difference in their monthly bills if Ocean Pines, Berlin or some other area is the first in the county to be converted. The proposed structure seems fair and reasonable and if approved by the PSC, it should eliminate unseemly competition between communities. -- Tom Stauss

LETTERS

127 Nottingham Lane, Ocean Pines, MD Directors extend

kudos to staff

UBLISHER/EDITOR UBLISHER/EDITOR We would like to take the time to Tom personally TomStauss Staussthank the management, stauss1@mchsi.com staff and volunteers of the Ocean Pines tstauss1@mchsi.com Association who did an exemplary job 410-641-6029 410-641-6029 during Hurricane Sandy. Under the Advertising

Advertisingof Bob Thompson, all the coordination mission essential departments in Ocean ART DIRECTOR Pines were fully manned 24 hours during ART DIRECTOR Rota Knott the emergency. Enough kudos cannot be Hugh Dougherty given to our police and fire departments, CONTRIBUTING EMT’s, Public Works, Recreation and WRITERS NTRIBUTING Parks, Food WRITER and Beverage, Aquatics, Casper Golf, office staff and PR Rota Knott Knott Departments. Ginny Reister Many of these people wellmedia@comcast.net worked on a 24-hour schedule, with 443-880-1348 a command center being set up at the Ocean Pines Administrative Building. Mr. Thompson and Ocean Pines Fire Chief Bounds had the foresight to plan ahead for this storm. They secured a HUMVEE and 2 members of the National Guard to operate it. Six members of the Swift Water rescue team arrived from South Carolina along with a boat if they needed to make water rescues. Throughout the night, our own crews patrolled Ocean Pines removing limbs and trees from the road, putting up barricades where there was high water, and going door to door to notify the residents who lived in the area where mandatory evacuation was ordered. The phones to Ocean Pines and Public Works were manned throughout the event. Many calls were received

from concerned residents regarding their property, rising water, trees, and location of shelters. Many calls came from family members who did not live here who were concerned about parents and loved ones. All calls were addressed as quickly as possible. Special thanks goes out to Chief Dave Massey and his entire police force: Fire Captain Bill Bounds and his staff of emergency responders; Teresa Travatello, who kept us informed on the web site and on channel 78 with pictures from Ocean Pines and updates from the county and state; Michelle Bennett, who manned the phones; Sonja Bounds, recreation and parks, who helped wherever needed; Tom Perry from Aquatics, who secured cots for those who spent the night; Eddie Wells and his staff, who were out during the storm keeping the roads open; Rusty McLendon and his staff from Casper Golf, who constantly monitored the golf course conditions and also assisted public works; Josh Bickers, who manned the phones for Public Works dispatching vehicles where needed; Art Carmine, who kept the phones and computers up and running; and David McLaughlin and his staff from the Yacht Club, who worked along with the fire department and public works department to kept the entire crew of over 50 workers and volunteers fed through the entire storm. Please forgive us if there is anyone else we have failed to mention in this letter.

We are sure the owners and residents of the Pines did not know what was going on behind the scenes. This was a well-run emergency program and our general manager, Bob Thompson, is to be credited with an outstanding job organizing all these various responders in the face of unknown dangers from this massive storm. Ocean Pines is truly fortunate to have such a dedicated group of staff, volunteers and employees. Many, many thanks. Sharyn O’Hare Tom Terry Dan Stachurski Terri Mohr Dave Stevens Ray Unger Ocean Pines

Animal control officer requested

The Ocean Pines Association should consider reinstating the position of animal control officer. This is a vital and much needed position for the benefit of all dog owners and the many dogs in Ocean Pines. Worcester County Animal Control does as good a job as they can but they are responsible for the entire county. If an animal control officer is reinstated in Ocean Pines, the residents would have better protection when needed. Case in point: On Sept. 18, while being walked on leash, my dog was viciously attacked and killed by an

unleashed dog. We quickly took my dog to his vet (VCA Animal Hospital – Dr. Rebecca Secord), but it was too late to save my dog. Dr. Second strongly emphasized that we call the Ocean Pines Police and county Animal Control, which we did as soon as we returned home. The Ocean Pines police responded and took the information. When Animal Control contacted us, they said that since this was the first reported case, the owner of the dog that killed our dog would be issued a citation and a small fine. We told Animal Control that this in fact was the third time this dog had been aggressive. They had no record of an incident that occurred in April, when this same dog attacked a neighbor’s dog. Ocean Pines police did not advise my neighbor or me that we should call Animal Control. Had there been an animal control officer in Ocean Pines, a report [of the earlier incident] probably would have been filed. With three reported incidents, the dog would have been declared dangerous and the penalty for the owner would have more than a mere incident and small fine. As things stand now, this dog can continue with the threatening behavior and attacks. For the safety of all dog owners and their dogs, I strongly urge you to reinstate the position of animal control officer for Ocean Pines. Elizabeth F. Duff Ocean Pines

40 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2012

K.C. COLGAN

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