November 2019 Ocean Pines Progress by Ocean Pines Progress

Board votes 6-1 to establish New Capital Reserve The Board of Directors voted 6-1 at its Nov. 2 monthly meeting to establish a New Capital Reserve, an idea pushed in recent months by Treasurer and Director Larry Perrone with the support of the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, of which he is a former chairman. As a candidate for the board this summer, Perrone advocated for a new capital reserve.

~ Page 28

Viola won’t propose assessment dollars for deficit recovery General Manager John Viola recently said that he does not intend to look to relying on the lot assessment as the source of revenue for continued operating fund reduction. Unbudgeted deficit recovery seems to be occurring this fiscal year on the strength of better than budget performance throughout the OPA. That will reduce the operating fund deficit more or less automatically. ~ Page 30

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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY

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Trendic files complaint with Circuit Court alleging bad faith in referendum denial Attorney asks for summary judgment, injunctive relief, legal fees and court order requiring community vote on board spending threshold

By TOM STAUSS Publisher

he long-awaited lawsuit by former Director Slobodan Trendic on behalf of his START advocacy organization against the Ocean Pines Association’s Board of Directors and individual directors for their rejection of a petition to force a referendum vote on board spending authority has been filed. Bruce Bright, Trendic’s attorney, filed the 14-page complaint electronically with Worcester County Circuit Court Nov. 15. Once a case number is assigned to the complaint, Bright will follow up with a motion for a summary judgment on issues raised in the complaint. The complaint is seeking a court order mandating that the board take steps to conduct a referendum on the spending issue. The referendum would ask property owners to approve or reject a lowering of the board’s capital spending authority without a referendum from the current $1.65 million to $1 million. The complaint contains two counts for declaratory judgment, one for injunctive relief and one for breach of contract/breach of fiduciary duty. The counts for a declaratory judgment ask the court to declare that the plaintiff’s referendum petition was

consistent with the OPA by-laws and the Board Resolution B-07 and that the requisite number of petition signatures were obtained by the plaintiff, submitted to the OPA Board, and validated by the OPA. The suit asks the the court to rule that the board “is and was required to proceed in accordance with the OPA by-laws to submit the referendum to a vote by the members of the OPA, and that it must promptly do so.” The plaintiff further asks for a ruling that the OPA board “acted improperly, incorrectly, unlawfully, and in contravention of its by-laws and its Resolution B-07, when it decided not to act upon the subject referendum petition and refused to advance the referendum question for vote by OPA members.” The suit also asks the court to declare that the board refused to advance the referendum question for vote by OPA members “because it opposed the question presented in the referendum petition; and the reasons as stated in the board’s publicly-stated position(s) were a pretext and were contrived in order to advance the board’s objective, which was to avoid or block a vote by To Page 25

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After approving a text amendment last month adding regulation of short-term rentals in the county’s unincorporated areas, including Ocean Pines, the County Commissioners have moved on to the next phase, setting license fees for affected households. According to County Commissioner Jim Bunting, Director of Development Review and Permitting Ed Tudor has proposed a $400 per household license fee for short-term rentals, homes rented out for 28 days or fewer. ~Page 17

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he Ocean Pines Association has announced leaf collection procedures for its residents this fall. Public Works will collect leaves and other yard debris from Nov. 25 through Dec. 20, on opposite days from Republic Services collection days. The department will only pick up leaves placed in paper bags that residents place curbside. Thirty-gallon paper bags are available at Public Works in bundles of five for $10. Republic Services will pick up paper and plastic bags put out on scheduled pick-up days, with a limit of four bags of leaves per scheduled pick up. Republic Services will also accept branches tied in bundles no longer than four feet. Additionally, Ocean Pines residents may bring leaves and yard debris in bulk or paper bags to the Public Works yard at 1 Firehouse Lane, near the south Fire Department. The yard will be open Nov. 25 through Dec. 20, Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will be no collection or drop off on Thursday, Nov. 28, or Friday, Nov. 29, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Public Works will also vacuum leaves. Residents should refrain from blowing leaves directly into the ditches, as this can lead to clogging of pipes as well as difficulty in water flow. For more information, contact Public Works at 410-641-7425.

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November 2019

OCEAN PINES

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Some praise board for allowing two-way communication By TOM STAUSS

Publisher opics ranging from dog poo on walking trails, chemical usage on the Ocean Pines golf course, lighting on Ocean Parkway, the amount of time property owners have to respond to compliance complaints and usage of the second story deck at the Yacht Club were among those raised at the Oct. 10 town meeting. The town meeting was held in the Assateague Room of the Ocean Pines Community Center. OPA President Doug Parks, Vice President Steve Tuttle, OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone and Director Frank Daly were on hand to field questions posed by property owners. In response to a request for more signage along the OPA walking and biking trails asking dog owners to scoop poop souvenirs left by their pets, Parks made it clear he was

skeptical that it would have much of an effect. “Signs won’t always change behavior,” he said. “People just need to be considerate of others (when walking their dogs).” In response to an assertion by a property owner that chemicals used on the golf course were hazardous to the health of humans and the condition of the bays, Daly and Perrone tried to ease the concern that the OPA would use any chemicals not approved for such usage by the state. “We follow the rules,” Daly said, referring to regulations set forth by the Department of Agriculture. Daly then colorfully digressed from the topic by asserting that usage of the course has been documented, and that the number is not 120 or so memberships but 1700 families, many of whom are not golf members but OPA members who

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play without benefit of golf memberships. “Let’s drop the bullshit that it’s only 120,” he said. In response to an inquiry regarding the possibility of adding street lights along Ocean Parkway, Perrone in effect said it would be prohibitively expensive. “It would be a large capital expenditure,” he said. Former OPA Director Cheryl Jacobs, currently a member of the Clubs Advisory Committee, made a reference to the committee’s recent recommendation to the board that the upstairs deck at the Yacht Club be open for use during busy summer months. She directed residents to read the committee’s full annual report to the board, which is posted on the OPA Web site. Daly and former board candidate Paula Gray sparred over recent-

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ly announced procedural changes designed to speed up enforcement of OPA restrictive covenants and guidelines. The board in effect is giving property owners 30 days to respond to compliance letters before enforcement action is undertaken by the OPA attorney. Gray told Daly that she thought 90 days would be fairer and more appropriate, citing the fact that some property owners may lack the means to cure a compliance issue within 30 days. Tuttle added that in those situations, staff and the Architectural Review Committee are more than willing to work with the property owner. What is not acceptable, Daly said, is for property owners simply to ignore enforcement letters. Most don’t, but for those who make a game out of dodging the Department of Compliance, Permits and Inspections and cost the OPA in legal expenses, Daly says faster enforcement may have a deterrent effect. Gray was not convinced. But despite her difference of opinion on that subect, Gray commended the q

Directors field member questions at Oct. 10 town meeting

Letters to Santa Through December 13 Drop off your Christmas letter to Santa at the bright red mailbox in the Community Center. Be sure to include a return address so Santa can write back!

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November 30 6:30pm | White Horse Park

November 30 5:30pm | Yacht Club

December 7, 12, 14, 19, 21 | 6-8pm December 15, 22 | 12-2:30pm White Horse Park

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November 2019

OCEAN PINES Town meeting From Page 5 board for its decision to conduct three town meetings in this board term and directly communicate with property owners. Others in the audience joined in the praise. “Four years ago, you couldn’t get a question answered if hell froze over,” Gray said. “I want to thank Mr. Parks and the concern of the Board that you have opened up to this type of thing … even if we don’t agree ... “The past couple of months I haven’t been here, but I’ve been able to watch on television and it’s made a lot of difference,” Gray continued. “I thank you for the opportunity to just bring all of this out into the open, and I hope you find the ability to do it maybe four times a year instead of three.” Laura Pangratz, a part-time resident, who said she’s very involved in the Hartford County community where she lives full-time, also commended the board. “I would like to first thank you for having these environments where there is interaction and the ability to have a town hall, or your regular meetings,” she said. “One thing I

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS think we all need to be appreciative of is that there is interaction, that we can come up here, state a concern, ask a question, and get feedback immediately, right now, from all of you that are present. “Many boards that I am on, it is not that way ... there is no interaction. This is a very unique situation here [in Ocean Pines],” she added. Pangratz also offered helpful tips for those wishing to speak and be heard. “There is a reason why we use the microphone, because those of us who are not here who do re-watch meetings ... need to hear these comments. We cannot hear them [if you don’t use the microphone], and it is doing a disservice to the rest of the residents who are not able to be here in person,” she said. “We can all benefit from hearing every comment ... everybody deserves to be heard, and I want to be able to hear all of you,” she continued. “[But] there is a reason why we have the microphones out. There is a reason why we need to speak clearly, respectfully, and keep it concise. “I do appreciate everyone making this effort to keep us all involved,” Pangratz said.

Town Hall delivers updates on roundabout, Comcast, OPA construction projects

cean Pines Association President Doug Parks led off the Oct. 10 town meeting in the Community Center’s Assateague Room with updates on the proposed North Gate roundabout and when Comcast services would become available. Vice President Steve Tuttle also offered a timeline on several ongoing construction efforts. First, Parks said he followed up with Maryland Department of Transportation officials on the proposed Route 589 roundabout. “I know that was a topic that piqued a lot of Doug Parks interest in the community,” he said. “Basically ... they called it suspended, because they haven’t had any funding and they are still looking into concept, they say that the whole project is still in [the] concept phase. “They don’t have an idea of how long that’s going to take. I’m sure there’s a lot of moving parts,” he continued. “It’s just kind of a nonissue right now, still in the concept phase. As we get more information, we certainly will pass it along to everyone.” Parks also offered information on the rollout of Comcast service in To Page 9

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OCEAN PINES Town meeting From Page 7 the community. He said the company is in the process of finalizing an implementation plan and that he would be meeting with Comcast officials to discuss it. “I got a sense that … they’re not just going to start at one side [of the community] and work one-by-one all the way around,” Parks said. “They actually floated the concept ... of doing multiple sections at the same time. “When we get information with regard to the implementation plan, that certainly will be published so that everybody understands when Comcast is going to be in their neighborhood and when they can, obviously, interact with them [and] sign up for those kinds of services.” Parks added the meeting was the first of three town halls scheduled for the fiscal year. Dates for two others are not yet set. Tuttle, in delivering the first of several project updates, said the new craft building is nearly complete. “That project’s well underway. I

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS think the craft people are planning to move in there around the first of the year,” he said. Tuttle said the police department expansion would start in early November. “We’ll be adding about 3,400 square feet on the end of the existing building,” he said. “Because we have to do a roof on the new addition portion anyway, we’re looking at the possibility of re-roofing the whole building at this time and also upgrading the siding, so it’ll have a uniform look across the building.” Tuttle said the foundation for the new golf clubhouse had been set and plumbers were onsite installing plumbing work under the slab. “The target right now is to pour the floor slab, and our hope is to have that building up and enclosed by the end of the year, so that they can finish the inside work throughout the winter months with a target opening date of May 1,” he said. Tuttle said weather and other factors could alter that date. He added work on replacing the cart barn would start Oct. 30 and take about two months.

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November 2019

Potential for legal complications hinders OPA’s ability to address property violations in-house Police, ARC recommend waiting for court action

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer hile the governing documents already give the Ocean Pines Association the authority to enter onto properties where the owner has failed

to perform required maintenance and do the clean-up itself, both legal counsel and law enforcement have recommended against doing so without a court order. During a Nov. 2 meeting, the Board of Directors reviewed a series

of property violations that the Compliance, Permits, and Inspections Department asked to have sent to legal counsel for resolution. Directors agreed to forward them all for resolution, but wanted to know if there was anything staff could do

OCEAN PINES about the violations so attorneys didn’t need to get involved. The discussion was prompted by a request to find 31 Sundial Circle in continuing violation of the Declaration of Restrictions and send the property to the OPA’s legal counsel for action. The violations classified as “debris” on the property appeared to be largely a pile of yard waste in a photo included in the board’s packet. OPA President Doug Parks asked if the violation would fall under the OPA’s authority to enter onto a property and remove the debris. He noted that there are no personal assets in the debris pile and there are no other pending legal issues related to the property. “Would this be one rather than going to the attorney we would ask the Ocean Pines Public Works to go on site and remove the debris?” he asked. General manager John Viola said that is a good question and there are times when Public Works crew will do so, largely to cut high grass on a lot. But in this case, the Architectural Review Committee, police department, and staff have recommended sending the violation to the attorney, he said. “This is a borderline one. At times the team doesn’t feel comfortable going onto the property, and even the (police) chief has told us that possibly this is a situation where we shouldn’t just go on there,” Viola said. “This is one that I would hope we could, but for whatever reasons we’re recommended to go through the lawyer.” Generally, there are three groups involved in processing and reviewing violations, Public Works, police, and attorneys, Director Frank Daly said. “Nobody feels comfortable right now given our situation that we live in 2019 going on somebody’s property without a court order. We’ve been advised against it by the police. We’ve been advised against it by our own attorney. And Public Works just doesn’t want to do it because you set up confrontations, and at the end of the day, to be perfectly blunt, when you get a court order, the court sends somebody that has three things that this association does not have; they carry a badge, a gun and a warrant. Unfortunately, that’s where we’re at emotionally and societally in today’s environment.” Director Larry Perrone agreed. “Unfortunately with the atmosphere that there is today we could be exposing our employees to unnecTo Page 13

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From Page 10 essary confrontation that they don’t essary confrontation that they don’t need,” he said. Director Camilla Rogers also concurred. “What is on your property or hanging over your property is your property. And the debris, although it’s not desirable, remains the property of that homeowner until otherwise determined.” Director Tom Janasek wanted to know if the OPA ever simply calls property owners with violations like debris on their lot and asks them if they would like the OPA to remove it and send them a bill. “Just to reach out and see if they would want us to do that. Have we ever given them a call or sent them a letter?” he asked. Janasek said he doesn’t know if it would work “in more than one percent of the cases” but it may be worth a shot. “Maybe we could get their permission before we go this much further when it comes to debris and things like that.” Colby Phillips, OPA operations director, said Public Works does charge a property owner if they enter onto a lot to do work like cut grass. “As far as calling the homeowner first I’m not aware of that. It’s certainly something we can talk about and look at the possibility,” she said. Perrone said many years ago he received a letter from the OPA about cutting the grass on a lot he owned. He was given the option to have the OPA cut the grass and send him a bill. “It’s a good idea,” he said. Parks said there is a certain reluctance to have either the police or our Public Works go on a property even if the violation just relates to removal of debris. “So now we’re actually having to pay legal costs in order to follow our declarations of restrictions, which to me is kind of counterintuitive but I do understand the practicality of it,” he said. He said the OPA cannot continue to operate in fear. “Even though in 2019 in our litigious society, you look at somebody funny and here comes a lawsuit,” Parks said, adding, “we have to find some kind of happy medium there.” The Board voted to find other properties in continuing violations and send them to the attorney for resolution. Two, at 60 Nottingham Lane and 9 Dove Lane, were for parking of oversized vehicles on the lots. Others for maintenance and debris were at 37 Driftwood Lane and 74 White Horse Drive.

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Board votes $710,000 Fisher Marine bulkhead contract

he Board of Directors added three new items to the “new business” part of the Nov. 2 monthly meeting, including a motion to approve a $710,000 Fisher Marine contract for bulkhead replacement. The figure fell within the $1.6 million budgeted for bulkhead replacement, and the motion was unanimously approved. Operations Director Colby Phillips provided a summary of the ongoing bulkhead replacement program during her portion of the Nov. 2 meeting. Director Frank Daly asked to rescind a prior approved motion to send a request for proposals for

an accounting firm. He cited a preference to keep the current firm, SC&H Group, as the Association is currently busy transitioning to the new NorthStar financial systems. Again, the motion received unanimous approval. Daly also added a discussion item based on several proposed resolution amendments designed to streamline the process of compliance, permit and inspections (CPI) violations. Daly agreed to send feedback on the changes from the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee to OPA President Doug Parks, who will send them to Ocean Pines’ attorney for feedback.

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lips, operations director, said during a Nov. 2 Board of Directors meeting. Phillips said OPA staff met with representatives from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Department of the Environment, and University of Maryland Extension Service to discuss ways to improve drainage and funding for drainage projects. “They look for ways to provide solutions for the community issues that we’re having on water, drainage, stormwater and it’s was a very productive meeting,” she said. One of the issues being explored is the potential to expand the pond in Brainbridge Park. “They had actually mentioned expanding Bainbridge pond, making it larger because it holds so much water from that area over there,” Phillips said, adding that is in an early stage. “We’re just looking at it but everybody was really positive about it.” At Wood Duck Park in section Wood Duck 1, she said erosion is causing problems. The state officials talked about planting some vegetation that would absorb stormwater and help in that area, Phillips said. That too is in an early exploratory phase. Phillips said any additional funding secured through those agencies to address drainage problems in Ocean Pines would need to funnel through Worcester County government because the OPA is not an eligible government agency. Phillips said the agency representatives suggested having agency-led workshops for the community on issues like flood plan and flooding issues, and highlighting steps homeowners can take protect their property. They also offered to have the state’s hazard mitigation officer visit Ocean Pines and help determine if individual property owners may be eligible for grants to improve their properties “because there are homes that people might be in areas where they can receive grants themselves,” Phillips said. She said she hopes to host those 

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer he Ocean Pines Association is working with a host of state officials in an effort to find solutions and funding to address ongoing stormwater woes within the community. Two areas targeted for improvements are Bainbridge Park pond and Wood Duck Park, Colby Phil-

OCEAN PINES

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

From Page 14 workshops for community members after the first of the new year. Meanwhile, the OPA has completed several smaller drainage improvement projects and is continuing to work on others. A project on Boston Drive was completed and work was done inhouse at Mumfords Landing. Small neighborhood pipe replacements were also completed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Those come in usually from the home owners and we evaluate those and then go from there, Phillips said. Crews are preparing to replace pipe on Watertown Road this month and bids are being sought for pipe replacement in the Boarderlinks sometime after January 2020. The total cost for drainage/roads projects is $482,252, compared to the budgeted spend of $620,300. Drainage crews turned their attention in October largely to ditch clean-out and cutting back vegetation that is blocking the view at intersections along Ocean Parkway, Phillips said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Right now we are continuing to clean out the ditches in the commu-

nity. But we just started on south end clearing the visibility from Ocean Parkway. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re starting on the south end of Ocean Parkway working our way north and every intersection. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re clearing back the brush and cleaning that out because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve gotten a lot of people reaching out to usâ&#x20AC;Śâ&#x20AC;? Phillips also shared statistics related to the number of violations of the OPAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s restrictive covenants handled by the Compliance, Permits, and Inspections Department so far this fiscal year. From May through September 2019, 319 violations were reported to public works department and were visited by CPI officers. The OPA has 31 cases currently pending resolution through legal counsel. A total of 442 violations, which crossed fiscal years, were addressed and brought into compliance by the property owner, with 269 complying out in July. Also from May to September Phillips reported that 618 work orders were entered at Public Works, and 458 were completed, including 52 that carried over from the prior year.

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Viola, Malinowski detail course improvements, construction timeline for new clubhouse Significant wear on 14th green repaired with new sod

cean Pines General Manager John Viola and Golf Director John Malinowski met with about 75 golf members in mid-October to discuss course conditions, the timeline for the new clubhouse, and other happenings at the course. Viola showed slides from mid-Spetember of significant wear on the grass of the 14th hole green. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There was some type of consistent situation that was occurring,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We believe we knew what it was and, when the consultants came in, they substantiated what John and I thought. We have taken measures to address the situation and, hopefully, it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen again.â&#x20AC;? A follow-up slide, taken Oct. 11, showed new sod installed on the green and the rough patches virtually gone. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what the 14th green looks like today,â&#x20AC;? Viola said, drawing applause from those in attendance. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I can tell you this, John [Malinowski] himself was up there working on this. I thought they did an excellent job with the sod that they got.â&#x20AC;? Viola next presented a timeline for the new, one-story golf clubhouse. The foundation should be set, concrete poured, and slab work done by the middle of this month. Framework will start this month, with the building enclosed somewhere around the Christmas holiday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hopefully, the weather holds up for us,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Then the [conď ą q

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16 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

November 2019

OPA ends live streaming of board meetings

he Ocean Pines Association has ended live streaming of Board of Directors meetings. The OPA will record the meetings and post each one online, on the OPA Web site, YouTube and Facebook, within 24 hours of meetings. Ocean Pines will also rebroadcast the meetings on Channel 78 on the Monday, Wednesday and Friday after each meeting, at noon and 7 p.m.

The OPA made the operational change for several reasons, according to a recent OPA press release. Discontinuing the live stream should help to improve the audio and video quality of the broadcasts, as well as save money. The estimated annual labor cost to stream has been $17,000, according to a rough calculation by the Director of Finance Steve Phillips.

Ocean Pines named state‘s ‘safest city’

n its 2019 list of “Maryland’s Safest Cities,” website Security Baron ranked Ocean Pines in the top spot. The site used FBI Uniform Crime Reporting data to compile the list. According to the site, “Our first pick is Ocean Pines, a city on the eastern shore of Maryland. With a population of over 12,000 people, there was only 1.71 violent crimes per 1,000 people and only 6.69 property crimes for the same population! Other top picks include Thurmont, Taneytown, and Glenarden.” Other local communities making the list included Fruitland (26), Salisbury (28), Cambridge (32) and Ocean City (33). Ocean Pines Police Chief David Massey said the low crime rates are a product of community policing. “We work closely with our citizens in actively promoting community policing,” Massey said. “Our police officers handled over 12,500 calls for service in our community last year. They know our neighborhoods, and this aids in our criminal investigations of crimes and the location of suspects. “Safety just does not happen on its own. It takes cooperative efforts of residents and police to keep a community safe,” he added.

Golf course From Page 15 tractors] can work on the inside, and they can start with the siding, the trim, the electrical, plumbing, insulation and drywall. “All that will bring us to the flooring, the painting, the ceiling tile [from February into April], and that will bring us to the third week in April, and then there’s a final punch list. “Hopefully, everything is completed that first week in May, when we start the outside play,” he added. Viola said the clubhouse would include meeting space, with a 75-person community room that can expand to hold banquets of up to 140 people. The building will also feature an outdoor deck, pro shop, club-fitting room, bag room, and the Tern Grille restaurant. The Matt Ortt Companies, who will operate food and beverage pro-

grams in the building, had input on the Tern Grille layout, Viola said. A prefabricated cart barn is scheduled to be delivered and set around the middle of this month, Viola added. He said the course will also get a new golf leaderboard similar to ones at Glen Riddle, Ocean City and Lighthouse Sound. Viola originally envisioned Public Works building the structure, but after doing research discovered a local vendor who uses sponsorship tiles on the leaderboard to offset the cost, meaning Ocean Pines will not have to pay for it. “We are in the process of signing a contract with that gentleman to have something like that built for us when we open up, hopefully, on May 1,” Viola said. Viola said the leaderboard would have several panels used to hang tournament information, as well as a digital display to show live tournament scores.

The change in policy will be a factor in bringing the public relations and marketing department’s financial performance closer to budget forecasts. After recent occurences of poor audio at board meetings, there was noticeable improvement at the Oct. 2 meeting. The same was true of the Nov. 2 meeting, which was the first one conducted under the official policy of no live streaming. General Manager John Viola told the Progress that the Nov. 2 meeting was recorded on the latest I-Phone by Public Relations Director Josh Davis, who later added that the recording requires roughly four hours of uploading to the OPA’s YouTube site. It turns out that there had been relatively little viewing of board meetings during live streaming, with most views occurring after the meetings, so Viola and Davis concluded that discontinuing live streaming would affect relatively few people. As a longer-term solution, Davis and Viola are working on plans to replace the Assateague’s Room ceiling-embedded speakers of poor sound quality. The Nov. 2 meeting was held in the Anna Foultz room in the Community Center. The only audio defect in the Nov. 2 audio/video recording was Director Colette Horn’s microphone cutting in and out at times. Davis told the Progress recently He added that a patio area, provided by another vendor at a minimal cost, would surround the leaderboard, and that neither structure would block the view of the course from the clubhouse. “It’ll be – what does Trump say? – a great patio, the best patio you ever saw. And somebody else is going to pay for it!” Viola said, drawing a big laugh from the crowd. “Now we’ll have this beautiful deck, beautiful clubhouse, we’ll have this patio and this beautiful leaderboard ... so, what do we need? What’s missing May 1? We need a tournament!” Viola said. He said Don McMullen volunteered to help organize the event, scheduled to coincide with the opening of the new clubhouse. “I’m working with someone to sponsor it and I have a handshake agreement,” Viola said. “That should bring in money for Ocean Pines.” Viola also answered questions from golfers for roughly 30 minutes.

that all of the microphones, which date back to the administration of General Manager Bob Thompson, may be replaced.

Board cites properties for continuing violations

Hardly a regular meeting of the Board of Directors goes by without action aimed at properties with alleged violations of OPA restrictive covenants and community guidelines. The Oct. 2 and Nov. 2 meetings were no exceptions. At the Oct. 2 meeting, the board found six properties in continuing violation. All six were sent to legal counsel for further action. The violations were relatively minor, usually homes exhibiting a lack of maintenance of one kind or another. After each property was cited, Director Frank Daly noted the numbers of weeks that these properties have been on the list of problem properties. His point was to draw attention to the amount of time that elapses from the time a complaint or violation emerges to when it makes it on to a board agenda for action. Daly’s solution: more aggressive fast-tracking that in some cases will bypass the bringing the alleged violations to the board for action. Changes to various board resolutions are in the works that might make that happen. Properties cited for continuing violations at the Oct. 2 meeting included 34 Bridgewater Road, 8 Juneway Lane, 22 Bird Nest Drive, 42 Bramblewood Drive, 44 Brandywine Drive, and 58 Seafarer Lane. At the Nov. 2 meeting of the board, properties cited for continuing violations included 3l Sundial Circle, 60 Nottingham Lane, 9 Dove Lane, 37 Driftwood Lane and 74 White Horse Drive.

Guest bartenders raise funds for AGH

Guest bartenders from the Board of Directors and staff in late Ocober helped raise nearly $600 for Atlantic General Hospital through the 26th annual AGH Penguin Swim. Participating were Association directors Doug Parks, Steve Tuttle, Larry Perrone, Colette Horn, Tom Janasek and Frank Daly, General Manager John Viola, Golf Director John Malinoski, Recreation and Parks Program Supervisor Debbie Donahue, and Marketing and Public Relations Director Josh Davis.

OCEAN PINES

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Levy would affect 800 to 900 Ocean Pines households

they were rebuffed. They said that a larger home with large bedrooms could conceivably allow homes to be occupied with 20 or more individuals. In an Nov. 11 telephone interview with the Progress, Bunting expressed bewilderment as to the motives of his colleagues resisting a cap on occupancy. Although he didn’t give details about the cap during the meeting because it was clear other commissioners weren’t interested, he told the Progress that what he had in mind was a cap of ten individuals per household, not including children 12 or under. He said he has been considering introducing an amendment to the new county law that would impose such a cap, but so far has held off. “It would require a whole new text amendment, with public hearings and everything involved in

that,” and he’s not sure he would have the votes if he would try. In the meantime, he’s geared up for the next phase of the battle to regulate short-term rentals, a fee structure designed to raise sufficient revenue to pay for enforcement of the new short-term rental provision in the amended county law. Bunting said that Director of Development Review and Permitting Ed Tudor has proposed a $400 per household license fee for shortterm rentals, a number that has a lot of real estate professionals in the county riled up, he said. “I’ve received about 30 emails from people who say they can’t afford it,” he said, adding that they’re all from homeowners in Ocean City, an incorporated municipality where the county code doesn’t apply. Communities such as Ocean Pines and all of West Ocean City are

Fall Is In The Air. Don’t Forget to Maintain Your Driveway

By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Worcester County Commissioners on Oct. 15 approved changes to the county’s Zoning and Sibdivision Control Article that regulates short-term rentals, defined as properties leased out for 28 or fewer days, setting limits on the number of occupants allowed in short-term rentals in the amount of one person per 50 feet of bedroom space. The text change was approved in a 4-2 vote, with commissioners representing Ocean Pines in opposition. Commissioners Jim Bunting and Chip Bertino expressed doubts that the one-person-per-50-feet limit will actually have the desired result of curbing short-term occupancy. They asked their colleagues to consider a cap instead of or in addition to the formula based on bedroom size, but

covered, though, and Bunting said he’s not heard from anyone who might be affected by the fees. He said that Tudor’s department has determined that there are more than 800 homes in Ocean Pines that are rented out for periods of 28 days or fewer. That includes Airbnb and VRBO rentals, generally rented out by individual homeowners, and weekly rentals, for the most part rented out by professional real estate firms on behalf of homeowners. Bunting, who said he would vote against the $400 annual license fee because of his underlying opposition to the amended county code, said he is skeptical that the $400 will raise enough money to cover the cost of two new individuals that Tudor has proposed for his department to enforce the new law. “His whole department is supposed to be self-supporting by license and application fees,” Bunting said. “It isn’t,” and he said he is not optimistic that the new program will be any more successful in paying for itself. “We’ve postponed voting on the fee structure once already,” he said, q

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OCEAN PINES

November 2019

Short-term rentals From Page 17

noting that it could come up at the Nov. 19 meeting of the commissioners or be delayed until their Dec. 3 meeting. Bunting said that the enforcement mechanism envisioned by Tudor is complaint-driven, and could involve the county’s sherrif’s department if on-site enforcement is deemed necessary. Residents with problem homes next door or nearby will be provided with a phone number to contact the new enforcement staff once they’re on the job. “Of course I suspect by the time deputies show to the problem home, the noise and cars will have disappeared,” he said. The two new staffers, who are supposed to be on board sometime after Jan. 1 of next year, will also be very much involved in making sure that properties leased out for periods of 28 days or fewer apply for licenses, he said. To some extent their time will be spent in revenue-generating activities, including combing Airbnb and VRBO and rental company on-line listings to determine properties that are leased out short-term. Bunting said the success of the program will be driven by the timeliness of complaints by affected residents. He also said that levying fines for violating the new provisions in the code could be part of the enforcement process. But collecting fines won’t be as easy as levying them, he added. Bunting said he personally favors an outright ban on short-term rentals in the county in residential zone

where individual homeowners have an expectation of tranquility. “No one should have to live next to a home that is operated as a business with people hanging off front decks and making a lot of noise all hours of the day,” Bunting said, adding that he knows he wouldn’t have the votes for an outright ban. He said Bertino, with whom he is allied on most issues, wouldn’t vote for an outright ban. “Chip struggled with this,” Bunting said, praising his colleague for coming to understand that controls are needed because of a growing number of homes with problem tenants. “One home I passed recently in Ocean Pines had 20 bags of trash piled in front after a weekend,” he said. OPA President Doug Parks and directors Frank Daly and Steve Tuttle were present at the Oct. 15 meeting, which began as a public hearing seeking public comments and concluded with the commissioners’ 4-2 vote. Most of the comments were from Ocean Pines residents, who generally seemed to favor the legislation that eventually passed. One notable exception were comments offered by Ocean Pines resident Joe Reynolds, who said that the square footage formula in the amended law could actually make things worse, especially in large homes with large bedrooms. Bunting and Bertino indicated that they agreed with Reynolds’s assesment on the new law’s impact. Parks asked the commissioners for assistance from the county in promoting the program once it’s fully functional. The OPA did not take a formal position on the text amendent.

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Committee identifies Beach Club defects Repairs slated for spring as part of regular maintenance BY TOM STAUSS Publisher n a year-end report to the Board of Directors, the Clubs Advisory Committee identified several maintenance areas at the Beach Club, urging remedial action “to keep abreast of minor problens becoming major ones.” Cited were the poor condition of decking and railing, which in places are uneven, warped and pealing. “It should be noted that (the committee) has suggested several times in the past that regularly scheduled maintenance inspections be established,” the report says The committee recommends: • painting the entire outside of the building • replacing retractable awnings that the committee says are dry rotting, don’t open fully and are in danger of falling down • replacing rotting flooring behind the bar with non-slip material and adding a floor drain to prevent future water damage • repairs to fix an apparent water leak along the lower walkway from the parking lot under the first floor deck, where water appears to be bubbling up from the ground near the showers at the end of the steps to the beach • upgrading kitchen equipment to commercial grade and adding “additional equipment” to better serve customers • adding a server station to help the staff be more efficient Director of Operations Colby Phillips said in a text respondng to a Progress inquiry that the conditions identified in the report are known to the Public Works Department, and that repairs/painting to the decking and railing are scheduled for the spring, before the Beach Club reopens to the membership.

Conditions at the Beach Club as shown in the Clubs Committee’s annual report

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November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Clubs committee asks for access to Matt Ortt Companies Panel suggests ways to improve the Yacht Club experience for guests By TOM STAUSS Publisher n a year-end report to the Board of Directors, the Clubs Advisory Committee calls the “biggest issue” confronting it is “direct access” to the Matt Ortt Companies, the outside contractor that manages the Yacht Club, the Beach Club and, once the new golf clubhouse is complete, the Tern Grille. The committee noted that it had sent a letter to the Board of Directors in February of this year requesting permission “to have [direct] communication with” MOC so as “to better carry out appointed duties advising” the board. The letter advised that the committee recognizes ts primary responsibility is to make recommen-

dations to the board to improve food and beverage operations throughout Ocean Pines. “We also understand and agree that it is neither appropriate nor the responsibility [of the committee] to direct or make demands on the management company or its employees,” the letter said. In its latest report, the committee indicated has had “an open dialog” with past general managers and food and beverage managers. “This allowed us to pass along information, complaints and suggestions we receive from customers as well as receiving info on upcoming events, specials, menu changes, etc. that the committee would help to promote,” the report says. “The current situation is that the committee

passes written suggestions [to the board] who then (we assume) sends them” to MOC. Acknowledging that this allows an indirect indirect means meansofofreaching MOC ofMOC cuswith concerns, tomer concerns,the the committee committee complained that it “does not provide a means for the MOC to advise the committee on upcoming plans, menu changes, special events or concerns that they may have. It is really an informational one-way street.” The committee then went on to ask that the board consider “some kind of format” that would allow a “back and forth exchange” between MOC and the committee. Judging by the lack of any reference to a response from the board to its February letter, it would appear that the board is unwilling to

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change the current practice of not allowing direct committee access to MOC. MOC is reportedly not keen on this level of contact with the committee, and the board is loathe to upset the current arrangement, which gives the contractor independence in the running of the facilities. The report is chock full of specific suggestions, some of which have been made in previous years but have not been implemented. Noting that the increased popularity of the Yacht Club has led to problems in the neighborhood when the parking lot is full and patrons park along the streets, the committee suggests that the board consider satellite parking at the Pines Point Marina or “similar nearby neighborhood with excess parking capacity.” Patrons would then be transported by golf cart to the Yacht Club. The report indicates that it had previously suggested sound bafq

OCEAN PINES

20 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OCEAN PINES

November 2019

Clubs committee From Page 23

flles, room dividers and other “sound deadening” items to reduce noise, “especially upstairs in the banquet room for weddings or other special events.” The committee suggests additional handicap and wheelchair accessibility to the Yacht Club, recommending automatical door openers at the entrance and bathrooms. Access “is still a problem that keeps a growing portion of our community from using the facility,” the report says. The committee suggests install-

ing tiki torches around the patio “to add both light and ambiance” and spot lights on the upper back deck that point at the bandstand as ways to improve visibility. Recommendations for additional bar capacity include a new bar in or near the current marina store and to open the second floor bar to patio customers when there is no banquet scheduled. “The view from the second floor deck and bar is the best in the area and that space is not being used ... to its full potential,” the committee says. To increase seating around the tiki bar on busy summer weekends,

the committee is recommending “a couple of round top tables with stools” on the patio near the tiki bar. The panel is also suggesting replacement of cushions on banquet chairs and new kitchen equipment, such as a double door propane convection oven for upstairs as well as a Cleveland double cavity steamer. Suggestions for overcoming a design flaw in which “the upstairs bathroom pipes run across the first floor ceiling in indoor storage areas” include installing a drop ceiling or outdoor shed for additional storage. The committee calls for providing a canopy from the parking lot to the side door entrance to the Yacht

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Club restaurant. “Guests going to the restaurant now have to deal with whatever Mother Nature decide she is going to do,” the report says. The committee also is recommending a personal photo booth including a photo-mirror as a way of “enhancing” the experience of wedding guests. “By upselling the photo-mirror at $500 ... the unit would probably pay for itself in a year or less,” the report says. Other items for the Yacht Club that the committee hopes will be included in the 2020-21 budget are: • Sun umbrellas for the patio and along the new bar rail • Additional adirondak chairs and outdoor couch seating • Tropical plants and seating on the water side of the tiki bar • A rectractable awaining for the second floor deck • Additional funds to improve the decor and acoustics in the banquet room upstairs • Wi-fi availability

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he membership of the Ocean Pines Golf Club and Ocean Pines Golf Members’ Council are looking to award several scholarships of $500-$2,000 each to current high school seniors in support of their college plans for 2020-2021. Scholarship organizers encouraged students from the Ocean Pines area, including Berlin and Worcester County, to check with their college guidance counselor and submit an application. Consideration will also be given to students from outside the area with a local connection, including those who participated in local junior golf programs or played on a local team. Bob Long, scholarship committee chairman of the Ocean Pines Golf Members Council, said the organization awarded more than $5,000 to local students in 2018 and $7,000 this year. Long added the scholarships are for local students who have shown an interest in golf. Active participation in competitive golf is not a requirement. To download an application, visit https://www.oceanpines.org/ wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Scholarship-Application-2020.pdf.

OCEAN PINES

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Ocean Pines community honors Anna Foultz Association dedicates room as community pays tribute

ore than 100 people on Thursday gathered at the Ocean Pines Community Center in later October to pay their respects to the later Anna Foultz, a prolific fundraiser in the community for more than three decades who passed away in September. She was 93. Association President Doug Parks kicked off a room dedication as the Association renamed the community center’s Marlin Room as “The Anna Foultz Room.” Parks said Ocean Pines “lost a valued member of our community,” specifically highlighting her volunteer work and Star Charities, the nonprofit she and her late husband, Carl, formed more than a decade ago. “It’s going to be hard to replace [Foultz]. Somebody with that level of volunteer spirit only comes along

once in a while,” Parks said. Foultz presented Parks with a signed copy of her memoir “Two Steps Forward” just weeks before she died. He read from a brief passage in the book, titled “My Prayer.” “Good morning world! Thank you, God, for giving me another day to love and serve you! Every morning before my feet hit the ground, I say this little prayer and I am thankful to be living in America. Here I have the opportunity to volunteer, serve, encourage others, and have fun. As my father before me, I place the Girl Scout’s green beret on my head as a thinking cap and respectfully honor all who have served or will serve our country past, present and future.” “That really says what Anna was all about,” Parks said. “She gave [willingly] of her time. She really set the example that I think all of us To Page 24

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Board makes slight changes to amenity use resolution Pickleball and boat ramps added to list of paid amenities By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors on second reading voted 6-1 at its Nov. 2 monthly meeting to amend Board Resolution M-02 pertaining to amenity policies. The motion to approve the amendments was introduced by Director Frank Daly. The changes were minor and vetted by the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee. Perhaps the most significant change added boat ramps and pickleball to the list of fee-based amenities. This change could provide a basis for allowing the Ocean Pines Association to begin charging for use of the White Horse Park boat ramp. It has been discussed, but in the context of charging non-members of the OPA for use of the ramp, exempting property owners from the charges. Another change deletes a reference to marinas and parking at the Beach Club as exceptions to the broad policy that all Ocean Pines amenities are open to the public. Also deleted is a reference to giving individuals and organizations in 2011-12 priority use of OPA amenities such as the Community Center over applicants seeking access to the first time. Another change deletes several references to published best business practices of industry and homeowner associations.

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NorthStar roll-out a little behind schedule, Viola says Cost may modestly exceed budget

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer umerous capital projects are on schedule and on budget, but one that has been in the works for years may require extra time to ensure it is fully functional and staff is comfortable using it, John Viola told the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors during his Nov. 2 general manager’s report. The OPA may need to wait a little longer for the already long-awaited North star financial management software to be fully deployed across all departments in Ocean Pines, he said. Viola said installation and operationalization of the NorthStar software is essentially “on track,” one of Viola’s favorite expressions, but may be a little over on its projected timeline and cost. “We could be a little late,” he said, adding that it will likely take a few days longer to complete the set-up and “ensure with this major change that we reconcile and are comfortable with everything.” November is the month for which the OPA will go live with the financials in NorthStar. Last month, it brought online the software components for other departments.

Meanwhile, several construction projects, including golf clubhouse, cart barn, and craft building, are moving ahead both on time and budget, according to Viola. He said the foundation for the clubhouse was due to be poured any day, and during the month of November the structure will be framed. It will be fully enclosed before the beginning of the new year. “That’s the plan, the timeline for the construction company,” he said, adding “We’re on track, possibly, weather permitting a little ahead of schedule.” Viola said construction of the clubhouse should be completed by May 1 for the opening of the busy golf season. He said the project is also on target to meet the estimated project cost of $1.6 million. “That’s the number you’ve all heard from this board and everybody else. We are on track for that number,” he added Also at the golf course, a new cart barn is on track for completion in January 2020, although Viola had hoped to have it done sometime in December. He said the materials for the new build are on site and contractors are taking down the old cart barn and will need to make some repairs to

the existing foundation. The cart barn was budgeted at $400,000 but is now estimated to come in under that number. Construction of a new craft building in White Horse Park is near completion, with contractors working on the roof in early November. Viola said it is slated for completion in January 2020. Staff will be meeting with the Pine’eer Craft Club members, who operate the craft building, to discuss when to move from the existing building to the new structure. The project is on budget at $85,000. Planning for construction of a new police department building has also begun, Viola said, adding that he has plans for the facility and the community will start to see some work on that soon too. The building has an estimated cost of $1.3 million and is scheduled for completion by November 2020. Temporary trailers for the department have been sprouting up in White Horse Park, near the site of the farmer’s market. As of mid-November no relocations have occurred, but that is expected soon. The initial results of a compensation study of all OPA employee positions conducted by the Sibson Group compensation study is in

hand. Viola said he received the reports related to the $50,000 study in early November. “Nothing is a surprise from over the last month or two and what we’ve been talking about it,” he said, adding that he will present the information to both the board and the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee to get input and budget guidance from them. “It will be totally transparent,” he said of the study’s results. Meanwhile, he is beginning to build a draft budget for fiscal year 2020 and has a Dec. 23 target for providing it to the board. “We’re definitely on track for that,” he said. “So as it stands right now compared to prior years, I have a budget, I have an estimated assessment number, we’re working on the capital [budget]. It’s been a team effort.” Viola said the OPA is about two months ahead of where it was with the budget development process last year.

Foultz dedication From Page 21 can aspire to.” Anna Foultz’s son, Carl “Gilly” Foultz, cut the ribbon on the rededicated room as friends and Star Charities volunteers, including Barb Peletier and Susan Walter, looked on. Later, inside the large Assateague Room of the community center, the crowd gathered as the Delmarva Chorus sang one of Foultz’s favorite songs, “It Had to Be You,” and about a dozen speakers paid their respects. Many told heartfelt stories, while others remembered the fun and often funny times they had with Foultz, who moved to the area just over 30 years ago. Peletier, who helped to emcee the event, referenced the fact that Foultz said she didn’t want a party she couldn’t attend. “I know Anna’s looking down, saying, ‘no party without me,’ but the community voted, and you lost,” she said. “Anna instilled in her Star Charities volunteers that one can never do or give enough to the community and those in need. Thank you, Anna, for all you taught us.” Peletier, also a member of the Kiwanis, added that organization recently voted to award a scholarship in Foultz’s name to a local high school senior.

COVER STORY

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Law suit From Page 1 by the members on the referendum question.” The counts for declaratory judgment also ask that the court award the plaintiff his costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, incurred in connection with the suit. The count for injunctive relief similarly asserts that the plaintiff “is entitled to a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, and/or permanent injunction compelling defendants to immediately act upon the referendum petition, supported by 808 validated signatures, and advance the question to referendum vote in accordance with the by-laws. “There is a likelihood that plaintiff will prevail on the merits of his claims,” the suit says. “Plaintiff will suffer immediate and irreparable harm if defendants continue to refuse to recognize his referendum petition. “More particularly, plaintiff, like the hundreds of other signers of the petition and all other members of the OPA, will be disenfranchised as to a matter of utmost importance to them, specifically, the monetary threshold ($1 million) above which the board must submit obtain member/referendum approval for expenditures of OPA funds. “ If such relief is not granted by the court, then the OPA board “will continue to act and make decisions in regard to expenditure of OPA funds in a manner that is abjectly incon-

sistent with OPA by-laws and the board’s own Resolution B-07,” the suit contends. According to the filing, “the public interest as well as the interests of the members of the OPA, including plaintiff, will be served by imposition of a preliminary and/or permanent injunction ... The harm to plaintiff (and others similarly situated) if no such preliminary and/ or permanent injunction is imposed outweighs and is greater than any harm to Defendants resulting from such a preliminary and/or permanent injunction.” Here, too, the suit is asking for “reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in connection with this action and ... such other and further relief as the Court deems just and fair.” The fourth count, alleging breach of contract and fiduciary duty, is more targeted at the seven OPA directors. Defendant directors “owed statutory, contractual, and fiduciary duties to the plaintiff and other OPA members, to act honestly and in good faith, and in accordance with the OPA by-laws and the board’s own resolutions, including Resolution B-07,” the suit says. “Defendants have breached those duties, and in such regard, have acted in bad faith, contrary to the best interests of the OPA and the OPA members including plaintiff, and in derogation of the OPA by-laws and the board’s own resolutions, including Resolution B-07. “Furthermore, in this regard, the defendants acted outside the scope

Trendic solicits funding support for petition drive litigation

aced with the prospect of dipping into personal funds to fund a legal challenge to the Board of Directors continued resistance to a referendum on a proposed reduction in the board’s spending authority, START founder Slobodan Trendic is appealing to supporters for financial contributions. “With your generous help we were able to fund our earlier efforts and to engage the support from an attorney. Unfortunately based on the position the OPA Board has taken, our attorney now recommends that our next step is to bring our case to the court and let the judge decide the fate of our petition,” Trendic said in recent e-mail. Trendic said that “this next step will incur several thousand dollars in new expenses. I need to ask those who have not donated yet to please support us now and those who have to please consider doing it again. Any and every financial contribution no matter how small will help.” If the court orders OPA “to reimburse START for the petition expenses and/or legal fees, I would distribute that reimbursement amount to the donors by prorating it based on their individual financial donations they made to START,” he said. Trendic asks contributors to make their checks payable to START and mail it to 20 Drawbridge Road, Ocean Pines, MD 21811.

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COVER STPRY

November 2019

Perrone says board won’t voluntarily yield to petitioners’ request for referendum Petitioners’ lawyer disputes director’s assertion that he accused OPA attorney of malpractice By TOM STAUSS Publisher ny hope or expectation that the Board of Directors and a group of more than 800 property owners who have petitioned for a referendum on board spending authority will be able to resolve differences outside the legal system apparently have been dashed. What will happens after the petitioners file suit against the Ocean Pines Association and directors remains to be seen, but the petitioners seem determined to pursue a court order forcing a referendum unless the board elects to conduct one on its own. Recent comments by Director Larry Perrone suggest that the board appears to be disclined to do so, meaning that it may take a judge to sort out competing interpretations of OPA bylaws pertain-

ing to referendums. “Both sides have strong arguments,” Director Camilla Rogers told the Progress in a brief telephone interview Nov. 10. She said it appears that the lawyers will have to fight it out, adding that the directors have been advised by counsel not to comment on the case. “I hope you understand I can’t comment,” Rogers said. Perrone apparently didn’t get the memo from counsel Jeremy Tucker not to comment or, if he did, chose not to strictly follow the guidance. At the Oct. 10 town meeting, Perrone said that the directors are “not going to talk a whole lot about the referendum because as you know there’s been a letter sent to the board accusing the board of bad faith. That letter also accuses our attorney of basically malpractice,” he said.

The letter he referenced was sent to the board by Bruce Bright, a lawyer representing START, an advocacy group launched by former OPA Director Slobodan Trendic earlier this year when the board rejected his proposal to conduct a referendum on the golf clubhouse project now under way. Trendic resigned from the board and launched START and a petition drive asking for a vote of property owners on the golf clubhouse and, separately, asking for a referendum on reducing board capital spending authority from $1.65 million to $1 million. The clubhouse petition failed to gather the requisite number of signatures, while the spending authority squeaked by with 812 validated signatures, slightly more than ten percent of eligible voters required for a referendum in OPA bylaws. Tucker’s view is that eligi-

ble voters are those who are in good standing by having paid their annual asessments or resolved outstanding compliance issuances on the date when a petition is filed. There were less than 8,000 voters in good standing when Trendic filed the petitions with OPA Secretary Colette Horn But Tucker, in a letter to the board, rejected the second petition on technical grounds involving the way the petition was worded. It was that letter that Bright slammed in a response, accusing the board of violating its bylaws by not conducting a referendum. The Bright letter said that the board’s decision not to conduct a community-wide vote “lacks any good faith basis,” which could be the language that triggered Perrone’s comments that Bright had accused the board of bad faith. As for the basis of Perrone’s claim that Bright had effectively accused Tucker of malpractice, that’s less obvious by any specific wording in Bright’s letter, but it could be an asq

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COVER STORY Referendum From Page 26 sertion by Bright that Tucker in his letter had admitted to performing inadequate due diligence in checking past OPA practices when handling petitions. Bright noted that as a “caveat” to his opinion, Tucker stated in his letter that he did not know “how petitions have been handled in the past. For example, I do not know if every petition that met the signature requirement was allowed to move to referendum regardless of the content of the petition.” According to Bright, “presumably, based on that caveat, in formulating [his] opinion, [Tucker] did not seek or obtain any information about past practices of OPA, its standard or previously accepted petition forms, etc.” Bright argued that this was “an admission of inadequate due diligence on this matter by [Tucker], and by extension,” the OPA board. The attorney said that it is apparent that the board, based on Tucker’s opinion on the merits of the petition, “refused to recognize the

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS subject referendum petition as valid and has refused to put the question to a referendum vote.” This past Aug. 21, the day after Tucker issued his opinion, the OPA announced what Bright called “its ill-considered position” that it would not recognize the 808 validated signatures on the petition, would not recognize the petition as requesting any action, and would not move forward on the proposed referendum. Perrone, in his comments at the town meeting, seemed to frame the board’s decision not to conduct a referendum less on the legalities of the petition’s wording and more on opposition to the proposed reduction in board spending authority. “My feeling is that first off we’re not trying to take the voice away from the residents but reducing that number to a million dollars is not appropriate,” Perrone said. “We are not going to go ahead and voluntarily do it.” Although he didn’t say he was speaking for the board when he made that comment, he was not contradicted by any of his colleagues present at the meeting, OPA President Doug Parks, Vice President

Steve Tuttle and Director Frank Daly. Tuttle recently presented a motion to conduct a referendum on board spending authority using slightly different language from the petitioners’, but it had no support on the board. Perrone also said during his town hall comments that the dispute with the petitioners was increasing association legal fees, which he seemed to blame on the petitioners, who see the cost of litigation as one reason for why the board should conduct a referendum as opposed to incurring unnecessary legal expenses. “I’ve been involved in a lot of litigation in my years and quite honestly this letter from this attorney to our attorney was, I have never seen one attorney put in writing to another attorney that he acted, basically accused him, of malpractice,” Perrone said. “It was very inappropriate.” In an email published in a local weekly in response to Perrone’s assertion, Bright flatly said he did not accuse Tucker of malpractice. “My letter states that Mr. Tucker is, in my opinion, legally incorrect and also states that, in my view,

there was a lack of due diligence by Mr. Tucker and the board in their failure to review and consider a board resolution that governs referendum petitions and their failure to review and consider past practices of the OPA when formulating their stated position,” Bright says in the weekly. “I have also stated that, in my view, their position lacks a good faith basis, and that is my strongly held belief.” According to Bright, Perrone admits to concerns about the potential result of a referendum that a board majority would not favor. “I would note that Mr. Perrone on Saturday stated in so many words that the board will not ‘voluntarily’ submit the question to referendum and that it opposes the spending threshold because (in their view) ‘it’s not appropriate,’” Bright says in his quoted email. “In other words, whatever (incorrect) technical grounds may have been advanced by Mr. Tucker and the board for refusing to recognize and act on the petition, the board seems to be principally driven by its opposition to the proposed spending limitation/threshold that’s at issue in the petition.”

OPA FINANCES

November 2019

Board votes 6-1 to create new capital reserve Perrone rebuts notion that the fund constitutes a slush fund that will be abused by future boards By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors voted 6-1 at its Nov. 2 monthly meeting to establish a New Capital Reserve, an idea pushed in recent months by Treasurer and Director Larry Perrone with the support of the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee, of which he is a former chairman. As a candidate for the board this summer, Perrone advocated for a new capital reserve. Meeting some resistance from his board colleagues in recent months, he persisted and in the end used raw persuasion to win over most of the skeptics, especially OPA President Doug Parks. It required some nimble maneuvering as well. He pulled a motion several months ago that would have

directed the general manager to create the fund, accepting an argument that only the board through amending a board resolution could create a new reserve fund. He also worked with the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee to come up with acceptable language creating the fund, In the end, only Vice President Steve Tuttle continued to resist its creation. The OPA will fund the account by diverting up to 10 percent of revenues annually that otherwise would be to used to replenish replacement reserves. The account cannot exceed $1 million in total, and no more than $500,000 may be spent in a single year, according to the motion creating it, Proponents of the amendment

said many new capital projects over the years fell by the wayside because prior boards were fearful of negatively affecting assessments. The goal of the amendment is to be able to fund those projects without raising annual dues. Perrone introduced the second reading to amend Resolution F-03, related to financial reserve accounts. “A reserve account dedicated to new capital expenditures will allow for better financial planning and control, without directly impacting the association yearly assessment,” Perrone said. “It will also eliminate the tendency to forego necessary new capital purchases and projects, because of the direct impact on the annual assessment.” Perrone said among concerns he heard about establishing the new account were that “this will be a

slush fund. “I wholeheartedly disagree,” he said. “We already have a ‘slush fund,’ which is our replacement reserve fund, which has been used in the past – sometimes appropriately and sometimes not appropriately … This is a much smaller fund, based on the limits we’re trying to put on it.” Perrone said there were also concerns this or any future board could abuse the account. “The discussion seems to be [that] this money could be used for some grandiose project. If you look at the numbers we’re talking about, that’s impractical at this point … $500,000 is a lot of money, but we’re not going to build a bowling alley or a parking garage for $500,000,” he said. Perrone said the OPA spends about $150,000 each year on new capital projects. “That does not include the projects that were not approved because we didn’t want to raise the assessments,” he said, adding over the last five years more than $1.2 million in new capital projects had been asked for, but not funded. q

28 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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OPA FINANCES New Capital Reserve

Planning Advisory Committee could offer input on prioritizing new capital projects. General Manager John Viola said the plan was to engage the committee and include their feedback in the budget process. Only Tuttle said he was not in favor of the new account. “I don’t like putting all this money aside and not having a real plan in understanding how we might spend it,” he said. “If we need to do it, bite the bullet and change the assessment.” Tuttle voted against the amendment, while Perrone, Daly, Horn, directors Tom Janasek and Camilla Rogers, and Parks voted in favor. Previously, Parks had positioned himself as a skeptic of creating a new capital reserve, at one point even suggesting that it be called something other than a reserve, such as an account. He was one of those who had referred to a new capital reserve as a potential slush fund. Without a lot of explanation for what changed his mind, Parks seemed to be swayed by Perrone’s

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From Page 29 “Of all that money, there was only one project that was $200,000, and that was the proposed addition to the Sports Core” pool that was not funded, he said. “From a financial standpoint, this [New Capital Reserve] is appropriate and provides for better planning and financial control by this board,” he said. Director Frank Daly, who said he was warming up to the idea of a reserve fund for new capital projects, agreed that prior boards often did not fund new capital projects “in the name of keeping the assessment low.” He said the same was true for deferred maintenance. “We need new things, we need a mechanism to fund it, and this is the best method forward,” Daly said, although he cautioned there was no guarantee that future boards would use the account as intended. Director Colette Horn said the fund would help improve financial planning, adding that the Strategic

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persistence in advocating for the new reserve fund. Only Tuttle continued to resist the idea but found himself as the lone hold-out. He said he would prefer that a strategic plan for projects that would be funded by a new capital reserve be developed before such a fund is created. He previously has said that if

there is a critical need for a new capital project, then it should be funded by an increase in the assessment in the year it is proposed. It’s not an unfamiliar role for Tuttle, who recently offered a motion to end the legal stalemate over a petition effort to force a referendum on board spending authority. He received no support for that effort either.

Board does U-turn on sending out RFP for auditing services SC&H Attest Services retains contract another year By TOM STAUSS Publisher t doesn’t happen very often, but the board on the recommenation of General Manager John Viola recently rescinded a previously approved board motion. The previous motion had instructed the general nanager to send out a request for proposals for auditing services in 2020. The rescision motion was unanimously adopted by the board at its Nov. 2 monthly meeting after minimal discussion. It’s possible that an RFP could still be issued but for auditing services in 2021, but even that is not assured. Auditing of OPA finances normally begins isoon after the end of a fiscal year on April 30. The board’s action Nov. 2 means that SC&H Attest Services of Sparks., Md., will conduct the audit of OPA financial results for the current fiscal year, 2019-20, without the inconvenience of engaging in a competitive bid process to secure the contract. That work will be conducted this coming spring and summer, with an audit report issued just in time for the annual meeting of the OPA in early August. Viola told the board that it would not be a good idea to possibly change auditing firms as the OPA engages in a conversion to new NorthStar accounting and management software, a task that is consuming inordinate amounts of staff time. Director Colette Horn said that she normally opposes rescinding previous board actions but that in this instance, it makes more sense to retain SC&H for another year. Director and OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone agreed, adding that he doesn’t agree with the current practice of putting the audting services contract out every three years. “I’m confortable with waiting five or more years,” he said. If Perrone’s view prevails, then an RFP for auditing services won’t be issued for 2020-21 either, but that has yet to be determined. Perrone said he wasn’t in favor of waiting 25 years before changing auditing firms. But he didn’t specify the number of years that he thought would be appropriate. Prior to SC&H obtaining the OPA contract in 2017, the venerable firm of Trice, Geary, Myers (TGM) had served as OPA’s auditing firm for more than 20 years. Perrone said that issuing RFPs too frequently results in higher costs because auditing firms typically have fewer years over which to spread the expense of getting up to speed on a new client. Viola and OPA President Doug Parks agreed. The rescision motion passed unanimously.

OPA FINANCES

November 2019

Viola says he has idea of what assessement will be in draft budget Declines to say for sure but invites OPA to connect the dots By TOM STAUSS Publisher lthough he declined to tell Ocean Pines Association members whether next year’s assessment will be higher, lower or the same as this year’s $986, General Manager John Viola said during the Nov. 2 monthly meeting of the Board of Directors that he has a pretty good idea what the assessment will be. In a follow-up telephone interview, Viola said there still are some moving budgetary parts that will affect final numbers. Among them are results and recommendations from the compensation study that will likely affect payroll costs across all OPA departments. In addition, there are still some unknowns in the area of drainage improvements, which has become a high prioirity of the board, Viola and Operations Director Colby Phillips, among others.

Viola confirmed that he does not plan to call for a portion of the lot assessment to be used for deficit recovery, which would be a departure from recent years. Viola remains commited to deficit priority, but says it can be accomplised by operational surpluses caused by improving bottom lines at the Yacht Club and elsewhere in OPA operations. In February of this year, the board specifically declined to budget for increased revenues at the Yacht Club resulting from a blossoming catering business under the Matt Ortt Companies. But with a track record accumulated so far in the 2019-20 fiscal year, wedding banquets and other special events will be budgeted, which likewise should exert a downward pressure on the need for an assessment increase. Viola said someone could “connect the dots” and make an intelligent guess on whether he will propose a

Deficit recovery may not rely on assessments in 2020-21 Committee suggests Viola develop plan for accounting for future operating surpluses By TOM STAUSS Publisher he list of recommendations that the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee has made available to the Board of Directors and General Manager John Viola for 2020-21 budget preparation hasn’t given up on the idea of offsetting prior year deficits, despite indications that this year, 2019-20, is on track to produce a substantial operating surplus. The board and committee reviewed the committee’s recommendations in a special meeting Sept. 19, the first opportunity the Ocean Pines community had for insight into how next year’s budget will be shaped in the weeks and months ahead. Viola will unveil the draft 202021 budget before Christmas, and the

process of developing it is well under way. Last February, in the final version of the 2019-20 budget approved by the board, the directors included $252,000 for deficit recovery designed to restore losses in the OPA’s operating fund from previous year deficits. That was equivalent to about $30 in the lot assessment, covering most of the approved assessment increase in 2019-20, the current fiscal year. While the committee in 201920 was fully on board with the notion of deficit recovery, including it among its many recommendations, it did not contain any specific dollar amount to be allocated from assessments for that purpose. This year’s list of recommendations also does not any recommended dollar amount for deficit recov-

decrease in the assessment when he presents a draft 2020-21 budget in December of this year. He said he and Finance Director Steve Phillips fully intend to submit a draft budget before Christmas to allow OPA employees to fully enjoy the holidays, something that has not occurred in Ocean Pines within the living memory of anyone in the community. Draft budgets generally are submitted around New Year’s or, typically, even later than that. Of course, whatever the administration submits for review by the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee and the board is not the final version of the budget approved by the board. By submitting a draft budget well before its traditional release date, Viola is signalling his intentions for a much less chaotic budget process this winter compared to the year prior, when former General Managery. And there is no specific direction that the lot assessment will be the source of that recovery. The committee simply says that “all prior year losses need to be addressed with a plan to fund,” leaving it up to Viola to come up with that plan. While the presumption in 201920 budget guidance was that deficit recovery would come directly from assessments, for next year it’s possible that it will come from surpluses generated at the Yacht Club or, possibly, other departments that generate surpluses for the OPA. told the the Progress Progress Viola recently told recently that not he does nottointent that he does intend look toto look to relying theassessment lot assessment relying on theonlot as as the source of revenue for continthe source of revenue for continued ued operating reduction. operating fundfund reduction. Unbudgeted deficit recovery seems to be occurring this fiscal year on the strength of better than budget performance throughout the OPA. Whether that will occur next at the same level as this year is a question mark. At the end of April of this year, the last month of 2018-19 fiscal year,

er John Bailey lost the confidence of some board members because of the way the process unfolded, with many iterations of the budget and a dizzying number of prospective assessment increases proposed. Viola was also cautious in his remarks to the Progress about the just approved New Capital Reserve Fund. He said he would like to see a strategic plan of future new capital projects developed before committing large dollars to this new reserve. Up to ten percent of moneys generated by funded depreciation of OPA assets has been authorized for allocation to the New Capital Reserve under the board resolution creating it, but not to exceed $500,000 per year or a $1 million cap. The amount of assessment dollars to be collected from the full funding of depreciation next year will be increasing because of some major additions to the OPA’s asset base, among them the new golf clubhouse, golf cart barn, police station expansion and craft building. These new assets will be depreciated over 50 years, Viola said. He said he was open to funding some new capital projects in next year’s budget, which won’t have a direct impact on the assessment because items would be funded out of the New Capital Reserve. the operating fund deficit stood at roughly $1 million, down from $1.6 million the previous year. Large operating deficits at the Yacht Club and Beach Club in particular were implicated, just the opposite from what is occurring so far this fiscal year. If the current surplus through Aug. 31 of roughly $450,000 holds or at least doesn’t erode too much over the winter, then the OPA at fiscal year’s end will have made a substantial reduction in the operating fund deficit, almost cutting it in half. With an anticipated surplus in the current fiscal year, the board and committee agreed during the Sept. 21 special meeting that management should make recommendations “in accounting for any future budget surpluses.” This language suggests that Viola is free to incorporate budgeted surpluses as a way of offsetting any operating fund deficit that remains after April 30 of next year. While it doesn’t imply that there will be an assessment decrease next year, the guidance suggests that it’s q

30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPA FINANCES

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPA favorable to budget by$517,000 $517,00 through by throughSeptember September Treasurer says projected reserve balance will be in ‘good shape’ at year’s end even with $4.3 million in projected capital spending this year By TOM STAUSS Publisher eneral Manager John Viola summarized the September financial results for the Ocean Pines Association during the Nov. 2 regular meeting of the Board of Directors. He reported revenues over budget by more than $48,435 and expenses under budget by $9,353, for a total favorable net operating balance of $57,788. For the first five months of the 2019-20 fiscal year, the OPA produced a total net operating balance of about $517,611 ahead of budget. Most OPA departments are ahead of budget for the year so far, and those that aren’t are not off by a lot. Behind budget are public relations (-$13,288), Compliance and Permits (-$7,755), Tennis (-$1,627), Platform Tennis (-$1,289), and Aquatics (-$24,903). All have improved over cumulative results through August. Aquatics still could be a net winner for the OPA at year’s end. All amenity departments are in the black for the year through September, except for tennis, which has a deficit of $176. The most profitable amenity department after five months of the fiscal year is Beach Club parking ($322,149), followed by Yacht Club food and beverage ($293,566), marinas ($269,095), golf operations ($254,288), aquatics ($248,579), Beach Club food and beverage ($160,815), pickleball ($18,944), and platform tennis ($7,379). Golf operations continue to perform well, recording a $2,251 surplus for September, while missing

Board in September. Department heads had targets to present first drafts of budget requests by the end of October. Viola told the board during the Nov. 2 monthly meeting that the budget draft would be completed before Christmas.

September OPA financial results by department

Deficit recovery From Page 29 possible that Viola and his management team will propose a 2020-21 budget that won’t rely on the lot assessment as the way to continue reductions in the operating fund deficit. In other issues raised during the meeting, the board and committee agreed: • to review total overtime expenses this past year to gain understanding

Source: Ocean Pines Association, Department of Finance

its budget by $5,369. That negative variance to budget was more than offset by the Tern Grille surplus of $3,610 for the month, better than budget by $7,822. The Yacht Club continues to outperform budget by a substantial amount for the year despite a loss of $4,187 in September. That loss was ahead of budget by $25,592. With operations for the year concluded, the Beach Club recorded a $4,829 loss in September and missed budget by $14,223. Work on the fiscal 2020-21 budget is well under way. The Budget and Finance Advisory Committee supplied budget guidance to the of reasons for overtime as the budget is set for next year. • that Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department’s Memo of Understanding regarding the OPA annual subsidy requires board attention. • that responsibility for updating reserve spreadsheets will fall to new accounting manager recently hired by Director of Finance Steve Phillips • to anticipate the possibility that there will be expenses as recommended by Matt Ortt for the Beach

Club and Yacht Club “as we did have some last year.” • that a year-over-year analysis of money collected from bad debt collections should be done, with the intent of confirming the effectiveness of current collection processes. • to evaluate Department of Compliance, Permit and Inspections staffing and related over-time • to review the OPVFD’s scheduled reserve spending. The directors and committee also said the issue of identifying

and quantifying maintenance plans should be explained as part of the budget. The committee is recommending that board members attend committee budget review meetings scheduled for Jan. 6-8 next year. That’s fairly standard operating procedure for directors as time permits. Some have schedules that allow them to sit in on all the committee sessions, which offer a detailed look at the draft OPA budget, department by department.

32Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Ocean Pines receives Coastal Bays award

he Ocean Pines Association recently received a Gold Star Award from the Maryland Coastal Bays Program for its role in cohosting the annual Bay Day event. Maryland Coastal Bays is a nonprofit National Estuary Program established to protect and enhance the watershed, which includes more than 189,000 acres of land, 71,000 acres of water, 248 miles of shoreline, and nearly 35,000 acres of wetlands. The award reads: “Maryland Coastal Bays Program Gratefully Acknowledges Ocean Pines Association for its partnership with the MCBP in hosting the first annual Bay Day at Ocean Pines. Bay Day was created to emphasize the health of the St. Martin River and engage residents to make a difference.” Ocean Pines and Maryland Coastal Bays Program jointly held the inaugural Bay Day on May 20, 2018, and the event this year moved to September, because of rain. The nonprofit presented the award to Ocean Pines during a ceremony last month. “We are thankful to be partnering with Maryland Coastal Bays Program in bringing awareness to Ocean Pines and surrounding areas of the grade level of the St. Martins River, and all that we can do to help stop the pollution to the river,” Ocean Pines Recreation and Parks Program Supervisor Debbie Donahue said. “The Bay Day event, held in Ocean Pines in May, is just a great day of

Residents encouraged to ‘Light up the Pines’

hether your holiday decorating finds inspiration in Clark Griswold, or your style leans more toward the tasteful and traditional, Ocean Pines once again invites you to show off your skills in the annual “Light up the Pines” outdoor dis-

play event. This year, the program will focus on participation rather than on the selection of winners, as has been done in the past. Choptank Electric Cooperative, the sponsor of this year’s program, will be giving away holiday gift bas-

‘Holiday Gifts for Soldiers’ makes record donation to Operation We Care

LIFESTYLES

November 2019

grateful group of volunteers donated time earlier this month on behalf of Operation We Care, the last “Holiday Gifts for Soldiers” collection started by Anna Foultz and Star Charities. Many who had known Foultz and worked with Star Charities over the years were on hand to help fill two vans full of nonperishable goods collected for U.S. soldiers serving overseas. Donations were collected during October in bins placed around the

community, and then stored in the Ocean Pines home of Barb Peletier before being turned over to Operation We Care, a Salisbury-based non-profit. “Thank you, everybody, for helping. We had an awesome collection. This was the best we’ve ever done,” Peletier said of the record number of items gathered. Peletier said it was “all of us banding together to work together” that put the donation drive over the top. Groups including the Kiwanis,

The Ocean Pines Association recently received an award from the Coastal Bays Program for co-hosting the annual Bay Days event earlier this year.

fun and information,” she added. “The third annual Bay Day event will be held May 17, 2020. Please join us! The event is free and tons of fun.”

kets to the first 20 households that register beginning Monday, Nov. 18. “Choptank Electric Cooperative is pleased to be part of the holiday spirit in Ocean Pines with the ‘Light Up the Pines’ event,” said Beth Hallett, manager of marketing and communications. “We hope our members enjoy bringing holiday fun to the neighborhood!” Those interested in sharing their displays with the rest of the community are invited to join the “Ocean Pines Holiday Parade of Homes,” which will feature an online Google

map with addresses (and names, if the homeowners wish to share them) of participants. Households interested in participating should submit a name, address and phone number via email to info@oceanpines.org or by calling 410-641-7717. The initial deadline to register is Friday, Dec. 6, although those who decide to participate after that date may still have their homes included on the online map, which will be updated throughout the holiday season.

AARP, Sons of Italy, and the Ocean Pines Boat Club banded together to collect non-perishable food, toiletries, books and other items, along with $1,400 in cash donations. Jeff Merritt said Operation We Care has sent care packages to soldiers serving oversees for a dozen years. He became involved after seeing tragedy first-hand while working in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001. This year, he said care packages would go to “12 countries and two ships.” He estimated the non-profit would send 800 to 1,000 packages to U.S. soldiers all over the world All involved said Foultz, who started the collection and the Star Charities non-profit years ago with her husband, Carl, would have been

proud of this year’s haul. “She’s looking down on us,” Peletier said. A longtime Ocean Pines resident, she passed away in September, just before the 2019 drive officially began. “It’s because of Anna that it has been successful, for what Anna has meant to us individually and expanded through all of the groups that have participated,” Susan Walter said. While they can no longer use the Star Charities name, based on the family’s wishes, everyone involved vowed the “Holiday Gifts for Soldiers” collection would continue. “There probably will be something next year,” Peletier said. “Sue and I are working on it and we are going to pull all the clubs together.”

LIFESTYLES

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

50th Anniversary Committee dedicates model boat in Yacht Club homecoming embers of the 50th Anniversary Committee, in one of their final acts, last month dedicated a restored threemast model schooner and its new display case in front of a large crowd at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club. Community originators Boise Cascade originally donated the boat to Ocean Pines in 1975. The model then took a long voyage on its way back to public display, according to committee members Sharyn O’Hare and Jenny Cropper-Rines. Cropper-Rines, who chaired the committee that oversaw a year-long celebration in 2018, said the ship’s homecoming was “basically the culmination of our 50th year.” “We used the money that we had left from our fundraising efforts to have this case built,” she said. She recognized committee event chairs, who Cropper-Rines credited with raising the funds for the display case. They included O’Hare (committee co-chair, gala chair), Carol Ludwig (committee co-chair, parade chair), Debbie Bennington (Family Fun Day chair), Vicki Harmon (Beach Bash chair), Don McMullen (golf tournament chair), Tim McMullen (racquet sports tournament chair), Terri Mohr (cocktail party chair), and Marlene Ott (historian). O’Hare said Boise Cascade gave the boat to Ocean Pines during the opening of the first Yacht Club, on Memorial Day weekend in 1975. Its exact origin is unknown, but it’s believed to have been built around 1955. “I have done research trying to find out who built it, who made it, who gave it – and we have no idea,” O’Hare said. “It’s our mystery – we don’t know who physically made it, but it is obviously handmade.” O’Hare said the ship has “been everywhere” on its way to installation at the new Yacht Club, including a stay at the Beach Club in Ocean City. “The last place was upstairs in the bar [of the old Yacht Club],” she said. “As you know, the Yacht Club was due to be torn down ... and this was probably the last wedding that was going on upstairs. They must have been having a heck of a good time because, with all the dancing

ey, to give this wonderful ship a permanent home.” She and Cropper-Rines presented Costello with a token of the committee’s appreciation, adding, “We couldn’t do this without Public

The 50th Anniversary dedicated the return of a model boat to the Yacht Club in a ceremony last month. Among those celebrating the homecoming were 50th Anniversary Committee Co-Chair Sharyn O’Hare, Committee Chairwoman Jenny Cropper-Rines, and Joe Costello of Ocean Pines Public Works.

– or it could’ve been the ghost of ‘Tuffy’ Mumford who was unhappy about his building being torn down, we’re not sure! – but the wall came down with the shelves and everything broke. “The ship broke, the glasses broke, the bottles broke, it was a mess,” she continued. “Our staff, as they would’ve, they just put everything in dumpsters [and] they took it outside, not realizing the importance of this ship.” O’Hare said Mark Hordeman, Marty Clarke and his late wife, Donna, then fished the ship from the dumpster. “They knew the importance of

this and rescued it,” she said. “A big thanks to them ... they rescued the boat, took it back, and Mark, who is a wonderful craftsman, restored this.” O’Hare said it was important that the boat finally have a permanent place to settle. Enter the 50th Anniversary Committee and Public Works employee Joe Costello. “I’ve been talking to dear Joe Costello ... for years about designing something and he had something in mind,” she said. “Finally, when we had the leftover money [from 50th anniversary events], the committee members and chairs all decided this is where we wanted to put the mon-

Works.” “It’s here now [and] I’m telling you – they aren’t moving this again! It’s not going anywhere,” O’Hare added with a laugh. “This is quite the statement and it is the oldest artifact that we have in Ocean Pines, so I’m really glad it has a permanent home.” Association President Doug Parks called the 50th Anniversary Committee “the gift that keeps on giving.” “Their understanding of the importance of this artifact [and] their focus on making it something that we can cherish, both now and in the q

Committee members credit Hordeman, Costello with making return possible

COVER STORY

November 2019

Model boat From Page 33 future, is a testament to the commitment they had to not only the 50th anniversary celebration ... but the ongoing celebration that we’ll have when we think about the work they put in, in order to put this where it is today,” he said. “Congratulations to all those involved.” General Manager John Viola added the boat “truly represents Ocean Pines” and the 50-year history of the community. “A big hand of applause for the 50th Anniversary [Committee],” he said. Just prior to the official ribbon cutting, Cropper-Rines surprised O’Hare with a gift, thanking her for all the work she put in. “You kept this in the back of your mind for a long, long time,” she said. “I wasn’t giving up!” O’Hare added. The boat and its new permanent case is on display near the main bar of the Ocean Pines Yacht Club on 1 Mumford Landing Road, in Ocean Pines.

Holiday season alive and well at White Marlin Mall Appearances by ‘Strolling Santa’ set for Nov, 29 and 30

he holiday season in Ocean City provides visitors and locals with the best of both worlds. Not only can folks walk along the beach and enjoy the clean brisk weather, the town in transformed into a holiday wonderland with many individual events that can be enjoyed by all family members. Among these events are those at White Marlin Mall on Rt. 50 in West Ocean City. “The Spirit of the Season is alive and well at White Marlin Mall for the 2019 holiday season,” said Matt Mittenthal, vice-president and assistant director of asset management at Greenberg Gibbons Commercial, the mall’s leasing and property management firm. “Santa Claus will make his annual visit to greet all the children and their parents who visit White Marlin Mall to kick off the holiday season.” Santa Claus will visit White

Marlin Mall the Friday after Thanksgiving on Nov. 29 at about 2 p.m. and on Saturday Nov. 30 at about 11:00 a.m. to celebrate the beginning of holiday shopping

season. For the past 18 years the White Marlin Mall’s Saint Nick has been known as “Ocean City’s Strolling Santa.” “Our Santa recognizes the joy of the season by greetings those who visit White Marlin with a ‘Ho, Ho, Ho’ and giving a special little sweet gift of appreciation to the children he meets.” White Marlin Mall is located at 12641 Ocean Gateway, 1/2 mile west of Ocean City on Route 50 at Route 611 next to Outlets Ocean City. Many stores will feature extended hours for holiday gift seekers. In addition to Santa’s appearances, holiday shoppers will also find savings on a broad range of holiday merchandise along with dependable shopping suggestions from the mall’s knowledgeable shopkeepers. A preview of what’s in store q

34 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Colby Phillips, Santa Claus partner in sending letters to local children

White Marlin Mall From Page 37 for the holiday season can be seen at the mall’s newly revised website at http://www.whitemarlinmall.com. “The whole family will find an abundance of holiday gifts in a wide price range at all the stores at White Marlin Mall this holiday season, including our popular FiveBelow and Dollar Tree stores,” Mittenthal said. “You can even buy stamps for those holiday cards at Wockenfuss Candy that also serves as a branch of the US Postal Service. And do not forget the dogs, cats, bunnies and hamsters in your life with a holiday gift from PetCo.” In addition, almost all White Marlin stores offer gift certificates for those who wish to embrace the “one size fits all” approach. “One example is Flagship Premium Cinemas at White Marlin Mall,” Mittenthal said. “A few gift tickets to this modern, state of the art theatre will put a smile on everyone’s face.” The burgeoning West Ocean City area is the perfect spot for holiday shoppers to begin their search for gifts. Built in 1987, White Marlin Mall with its 200,000 square-feet of retail shops is located adjacent to the 180,000 square-foot Outlets Ocean City. When both facilities are combined, they comprise the largest shopping center complex in the greater Ocean City area. White Marlin Mall is anchored by a cross-section of the nation’s leading retailers. These stores include Marshalls, Staples Office Supplies Superstore, PetCo, Ulta Beauty, Bed Bath & Beyond, Pier 1 Imports as well as the new Flagship cinemas.

Ocean Pines operations director for eight years has offered free service to community

or nearly a decade, Ocean Pines Operations Director Colby Phillips has partnered with the North Pole to help send letters from Santa Claus to local children. Eight years ago, Phillips said she went online to look for a service that would deliver a holiday letter to her two daughters, then 10 and 5 years old. “There were plenty out there, but they cost upwards of $15. That seemed high for a letter I could probably write myself, with Santa’s help,” Phillips said. “So, Santa and I came up with a fun letter and offered the same service to a few friends, and it’s just grown over the years.” Each year, Philips sends letters from Santa to 400-500 children in the Ocean Pines area and beyond. She starts in October to keep up with the high demand, and said she’s used enough glitter over the years to fill several large warehouses. “My house glistens for a few months, and my dogs sparkle for sure!” she said. Phillips became acquainted with St. Nicholas when she was just a little girl. “Because I have always believed in him, he trusts me to help him carry out this important tradition,” she said. “He truly is a jolly person! And his sweet tooth is as big as mine, so we enjoy discussing letters over sweets!”

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Along with getting to know Father Christmas, Phillips said she’s also met with his loveable, furry sidekicks. “The reindeer are wonderful!” she said. “Last year, a new reindeer named Peppermint was born into the family and Santa sent a picture in his letters to all the children. This year, he will talk about Peppermint’s learning to fly! Oh, and who knew, but reindeer love Rice Krispies.” Community donations over the years have helped cover the cost of sending the letters, and neither the North Pole nor Phillips has ever charged for the service. To receive a letter from Santa, simply email santaphillips@yahoo. com by Dec. 1 and include the child’s name and address. “If children write a letter to Santa (he loves those!) they can drop them off at the Ocean Pines post office, as I also receive those,” Phillips said. “A personalized letter will be sent

back to the children at one address. Santa mentions a bunch of stuff he has been doing and adds some fun details in the letter too. “And, don’t worry, Santa does not promise anything, especially puppies or iPhones, even when asked!” she added. For Phillips, continuing the tradition is a wonderful way to stay in touch with an old friend, who just so happens to be made of pure Christmas magic. It also warms her heart to help share good tidings each year with hundreds of area kids. “I love the innocence of children,” Phillips said. “Children really teach us about faith, believing in something they don’t actually see with their own eyes, like Santa coming into their house at night. I feel that, in this day and age, if we can keep them believing in the miracle of Christmas and bring a smile to their face, then I have accomplished what I set out to do.”

36 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

LIFESTYLES

November 2019

Easing the pains of life with CBD Alternative to prescription meds wins many devotees

or conditions from chronic pain to inflammation, even anxiety and miserable nausea from cancer treatments, CBD oil products have become a popular alternative to prescription medications. Selling items containing cannabidiol, or CBD, one of the compounds found in marijuana, has become a multimillion-dollar business, attracting more than 10 percent of Americans 18 to 44 years old who try oils, creams, tinctures, drinks, gummy candies and substances that can be smoked or vaped. Pet owners give their dogs and cats drops and treats for nervousness, discomfort and seizures. Because they don’t contain tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, CBD preparations don’t cause a high and, many feel, are a better choice than prescription drugs that often lead to distressing side effects. Costs are difficult to pinpoint, because sizes and strengths vary, but each item purchased can be as inexpensive as $10 or more than $400. So how does the average person know where to begin -- what to buy, how much to take, if it will absorb properly and who they can rely on for undistorted information? “If you came in here, you would be in great hands,” said Keith Manley, who owns CBD Supply MD with his business partner, Ken Breeden, in Ocean City and Ocean Pines. “We work in this field every day. We know what to recommend. It’s part of the training we have. We look at height, weight, body mass. There is a process clients go through. We will talk to anyone who comes in and help them through the process,” Manley said. “But when you’re trying to buy CBD oil products online, or you buy them in a convenience store, you don’t know what you’re buying. A lot of companies use the term CBD generally. But there is absorption to consider, there are a lot of factors, a lot of variances between people. “Ken and I are focused on health.

All of our products are U.S.A.-based products. We look at testing standards. These products can help you relax, relieve stress, but there is nothing in them that will make you high,” he said, motioning toward a showcase and shelves lined with topicals, balms, edibles, beverages and what Manley called “smokeables” that can be lit and smoked or vaporized. Manley and Breeden -- who own stores at 11307 Manklin Creek Road in Ocean Pines, on 118th Street in Ocean City and at 70 Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach, as well as 12 more sites along the mid-Atlantic -- accept referrals from doctors, but neither referrals nor doctors are needed to enter the growing arena of CBD devotees. Customers can buy over the counter. Manley and Breeden aren’t authorized to give medical advice, but when a customer arrives at one of their stores, they complete an assessment then suggest the most beneficial products. For pets, there are drops and biscuits purchased by a high percentage of clients seeking relief and treatment for pets they love as family members. The manager of Concord Pet in Berlin, Dustin Bradley, said he guides customers as they select the best products for their furry friends. “We sell CBD in different forms – tinctures, treats, honey. The dosage is on the back of each package, depending on the weight of the animal. “I know a lot about these products from reading, from doing my own research, from the research the distributors do and from training, so I can help customers decide what to buy,” he said. Customers can be sure they are getting products that absorb well, based on the reliability of the manufacturer and staff knowledge, he said. “Treatibles and Earth Animal are real good brands for pets. There’s also a product that is introduced through the ear because you

Keith Manley, co-owner if CBD Supply MD, display soft gummies and drink shots containing CBD.

get good absorption there. That’s the kind of information we give customers. Some veterinarians will tell you CBD isn’t good, or it doesn’t work, but from I’ve seen it does work,” Bradley said. Pets and humans who experience seizures find relief because CBD oil slows the receptor uptake in the brain, Manley explained. “We’ve worked with people with epilepsy who have had great results. We share common experiences with people and people who come in here share information with us, then we pass that along,” Manley said. “We get a ton of calls from people who are addicted to prescription opioids. Many customers want help with anxiety and stress. It can be in any range from a stressful job to a suicide in the family. We hear a lot of sad stories,” he said. “You can use CBD for muscle soreness. We’ve had athletes come to our stores. They might be sore from football or basketball. We have had a

lot of repeat customers. “One big thing is inflammation, for example people with hip pain, who need hip replacements. We had a case with a man whose knee was swollen to the size of a softball. He tried CBD and in three weeks he didn’t need a cane anymore. CBD can be used for Attention Deficit Disorder in children– ADD or ADHD. It’s recommended because a lot of medicines that are prescribed make kids fall asleep. “Cancer patients have had good results with CBD. It’s an anti-nausea aid. People have had great relief,” he said. “People are very open to asking questions. The average person is intelligent enough to distinguish between intelligent conversation about these products and just going and buying them in a convenience store,” he said. Health insurance plans do not cover CBD oil products. Like mediq

By SUSAN CANFORA Contributing Writer

CAPTAIN’S COVE

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Silfee returns as Cove association president Board addresses complaints about Seaview and Starboard streets

he Captain’s Cove property association election concluded as expected, with current directors Pat Pelino and John Costello handily reelected with developer support. They both received 1,372 votes, including 55 Class B ballots. Dawn Wagner was elected as the alternate with 1,373 vites including 56 Class B ballots. Results were announced during the Nov. 11 annual meeting of the Cove association, held in Chincoteague. There were no surprises. Most Class B (non-developer property owners) didn’t bother to cast ballots because of the pre-ordained results. At the regular board meeting that followed the annual meeting, the directors elected officers for the year, with no surprises there, either. Jim Silfee, who was not in attendance at the meeting because of urgent personal matter, was reelected president. Costello will serve another year as vice-president. Michael Glick will continue as treasurer, and Tim Hearn will take on the role of secretary.

CBD From Page 36 cal marijuana, they are considered a Schedule 1 controlled substance that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Even so, customers consider the cost “workable for most people,” Manley said. “People think of it as an expense for personal care and something they need. A lot of people would love to see a flexible account at work for CBD or other natural products. It’s extremely effective. It’s part of the healing process. “Ken and I even give out our cell phone numbers to our clients, so they can reach us if they have a question. We have tremendous communication with our customers,” he said. “It’s a great industry to be in. It’s gratifying to be able to help people.” While CBD Supply and Concord Pets caught the CBD wave early, traditional pharmacies and even convenience stores have joined in.

Next year’s lot assessment: While the approved 2019-20 budget carries with it a $1200 per year annual base lot assessment, this is probably the last year this rate will stay in place. Hearn, presiding over the annual meeting and the board meeting that followed it, suggested that next year’s budget will probably require an as yet undetermined increase. He said that a task force will deal with this issue in the coming months. Members include Glick and Wagner and the Cove’s accounting firm, L&H. Broadband service and Web site redesign: These two issues have something in common. According to comments made by Cove officials during the annual meeting, no new news is ready to be announced in either area. Contract talks for community broadband Internet apparently have stalled, much to the frustration of many in the community. Meanwhile General Manager Justin Wilder has acknowledged that the forced redesign of the Cove Web as the result of a buy-out of the previous vendor has resulted in a new site that pleases no one. He has contracted with a new designer who

is attempting to replicate the ease and functionality of the original site. He hasn’t said when that new site will be ready for roll-out. Seaview Street stop work order: Hearn announced at the annual meeting that the stop work order on the Seaview Street erosion control and wetland restoration project issued in late summer by Accomack County has been lifted, after a costly two-month hiatus. Hearn blamed the stop work order on complaints by three Cove residents he didn’t name. The stop work order was issued by G. Christian Guvernator IV, director of environmental programs for Accomack County. According to the August minutes of the county’s Wetlands Board, Guvernator’s stop work order at the edge of Seaview Street in Captain’s Cove related to “unauthorized work that had been done in the board’s jurisdiction.” The minutes say that members of the Captain’s Cove association approached Guvernator about some sand fill on Seaview Street. The minutes mention Timothy Getek, a Cove association member and member of the wetlands board

Clubs and Organizations recap ... The Pine’eer Craft Club has its monthly meeting scheduled for Nov. 21, at the Ocean Pines Community Center. Refreshments available at 9:45; the business meeting follows at 10 a.m. The November project is decorating beach-themed ornaments. Call Carol Quinto, 410208-4317, to reserve your ornament. All are welcome. The Republican Women of Worcester County have announce their annual dinner meeting and installation of officers on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2019 at the Marriott Residence Inn at Route 90 and Coastal Highway, Ocean City. The guest speaker will be Mrs. Nicole Harris. Cost of the dinner is $40 per person. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the meeting at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. For reservations with entrée choice and/or for more information, contact Ann Lutz at annlutz60@ gmail.com or at 410-208-9767. Reservations due by Nov. 14. The Worcester County Veterans Memorial Foundation Board of Directors honored the men and women who have served in our nation’s military services on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at the site of the Memorial located at Route 589 and Cathell Road. The guest speaker was WW II veteran Carroll Wagner, US Navy, who served in the Pacific Theatre, February 1945 thru July 1946. The Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines-Ocean City has begun its annual winter coat drive and holiday toy drive, collecting items from Kiwanis members and anyone in the public who cares to give. Donations can be made during weekly meetings in the Ocean Pines Community Center Assateague Room from 7-9 a.m. in November (except the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and Dec. 4.

who “went out and inspected [the site] and thought he needed to talk to Mr. Guvernator about it. He sent Mr. Guvernator some photos and was told they needed to be taken at a better angle.” According to the minutes, Getek returned to the site on Aug. 9 and “noticed pilings had been put in what looked like vegetative wetlands. He reshot and sent the photos to Mr. Guvernator. According to the minutes, Getek said “the permit that was approved in 2015 said nothing about pilings or a bulkhead so he asked Mr. Guvernator if it could be some type of maintenance. It was not. From there Mr. Guvernator issued a stop work order.” The minutes go on to say that while Guvernator said that his office tries to avoid the issuance of stop work orders, they seemed appropriate because the work under way “appeared to be in a tidal zone, which would have required a permit from the wetlands board” and “and impacted the re-plantings in the area and the maintenance of riprap.” According to the minutes, Guvernator said he “heard back from the property owner/contractor and they have decided to pull out the pilings as soon as possible and restore the area back to the way it was.” The minutes then say that Getek asked about the sand fill and Guvernator said the original permit called for fill in that area. Getek then asked if “a time had been given to have the pilings pulled up and Guvernator said nothing formal had been submitted yet. It was his assumption that is would be done that week, but that would be followed up with a formal request. A mitigation plan would also need to be submitted,” according to the minutes. Getek asked whether a permit request would have to be submitted for bukheading since the original request didn’t include one, and Guvernator said it would be. John Ward, a Cove resident attending the meeting, said the rocks on site were sitting in the bay and the minutes say “he wanted to know who owned the water.” Wetlands board member Gene Taylor and Hank Badger of the Viq

By TOM STAUSS Publisher

CAPTAIN’S COVE

November 2019

Seaview Street From Page 37 riginia Marine Resources Commission said the bay is a state-owned resource. According to the minutes, “Ward said the rocks were trespassing if the state owned the water.” But Badger said a permit for a “rock structure” was issued in 2015, but the minutes say he “he was not sure whether or not the rocks were meeting the standard of what was approved.” Ward then asked if there was a rule that the rocks could only be six-feet wide. Wetlands board chairman Earl Frederick said the original drawings showed a 12-foot base on a slope, according to the minutes. Getek said a low profile bulkhead several months ago was “talked about to protect the road, but nothing was applied for.” The minutes say the wetlands board discussed the possibility of a contractor doing illegal work and what the remedies would be for that. At the annual meeting, Hearn

said the complaints of the three unnamed property owners were proven to be unfounded. He later told the Progress that after the stop work was lifted, the pilings and fill remain where they were on the job site prior to the issuance of the stop work order. He said that suggests to him that Guvernator no longer is concerned about the issues raised by Getek and Ward. “It’s a normal job site,” Hearn said. “There are channels in the riprap that are supposed to allow water in and promote the restoration of wetlands.” He asserted that the stop work order might result in additional contracting costs above the $125,000 authorized for the work, which involves installation of riprap, some bulkheading and wetlands restoration along a 300-foot section of roadway at the intersection of Seaview and Castaway. This phase is only the first of many anticipated to control erosion and flooding along Seaview. But even worse, according to

Cindy Welsh

Hearn, is that the regulatory scrutiny over the Seaview Street project has meant additional scrutiny and delays in the issuance of canal dredging permits, an inconvenience to canalfront owners. “All these false assertions wasted time and are delaying what had been the routine issuanance of dredging permits,” Hearn said. Getek, the wetlands board member and Cove resident, said the work order was imposed by Guvernator because there was no application on file pertaining to bulkheading. He said it’s his understanding that one has been filed with state and federal agencies for bulkheading “that would be installed outside tidal wetlands areas under the jurisdiction of the wetlands board.” No county permit for the bulkheading is needed, Getek said, because that aspect of the project doesn’t impact tidal wetlands. But the contractor will need to meet any requirements imposed by state and federal agencies, he said, adding that any resident with questions about the matter should con-

tact him at wbrdgetek@gmail.com. Cove Facilities Manager Rob Girard said that these state and federal agencies have reviewed the project and have determined that all is in order. He said he doesn’t believe in the end that the delay will cost the Cove additional contracting costs. “All we’ve lost is time,” he said. Starboard Street erosion -Flooding on this stretch of bayfront property has been a perennial issue in Captain’s Cove, and was again at the Nov. 9 annual meeting. Francois Carrier, a property owner whose property is in a constantly flooded state, complained that her letters to the board have been ignored and that she is prepared to litigate the issue if needed. “You can respond to me or my attorney,” she said. Hearn responded that the board is obligated to discuss issues of this nature at a public meeting, and that the board’s response to her letter would be apparent by what is said by directors during the meeting. q

38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

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November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

Starboard Street From Page 38 He said the board had decided to retain the services of an engineering firm to see if there is a solution to the Starboard flooding problem, which he said had been exacerabated by the elevation of the street a couple of years ago in response to residents’ concerns. While the street is now passable in

stormy weather, Hearn said the water that had lain in the street has been diverted to private property along the roadway. He also took issue with the property owner’s assertion that the Cove association was responsible for addressing the flooding on Starboard. Hearn said he “lost a home” on the street years ago, the cost for which he was reimbursed by his insurance company.

Hearn said Captain’s Cove was developed as a community back in the 1970s when curb and gutter, storm drains and other stormwater management methods were not required. “I’m not sure we’re responsible for fixing problems caused by the way this community was initially developed,” Hearn said, noting that Captain’s Cove essentially is right at sea level.

Director Rosemary Hall bemoaned the lack of communication with the property owner in this instance and said the board needed to communicate better with Cove association members generally. The alternative is escalating legal expenses resulting from lawsuits filed against the association, she said. Hearn responded that the property owner was free to contact Wilder about her concerns.

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November 2019

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November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 41

OPINION

COMMENTARY

New Capital Reserve takes off the handcuffs

he Board of Directors and Treasurer Larry Perrone in particular are to be commended for finding a way to create a New Capital Reserve at the board’s Nov. 2 meeting. While not universally acclaimed by everyone who cares about such matters, the creation of this reserve takes the handcuffs off this and future boards when certain desirable projects and expenditures that are not replacement items are on the table for funding. By appropriating assessment dollars that have been allocated to this New Capital reserve, funds that otherwise would replenish the generally flush replacement reserve, directors won’t have to resort to raising the assessment in the year new capital projects are proposed for funding. Normally what happens in Ocean Pines is that the finance department director does an annual calculation of the depreciation expense attributable to OPA capital items. Currently that expense item is roughly $1.65 million; it probably will be closer to $1.7 million next year when various new buildings are added to the asset schedule and the usual 50-year depreciation on them begins. Depreciation expense is roughly 25 percent of the annual assessment collected every year from the OPA membership, a mechanism for financing capital maintenance and replacement that has worked very well over the years. In past years, 100 percent of the depreciation expense has been allocated to the replacement reserve, which is supposed to be used strictly for replacing or repairing existing assets. Generally it has been, but on occasion it hasn’t, and when that happens there usually is some carping from those who care about which pot is used to pay for this or that. Under the new arrangement, the percentage of depreciation revenues allocated to the replacement reserve may decrease to 90 percent or thereabouts. Sometimes, previous managements have tried to pull a fast one in draft capital budgets by designating as replacement items expenditures that are clearly new capital. For instance, not too many years ago, a party-training-after school program room addition was proposed for the Sports Core pool with the funding source designated as the replacement reserve. This probably was done to avoid the impact on the assessment if the project had been properly designated as new capital. Or maybe an innocent mistake? This sleight of hand was discovered soon enough and the room addition was not funded. By diverting up to ten percent of funded depreciation into the New Capital Reserve, as the motion creating this reserve calls for, these kinds of games ought to be rarer than they have been. But even more importantly, certain desirable additions to the OPA capital base need not be

deferred indefinitely as occurs now, depriving ourselves of new items ranging from fitness equipment along the walking trails or an awning on the second floor deck of the Yacht Club. The New Capital reserve as structured in the just adopted motion as drafted by Perrone doesn’t allow the board to go a spending binge on new projects even if a majority of seven directors were inclined to do so. No more than $500,000 can be spent in a single year on new capital expenditure, and the fund itself is capped at $1 million per year. But the key control is the ten percent cap: No more than ten percent of calculated funded depreciation in any year can be allocated to the New Capital Reserve. Next year, the cap is going to be, more or less, around $170,000, hardly enough to finance outof-control spending by the board on new extravagances. If General Manager John Viola and the board want to demonstrate responsibility in the use of this new reserve in the first year of its operation, 2020-21, then a simple way of doing so is to propose and fund new capital spending that doesn’t exceed the maximum $170,000 that could be allocated to the New Capital Reserve next year. It also follows the precedent of how the Bulkhead and Waterways Reserve has operated over the years. What was collected each year from the waterfront differential was more or less what was spent that year for bulkhead replacement. This pattern was interrupted several years ago when bulkhead replacement ground to a halt while collection of the waterfront differential continued, bloating the dollars contained in the bulkhead reserve. With the restarting of the bulkhead replacement program this year, with a lot catch-up scheduled to make up for the lost years, there is reason to hope that this historical pattern of spending what’s collected each year returns. It’s also a helpful template for the way the

New Capital Reserve could operate. A couple of years ago, a clearly frustrated OPA director, Cheryl Jacobs, appealed for roughly $10,000 in new capital spending for fitness equipment proposed by the Department of Parks and Recreation and supported by the Recreation Advisory Committee. Her appeal failed; directors that year were not prepared to find $1 and change in the lot assessment for these items. With the advent of a New Capital Reserve, denial of such worthwhile items should be easier to overcome. It should no longer be the practice that directors argue over nickles and dimes. In its annual report to the board, the Clubs Advisory Committee has proposed items including the aforementioned second floor awning at the Yacht Club, sound buffers in the upstairs banquet room, more patio and tiki bar furnishings, and a covered walkway from the parking lot to the reconfigured side entrance to the restaurant. These are proposals that, without a New Capital Reserve, would face an uphill slog to make it into the final capital budget. No longer. Using assessment dollars that would be collected regardless and parked in the replacement reserve, gathering digital dust, these items now might find an easier path to approval. Nothing’s guaranteed, nor it should be. Any proposed capital spending has to be justified. Should the board decide that allocating funds to the new capital fund greater than that spent in any given year for new capital projects, it should be done only with a multi-year budget fully vetted by the affected advisory committees and consistent with a yet-to-be finalized comprehensive plan for the association. But removing the handcuffs in the first year of this new reserve is an important first start. Kudoes to the board for making that happen. -- Tom Stauss

Some serious attention to drainage

t’s encouraging to see the Ocean Pines Association move aggressively with efforts to improve what may be the number one issue facing Ocean Pines -- poor drainage, caused in part by close proximity to sea level but also the more or less built-out condition of the community. It’s no accident that over the years flooding has become more acute as impervious surfaces increase. More water entering the community’s 70’s era drainage system means it takes longer to drain. It means the Public Works Department has to be even more vigilant in making sure that ditches remain free of debris during and following

those inevitable nor’easters or typical summer downpours. Operations Manager Colby Phillips during the Nov. 2 Board of Directors expounded on continuing efforts to combat flooding, even holding out the possibility of state and federal funds becoming available to Ocean Pines for that purpose. Of course, since Ocean Pines is managed by a homeowners association, such funding would have to be funneled through county government before it’s passed on to the OPA. That just means it’s going to require an OPA-county partnership to address this most challenging of issues. -- Tom Stauss

42 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

OPINION

November 2019

OPA members denied a voice on capital spending

adly, there appears to be little prospect of an early settlement in the ongoing dispute over a petition drive and the objective of 800-plus petitioners, a referendum to lower the threshold over which the Board of Directors must seeks membership approval before spending OPA dollars on capital projects. Recent comments by Ocean Pines Association Treasurer and Director Larry Perrone make that abundantly clear. At the recent town hall meeting, flanked by three other directors, Perrone asserted the unwillingness of a board majority to “voluntarily” agree to conduct a referendum on the spending issue. Absent contradiction by his colleagues, that statement more or less established official board policy. If that isn’t the case, somebody needs to issue a clarification. The logical inference from this lack of push is that only a court order will force the board to conduct a referendum on the spending threshold. “My feeling is that first off we’re not trying to take the voice away from the residents but reducing that number to a million dollars is not appropriate,” Perrone said. “We are not going to go ahead and voluntarily do it.” He called the petition’s call for a $1 million threshold, down from the current $1.76 million, “inappropriate,” and he seemed to explain the board’s unwillingness to conduct a referendum more on the “inappropriateness” of the lower thresheld than on any legal arguments that could be put forth on the “inappropriateness” of OPA members deciding the issue in a referendum. He certainly did not engage in any attempted refutation of the legal position put out recently by the petitioners’ attorney, Bruce Bright. Instead, Perrone said Bright in his letter to the board accused the board of bad faith and the OPA attorney Jeremy Tucker of malpractice. He called such alleged columny unprecedented, something he had never had encountered in his years of witnessing legal skirmishing unfold. Also abundantly clear in all this is that Perrone has emerged as the rhetorical heavy-weight on this board, unwilling to dodge and

LIFE IN THE LIFE INPINES THE PINES

what happens when OPA members decide to sue the OPA/ An excursion through the curious cul-de-sacs An excursion through theby-ways curious and by-ways and cul-de-sacs To avoid legal expense and project of Worcester County’s County’s most densely community. of Worcester mostpopulated densely populated community. confidence in its position, the board By TOM STAUSS/ By TOM Publisher STAUSS/Publisher simply should reverse course and decide to voluntarily conduct the weave but rather, in clear, concise ter to the board and is using it to his referendum and engage in debate language, confront a point of view or best advantage. on the appropriatness of the current position with which he disagrees. This is more or less what oppos- $1.65 million spending threshold. In some respects, this candor and ing attorneys always do in litigation: Put forth well-reasoned arguments ability to articulate in complete sen- It hardly seems remarkable in this for why lowering the threshold is a tences and with conviction is admi- instance. bad idea, and the membership may rable. Bright also pounced on Perrone’s agree. Steve Tuttle, who previously had comments during the town meeting. Barely 10 percent of the membersaid that the board should conduct a “I would note that Mr. Perrone on ship signed the petitition, not a roreferendum on the petitioners’ issue Saturday stated in so many words bust call to arms. and that the Tucker’s opinion on the that the board will not ‘voluntarily’ Finally it’s not enough to say, as issue is weak, did not attempt to re- submit the question to referendum some do, that the board is not trybut or refute Perrone’s position. and that it opposes the spending ing to take the voice away from the While his motion a couple months threshold [in the petition] because residents. ago to conduct a referendum failed (in their view) ‘it’s not appropriTrying or not, the effect is the 6-1, with Tuttle in the lonely minori- ate,’” Bright said in an email quot- same. ty, it seems farfetched to conclude ed in a local newspaper. “In other One, the petitioners efforts to that the OPA vice-president sudden- words, whatever (incorrect) tech- gather signatures have been rely thinks that Tucker’s position is a nical grounds may have been ad- jected as invalid, on technical legal strong one and that a referendum is vanced by Mr. Tucker and the board grounds, and two, OPA members a bad idea. for refusing to recognize and act on have been denied a voice in decidOn the contrary, his silence sig- the petition, the board seems to be ing the limits on board spending aunalled his unwillingness to get into principally driven by its opposition thority absent a referendum. a verbal battle with Perrone, a mas- to the proposed spending limitation/ If that isn’t taking the voice away ter counter-puncher if there ever threshold that’s at issue in the pe- from residents, it’s hard to imagine was one. tition.” what would be. But it was unfortunate nontheThis argument no doubt will In another context, OPA Presiless, because Tuttle’s clarity and make its way into arguments Bright dent Doug Park said he didn’t want conviction serve as an important will file in this case. the membership to think in terms of counterpoint to Perrone’s. OPA Director Camilla Rogers, us vs. them. Easy to say, more diffiPerrone would have been wiser in remarks to the Progress, took a cult to achieve. In this instance, it’s to have resisted the impulse to say different tack from Perrone. She’s a the board vs. 800-plus OPA memanything at all on the subject. lawyer, and is experienced enough to bers who signed the petition. Bright was quoted in a local week- avoid rhetorical minefields or rhely as very much denying he had ac- torical cow pastures. cused Tucker of malpractice while She mentioned that legal counsel citing Tucker’s admitted failure to had advised the board not to cominvestigate past practices with re- ment on the case. The Ocean Pines Progress, a journal spect to the manner in which petiShe simply said that both sides of news and commentary, is published monthly throughout the year. tions and referendums have been have “strong arguments” to make It is circulated in Ocean Pines, Berhandled in the past. and will fight it out in court. lin, Ocean City, and Captain’s Cove, According to Bright, “presumably, Other than that, she offered a Va. based on that caveat, in formulating terse no comment and said she [his] opinion, [Tucker] did not seek hoped the reporter would under127 Nottingham Lane or obtain any information about stand. Ocean Pines, MD 21811 past practices of OPA, its standard On the issue of the costs of litigator previously accepted petition ing this dispute, Perrone bemoaned PUBLISHER/EDITOR forms, etc.” the prospect of the OPA incurring leTom Stauss Bright argued that this was “an gal fees, and it seemed that he was stausstom@gmail.com admission of inadequate due dili- blaming the petitioners for that. 443-359-7527 gence on this matter by [Tucker], Well, as is often said, it takes two and by extension,” the OPA board. to tango, and in this instance the Advertising Sales Arguing that an opposing attor- board had and still has an easy way Frank Bottone ney admitted to “inadequate due to avoid legal fees that are bound 410-430-3660 diligence” is degrees short of accus- to exceed the cost of a referendum. ing ones adversaries of committing The petitioners, not incidentally, CONTRIBUTING WRITER malpractice. are paying their legal expenses and Rota Knott But there’s no doubt that Bright are sharing in the cost of the OPA’s InkwellMedia@comcast.net seized upon wording in Tucker’s let- defense. It’s not exactly fair, but it’s 443-880-3953

November 2019 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 43

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44 Ocean Pines PROGRESS

November 2019

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