October 2021 Ocean Pines Progress by Ocean Pines Progress

October 2021

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Farr vs. OPA eligibility case drags on, more hearings pending in coming months Judge asks opposing counsel to propose schedule By TOM STAUSS Publisher nyone hoping for a quick decision on the Richard Farr vs. OPA candidate eligibility case in a court hearing Sept. 27 in Snow Hill came away disappointed. Judge Sidney Campen denied Farr’s motion for a preliminary injunction, in which the plaintiff was asking for a ruling on his eligibility as a candidate in this summer’s board election. He did not rule on the Ocean Pines Association’s counter motion to dismiss. According to information posted on the state court system’s case look-up, Judge Campen ordered that all returned ballots in the election “be kept, maintained and preserved” by the OPA “and it is further ordered that the entire ballot shall be preserved insofar as ballots in favor of the Plaintiff may be relevant in the final determination of this matter.” During the 45-minute hearing, Judge Campen directed opposing counsel to propose a process to move the case forward. The initial step would be for a discovery hearing, followed by a hearing on Farr’s amended com-

plaint and the OPA’s motion to dismiss. There is no indication on when the case might be resolved, but it could easily last several months. OPA attorney Anthony Dwyer mentioned that he had no interest in fast-tracking the case. Judge Campen did not, as he had in comments at an Aug. 31 preliminary hearing, urge the OPA to count the bal- Judge Campen lots pending further proceedings. In a statement following the hearing, Farr attorney Bruce Bright said that “as we thought, the Court did not and could not yet make any final ruling based on where we are procedurally in the case. The OPA Board apparently was hoping for disposition of this case in their favor today, but as we expected, that wasn’t going to occur. We will now have an opportunity for some limited discovery after the defendants file an answer that complies with the Maryland Rules which they didn’t do previously.” Farr’s amended complaint filed in mid-September To Page 31

Class action dropped in Farr vs. OPA litigation ~ Page 30

Directors endorse proposed golf course spray irrigation

The Board of Directors on Sept. 15 conceptually endorsed a Worcester County proposal to install a new irrigation system that would spray treated wastewater or effluent on the Ocean Pines golf course. The unanimous 7-0 vote in favor of sending the county an endorsement letter allows the county to proceed with planning for a county bond issue to raise funds for the project, but is less than an absolute commitment by the OPA to give the county an easement to install and maintain an irrigation system on Ocean Pines Association-owned golf course property. ~ Page 3

Viola says dredging program to resume

With permits caught up in the COVID-19 conundrum of the last two years, the Ocean Pines Association hasn’t been able to do any dredging of its canals. That long-delayed dredging could soon get under way as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to soon issue permits for seven properties, John Viola said during his Sept. 15 general manager’s report to the Board of Directors. ~ Page 10

Board approves six marina boat slips

At the Board of Directors’ Sept. 15 monthly meeting, the board approved General Manager John Viola’s request for six new temporary use boat slips at the Yacht Club. Viola said that the boat slips, or t-docks as he likes to call them, recently were given permit approval by the Army Corps of Engineers. ~ Page 14

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to the golf course. The treatment plant is located in a well-buffered area near Route 90 and the Assawoman Bay in the vicinity of the Harbor Village section of Ocean Pines. The agreement would govern details of who would own, finance and maintain the system, and for what duration. According to the county’s deputy public works director, John Ross, the agreement would be for 15 years only, during which time the county would own and maintain the system. He made that statement during a Sept. 9 town hall meeting at the Golf Clubhouse called by OPA General Manager John Viola. After that 15 years, ownership of the system presumably would be conveyed to the OPA and the county would no longer have an easement to Ocean Pines golf course property. All of that would be subject to language in the agreement, however, and that agreement is yet to be drafted.

OPA President Larry Perrone and General Manager John Viola said during the Sept. 15 meeting that they had heard Ross refer to the 15-year duration of a pending agreement in comments during the Sept. 9 town hall meeting. The OPA has not always fared well in its contractual agreements with other parties, with the notorious example of property south of Ocean Pines that originally had been conveyed to the OPA by local developer Steen Associates but which, after contentious litigation, ended up in the hands of the Mid-Shore YMCA because of a drafting error in the relevant contract. That happened roughly 20 years ago. Viola in a response to a Progress inquiry said that during the 15-year period in which the county would own and maintain the new irrigation system, none of the system components would be included in the OPA’s inventory of depreciable assets. That’s significant, because OPA asset values are used in an annual calculation of depreciation expense that is embedded in the base lot assessment. Because the county would own the system, depreciation expense tied to it can’t be passed through to property owners as part of the annual assessment. Another key point: Because the county would be financing the cost of installing the system in a bond issue that would be paid over 15 years, the To Page 5

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By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors on Sept. 15 conceptually endorsed a Worcester County proposal to install a new irrigation system that would spray treated wastewater or effluent on the Ocean Pines golf course. The unanimous 7-0 vote in favor of sending the county an endorsement letter allows the county to proceed with planning for a county bond issue to raise funds for the project, but is less than an absolute commitment by the OPA to give the county an easement to install and maintain an irrigation system on Ocean Pines Association-owned golf course property. Another important step will be the drafting of an agreement between the county and the OPA to govern details of the arrangement that would lead to the county installing a new irrigation system on the golf course, at its expense, and bringing treated effluent from the county owned-and-operated Ocean Pines Wastewater Treatment Plant

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OCEAN PINES Spray irrigation From Page 3 OPA would not need to tap its replacement reserve to pay for repair and replacement of a system that is mostly 50 years old, Viola said. In comments to the Progress after the Sept. 15 meeting, Viola said that there’s roughly two years left of depreciation expenses on components of the system that were added about 20 years ago, along the edges of fairways, at about $35,000 for each of those years. Although the OPA often achieves use of assets that extend beyond the time when they’re fully depreciated, Viola said in the case of the existing irrigation system, it’s reaching the end of its useful life. All seven directors agreed to send a letter of support to Worcester County, which is the next step in the process. Director Frank Daly got the discussion going on the county proposal during the Sept. 15 meeting. “Worcester County has proposed using effluent water from the Ocean Pines [wastewater] treatment facil-

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October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 5 ity to irrigate the Ocean Pines golf course,” Daly said, adding that Viola and staff have worked with the county on the proposal. “The county did an excellent job at the [Sept. 9] town hall of presenting the proposal and answering questions. And they also have asked us at this point in time only to issue, as a Board, a letter of support for the proposal, so it can move forward,” Daly said. Daly said Viola released a FAQ following the town hall to address questions from the public, and he asked that the document be included in the meeting minutes from Wednesday. [See sidebar on Page 6 for that FAQ.] Viola said several new questions had come in since that FAQ had been issued. They included the current state of the golf course irrigation system, the annual maintenance costs for that system, when the system was scheduled for replacement, and what the estimated cost would be. Viola said the current system “functions,” but much of the equip-

If the county’s plans go forward, treated efﬂuent from the treatment plant (upper left) would be piped underground to the golf course pump house near the Golf Clubhouse pond and then discharged through a new golf course irrigation system.

ment is more than 50 years old. “That tells you something,” he said. “The pumping station, all the equipment there … works. [But] it does need a lot of maintenance. We have done repairs there, but it’s ready to be replaced.” He said there had been leaks near the 10th and 12th holes, which the golf course maintenance staff is

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often called upon to fix. He estimated that annual repairs cost between $15,000 and $20,000 in parts alone, not including labor. Golf Course Superintendent Justin Hartshorne added the current system is run at “reduced rates” because of capacity constraints. “We’ve been making a lot of adu

6 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021

OCEAN PINES

ter treatment plant estimated to cost $3.5 million, minus the retirement of debt services from the construction of a plant addition in 2002, Ross said. Ross also addressed the quality of the water that the county would spray on the course. “We do use a biological process to treat that wastewater [that] is just charged out to the river, and it’s very clean when it goes out to the river … Our limit is three milligrams per liter of total nitrogen, which is extremely low,” he said. “We’re basically still discharging mostly everything that you have in your drinking water.” So-called tertiary treatment of wastewater at the Ocean Pines plant means that the Ocean Pines system is the only one in the state in which its ratepayers avoid the state’s flush tax used to finance Chesapeake Bay clean-up. Ross said the county wants to be sure that spraying effluent on the golf course won’t result in Ocean Pines system losing its exemption. Viola said installation of a new irrigation system would be tentatively planned for a November to March window, perhaps as soon as

Spray irrigation From Page 5 justments to ... the way we water the golf course. We’re trying to use less water as much as possible, because we are dealing with a lot of very old parts of the current system,” he said. Running the system at capacity would wear out components faster than what is already occurring, he said. If Ocean Pines installed a new irrigation system without county help, Viola said the cost is estimated to be roughly $2.8 million. In the county proposal, Ocean Pines ratepayers would absorb the cost of a roughly $3.2 million new system, which includes added pipelines and pumps to bring the treated effluent to the golf course across Ocean Parkway from the treatment plant. During the Sept. 9 town hall, Ross said the impact on Ocean Pines water and sewer rate-payers would be roughly $4 to $5 more each quarter in EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) charges. That includes an unrelated improvement at the county wastewa-

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next year. “That’s the time of the year where there is not a lot of play,” he said. According to Perrone, county officials said similar efforts at several other area courses had caused “very little disruption. “You may have a disruption on a hole for a day or two exactly, but ... the whole course would never be shut down,” he said. “We’re talking about one or two holes for [perhaps] a day … it doesn’t concern me if it’s done between No-

vember and March,” Viola said. Viola added that between 1,800 and 2,000 households in Ocean Pines use the golf course each year. Daly said it seemed like a “no-brainer” to support the county proposal. Perrone asked for a show of hands to send a letter of support to Worcester County. All six board members in attendance raised their hands, and Association Vice President Colette Horn, taking part by phone, also endorsed the proposal.

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Has a sodium absorbent ratio (SAR) test has been done to show effects of sodium on golf course turf? The SAR test for golf course irrigation water will be done several times a year to check water quality and to measure the soils’ capacity to supply nutrients for plant uptake.

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Spray irrigation questions and answers From Page 6 effluent irrigation at Glen Riddle Golf Club, and has a Turfgrass Science Degree from Penn State University, which makes him a professional agronomist. How often will the system be flushed to prevent salt and bicarbonate build-up in the soil? Typically every two to four weeks the system could be flushed, but usually there’s sufficient rainfall to naturally take care of flushing the soils. With use of wetting agents and a fertility program, crews have been been able to keep sodium conditions in acceptable range. What will he done to prevent problems with irrigation heads having clogged screens? How will sprinkler heads be protected? Intake at the pump house where we currently draw our water from has a screen. Irrigation heads have a rock screen at the bottom just above the swing joint and have a screen at the base of the internals to keep them protected. The system does allow debris to reach the internals but they can be pulled and manually cleaned so heads can be protected and kept in working order. Where can test results be seen for sodium content, chloride, bicarbonate, carbonate and pH? Several soil tests are done each season by the course maintenance staff and will be available for viewing, and the county will have records of water quality tests.

What will be done to limit salt injury to plants in slow draining soil areas? In order to manage the sodium content, crews will be applying fertilizers such as gypsum to improve soil quality. Crews will also apply fertilizers such as potassium and calcium that help offset sodium numbers in the soil. Crews also use wetting agents in the soil that help move nutrients down through the soil profile. How will algae growth in the ponds be handled? Algae in the ponds can be managed with pond fountains for increased aeration and with chemical treatments. The golf course is required to accurately report the number of gallons of water it pumps from wells out of our aquifer to the county. What is that number? Does the majority of water used for irrigation come from our existing ponds? Irrigation usage is reported to the county every six months. When irrigating, crews use the well to refill the pond so a majority of the water used to refill the pond comes from the aquifer. Over the last two seasons, the golf course has averaged around 15,000,000 gallons of usage each year. The irrigation pond receives water from rainfall events but that does not keep the pond full. The only pond used for irrigation water is the one by the clubhouse. None of the other ponds on the golf course are used for irrigation. Does the permitting require any buffer between the areas that are being sprayed and occupied homes; and if so why? There is no buffer requirement because of the quality of effluent that will be sprayed on the golf course.

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Viola says dredging program to resume Army Corps of Engineers expected to release covid-delayed permits soon By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer ith permits caught up in the COVID-19 conundrum of the last two years, the Ocean Pines Association hasn’t been able to do any dredging of its canals. That long-delayed dredging could soon get under way as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to soon issue permits for seven properties, John Viola said during his Sept. 15 general manager’s report to the Board of Directors. In response to queries from board members about the status of the dredging program, Viola said the OPA has not yet received any of its requested permits for the last two years, adding that the application and permitting process was delayed because of pandemic-related closures and work slowdowns. Public Works staff spoke with representatives from the Corps and have been informed that seven permits for which applications were submitted two years ago are being processed and the OPA should receive them soon. Viola said there are an additional 20 permits for which

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the applications are still pending from last year. “We are working on it and we definitely have it on our list,” he said of the dredging program. Director Tom Janasek asked if the association would wait until it receives the dredging permits to notify the owners of properties where the work will occur. Viola responded that he believes staff can notify the property owners now before it receives the permits. In other projects, emergency repairs to bulkheads are moving forward ahead of schedule. Viola approached the board last month for approval to proceed with bulkhead work that was scheduled in the OPA’s four-year plan. “We’re just doing it earlier,” he said. The project is the third of the four-year plan originally scheduled to start next month. A contract for $191,000 was awarded to Fisher Marine to replace 537 linear feet of bulkhead. “Fisher Marine had some down time. They gave us a good price,” Viola said regarding accelerating the project to take advantage of the timing. The work started Aug. 20 and will be completed by late September. “This was definitely needed. And it’s right on track,” he said, adding “everything’s going well there.” Restriping of racquet sports courts at Manklin Meadows to create multi-purpose courts has also been completed. The project was recommended by the OPA’s Racquet Sports Advisory Committee and involved lining two pickleball courts on court 9 at a cost of $800. “Now it is a multi-purpose court that that both the tennis and the pickleball players,” Viola said. “We all know that pickleball is growing and growing. So this I believe for the amount of money and everything was well spent.” Viola said “there’s a lot going on down there” at the golf course as well. Golf course maintenance crews just completed aerating the course and he said the greens are in lot better shape than they have been in years. To Page 12

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Viola update

From Page 10 “The greens, the fairways, credit to the team. Credit to everybody,” Viola said. “The course is in the best shape I’ve seen it in 12 years.” Public Works crews have also been busy landscaping the entrances to several sections of Ocean Pines. “If you have been driving around or if you live in some of the areas, the landscaping team part of Public Works has worked on the entrances,” Viola said. Landscaping improvements have

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already been made at the North Gate, Wood Duck I, Wood Duck II, and White Horse Park campus entrances. Viola added that the OPA is also considering installing at new sign at White Horse Park. The entrances to Salt Grass, Teal Bay, Bay Colony are next on the landscaping schedule. In partnership with the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department and Worcester County Water and Wastewater, the OPA has been clearing away overgrown vegetation from around fire hydrants in the community. Viola showed the board

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pictures of a fire hydrant that was covered by vegetation, after the vegetation was removed, and following a fresh coat of bright red paint on the hydrant. There are 176 fire hydrants in Ocean Pines in need of maintenance, and 96 have been completed to date. Finally, Viola addressed progress on the “DMA Lite study,” an update to a 2016 replacement serve study performed by Design Management Associates Inc. He said representative from DMA and the Ocean Pines management team have reviewed the reserve study details and changes were sent to DMA for inclusion in the update. Viola said the final draft of the updated reserve study was scheduled to be returned to the OPA management mid-September for review. Copies of the document will be sent to the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee and DMA will make a presentation to the committee in early October. Then DMA will present the document to the board at its October meeting. “Even though this was called a lite study, I think we saw a lot more improvements to the process than last time,” Viola said of the management team’s work with DMA to update the original document. He added that he plans to hold a Town Hall meeting at which he can share the revised document with community members. “There’s a lot of good information in there.”

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Panel to discuss early days of Ocean Pines

s part of Worcester County History Week, Ocean Pines will host a live “History Panel” discussion about the early days of the community, on Sunday, Oct. 10, from 2-4 p.m. at the Community Center. Guest speakers are scheduled to include longtime Ocean Pines residents Sue Adkins, Jack Barnes, Sharyn O’Hare, Gloria Richards, Alta Weiss, and Ed Moran. Richards and Weiss were the first two editors of the OPA newsletter. Richards’s late husband, Jerry, and Gloria for decades were regarded as among the first if not the first residents of Ocean Pines. The event, organized by the Ocean Pines Public Relations Department, will expand upon the history section of the Ocean Pines Academy, a virtual, selfpaced civic education course about the Association. Jenny Cropper Rines, who previously chaired the 50th Anniversary Committee, will moderate the panel discussion. “We hosted a similar panel as part of the year-long 50th anniversary celebration and it was very well received. However, there was no video of that event and several of our key speakers have since passed away,” she said. “With this new history panel, we hope to give the live audience an informative view of the early history of Ocean Pines, from our guest speakers, but also allow them to interact and ask questions.” For those who cannot attend, the History Panel will be recorded and will become a permanent part of the Ocean Pines Academy. The Public Relations Department also recently produced a new Academy video, “Early History of Ocean Pines, with Marlene Ott and John Talbott.” Ott and Talbott were involved in the real estate business when the community was first developed by Boise Cascade in the late 1960s. The video is available on the OPA Website.

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 13

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Board approves six new boat slips at Yacht Club marina Transient-use ‘t-docks’ should be installed in time for next year’s prime boating season By TOM STAUSS Publisher eneral Manager John Viola has finally achieved an objective of his that dates back a year if not longer. At the Board of Directors’ Sept. 15 monthly meeting, the board approved his request for six new temporary use boat slips at the Yacht Club. Viola said that the boat slips, or t-docks as he likes to call them, recently were given permit approval

by the Army Corps of Engineers. Viola asked the board to approve $63,623 in materials cost from Ravens Marine in Florida to build the aluminum slips, and $12,000 in labor expense by Fisher Marine, the OPA’s primary bulkhead replacement contractor, to install the t-docks when they’re delivered from Florida. The docks would be installed in time for the prime boating season next year.

Director Tom Janasek asked Viola if aluminum boat slips will provide the same stability as wooden docks in place elsewhere at the Yacht Club Marina, and Viola said he believed they would. Viola said they would be more durable, adding that Fisher Marine had recommended them over wood. The vote was 7-0 in favor of the t-dock project, in separate motions of approval for the materials and installation components.

Six new “t-docks” will be installed in two sections at the Yacht Club marina, one containing two slips and the other four, as pictured at left. The boat slips will be for transient boaters only, who are expected to spend money at the Yacht Club. General Manager John Viola expects to have the slips installed in time for the prime boating season next year.

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OCEAN PINES The project was not included in the 2021-22 budget. At the time the 2021-22 budget was in the final stages of approval process early this year, Viola was very uncertain on when and if the Army Corps permits would be forthcoming. But Viola said the original intention had been to fund the estimated $70,000 cost of the new boat slips out of the New Capital Reserve after reallocating funds from the very flush Operating Fund, that was replenished with a $1.45 million surplus in the year that ended this past April 30. Reallocating revenues from the operating fund to the New Capital Reserve requires a super majority vote of the directors, or five of seven directors, and Viola in comments to the Progress in August said that he was hopeful that would happen at the board’s September meeting. More recently, however, he said it may not be necessary because the New Capital reserve is not lacking for funds currently. He said he would discuss the issue with the Budget and Finance Advisory Committee. The additional boat slips, which would be available for transient use only at the Yacht Club marina, has had the enthusiastic support of Food and Beverage Manager Ralph DeAngelus of the Matt Ortt Companies and Harbormaster Ron Fisher, both of whom believe the new slips will increase revenues at their respective operations, Viola told the Progress in August. The transient boaters who would moor their craft in the new boat slips would be drawn to the Yacht Club for food and drinks and would also buy gasoline for their boats at the marina, Viola said. The slips can’t be used for traditional slip rentals because the OPA has maxed out the number of parking spaces at the Yacht Club that are tied to the number of boat slips in the marina. The Budget and Finance Advisory Committee had been somewhat lukewarm towards the project, with some of its members viewing the marina expansion as a lower priority project. They have questioned how the transient nature of the new slips would be managed in practice, with some suggesting that a two-hour time limit on the slips would be difficult to enforce. None of those concerns were raised at the board level during the Sept. 15 meeting.

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 15

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OCEAN PINES

Commitee releases community survey Board avoids 11th hour micro-management of content By TOM STAUSS Publisher he 1st Sept. 23 release of a comJanuary munity survey by the Stratethru January 18th. Advisory We will Comgic Planning open January 19th. mittee occurred a few days earlier than initially anticipated. The Board of Directors, during its regular monthly meeting Sept. 15,

approved the survey and nominal funding for it in a unanimous 7-0 vote. When OPA President Larry Perrone raised the possibility of a delay in sending out the survey because he suggested the directors had not yet seen or had time to review the survey questions, the committee’s

board liaison, Colette Horn, quickly corrected him. “I sent you (all the directors) the survey (in e-mail),” she told Perrone. “It was there (for review prior to the meeting) for the board to make a decision today” to proceed with approval. When Perrone said that there was

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no motion on the agenda to proceed with the survey’s release, Horn said she had been told -- by whom she did not say -- that no motion would be necessary because the board would simply approve the survey and associated costs by consensus. But she quickly offered a motion to approve the survey’s distribution and the associated cost and staff time necessary to make it happen. It wasn’t clear if directors other than Perrone hadn’t seen the survey questions. But it didn’t seem to matter, and Perrone made no effort to block the vote to proceed. Earlier in the meeting, committee co-chair Bernie McGorry said the goal of the committee is for at least 1,000 Ocean Pines property owners to respond to the survey, divided equally between full-time residents of Ocean Pines and part-timers. He also said it will be a goal to obtain a good sampling of younger families to obtain a better cross-section of the OPA membership. The survey should take no more than 15 minutes, McGorry said, but there have been reports that about five minutes will suffice for some. According to McGorry, a previous survey of residents was skewed to full-time residents and those of an older demographic, which he implied may have resulted in inaccurate survey results. He didn’t mention that the previous survey had been delayed amid extensive board involvement in drafting and rewriting survey questions, something that was avoided this time. McGorry said the survey will be conducted mostly on-line using Survey Monkey software that has been tested and found efficacious. Staff under direction of Marketing and Public Relations Director Josh Davis will be sending out email and press releases containing links to the survey. McGorry said that hard copies of the survey will also be available at the Administration Building, the Publics Works/CPI office, and the Parke Clubhouse for those without access to a personal computer or phone. The survey will be used by the committee in its effort to produce a new Strategic Plan for the OPA, with a preliminary draft that could be presented to the board of direc-

OCEAN PINES tors for review by the end of the year. The plan will be designed to provide strategic planning over the next three-to-five years. McGorry has said that a strategic plan, among other things, should help better align the board and management on key principles and directions, and help communicate that direction more clearly. “The timing of [the strategic plan] is really going to be based on when we get the survey results back,” he said in comments several months ago. “We’d love to get this done before the budgeting process … but it’s really going to be based on how many surveys we get back and when we get them back. “Once we finish up the survey, we’ll be able to really say, ‘Here’s a summary of all our work’ … and hopefully it’ll be just really crystal clear on what the strategy should be,” he added. Committee members developed the survey after months of research, including detailed comparisons with neighboring homeowners’ associations, a SWOT analysis — or lists of strengths weaknesses, opportunities and threats — collected from Ocean Pines department heads, and input from other Ocean Pines advisory committees. “We also had some great input on the survey from residents,” committee Co-Chairman Moe Delcher said. To take the survey, visit www. oceanpines.org and click on the “Community Survey” link at the top of the page. Reminder cards with a QR code link to the survey will also be available at several locations in Ocean Pines. Those who wish to fill out a paper copy of the survey may do so by emailing info@oceanpines.org, or calling the administration office at 410-641-7717. Paper copies will also be available at the administration building and Public Works/CPI office, and at the visitor’s center at The Parke. “The goal was to make the survey easy to find and simple to take part in,” McGorry said. “And the data we collect, we hope, will help align Board members and management on priorities for the next three-tofive years, and give homeowners a say on that.” McGorry said individual survey responses will be strictly confidential, and the overall results will be shared at a future town hall meeting and on the Ocean Pines Web site.

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 17

Debbie Tingle promoted

The board of directors of First Shore Federal Savings and Loan Association recently elected Debbie Tingle of Salisbury to the position of vice president. She also serves as branch manager of the association’s Ocean Pines branch, Worcester County district officer, and First Shore’s security officer. She has been with First Shore for more than 40 years serving in a variety of increasingly responsible positions during those years and has been a member of the management team for more than thirty years. A multiple recipient of the association’s employee award program, she has been active with many community groups including the United Way, March of Dimes, Junior Achievement and Red Cross.“We are most pleased that the board has recognized Debbie Tingle for her many contributions and essential role with our association,” said Marty Neat, president and CEO. “She has managed our very successful Ocean Pines branch since it was opened while also supervising branch managers in several other communities. Perhaps most impressive is that many of her employees at Ocean Pines have continued to progress with our association and hold responsible positions in their own right.” She lives in Salisbury with her husband Dick, has two grown children and four grandchildren.

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18 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021

‘Flight turf’ option proposed alternative to lethal geese control Committee proposes test area at North Gate pond

By ROTA L. KNOTT Contributing Writer lanting a turfgrass that wildlife doesn’t find tasty could help keep geese from congregating in hot spots around Ocean Pines, including at the Veterans Memorial at the South Gate and the North Gate pond. The Environment and Natural Assets Advisory Committee is recommending the Ocean Pines Association plant a test patch of Flight Turf, a patented and proprietary turfgrass blend that is used at airfields, to determine if it is an effective goose management tool. Director Tom Janasek, the committee’s board liaison, presented the topic for discussion during the monthly Board of Directors meeting Sept. 15. “They don’t like the taste of it,” Janasek said of geese and the

grass. “We’re looking at possibly doing some initial testing around the North Gate pond.” He was careful to note that the item was only on the board’s agenda for discussion and not a motion since he had only recently provided his fellow directors with a packet of information about Flight Turf. “It’s not a motion; it’s just a discussion,” he said, adding, “I figured you’d want to read up on it first.” He he pointed out the expenditure for a trail planting around the North Gate pond would fall under the threshold for requiring board approval, as it would only be $2,600 per acre. Janasek said the Environment and Natural Assets Advisory Committee has been investigating options for goose control on OPAowned properties and Flight Turf

emerged as a viable option. “We’ve been looking into ways of controlling the geese. We had issues with it years ago especially around the Veterans Memorial.” Controversy erupted when the OPA opted to take lethal action to reduce the goose population, and he said the committee wants to avoid that happening again. Removing and euthanizing geese in Ocean Pines has generated more irate calls to OPA than perhaps any other issue over the decades. “It’s patented grass that geese don’t like the flavor of. That’s all it is. And deer don’t either,” Janasek said. “They would go somewhere else.” He said it would also help to reduce the potential for transmission of Lyme disease by deer ticks since the deer do not like the grass. Flight Turf is a turf grass mix-

OCEAN PINES ture that was developed for use by airports specifically to prevent geese from flying into planes, Janasek said. The committee is recommending reseeding a test area at the North Gate pond where the geese congregate to see how well it deters the birds during the following year. He added that it is not an inexpensive fix, at $2,600 an acre not including the in-house expenditure for Public Works time to remove the existing grass and plant the Flight Turf. “That’s one of the issues we would have to discuss and find out what the process would be,” he told his fellow board members. “There’s a lot of good things about it. Obviously, it’s an expense. But if it works there it would be something that could be planted around the Veterans Memorial in order to keep the geese from congregating there and that’s where our biggest issue is all around the Veterans Memorial and the path around the south pond,” he said. Janasek said another benefit to the Flight Turf grass versus tradiTo Page 20

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 19

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From Page 18 tional grass is that it requires less maintenance after it is planted. Instead of requiring a cut every two weeks, it is cut twice or three times a year. “It doesn’t take as much water to keep it alive and growing. And it’s a low grass. It doesn’t grow as fast and doesn’t grow as high,” he said. OPA President Larry Perrone said during a recent golf outing at the nearby River Run club he noticed fake foxes on the golf course being used to deter geese. “I saw fake foxes out all around the water and in the whole round I saw one goose,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s a feasible option.” “We’ve looked at every option,” Janasek responded. “The thing about the geese, they’re smart enough to know if you don’t move the foxes. If you leave them in the same place for over two weeks, the geese will show back up.” He said the committee has explored numerous goose control methods and believes the Flight Turf may be a viable solution to the OPA’s ongoing challenges with geese

around the ponds. “We’ve looked at every single thing you can imagine for geese deterrents for keeping them away from the ponds,” he said. He said another option would be to allow the grass around the ponds to grow several feet tall to deter the geese. He said they will not go into the tall grass because they can’t see if any predators are in the area. But he added that allowing the grass to grow tall would be unattractive and interfere with use and enjoyment of the ponds. “In light of all this work the committee has done looking at other alternatives that the committee seems to be ruling out, I think it would be instructive for the board to be educated about what those other options are and what the balance of positives to negatives are,” Director Colette Horn said. She said the information provided would help in supporting the committee’s recommendation that the board not consider those other options but to pursue use of Flight Turf as a goose deterrent. Horn suggested Janasek ask the u

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Steen begins lot sales in Triple Crown Estates Street paving scheduled for November, developer says

By TOM STAUSS Publisher t took over a year after he first announced his intentions “to go back to the future” with a 60lot subdivision that he was able to market and sell Phase I of Triple Crown Estates, the 92-acre development that, with the recent approval of its Declaration of Restrictions by the Ocean Pines Association, is the newest residential section in Ocean Pines. Developer Marvin Steen in August of last year announced that he was abandoning plans to built duplex homes on the property, which is bordered to the north by part of Section 10 in Ocean Pines and Gum Point to the south. To the west is a parcel owned by the Mid-Shore Family YMCA, property once owned by Steen and his wife Beverly that

Geese control From Page 20 committee to prepare a report and summary of goose control option that it has reviewed and submit it to the board for its discussion at its October meeting. Director Frank Daly didn’t want to waste a month to discuss the proposal and seemed ready to endorse the test planting of Flight Turf at the September meeting. “If it’s good, we don’t want to lose the year,” he said, At a cost of just $2,600 an acre, Daly said it will not be that costly to test plant the Flight Turf. He said the entire grassy area at the North Gate pond can’t be more than three or four acres. “If this seed really is recommended to be planted in the fall and we wait until the next board meeting which is going to be October, is there a danger we’re going to lose the planting season?” Janasek responded that it is a very durable seed and can be planted later in the fall. He didn’t see waiting a month to discuss moving forward with the proposal would be detrimental. “It won’t just die if it gets a cold spell,” he said, adding that the grass is also salt water tolerant. “That’s why is really good for our area.” He also said waiting a month for further discussion of the issue will

was part of a drama 20 years ago vide development of the project into started, about half of the lots althat finally has resulted in the an- two phases, each with 30 lots, with ready have buyers, Steen said. Paving of the roads in the first nexation of the Steen property into lot sales currently limited to Phase I. phase should occur sometime in NoOcean Pines. Building out of Phase I includes vember. Road construction and pavThe plan to go with 30 duplexes for a total of 60 townhomes on the the construction of roads in that ing of Phase II roads should occur property dated back to at least 2015. area, most prominently the exten- next year when lot sales open up for It took years to secure the neces- sion of King Richard Road in Section that phase, Steen said. The lots currently for sale in sary permits to proceed with that 10, which will be the only access to July 2 OPINION approach, but by the time that had Triple Crown Estates other than an Triple Crown Estates are larger fession reportedly sets a range of 30 to 70 percent as Clarke points to Election anacceptable unpaved limits road forthan typically foundClub in Ocean occurred theCommentary market had already emergency exit, within ACCthose funding. The OPA deficits. Clark From Page 52 currently its replacement reserve at the100 lowfeet end byedition of the Prog changed. Buyers were eager to buy that feeds into Route funds 589 from the Pines, roughly 125 feet, by the multitude of candidates. of the “acceptable” range. should be used for a larger lots for single-family homes, property. more than a third of an acre. Supik is seen as a Thompson cheerleader, and For what it’s worth, Thompson reportedly has Let’s look at the t someone mold of Pete Gomsak, a former board recommended 50 percent of the ACC, beextension Steen saidinathe year ago. Construction of the King Rich- funding Construction of to the open. AnofOPA mem member and current assistant OPA treasurer very achieved over ten years; the recommendation is conSteen announced that his com- ard Road extension began this past King Richard Road began30, this2016, past (end-of-fi statement to conclu much aligned with the Terry-Jacobs faction. tained in a document that the board majority won’t panyBoth would be selling estate lots on accountants, spring. spring. There continues not to be no performed well Gomsak and Supik are retired let him release to the OPA membership. The statement is both are identifi ed with the notion that OPAAreserves 50 percent funding u the property to individuals or buildmonth afterAmarketing the lotslevel still would require a sigsite (under forms an are underfunded, and both are wedded to the idea nificant increase in the lot assessment, over a number ers then be freeshould to build Operational statem thatwho the would OPA’s reserve levels be tied to someof years, and talking about assessment increases is appear in departm thing called the annual component cost (ACC), a comnever popular, especially during election season. homes on their newly purchased annual audited fina putational confection conceived and embraced by the The rationale for keeping the document secret, achomes and profession. become members of the August. The unaudi accounting cording to Thompson, is that it is a working document the “official” ones a Gomsak and Terry tried to persuade Supik to run involved in the updating and completion of the OPA’s OPA in so doing. The Yacht Club’s for the board last year, failing to do so, but they sucongoing reserve study. He recently told the Progress he $76,219; a year earl ceeded this year. That’s absurd, because the document itself is comBeautiful Wooded Golf Course Lot Granted, the yea anyone is the anointed candidate andIf son Greg Steen decided to di-of this particu- plete and has been referenced in one or two board

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nificant, but a loss lar faction, it’s Supik in spades. meetings. Property owners paid for that document, hefty funded depr Supik has said that, as chairman of the Budget and and it ought to be released immediately. ing) this past year Finance Advisory Committee, she is used to navigating Thompson seems willing to release it, but he’s bethrough the annual in very roiled waters, forginginformaa consensus in a group ing stymied by some of his board overseers, who in give him time to gather Supik could hav with, at times, sharply conflicting views. this instance prefer secrecy over disclosure and transtion about the cost for Public Works had she indulged i Other candidates over the years have said that parency. Perhaps they fear that the Thompson recomcrews to remove the now, existing grass most recentl numbe they, like Supik claims can end board factionalmendation could become an election issue, adversely Supik also seem ismthe andNorth infighting. Itpong continues, despite the best efaffecting certain candidates, particularly Supik, who at Gate and plant (rather than repairi forts of those who say they can end it. has been open in her viewpoint that OPA reserves are theFactional new seed. He said they could nities, with the Cou infighting will probably continue regardunderfunded. current minority fac less of who is elected this year. goes with the terWhat they don’t seem to realize is that by keepsimply aerate the ground and Itoverit’s not certain whe ritory. It becomes ugly when the infighting becomes ing it secret, it could also have the effect of adversely seed so the Flight Turf overtakes part of the majorit personal, such as when one director says he’s going to affecting certain candidates, particularly Supik, even Ocean Pines South Gate 11001 Manklin Meadows Lane, Ocean Pines MD 21811 throw a colleague the existing grass.through the wall for the temerity more so than if they had allowed Thompson to release strongly biased in th The candidates m of seeing issues differently. his recommendations, and their rationales, to the OPA General Manager John Viola said continued tenure a Ocean Pines’ ACC has been estimated at roughly membership. mon, Daly, $14 million, which could mean that OPA reserves Supik also has come under fire from board ©2021 BHHare Aﬃliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchisee of BHH former Aﬃliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway Home- Ray Ung Public Works staff will research Services and of the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marksto of HomeServices Inc.® Equal who like t underfunded by $10 million if 100 percent funding member Clarke for her public statements the effectof America,Those Flight Turf and see what’s involved Housing Opportunity. that the OPA and the Ocean Pines Yacht Club is doing tions. Perhaps too m the ACC is the goal. in replacing grasstowith it. accounting pro- well financially. tion season. – Tom S Actually, itexisting doesn’t have be; the

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22 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021 Triple Crown Estates From Page 21 plans for direct access to the property from Route 589 or Gum Point Road. The existing gravel road from the property to Route 589 will be used for emergency access only, according to earlier agreements between the county, the Ocean Pines Association and Steen. A wastewater force main already runs through the property, having been extended from the Ocean Downs casino property years ago. The sewer line runs through the Steen property and along King Richard Road to a connection on Ocean Parkway. Water, electric and fiber optic lines for high-speed Internet and cable television is part of the

phase development currently underway. “There are a lot more people who want a bigger lot to build a single-family lot on than who want a duplex,” Steen said more than a year ago. After years of marketing the duplex concept, he determined that either it was not going to work or would take too long to build out. “A developer who doesn’t understand his market isn’t going to be successful,” Steen said a year ago. He knows a lot about success, having developed the two Wood Duck Isle sections in Ocean Pines, which are comprised mostly of single-family homes along with duplex canal-front townhouses. Lot buyers can work with Steen

OCEAN PINES SECTION 10

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N ESTATES

OCEAN PINES Triple Crown street name changes nixed

orcester County officials recently asked Ocean Pines Association directors whether they wanted certain changes in street names in the new Triple Crown Estates section of Ocean Pines to avoid confusion with similar street names elsewhere in Ocean Pines. At their Sept. 15 meeting, directors decided to keep the street names as proposed by developer Marvin Steen -- Belmont Court and Seattle Slew Lane. OPA President Larry Perrone said he was OK with the names as proposed by Steen, and no other director had a problem with that. Builders on their new home projects or can work with other contractors, he added. “This approach will result in a faster build-out,” he said. Under the duplex approach, the plan was for Steen to build out the duplexes in response to demand.

The tax map at left shows the two Steen parcels that make up the 92-acre Triple Crown Estates. One borders the Mid Delmarva property and the other is the triangle shaped property next to that. The Steenowned parcel adjacent to the triangle-shaped property is forested and is not currently planned for development.

Steen said last year that he didn’t believe the change in plans from duplexes to single-family homes would require a lot of new approvals from the county. Even so, it took about a year to secure all what was needed. “I’m just going back to a plan that had been approved years ago,” he said. The new single-family “faster build-out” approach in possible cooperation with area builders should be good news to the OPA, which will receive $6,500 whenever a lot sale goes to settlement. At $6,500 per lot, the OPA is in line to receive $390,000 from the sale of lots in Triple Crown Estates. Once all 60 lots are sold, the OPA’s inventory of assessable lots will increase from the current 8,542 to 8,602. Owners of property in that section will pay the estate lot assessment approved by the OPA Board of Directors every year. The change to single-family development ended a process beginning in 2015 in which Steen engaged in a protracted approval process to convert Triple Crown Estates into a duplex townhouse development. It had concluded in October of 2017 when the county’s Technical Review Committee reviewed a final plat and construction plans.

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 23

OCEAN PINES It didn’t require full Planning Commission approval because the “final” plat conformed exactly to a “preliminary” plat submitted earlier in the process. The Worcester County commissioners approved the duplex concept in a vote taken in 2015, with the full support of the OPA at the time. The OPA Board of Directors in May of that year wrote a letter of support for the duplex version of the project because the directors determined that he characteristics of the development remained the same as originally proposed with the 60 single-family home design. By an agreement negotiated with the OPA as part of a failed effort to develop a Northern Worcester County YMCA in 2002, the $6,500 per unit payment to the OPA was determined. That payment is compensation

to the OPA for equivalent dwelling units reserved to Steen for water and wastewater treatment, EDUs that at one time had been reserved for use by the OPA by the county. EDUs are equvilalent dwelling units. The property is partially located in the Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area, about 55 acres, and received a county growth allocation for 60 units years ago. Extensive environmental work, as well as analysis of stormwater measures, buffer protection measures, traffic and other planning concerns was performed during the growth allocation approval process. In redesigning the project, the developer was able to preserve woodlands, tidal and non-tidal wetlands and create natural buffers. to create additional forested area around streams on the site. Nearly

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Board approves covenants for Triple Crown Estates There’s lots of history behind annexation of Steen development into Ocean Pines By TOM STAUSS Publisher hen the Board of Directors by unanimous e-mail vote between the regularly scheduled meetings in August and September ratified a new set of Declaration of Restrictions, or restrictive covenants as they are sometimes called, for the Triple Crown Estates sub-division in South Ocean Pines, the directors were concluding a process that began a little more than 20 years ago. What the directors might not have known is all the history behind this property, which local developer Steen Associates is in the process of building out as a new Ocean Pines residential section with 60 estate building lots. Construction of streets including extension of Section 10’s King Richard Road began earlier this year. Water and sewer infrastructure to serve the new community was installed several years as part of a county plan to accommodate additional development along the Route 589 corridor. The annexation of the Triple

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Crown Estates property into the Ocean Pines subdivision was anticipated in 2002, as part of a deal that was supposed to bring about the construction of a north county YMCA on a parcel then owned by Steen Associates. The 26-acre parcel was conveyed by Steen Associates to the MidShore Family YMCA, based in Salisbury. The contract said that if the “facility” wasn’t built within a five years from the date of the July, 10, 2002 contract, the acreage was supposed to be conveyed to the OPA by the Mid-Shore Family YMCA. Five years came and went with no new YMCA, as the organization created to bring it about, the Committee to Bring a YMCA to Northern Worcester County, foundered on the death of its original chairman, James G. Barrett of Berlin. The Mid-Shore Family YMCA erected some sort of platform on the site rather than a building housing recreational activities normally associated with a YMCA. When the OPA came calling for title to the property, the organization refused to convey the property to the OPA after the five years expired. Litigation ensued. The OPA lost, the victim of a self-inflicted wound resulting from a less than precise definition of the term “facility” in the contract. The OPA General Counsel Joseph Moore argued in vain that the term “facility” was understood by all parties involved in the arrangement, but the judge hearing the case disagreed. It was for him far too vague a term. The Mid-Shore YMCA kept the property. It’s designated on the county’s tax map as the legal owner of the parcel. There was other odd language in the agreement, a provision that called for the “reversion” of the YMCA parcel to the OPA if a building permit “is not issued to the facilu

24 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021 Historic annexation From Page 23 ity within five years from the date of conveyance from Steen.” The problem with this language is that the property could never “revert” to OPA ownership because the OPA never had title to it. While this part of the 2002 contract was an unmitigated disaster from a number of perspectives, another part of it has unfolded more or less the way the agreement was written. The agreement said that Steen had agreed to convey a parcel of land to the YMCA provided that Steen was “enabled to develop the remainder” of the property and that the OPA would consent to the “annexation” of the Steen acreage following the transfer of OPA-controlled EDUs, or equivalent dwelling units, of treatment capacity at the county-owned Ocean Pines Wastewater Treatment Plant. It was somewhat odd language, because at the time there was some doubt that the OPA was in any position to “convey” EDUs that in fact were controlled by the county. Never again has the county been

willing to concede that point by giving the OPA the ability to impose an EDU fee on developers whose projects connect to the Ocean Pines water and wastewater system. That’s a privilege exclusively reserved to the county as the owner/ operator of the treatment plant. The best case for the OPA was that a certain number of EDUs had been reserved for the Ocean Pines subdivision, and the OPA was in effect agreeing to release up to 60 EDUs to accommodate future Steen development. That conveyance came with a cost that continues to this day. Future buyers of the estate lots within Triple Crown Estates will be obligated to pay the OPA a one-time fee of $6,500 at settlement, an amount spelled out in the agreement. Until such time as a lot is sold by Steen to an individual buyer, the fee is not owed. With the filing of the covenants for Triple Crown Estates in the land records of Snow Hill, it arguably has been officially annexed into Ocean Pines. “A declaration of restrictions in a mutually satisfactory form to OPA and Steen will be set in place upon

OCEAN PINES the ‘annexation’ of the area to and within the Ocean Pines subdivision, which said Declaration shall be duly recorded among the Worcester County land records,” the contract says. The OPA Board of Directors and Steen and attorneys for both hammered out the section’s new DRs during, before and after a special meeting in July held in the new golf clubhouse. Representing Steen: Joe Moore, the same attorney who had a hand in crafting the contract in 2002 as general counsel to the OPA. The 2002 contract says that all lots within the subdivision will be considered “estate” lots and future owners will pay an annual lot as-

sessment consistent with other estate lot assessments in Ocean Pines. There are currently 77 non-waterfront estates lots in Ocean Pines, whose owners pay an annual assessment of $1,494. Once fully sold-out, there will be 137 non-water estate lots in the community. Steen Associates recently began marketing the 60 estate lots in Triple Crown Estates, following issuance of various permits by the Worcester County planning and permits department. As late as last year, Steen had intended to market the property as a 60-unit townhouse project, but abandoned that approach in response to market conditions.

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OCEAN PINES

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 25

Brooks Ensor resigns as chair of OPA’s Aquatics committee Cites differences over ‘direction’ of committee and Aquatics Department By TOM STAUSS Publisher eclining to offer a detailed explanation for why he was resigning as chair and member of the Ocean Pines Association’s Aquatics Advisory Committee three months after his appointment, Brooks Ensor confirmed he was leaving in remarks to the Progress Sept. 17. He said he made the resignation official a few days before that in a letter to OPA President Larry Perrone. Ensor said “differences over the direction of the committee and the Aquatics Department” led to his decision. Declining to fill in details of those differences, he said he might offer some comments later depending on what he observes in the weeks and

months ahead. He continues to be an Ocean Pines aquatics member. The committee hasn’t met in any of the months following Ensor’s appointment, he said. Frank Daly, the committee’s liaison to the Board of Directors, said in a text in response to a Progress inquiry Sept. 16 that no decision has been made on a replacement for Ensor. “I’m going to meet the with the committee when I return from Florida to discuss sometime during the week of Sept. 27, schedules permitting,” he said. Ensor’s appointment as chairman had been somewhat counter intuitive, as he had been hired as a swimming instructor at Captain’s Cove, the community on the Maryland-Virginia line where former OPA Department head Colby Phil-

lips now works as senior general manager. Ensor has 50 years of experience teaching swimming and as an aquatics facility executive, including quite a few years in Ocean Pines. He hadn’t been serving as a swimming instructor in Ocean Pines for some time, however. He had a good working relationship with Phillips over the years. She was the Aquatics Director in Ocean Pines before current Director Kathleen Cook. It’s no secret that Ensor and Cook had not been on the best of terms even before Phillips’s departure from Ocean Pines in March. The board’s appointment of Ensor as chairman of the committee set up an awkward dynamic in which two individuals who did not mesh well would be collaborating as committee chair and department head.

In the end, neither were forced to give that a try. Ensor was appointed committee chairman in a unanimous vote at the board’s June 16 meeting, on the recommendation of Daly. The appointment was a formality, as Ensor had been asked by Perrone whether he would accept the position at a meeting of the committee in May. Ensor accepted on the spot, replacing Kathy Grimes, whose extended year as a committee member expired at the end of 2020. Daly asked Perrone to attend and preside over the transition to a new chairman, Daly told the Progress. “I understand that [Grimes’s replacement] came as a shock,” Daly said at the time. “But rules are rules. It was nothing personal.” Under OPA governing documents, committee members can serve three terms, starting with three years and extendable in two-year and one-year increments. Under unusual circumstances, a member can serve a final one-year extension, but after that he or she is supposed to take time off or join another committee. u

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26 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021 Ensor resignation From Page 25 Grimes had been serving a final one-year extension. Perrone invited her to continue to attend meetings and offer insights, but she “won’t be able to vote,” Daly said. According to the OPA’s Web site, Ensor’s first term was set to expire in November of this year. The OPA Web site also lists Annemarie Wolfsheimer as a thirdterm member whose third term (one-year) expires on Dec. 17 of this year. She submitted an application for a one-year extension, and it was approved by the board during the June 16 meeting. Ellen Hench and Steve Cohen also were added to the committee as a first-term member by unanimous vote of the board at the June board meeting, but without the endorsement of Ensor, perhaps because prior to the meeting he was not officially chairman. Application forms for membership on OPA advisory committees include endorsement lines by both the committee chair and board liaison. The applications for Hench and Cohen included in the June 16 meeting materials posted on the OPA Website show Daly’s endorsement, with the committee chair endorsement line left blank. Daly said much of the May committee meeting consisted of a explanation of health and safety concerns raised by the committee in recent months about pool operations that Perrone “professionally” addressed point by point. OPA General Manager John Viola also attended the meeting, as did Cook. Both Daly and Viola said that Perrone did an excellent job of explaining that Cook and her staff were following health department rules and have an excellent working relationship with their inspectors and other staff. “I believe Larry addressed all of their concerns, and did so very professionally,” Daly said. While not able to say for certain whether all committee members were convinced, he said going forward he thought there would be a productive working relationship between the committee and staff. While Ensor declined to say one way or the other, his stated reason for resigning as chair and member of the committee suggests he was not convinced by Perrone.

OCEAN PINES

OCEAN PINES BRIEFS OPA still awaiting pickleball permits

General Manager John Viola had intended to bring a proposal for four new pickleball courts at the Manklin Meadows Racquet Sports Complex to the Board of Directors for a vote at the board’s Sept. 15 monthly meeting, but the proposal was conspicuously absent from the meeting agenda. It turns out that the OPA still has not received the necessary permits from the county to allow the project to proceed, Viola told the Progress in a recent text message. He said he will the bring the project for board approval whenever the permits come through. Viola said recently that the four pickleball court have been moved from an earlier spot closer to the baseball field to another position on the other side of the existing pickleball courts, Viola said. They’re in this year’s capital budget, as part of a $172,000 allocation out of the New Capital Reserve. If the board approves, staff will be seeking three bids for the pickleball courts, he said. Viola said a junior tennis court that initially had been packaged with the four new pickleball courts has been deleted from the project, in part because of insufficient room for it. The general manager said that after reconsideration, Recreation and Parks Director Debbie Donahue concluded that the previous proposed site for both the pickleball courts and junior tennis were too close to the ball field.

Beach Club kitchen upgrade productive

OPA Secretary and Board Member Camilla Rogers asked John Viola during his General Manager’s report at the Sept. 15 Board of Directors meeting whether upgrades to the second floor of the Ocean Pines Beach Club have been cost-effective. Kitchen upgrades and other cosmetic improvements to the upper levels were completed early in the tenure of the Matt Ortt Companies to make the facility usable for weddings and other banquet events. Viola replied that the investment has turned out to be worthwhile, citing a wedding that had just taken place at the Beach Club the weekend prior. “They’ll grow it,” Viola said of the potential for more banquet business at the Beach Club and the other two food and beverage venues operated by MOC for the OPA. He said that post-covid MOC has been “knocking it out of the park” with weddings and other banquet/ group events.

Board approves CPI roof maintenance

Recent months have been relatively quiet on the compliance front in Ocean Pines, at least as it’s measured by the number of complaints that have made it up to the board level for resolution. Under new CPI (compliance, permits and inspections) procedures, most CPI matters are resolved at the departmental level or are handled by OPA attorneys. About the only issues that still come to the board for resolution are situations in which management needs board approval to authorize OPA Public Works or hired contractors to enter onto private property to fix problems, with the cost passed on to the property owner. A two thirds vote of the board is required to make that happen. General Manager John Viola brought a roof maintenance issue at 38 Cresthaven Driver to the board for review at the Sept. 15 monthly meeting. The board voted unanimously to permit a contractor hired by the OPA at a cost of roughly $200 to remove moss and algae from the roof of the home.

Board approves change to C-04

A minor change to Board Resolution C-04 pertaining to the functions of the By-laws and Resolutions Advisory Committee was approved on second reading at the Sept. 15 Board of Directors meeting, after Director Colette Horn suggested a minor tweak to the proposed minor change. As proposed, the amendment would have given the committee the authority to assist the board in “compliance with the ‘Resolution Procedures’ that are an attachment to [Board] Resolution B-01.” Horn said the committee has no authority to assist the board in compliance matters, and other directors agreed. Director Doug Parks suggested “in adherence to” to replace “compliance with,” and the change was approved 7-0. The board also approved on second reading an updated version of Board Resolution B-06 that pertains to the purpose, authority and function of the Communications Advisory Committee.

Ocean Pines Boat Club Fall Meeting

The Ocean Pines Boat Club annual fall general meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 20, in the Assateague Room of the Ocean Pines Community Center. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for socializing and light refreshments. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Speaker is Lyndsey Odachowski, owner of Medical Cannabis Dispensary, Positive Energy, on Route 50 in West Ocean City. Her subject is Medical Cannabis in Maryland. The public is invited.

OCEAN PINES

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 27

Diller request for forensic audit of controversial emails in limbo She intends to pursue the issue once election is settled By TOM STAUSS Publisher he results of the Ocean Pines Association election has been in a state of uncertainty for weeks, but that doesn’t mean that former OPA Director Esther Diller intends to let the issue of who sent emails she believes were sent out in an attempt to discredit her and her husband’s candidacy fade away. “Once the election is decided, I will ask the new board to follow up on my request,” she said recently. “What was done was wrong, should never be done to a member of this association. This past July, information came to light that computers linked to a former OPA general manager who worked in the Administration Building may have been used to discredit former OPA Director Esther Diller and, by extension, the candidacy of her husband, Stuart Lakernick, for the Board of Directors. Emails under the moniker “OP Truth and Justice” that painted Diller in an unfavorable light began showing up in the inboxes of Ocean Pines residents and the Administration building in June. There were reports of hard copies showing up in mailboxes as well, with no way to measure the extent of the distribution. The emails were sent by an anonymous user or users using an offshore account, optruthandjustice@ protonmail.com. The company, ProtonMail, is based in Geneva, Switzerland. It’s well known for encrypt-

ing emails before saving them to its servers, making it difficult to trace the identities of those using its service. In mid-July, Diller said a personal friend with expertise in tracking IP addresses of emails had been able to trace the “Truth and Justice” emails to 21 computers used by the Ocean Pines Association and linked to a former OPA general manager whose name she declined to identify. That former GM had offices in the Administration building. Her forensic expert said in an email forwarded to the Progress that “reducing those [21 computers] down shows three active contributors,” adding that “the IP address is in Geneva, Switzerland. Tracking it goes to Liepzig, Germany,” and then to the 21 and three OPA computers. “After an intensive search, whittling down the IP addresses [further] the name is [the former OPA general manager],” according to the email. Diller said she doesn’t think current General Manager John Viola had anything to do with sending out the Truth and Justice emails, but “it is definitely confirmed it’s his computer. Find out who’s using his computer and you have your suspect.” She later clarified that her expert friend says there are 21 computers linked to this one individual no longer employed by the OPA. “I am not accusing any individual of sending out anonymous emails. I am simply and factually providing information about what is known

so far, and I am asking the board -respectfully and professionally -- to authorize a forensic investigation into the origin of the emails, based on what my expert has uncovered so far,” she said. Four directors who responded to a Progress inquiry on whether they supported further investigation into the emails supported it, but with nuanced differences. One -- Larry Perrone -- dismissed it out of hand, flatly saying “we’re not going to do an investigation” and that the OPA may lack the “capability of doing one.” Diller called that notion absurd. “It would take 15 minutes if that to determine if any ‘truth and justice’ emails are on our servers,” she said, acknowledging that it might be possible to attempt to delete any trace of them, adding that forensic experts might be able to recover them if that happened. OPA Treasurer and former president Doug Parks said he would support an investigation, but he expressed uncertainty about whether it should be conducted before or after election results are known. Frank Daly, a candidate for the board this summer, did not dismiss the need for an investigation out of hand but said that it should be handled by the General Manager, with no involvement by the board. Director Tom Janasek said he was 100 percent in favor of an investigation if Diller has “actual proof” that OPA computers were used to send out anonymous email.

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Directors Colette Horn and Frank Brown did not respond to the Progress request for comment. Camilla Rogers sent back a crisp no comment. Daly’s response was, to say the least, provocative. “There is no need for Board involvement or approval of any investigation. The General Manager is the Chief Personnel Officer of the Association and is empowered by our bylaws to follow up and investigate any accusation of wrong-doing within the Association. The Board would only be involved if the accusation was directed at the GM or a member of the Board. If such accusations were made I would support an investigation and would expect all other Board members to be in agreement. “I have not discussed this with the GM and have no intentions of doing so. I fully expect him to work with the Association HR Staff and others as necessary to investigate Diller’s accusations. In previous situations that I am aware of the GM has fulfilled his obligations to investigate complaints and has done so in a thorough, professional manner... “I will provide this caveat. Diller, the organization she founded - Ocean Pines – Get Involved, and the candidates that she and her organization have recruited have made a number of unfounded accusations, misleading statements, and outright lies during the course of the past several months. The most recent being an accusation of favoritism and bias by the Elections Committee that was totally debunked by the candidates themselves. As such I would expect that any serious expenditure of Association time, resources or money be preceded by a thorough vetting and substantiation of any ‘facts’ presented by her expert.” Diller responded mildly to Daly. “This request for an investigation has nothing to do with the candidates or the Ocean Pines - Get Involved group or even the election. It has everything to do with the possibility that Ocean Pines computers, homeowners’ mailing and email addresses were used inappropriately to target a homeowner ... “Frank Daly’s incorrect response cannot be a distraction from the real issue, which is that it is unacceptable under any circumstance for employees, OPA computers and confidential homeowner data to be used to target a homeowner. This investigation could be easily accomplished without any serious association expenditures,” she said.

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Subject to availability and price change. Minimum purchases may apply. The yield is the lesser *Asofof 06/07/2018 00/00/00. of* Asyield to maturity or yield to call. Interest is generally exempt from federal taxation and may Subject to availability and price change. Minimum purchases may apply. The yield is the lesser of yield to maturity or yield to call. Interest is generally exempt also be free taxes for forinvestors residing thelocality state locality where from federal taxationof andstate may alsoand be freelocal of state and local taxes investors residing in the stateinand/or whereand/or the bonds were issued. However, bondsbonds may be subject to federal alternative minimum taxbonds (AMT), andmay profits be and losses on tax-exempt bonds mayalternative be subject to capital tax treatment. the were issued. However, subject to federal taxgains (AMT), and Ratings by Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of a security is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold the security and may be subject to review, profi tssuspension, and losses tax-exempt bonds mayRating beAgency. subject topertains capital treatment. Ratrevision, reductionon or withdrawal at any time by the assigning Insurance only togains the timely tax payment of principal and interest. No representation is made as to any insurer’s ability to meet its financial commitments. Ratings and insurance do not remove market risk since they do ings by Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of a security is not a recommendation to not guarantee the market value of the bond. 06/07/2018 buy, selloffered or through hold Raymond the security and may be subject to review, revision, suspension, reduction or 00/00. James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Securities withdrawal at any time by the assigning Rating Agency. Insurance pertains only to the timely payment of principal and interest. No representation is made to any insurer’s ability to meet its availability and price change. Minimum purchases may apply. Thedoyield is ICDtheBS lesser of yield to maturity or yield to call. Interest is generally exempt Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., and member FINRA/SIPC 15-MFI-0113 8/15 fi©2015 nancial commitments. Ratings insurance not remove risk since they do not guarantee al taxation and may alsothebemarket free ofvalue stateof and local taxes for investors residing in the state and/or locality where the bonds were issued. However, the bond.

y be subject to federal alternative minimum tax (AMT), and profits and losses on tax-exempt bonds may be subject to capital gains tax treatment. Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FNRA/SIPC. Moody’s/Standard & Poor’s. A credit rating of a security is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold the security and may be subject to review, (c) 2015 Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC 15-MFI-0113 ICD BS 8/15 uspension, reduction or withdrawal at any time by the assigning Rating Agency. Insurance pertains only to the timely payment of principal and interpresentation is made as to any insurer’s ability to meet its financial commitments. Ratings and insurance do not removeSource: market riskOcean since theyPines do Association Department of Finance tee the market value of the bond.

third into the fiscal year, the OPA has recorded an operating fund variance of $1,122,455, with revenues over budget by $868,952 and expenses under budget by $258,313. New capital expense is over budget by $4,810. All amenities are in the black through August. Only platform tennis and marinas are behind budget for the year, but not by much. Collectively, racquet sports are doing very well compared to past years, led by a yearto-date actual net for pickleball of $43,760, ahead of budget by $17,180. Tennis finished with a positive result of $12,726 and platform tennis with a net of $5,016 through Aug. 31. Marinas remain a cash cow for the OPA,

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OPA FINANCES as they have been over the years, with $269,296 in net operations through August. That’s only $7,050 behind budget for the year. Poor weather advisories during some summer weekends were contributing factors. For August, the Yacht Club was the top producer compared to budget, recording a positive variance of $53,198, followed by Aquatics at $41,625 and golf operations at $12,053. The Yacht Club was the top net income producer for the OPA in August with a net of $154,939, followed by the Beach Club with $74,969 and golf operations with $20,648. For the year so far, the Yacht Club is ahead of budget by $261,323, followed by golf operations with a positive variance to budget of $221,821 and Aquatics with a $188,376 positive variance. The Beach Club has had an excellent summer, recording $203,327 in net income through August. That’s $64,370 ahead of budget and compares to the $111,667 in net operations through August of last year. The Beach Club’s last full month of the year is August, which means its cumulative net through the end of August is close to what it will be for the fiscal year, allowing for a few adjustments that might occur later in the year. Aquatics continues on a very positive trajectory, with $249,676 in net operations through August. That’s $188,376 ahead of budget and is a dramatic improvement over last year, when the department was in the red by $21,339 at the end of August. Aquatics is no longer the lagging indicator and a cause for concern at the board level as

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 29

OPA RESERVE SUMMARY - AUG. 31, 2021

Source: Ocean Pines Association Department of Finance

Parks outlines robust assessment collections

n his treasurer’s report delivered during the Sept. 15 Board of Directors meeting, Ocean Pines Association Treasurer Doug Parks had more good news on the financial front. He reported a 96.85 percent assessment collection rate as of August of this year, or $9.04 million out of the $9.3 million billed to OPA members. That compares to 92.4 percent collected at the same time in August of last year, during the October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 29 middle of the covid pandemic.

it was for much of last year. The new capital overage in August was the result of a Golf Clubhouse storage shed requested by the Matt Ortt Companies to store equipment used for banquets at that facility, according to General Manager John Viola. The expenditure was approved by Viola because it falls under the $15,000 spending thresh-

old requiring board approval. Status of reserves -- OPA reserves were healthy as of Aug. 31, with a balance of $7.77 million. The replacement reserve had a balance of $5.03 million, while bulkheads and waterways stood at $1.58 million, roads at $8,405, drainage at $596,640 and new capital at $282,600.

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30 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021

OPA ELECTION

Class action dropped in Farr vs. OPA case Twenty-nine co-plaintiffs join legal effort to count Farr ballots By TOM STAUSS Publisher ggrieved property owners who voted for Richard Farr in this summer’s Board of Directors election joined his suit against the Ocean Pines Association directors as a separate class action in August. In a legal tactic intended to expedite resolution of the case, in which Farr has challenged the decision by OPA Secretary Camilla Rogers rejecting his candidacy, Farr attorney Bruce Bright abandoned the class action in mid-September and instead submitted amended complaints listing some of the class action participants as co-defendants in the case. The property owners who joined the suit are self-identified as Farr voters who contend that his disqualification as a candidate for the board two weeks before the scheduled counting of the ballots the second week of August effectively disenfranchised them in this summer’s election. His disqualification resulted in their ability to vote for only one candidate in the election, rather than two. Farr told the Progress that he authorized Bright to file an amended complaint with co-plaintiffs in response a filing by Anthony Dwyer, the attorney representing the OPA in the case, objecting to the class action component of the case. Farr also said that the OPA initially had been in a hurry to count all the ballots in this summer’s election, except for his. Amending the complaint was intended to remove an area of contention between the parties in the case and to make it possible for the court to move the case along, possibly even to settle it at the scheduled Sept. 27 hearing in Worcester County Circuit Court, Farr said. There were two amended filings with co-plaintiffs filed by Farr’s attorney. His first filing, submitted to the court at the week of Sept. 5, included more than 40 plaintiffs. On Sept. 16, Bright filed a second amended complaint with 29 co-plaintiffs, in some cases married couples listed jointly. The difference in the number of co-plaintiffs was the result of Bright checking with the co-plaintiffs ver-

ifying that they wanted to join the case as co-plaintiffs. One of the co-plaintiffs, former OPA director Esther Diller and wife of board candidate Stuart Lakernick, said the original co-plaintiffs were given an opportunity to drop out and some did. Some controversy surfaced on social media questioning whether all the co-plaintiffs were aware they had been listed in court documents and had been apprised of some of the plaintiff’s legal contentions, especially those alleging bad faith on the part of the directors and Rogers in the handling of Farr’s disqualification. Farr said some of the original class action participants were more narrowly focused on the loss of one of their votes in the election after he had been disqualified. The remaining co-defendants continue to be concerned about that but have broader concerns, he said, and are willing to have their names associated with his efforts to have his eligibility as a candidate recognized by the court and his votes counted. “These are people who are willing to step up and be counted,” he said. “I thank them for their courage and support. And I totally respect the right of people who felt they needed to drop out.” The social media kerfuffle was triggered when oceanpinesforum. com publisher Joe Reynolds listed the names of the original 40-plus co-plaintiffs on his Web site. Farr, in a post on Diller’s Get Involved Facebook page, called the posting of the names on the forum “disgraceful and meddling in legal proceedings. My counsel will be sending [out]a letter” on the matter.” Bright’s letter subsequently was posted on Reynolds’s and Diller’s sites and was sent to local legacy publications, as well, with most printing it. “My sincere hope is that none of the Co-Plaintiffs will be criticized, castigated, singled out, unfairly judged, or impugned for taking an active stance in what is an important matter of public interest in Ocean Pines; and that commentary in the public domain – about them and toward them – will be fair, reasonable, accurate, and responsible.” Bright contended that “unfortu-

nately, on certain ‘blogs’ and perhaps elsewhere in the public domain (for example, the blog known as ‘Ocean Pines Forum’), there has been what in my opinion is incorrect and irresponsible commentary about the adding of the Co-Plaintiffs to the case, which either criticizes them or baits/invites criticism and judgment of them.” Reynolds told the Progress that there’s nothing wrong with publishing the names of co-plaintiffs because it’s public record “and Ocean Pines property owners have a right to know who’s suing their association.” He also took exception to the assertion that co-plaintiffs had been criticized or “baited” into dropping out as plaintiffs. “Show me where I did that,” he said, citing a post by one of his forum contributors, Amy Peck, that perhaps could be construed that way. “I am sorry you were put in this position,” Peck said in a post to one of the original co-plaintiffs, forum

member Mary Tress. “If it is any consolation, you’re are not the only Plaintiff that was not told you were going to be a Plaintiff suing [Ocean Pines] and accusing board members of wrong-doing. How ironic that this was done by a candidate [who] said that he was going to be transparent. My suggestion to you is to follow up to make sure you are actually removed from the case. Others requested to be removed have not been and fear they won’t be until the Sept. 27 hearing for optic purposes,” she concluded. Farr said that every candidate who requested to be removed had been, and that he was not too concerned with negative commentary and postings by Reynolds and others on the oceanpinesforum.com site. “I don’t think [the negativity] has gotten a lot of traction,” Farr said. “Four or five posts isn’t a lot.” Some of the original plaintiffs who asked to be removed as plaintiffs continue to support Farr and his objectives. u

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OPA ELECTION Farr vs. OPA From Page 1 included 29 co-plaintiffs that had not been included with the original filing in late July. The co-plaintiffs were Farr voters who complain that his qualification deprived them of their right to cast ballots for two of the four candidates running for the board. An earlier amended complaint had included 41 co-plaintiffs. [See story on Page 30 for details.] Judge Campen in an Aug. 31 hearing on Farr vs. OPA had urged the OPA to “do the right thing” and proceed with a count of ballots cast for all four candidates, including Farr, but stopped short of a mandate. The OPA elected not to count the ballots pending further proceedings. Prior to the Jan. 27 hearing, Dwyer had not responded in detail to the plaintiff’s second amended complaint filed on Sept. 16. In an email to the Progress, Dwyer said that no response was required because there were other pending motions before the court, including his motion to dismiss. Even with the eligibility issue, however, the competing arguments by Dwyer and Bright in this case were made fairly clear in early procedural skirmishing that involved detailed supporting briefs. Dwyer argues that Camilla Rogers, the OPA secretary who had disqualified Farr in late July, did so in accordance with OPA by-law 5.02 that specifies that a candidate for the board must be “an owner of record” on Jan. 1 of the year in which he runs for the board. He argues that an owner of record in Maryland law and according to Black’s legal dictionary is a person who holds title to a particular in public land records. Farr’s name was not on the deed for the home on Birdnest Drive in Section 6 where he lives as of Jan. 1. As acknowledged by both sides, Farr as of a Jan. 1 was a beneficiary and successor trustee of a family trust that holds title to the home. He became a full trustee of the family trust in May on the passing of his mother. In one of his filings, Dwyer argues that the doctrine of non-intervention and the business judgment rule gives deference to the OPA position in the case and compels the court not to intervene by over-ruling a good faith decision of Rogers in declaring Farr ineligible. Bright, in various briefs, contends that the by-laws section cited by Dwyer is trumped by language in the Declarations of Restrictions for

Class action

From Page 23 “I withdrew my name this morning after corresponding with Mr. Farr. I understand the point that he is making and I support his right to bring this suit. I think he is an honorable man who has much to contribute to our community, and I would still vote for him,” Mary La Spada wrote on the forum. Farr said other comments he has received privately are in this vein as well.

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 31 Section 6 that expressly recognizes “equitable and legal” ownership of property as constituting ownership for purposes of OPA membership and therefore qualification to vote in OPA elections, to run for the board and to serve as a director if elected. He argues further that Maryland law recognizes trust beneficiaries as having beneficial/equitable ownership of property held by a trust corpus. The actions of Rogers and effectively upheld by the Board of Directors “were and are not in good faith, were and are outside the scope of the Board’s legitimate and lawful decision-making and authority, involve the election of Board members, and therefore are are not protected by the “business judgment rule,” Bright says in one of his briefs. “In its decision-making as alleged above, the Secretary and/or certain (majority) members of the Board acted to disqualify Plaintiff Farr’s candidacy as they did, in the midst of the already underway election, to preserve their majority “voting bloc” on the Board, i.e., for self-interested political reasons. “In any event, the actions of the Board and/or Secretary in disqualifying Plaintiff Farr’s candidacy as they did, without lawful and proper basis, during the election, after certifying his candidacy, including his name on the distributed ballots, and holding him out publicly and repeatedly as a candidate in the election, has fundamentally undermined the integrity of the ongoing election, not just in regard to Plaintiff Farr’s candidacy but in regard to all other candidates.” Bright argues that “the integrity of the election has been undermined by Defendants’ conduct and decision-making even if they had a proper

basis to disqualify Plaintiff’s candidacy (which they did not). According to Bright, “the incorrect stance taken by Defendants in this matter has far-reaching implications not only in regard to the election presently underway, but also as to future elections. “As stated, Defendants assert that only Ocean Pines owners whose names are reflected on a deed are eligible to serve as Board members. This would mean that, in regard to the hundreds of Ocean Pines lots and units legally titled in the names of limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, limited partnerships, and other business entities, persons living in and owning the equitable interest in such lots and units (the individual members, 13 shareholders, or partners of those entities having bare legal title) could never be qualified to run for the Board,” he argued. “Stated differently, based on Defendants’ eligibility position, unlike all other Ocean Pines properties, hundreds (or more) of Ocean Pines lots and units legally titled – for any number of legitimate and lawful reasons – in the name of limited liability companies (LLCs), corporations, limited partnerships, and other business entities, would be barred entirely from ever having direct representation (or seeking direct representation) on the OPA Board,” Bright said. Dwyer had not responded specifically to these assertions prior to the Sept. 27 hearing, and during the hearing said he was not ready to do so. All parties essentially agreed that the case was not ripe for the judge to make any substantive rulings, although Bright had been prepared to make substantive arguments.

Sen. Carozza slams school mask mandate

enator Mary Beth Carozza joined with her Senate Republican colleagues in calling the Sept. 14 legislative vote mandating masks in public schools statewide “a major overreach by the State Board of Education, usurping the will of local elected school boards.” She has opposed mandated student school masks and mandated vaccines, and supports the statement of her Senate GOP members on the Joint Committee of Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review who disapproved and voted against the State Board of Education vote for mask mandates. Republicans were outvoted by majority Democrats on the joint committee.“We are disappointed by today’s vote approving the Maryland State Board of Education’s Emergency Regulation to institute a statewide mask mandate in every Maryland Public School. “This regulation is an overreach and political power grab by an unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy. “It usurps the authority of elected local school boards who made their plans to safely return children to school by listening to parents and following the latest health and safety guidelines. It is a one-size-fits-all approach that does not account for the variation in educational settings and COVID-19 metrics found throughout the state or allow for local flexibility to act and react quickly to changing metrics. It is an inappropriate overreach for the State Board of Education to reverse a local board’s decision and then require that local board to enforce a mandate or risk their funding. “This is much more than a mask requirement. This regulation presents many compliance questions that will negatively impact the classroom and learning environment as local boards and educators struggle with enforcement.” Senator Carozza is a member of the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee.

32 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021

OPINION

COMMENTARY A few concerns about spray irrigation

he letter from former Ocean Pines Director Slobodan Trendic published on this page proves once again how much his perspective on any given issue in Ocean Pines is valuable. He has a way of coming up with questions that have not been considered, let alone answered in a way that addresses the concerns he raises. That admirable persistence is why some of his former colleagues on the board found him difficult to work with. While there’s much to commend about the county’s plan for transporting treated efﬂuent from the Ocean Pines treatment plant to the Ocean Pines golf course, the project cost of $3.2 million is large enough that, were if funded directly by the OPA, it would have to go to referendum. Before the OPA agrees to grant easements to the county for this project, a case for a referendum can be made. Trendic makes it, brieﬂy. Having said that, the county’s Deputy Public Works Director John Ross made an excellent presentation at a recent town hall meeting on the proposed project. While the effects on bay water quality is probably negligible, Ross didn’t try to oversell that point. He had a better argu-

ment when he said that any treated wastewater sent to the golf course for irrigation means that much gallonage doesn’t have to be drawn from the aquifer for that purpose. A nagging concern about the project is whether it would lead the state to consider lowering the treatment plant’s rated treatment capacity of 2.5 million gallons per day. That capacity has been useful in allowing the county to accommodate development on Route 589 near Ocean Pines that might otherwise resort to environmentally damaging septic systems. Another concern is whether this project would jeopardize Ocean Pines’ long-standing exemption from the state’s onerous ﬂush tax. Ocean Pines ratepayers don’t have to pay that tax because the water quality from our treatment plant is about as good as it can be, better than any other treatment plant in Maryland. That said, it’s neither surprising nor lamentable that the Board of Directors voted to issue a letter of support in favor of this project. Let the county proceed with its planning process. The board’s support allows that to happen. Real decisions come later. -Tom Stauss

LETTER Avoiding a referendum on spray irrigation?

At the Sept. 15 monthly meeting, the Board of Directors unanimously voted to support the county’s proposed project to spray irrigate treated wastewater from the Ocean Pines wastewater treatment plant on the Ocean Pines golf course. The County indicated it intends to fully recover all project costs by assessing OPA homeowners extra charge on the quarterly bills. By choosing to support their proposal, the board doesn’t have to ask the membership to approve via referendum this multi-million dollar capital expenditure. Setting aside the above point, has the board actually done its own due diligence on this topic? Have directors taken into account the long-term impact their decision will have on the OPA community? Directors should do the right thing and ask the entire community to vote on the county’s proposal via a referendum. What are they afraid of? Slobodan Trendic Ocean Pines [Trendic provided a link to a Feb. 3, 2021, article in the Bay Journal about a project near Trappe, Md., in which spray irrigation is part of the project design. An online search for “Bay Journal, Feb. 3, 2021”, locates the article.]

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OPINION

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 33

COMMENTARY

It’s a shame that it came to this

Critique of OPA by outsiders should give us pause

hatever the outcome of the Farr vs. OPP voter eligibility case -- and there was no clarity after the scheduled Sept. 27 hearing on the case in Snow Hill -- there’s some useful insight to be gleaned from several outside “commentators” with an interest in the case. The first commentary comes from the judge who’s hearing the case, Sidney Campen, a retired Talbot County judge and state’s attorney who’s up in years but still seems to have his wits about him. Retired judges in the state are often asked to hear cases outside of their former stomping grounds, for a variety of reasons, perhaps in part because they’re insulated from the slings and arrows of local, insular politics.

His commentary appears elsewhere on this page, and it makes for good reading for anyone with more than a passing interest in this case. It’s actually a transcript of his remarks from the bench at the Aug. 30 hearing on the case, unfortunately not given the coverage in the local legacy media or blogosphere that it deserved. To be clear, it was not submitted to the Progress for publication. No judge would ever do that. It’s part of the case record available for perusal in the courthouse in Snow Hill for anyone interested enough to check it out. Judge Campen’s remarks from the bench are not a definitive indicator on how he might rule after both sides are given an opportunity to present their cases on the candidate eligibility issue.

It offers some clues, some tea leaves if you will, on how he might decide once both sides make their cases in written and oral arguments. What’s clear, however, is that he has some real misgivings on the way this election has been handled by the OPA. Or as he put it, “things that just aren’t right in the way this matter was handled.” The crux of the OPA case is that Rick Farr was not an owner of record on Jan. 1 of this year because his name did not appear on the deed for his home on Birdnest Drive. That’s what the OPA means when it argues that Farr wasn’t an “owner of record” on Jan. 1, the date when ownership must be established to run for the Board of Directors. u

Judge Campen’s comments on Farr vs. OPA

‘Things that just aren’t right in the way this matter was handled’

udge Sidney Campen’s remarks on Farr vs. OPA from the bench Aug. 30 in Worcester County Circuit Court: “As I’ve indicated in some of my comments, there is considerable concern on the part of this member of the bench as to what the language of the by-laws means by -- in the qualification section of Article 5-502 -- that the candidate must be one of the owners of record of real property in the subdivision. That certainly conflicts with the definition of a member which refers to the owners of a property in the subdivision and which confers voting privileges on the owner. “We have Mr. Farr’s testimony that he has been a members for -- I think he said three years. I think he’s voted in three of the elections which leads me to conclude that the secretary [Camilla Rogers] simply looked at the status of Mr. Farr as a member and certified him as qualified. She certainly didn’t look at the deed, although, it’s her testimony that an owner of record means on the deed. “Counsel indicates that there’s laws to support that. The owner of record could just as easily be the owner of record of Ocean Pines Association as a voting member. So I do find that’s just not weird, it’s a little bit arbitrary. It doesn’t jive with the Articles [of Incorporation] - Article 1, definitions. And there’s certainly nothing in the definitional phase to tell us what owner of record means. It would clearly be much easier for all of us if owner of record was defined in Section 1.01, saying owner of record means an owner of property as found on the deed to 21 Birdnest or whatever property the verification needs to be. “My job, as you gentlemen and lady know, is to consider the standard for issuance of a preliminary injunction. And the first standard I must address is the likelihood of irreparable harm to the plaintiff if the injunction is denied. “I’d like to note that the complaint is a three-count complaint. The first count being for declaratory judgment, the second count being for injunctive relief, and the third count being a breach of fiduciary duty. “So I am addressing Count 1, the request for injunctive relief. And the first factor I need to determine is whether the irreparable harm will be such that it is irreparable by clear and convincing evidence. “We know that the plaintiff has spent some money. He has testified that he through the process of running for an election, had fliers printed up, signs printed, so he has spent some money. “In the count alleging breach of fiduciary duty and contract, he can request damages for that amount of money he has spent. And I find that he can certainly run for election in 2022 because he’s clearly qualified. Although no one is willing to admit that on behalf of the Ocean Pines Association, I suspect that at that point in time they would have to admit that the plaintiff is a qualified candidate for a position on the Board of Directors. “I do not find by clear and convincing evidence that there has been a demonstrated irreparable harm to the plaintiff. “I do find that there is a likelihood of harm to the defendants balancing the hardships. We have a community that has been described to me to be like a small city or town ... that’s governed by a Board of Directors, a president of the Board, a police force, so there are administrative and legal matters that have to be attended to by the Board. “The likelihood that the plaintiff will succeed on the merits, I’m torn on that one. As you know, I feel that the plaintiff so had the rug pulled out from under him after being advised and ensured that he qualified, and I do not find that there was any wrong-doing on behalf of the plaintiff here. “In looking at the application, he certified that he meets the requirements. There’s nothing to tell him or anyone else that you have to be a deed owner, you have to have a deed reference with your name on it in order to be a property owner. A person could have their property titled in a trust as this property was. This property certainly, and I think everyone agrees, is entitled to have one person vote for 21 Birdnest in the election. And it seems to be that Mr.. Farr was the person who lived there, took care of the property, paid the dues, and showed every evidence of ownership other than having his name on a deed. “I cannot comment on the probability of the plaintiff prevailing on the merits because we have many matters that need to be heard further at the hearing and trial in this matter. “The fourth factor, the public interest, I find that this matter does directly impact a governmental interest as opposed to a private interest. “I’m therefore going to deny the preliminary injunction and permit the Board to go forward and do whatever it wishes in the hopes that it will do the right thing knowing that there are some inconsistencies and ambiguities and that things that just aren’t right in the way this matter was handled.”

34 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021 Commentary

From Page 33 The counter argument from Farr and his attorney is that “owner of record” can also mean a trustee or trust beneficiary of a property held by a trust rather than individuals listed on a deed. They say the OPA’s Articles of Incorporation, and the Declaration of Restrictions for Section 6 that governs 31 Birdnest Drive, make it clear that “equitable owners” of property are members of the association, and as such are entitled to all the rights of membership, including the right to run for the Board of Directors. Here’s what Judge Campen said about that in his Aug. 31 comments: “The owner of record could just as easily be the owner of record of Ocean Pines Association as a voting member. So I do find that’s just not weird, it’s a little bit arbitrary. It doesn’t jive with the Articles [of Incorporation] - Article 1, definitions. “And there’s certainly nothing in the definitional phase to tell us what owner of record means. It would clearly be much easier for all of us if owner of record was defined in Section 1.01, saying owner of record means an owner of property as found on the deed to 21 Birdnest or whatever property the verification needs to be.”

OPINION Indeed, it would easier, but if it were that simple then this case might never have been filed. Even so, the judge in effect is calling the OPA’s position on the meaning of “owner of record” both “weird” and “a little bit arbitrary.” That wording shouldn’t give OPA officials a lot of room for confidence as this case moves forward. Judge Campen in his remarks did not mention Section 12(A) of the Declaration of Restrictions for Section 6, perhaps because he had yet been made aware of it by Bright. More recent filings by the attorney spell it out: “Every person who acquires title, legal or equitable [emphasis added], to any lot in the Subdivision shall become a member of the Ocean Pines Association, and no such person shall acquire such title until he has been approved for membership in the Association.” Bright no doubt had been prepared to hammer that point home at the Sept. 27 hearing. For those who might not know, an equitable owner is someone with an interest in a trust, limited liability corporation, or other entity that holds title to property. Also noteworthy is what the judge said in concluding his remarks Aug. 31: “I’m therefore going to deny the preliminary

injunction [filed by Farr’s attorney] and permit the Board to go forward and do whatever it wishes in the hopes that it will do the right thing, knowing that there are some inconsistencies and ambiguities and that things that just aren’t right in the way this matter was handled.” Those comments were reported to some extent in the local media, with doing “the right thing” interpreted as a call for counting all the ballots cast in the election, including those cast for Farr. Interestingly, one local digital media site seemed less inclined to report this because it interfered with its preferred narrative that the OPA had emerged victorious from the Aug. 31 hearing. The truth is both sides won and lost some in that preliminary skirmishing, with the main event reserved for Sept. 27. In any event, Judge Campen’s concluding remarks constituted wisdom delivered for those with ears to hear by an elder statesman of the bench. Was the OPA paying attention? Apparently not, because days later the OPA board in its infinite wisdom decided to put the whole matter on hold. Rather than direct the counting of votes for all four candidates in the election, four of seven

Farr attorney singles out Rogers for alleged failings in handling Farr candidacy The following is an excerpt of arguments by Rick Farr attorney Bruce Bright in court documents filed in September in the Farr vs. OPA candidate eligibility case. The comments are particularly pointed with respect to actions taken by OPA Secretary Camilla Rogers in the lead-up to Farr’s disqualification as a candidate in the election two weeks prior to the scheduled vote count the second week of August. The Board of Directors is not commenting on any aspect of the case. Bright’s comments were included as part of a Sept. 10 memorandum in opposition to the defendant’s filing of a cross motion for case dismissal: “Plaintiff Farr completed and timely submitted his application to run for the OPA Board. He truthfully provided all information sought on the application. No other or further information was sought from him at that time. “This Honorable Court has already found that there was no misconduct on Plaintiff Farr’s part in connection with applying to become a candidate. “Secretary Rogers has testified that she reviewed the application, looked at SDAT [State Department of Assessments and Taxes] records for the 21 Bird Nest property, and found Plaintiff Farr to be a fully qualified candidate, approving him as such, and directing his name to be placed on the ballots. She testified further that -- after ballots were distributed to owners, many completed ballots were returned, and extensive election publicity and campaigning had occurred - a purportedly anonymous tip was received about ownership of the Farr property. “On that basis, she reviewed the Deed(s) for 21 Bird Nest (for the first time), considered (in an informational vacuum) the undefined ‘owner of record’ language in By-law Section 5.02(a), and within three days, summarily decided in a closed session of the full OPA Board (including Board member [Frank] Daly, an incumbent running for re-election) to disqualify Farr. “She did so without affording Farr any meaningful opportunity to be heard. She did so without affording other OPA members any opportunity to be heard. She did so without reviewing, considering, or discussing with anyone, any other By-law provisions, any OPA Charter language, or any language within the applicable Declaration. She ignored completely language in the By-laws, the Charter, and the Declaration to the effect that ‘equitable’ owners of OPA property are deemed OPA ‘owners’ and ‘members’ with all appurtenant rights. “She generally ignored Plaintiff Farr’s Trust attorney’s submission of information. She sought no additional information from Farr or anyone else. She conducted no other or further investigation into the matter. She never considered whether ‘owner of record’ could mean owner on the records of OPA. She never looked at or considered Farr’s history of having voted (and been allowed to vote) in prior OPA elections. “She did not consider that he had resided at the property since 2019; had been a beneficiary since 2000 of the family Trust that holds legal title to the property; had paid all ownership costs associated with the property, including OPA dues and charges, for many years. Indeed, she never sought to obtain any information of that nature. “She never consulted with OPA staff to determine if Farr was, in fact, listed in OPA records as a member or an owner. “The Secretary did not consider or discuss with anyone the implications of her decision for the hundreds (if not thousands) of equitable owners in Ocean Pines, owning their property in and through partnerships, LLCs, trusts, and corporations. She engaged in no review of historical OPA practices or course of conduct vis-a-vis recognizing voting and other ‘ownership’ rights as exercised by those types of ‘equitable’ owners. “Based on Rogers’ abrupt and ill-considered disqualification ‘decision,’ while still in closed session, the Board unlawfully approved a motion effectively disenfranchising Plaintiff, his Co-Plaintiffs, and many other voters to continue with the election and arrive at certified vote totals without counting any of the votes cast for Farr. “In short, as Plaintiffs have alleged in detail in their First Amended Complaint, and as demonstrated by proof at the August 30th hearing, Defendants have acted improperly, without good faith, unlawfully, and/or arbitrarily, in regard to Farr’s candidacy and the election. “At a minimum, there are triable questions of fact precluding judgment for Defendants at this early juncture (before Defendants have even answered either the original Complaint or the First Amended Complaint).”

OPINION

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 35

Bright pulled no punches in that case, but in directors voted not to count any of the ballots In the annals of the Ocean the latest litigation it seems his bullet points are pending the outcome of the Sept. 27 hearing. Pines Association and its far more numerous and ferocious. Another lost opportunity on the road to caHere’s one excerpt from Bright’s arguments lamity. Bright was sure to hammer home this obvarious legal imbroglios, never pertaining to Rogers in one of his recent filings: vious rejection of the judge’s advice at the Sept. has an opposing attorney “The Secretary did not consider or discuss with 27 hearing. itemized in such excruciating anyone the implications of her decision for the On the previous page, Bright’s response to a hundreds (if not thousands) of equitable ownfiling by the OPA’s attorney in this case is a biting detail the alleged errors and ers in Ocean Pines, owning their property in and commentary on the performance of OPA Secreomissions of someone in a through partnerships, LLCs, trusts, and corporatary Camilla Rogers in the handling of Farr’s eliposition of authority tions. gibility. with the OPA. “She engaged in no review of historical OPA It’s a devastating point-by-point dissection of practices or course of conduct vis-a-vis recognizwhere she went astray in rejecting Farr’s candirepresent the interests of all OPA members, and ing voting and other ‘ownership’ rights as exerdacy this past July. Of course it’s a one-side dissection in support members should have an interest in how well cised by those types of ‘equitable’ owners. “Based on Rogers’ abrupt and ill-considered of his clients, but that doesn’t make it any less their elected representatives are performing their roles. disqualification ‘decision,’ while still in closed devastating. In the annals of the Ocean Pines Association session, the Board unlawfully approved a moIs it true? In briefs submitted on behalf of the and its various legal imbroglios, never has an tion effectively disenfranchising Plaintiff, his OPA, he said her decision to disqualify Farr after opposing attorney itemized in such excruciating Co-Plaintiffs, and many other voters to continue initially certifying him was based on a reading of detail the alleged errors and omissions of some- with the election and arrive at certified vote tothe by-laws that say a candidate must be a “ownone in a position of authority with the OPA. tals without counting any of the votes cast for er of record” of Ocean Pines property on Jan. 1. Contractor HomeImprovements Improvements Dental Services Contractor --Home Certainly Bruce Bright put forth a strong argu- Farr.” He also argued that the Doctrine of Non-InterThere are reports that Rogers is not enjoying vention and the business judgment rules means ment in his successful suit against the OPA repreher service to Ocean Pines as a director, and it’s the court should not overrule Rogers’s decision senting former Director Slobodan Trendic. In that case Bright said then OPA Secretary easy to see why. Who would, under these circumto disqualify Farr’s candidacy. Colette Horn had erred in rejecting a petition stances? It seemed a rather muted defense of Camilla calling for a referendum on board of directors’ Should resign? That’s 1985 her choice, of Rogers. Perhaps later filings will be more robust. Servingshe Ocean Pines Since spending authority. A judge agreed, and eventu- course, but it may be best for her and for the Bright’s critique seems more compelling. Board D.M.D., P.A. a referendum was held in response. OPA. There’s no joy inporches, suggesting it. - Tom Stauss members and officers of the OPA are elected to ally Additions, decks, garages,

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36 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021

OPINION

Much ado about very little (and a dash of ugliness)

letter published elsewhere on this page by Bruce Bright, attorney for Rick Farr in the Farr vs. OPA candidate eligibility case, is an indicator of just how far down the rabbit hole this summer’s election debacle has descended. His letter has been published in most of the area’s legacy media, and perhaps it would be best just to leave it there. It’s articulate, well-argued, and perhaps doesn’t need any further explication. But that would be the easy way out. What Bright’s letter exposes is at best a minor sideshow to this summer’s main event, the law suit on whether Rick Farr is eligible to run and serve on the Board of Directors and whether his votes should be counted. The two issues are inextricably linked. Bright was responding to a social media “scandal” over how class action plaintiffs in the original litigation morphed into co-plaintiffs in amended filings. Does anyone really care? Is this important? Apparently it matters to the proprietor of oceanpinesforum. com, and a few bloggers on that site, but it hasn’t stirred the controversy that those who fanned the flames no doubt had intended and hoped for.

LIFE IN THE PINES An excursion through the curious by-ways and cul-de-sacs of Worcester County’s most densely populated community By TOM STAUSS/Publisher Now it is arguable that some of the original class action plaintiffs were put on an initial amended complaint as co-plaintiffs by mistake. As mistakes go, this seems minor and was easily rectified. Compare that to the litany of mistakes made by OPA Secretary Camilla Rogers in the run-up to Rick Farr filing his law suit. Bright’s devastating critique of Rogers’s errors of judgment in this case appears elsewhere in this edition of the Progress. Rogers’s mistakes resulted in a delay of an election, the continued empowerment of a board that has exceeded its expected three-year shelf life, and will probably cost the OPA $25,000 in legal costs not covered by the deductible in the OPA’s insurance policy. It also has divided the community in a way that was completely avoidable. That divisiveness lies in the lap of Rogers and her enablers on the board. Farr was completely within his rights to take action to protect his rights as a property

owner and candidate and those who voted for him. They weren’t the ones who created this electoral debacle. The initial inclusion of class action plaintiffs as co-plaintiffs in Farr vs. OPA hurt exactly no one. Clearly those who had agreed to be class action plaintiffs are on the same page on the issue of Farr’s eligibility as a candidate. Same with the issue over the irrefutable disenfranchisement of Farr voters if Farr votes are excluded from the vote count. Arguably some of the class actions plaintiffs might not have been entirely comfortable with all of Bright’s contentions in his various pleadings. The key point is that all were given the opportunity to bow out as co-plaintiffs. Some might have been influenced by incendiary rhetoric on social media suggesting that if they were co-plaintiffs, they might be subject to a countersuit by the OPA. Unlikely to preposterous. Even this board wouldn’t consider filing suit against OPA members who are

merely trying to protect their rights as property owners. Whatever their reasons, 11 of the original 41 class action plaintiffs told Bright or Farr to exclude them as co-plaintiffs, and that was duly reflected in the amended complaint filed by Bright on behalf of his clients. That still left 29 courageous OPA members who are willing to have their names associated with a righteous cause. Good for them. If there wasn’t already enough fomented hysteria going ‘round about this year’s election, one post on local digital media took it to a new level. In the sub-basement. The post accused Farr supporters for sending rat poison to Cami Rogers, presumably for her decision to exclude Farr as a candidate. Was there any evidence for this? Is there any reason to believe that Farr supporters as a group are in the least bit tolerant of or complicit with sending rat poison to a political opponent? We’re better than this, aren’t we? Most of us are, but this degree of rhetorical ugliness gives free speech a bad name. If there is any occasion for a post to be removed from a message board, this one qualifies.

Letter from Bruce Bright, attorney for Rick Farr in Farr vs. OPA The Ocean Pines Progress is a journal of news and commentary published monthly throughout the year. It is circulated in Ocean Pines and Captain’s Cove, Va. 127 Nottingham Lane Ocean Pines, Md 21811 PUBLISHER-EDITOR Tom Stauss stausstom@gmail.com 443-359-7527 ADVERTISING SALES Frank Bottone frankbottone@gmail.com 410-430-3660 CONTRIBUTING WRITER Rota Knott 443-880-3953

The purpose of this letter is to address recent developments in the above-referenced case. The case was originally filed by Mr. Farr, on his own behalf and on behalf of a “class” of plaintiffs, specifically, Ocean Pines voters who cast votes for Mr. Farr before the purported disqualification decision. The Maryland Rules allow for a case to be filed in that fashion (on behalf of a class of un-named plaintiffs) when there are many individuals who have been harmed in the same way, certain other conditions are met, and the Court approves such an approach. In this case, by way of a recently filed amended complaint, we eliminated the “class action” aspect of the case and, instead, added certain specifically named voters as Co-Plaintiffs in the case. These voters all voted for Mr. Farr before his candidacy was disqualified (in closed session of the Board) and the Board decided (in closed session) to proceed with the election and counting of all votes except those cast for Mr. Farr. The effect of that (closed session) decision by the Board, in my view, partly disenfranchised those voters who had already submitted a vote for Mr. Farr. This is the reason why the individually named Co-Plaintiffs have joined the case – they are conscientious Ocean Pines citizens who, out of civic concern, do not want to be disenfranchised by closed-door decision-making at the end of an election. Mr. Farr’s Co-Plaintiffs are not seeking money in this case and they are not a source for payment of my firm’s fees (which are being paid by Mr. Farr and, to some degree, voluntary donors to a fund for such fees). They see the Board’s actions as wrong, as Mr. Farr does, and they wish to correct those (alleged) wrongs. It is their right to take an active position in this regard, just as it the right of any other OPA member to support the Board’s side of this case. Unfortunately, on certain “blogs” and perhaps elsewhere in the public domain (for example, the blog known as “Ocean Pines Forum”), there has been what in my opinion is incorrect and irresponsible commentary about the adding of the Co-Plaintiffs to the case, which either criticizes them or baits/invites criticism and judgment of them. The Co-Plaintiffs seek nothing in this matter other than vindication of their right to cast two votes in the election and have both of those votes counted; they also support Mr. Farr’s position vis-à-vis his eligibility to run. My sincere hope is that none of the Co-Plaintiffs will be criticized, castigated, singled out, unfairly judged, or impugned for taking an active stance in what is an important matter of public interest in Ocean Pines; and that commentary in the public domain – about them and toward them – will be fair, reasonable, accurate, and responsible. Bruce F. Bright, Ocean City

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 37

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38 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021

CAPTAIN’S COVE

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Board votes to continue message board shut-down Reinstatement motion goes down 5-2 By TOM STAUSS Publisher he Board of Directors on Sept. 21 voted 5-2 to continue the shutdown of the community message board on the soon-tobe-discarded Front Steps Web site, despite a recommendation by the Digital Technology Committee to reinstate it pending adoption of a new set of rules to govern its use. Alternate Director Dawn Wagner introduced a proposal to reinstate the message board, which the board

shut down in August after a controversial post by Cove resident Larry Berger about water quality in Cove canals. Cove President Tim Hearn regarded the post as defamatory, and the board at its Aug 23 meeting voted unanimously to shut down the message board, pending possible involvement by the technology committee to come up with a suitable replacement. The technology committee had met the week prior to the Sept. 21

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board meeting to discuss the shutdown and voted unanimously to recommend reinstatement pending the establishment of new rules governing the message board’s use. Wagner presented a committee draft of proposed rules for board review, which Hearn called a “great start” but not ready for approval. Among other prohibitions, the rules would ban disrespectful, disruptive or offensive speech, discrimination or harassment, and advertisements for commercial activities. [See a copy of the proposed rules elsewhere on this page.] Hearn suggested that Senior General Manager Colby Phillips and General Manager Justin Wilder work with a social media consultant and legal counsel on the rules before they’re presented again for a board vote. He also said that the proposed rules will need to be rewritten in the section pertaining to consequences for violating the rules. He said that losing privileges to post after committing infractions shouldn’t be left up to the site moderator -- that had been Wilder when the message board was operating -- but rather should be brought up for board review. It should be the same process that governs violations of other rules in Captain’s Cove, Hearn said. The proposed rules call for graduated penalties that could end up in a permanent ban from posting after three infractions. Board member Shannon Wright introduced a motion to reinstate the message board before new rules are adopted, but Hearn pushed back on that idea, calling it premature. “We’d be stuck with the same problems” as before, he said. Wright said that the Cove by discontinuing the message board is in violation of state property owner as-

sociation act law with respect to providing an outlet for a free exchange of ideas, but Hearn disagreed. “We discussed that at the last board meeting,” he said, repeating that other avenues of expression, including the Public Comments segment of board meetings and email, meet the requirements of the statute. Resident Larry Berger, during the Public Comments segment of the meeting, joined with Wright in calling the shutdown of the message board a violation of the letter and spirit of state law, but Hearn had four other directors on his side when he called for a vote. Berger had made similar comments at the technology meeting the prior week Wagner and Wright voted for reinstatement, while Hearn, Pat Perino, Roger Holland, Jim Silfee, and Michael Glick were opposed. After the vote, Perino said she voted as she had because a message board without rules invites the same sort of problems that caused its shutdown. Earlier she had asked Hearn whether simply accepting email from aggrieved Cove members would be sufficient in meeting state requirements, and he replied that he thought it would. Director Andy Zubco had spoken out in favor of reinstatement during the committee meeting, but was not in attendance at the Sept. 21 board meeting. He proposed during the technology committee meeting that the message board be reinstated before a new set of rules was finalized, the position presented to the board. After the Aug. 23 board meeting, Perino had suggested that the board also consider adopting a strategy for coming up with a replacement to the message board, suggesting that if properly utilized and controlled it could continue to be useful in the community’s communication toolbox. Berger, a frequent poster to the message board, objected to its elimination at the August meeting as well, arguing that the action amounted to censorship of views contrary to the prevailing sentiment on the board. The post from Berger that triggered the temporary demise of the message board alleged failing systems along the canals and alluded to poor canal water quality. In subsequent remarks, Hearn said in response that there are no failing septic systems along the canals because all canal-front homes are on public utilities. He added that To Page 40

CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 39

CAPTAIN’S COVE

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD Fall In to a Fun Season of Aquatics Hydrobikes!

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Water Aerobics Tuesday, Nov. 2

(Accomack County Schools Closed)

Friday, Nov. 5

(Worcester & Somerset County Schools Closed)

Wednesday, Dec. 29 (All Schools Closed)

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. Call 757-824-3465 or mail marinaclub@captscove.com

This fun energetic exercise program will give you results and isn’t hard on the body. Class is set to music. Instructor: Eileen Klinefelter. • Monday-Wednesday- Friday, 9-10:10 a.m. • Monday, Wednesday 5:30-6:15 p.m. Pool Hours: Monday 8 a.m. - 1p.m., Tuesday 9 a.m.-1 p.m.,

Wednesday - Sunday, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m. Pool Occupied for Volleyball, MWF 10:10 a.m. to 12:10, for Lap Swimming MWF, 12:10 to 1:10 p.m., and during published times for Hydrobikes and Water Aerobics

40 Ocean Pines PROGRESS October 2021 CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS candidate he didn't name to run Message board Captain’s Cove Golf and Yacht Club - Four-Year Budget Summary

From Page 38 the state bans shell-fishing in the canals because of a rule that that prohibits shell-fishing in waterways where dredging occurs. Swimming and fishing off piers in the Cove are legal, he said.

UPDATED 9/23/2021

Town center redesign in ‘tier 2’ plan phase

In the Sept. 20 general managers meeting, Senior General Manager Colby Phillips announced initial steps in the redesign and rebuilding of the Town Center. She said that a working group of residents and board members had met the previous week to discuss that and other projects, grouping projects into four categories: started, getting ready to start, possible, and more complicated. The town center, she said, is in tier two. Hearn, in comments during the Sept. 21 board meeting, said the project includes the pool pump house, the grill, offices, parking, and the cart barn. He said the goal is for Fisher Architecture to come up with a conceptual design for the project within 60 days, and then move to schematic drawings in the following 30 to 60 days. Previously Hearn had said that the process could lead to the hiring of a contractor to raze the old buildings and start building replacements by the fall of 2022, with construction to occur over a six-month period. The golf course would remain open during this period. Hearn said he did not envision this project requiring an increase in the $1400 annual lot assessment approved in the 2021-22 budget. He estimated the cost of a new Town Center in the $1 million to $1.2 million range.

Board approves 2021-22 budget

The board approved the previously unveiled budget for 2021-22 during the Sept. 21 board meeting, after Hearn itemized key features of the Cove’s spending plan. The budget incorporated a new $1400 annual assessment, a $15 per hour floor for all hourly employees, support for new programs in Aquatics, continued financial support for golf, and “conservative” budgeting for food and beverage operations that recognize concerns about the

Source: Senior General Manager Colby Phillips

covid variants. Phillps presented a four-year summary of income and expense for the Cove during the board meeting.

Accomack to impose ﬂood plane permit rule

Hearn announced that Accomack County will soon impose a special flood plane building permit on “environmentally challenged” lots in Captain’s Cove. The practical effect might be limited initially, but Hearn warned that “ten years later you could start to get memos” from county personnel imposing restrictions on what can be built in a flood plane. “Hopefully Accomack will remain as a homeowner friendly county,” he added.

Transition to Indigo complete as of Oct. 1

As previous announced, Oct. 1 is the date that transition of all Cove employees to Indigo Golf Partners will occur, the culmination of an outsource management for Captain’s Cove, with the Board of Directors continuing in its oversight role. Hearn said he expected some challenges in the transition, noting that the Cove fiscal year starts in October while Indigo’s starts Jan. 1. He also said that Indigo is subject to OSHA rules, which could involve testing for employees who haven’t received the covid vaccine.

Revamped Web site to go live mid-October

General Manager Justin Wilder announced during the Sept. 20 general managers meeting that the re-

vamped Cove Web site would go live in mid-October. He said he was particularly pleased by improvements in the calendar feature, including the ability of advisory committees to post notices and other interactive functions, including making room reservations on-line The unveiling of the new Web site has been delayed as D3 Corporation has worked out the challenges of fi nancial reporting and payment features. It’s not yet clear whether a message board feature will be available when the site goes live. That will depend on whether the Board of Directors has approved a new set of rules for posting on the site by then.

Golf cart policy may get revamp

Although there’s no change in the current policy that allows Cove residents to drive their golf carts on community streets after an annual inspection by the golf committee, Senior General Manager Colby Phillips recently said that there may be some changes proposed as the result of questions by some community members. Apparently there is concern that some of the carts being driven on Cove roads aren’t properly licensed and may be unsafe to drive, but there’s been no allegation that this is a widespread concern.

Candidate eligibility raised on social media

At the Sept. 21 board meeting, Hearn took exception to a recent post on local social media that he said questioned the eligibility of a

for election to the board this fall. Saying that such posts should not appear on social media but instead should be raised using the Cove’s complaint system, he said “attacking a board member” like Pat Pelino for how she handled the issue is inappropriate and “a little bit comical.” The individual who made the post, Kathy McNally, defended it during the Sept. 21 board meeting as asking for information about eligibility, and not a personal attack, but Hearn disagreed. He said the tone was accusatory. He alluded to a candidate eligibility issue in Ocean Pines, and said that was a road Captain’s Cove shouldn’t go down. He invited anyone who disagrees with the board judgment about a candidate’s eligibility to fi le a com-plaint with the board and, if the board upholds its determination, then the complainant can appeal to Virginia’s Offi ce of the Common In-terest Community Ombudsman. He told that one resident of the Cove, whom he didn’t name, has fi led 20 appeals with the ombudsman over the years.

Pelino acknowledges consent agenda items

It often occurs that the directors meet virtually between meetings to deal with issues that can’t wait for the next regularly scheduled meeting open to the Cove membership. It’s the job of Cove Secretary Pat Pelino to announce the disposition of these issues, called the consent agenda, She did so at the Sept. 21 board meeting, reporting on approv-als that occurred after the Aug. 23 board meeting. One item approved by the board Aug. 29 was the purchase of a new mobile boom lift at a cost not to ex-ceed $35,000, with up to 100 percent fi nanced by a source arranged by the manufacturer and at an interest rate not to exceed 4.5 percent, and for no longer than fi ve years. The approval authorized Senior General Manager Colby Phillips to execute documents associated with the purchase and its fi nancing on behalf of the Cove association. The second consent agenda item was the for approval of two replacement security vehicles at a comTo Page 42

CAPTAIN’S COVE CURRENTS

October 2021 Ocean Pines PROGRESS 41

CAPTAIN’S COVE

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

LEARN TO PLAY PICKLEBALL!

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