By Greg Ellison

(April 16, 2020) The OPA Board of Directors 2020 election became competitive this week after Dr. Stuart Lakernick entered the fray to expand the field to three candidates.

Lakernick, a chiropractic functional neurologist practicing in the Philadelphia area who is married to former OPA Board member Esther Dill, filed paperwork on Tuesday to run against incumbents Dr. Colette Horn and Doug Parks for a pair of open seats.

Espousing a firm belief in civic duty, Lakernick said while currently splitting time between the pines and Lakernick Family Chiropractic, the life-work balance is set to alter.

“I have a colleague that’s taken over quite a bit of responsibilities in my practice,” he said. “I plan on retiring there and to be honest … I want to be involved with my community.”

Pleased with the current OPA Board composition, Lakernick hopes to continue the positive direction the association governance has charted in the last two years.

“It’s important that we concentrate on stability,” he said.

Although complimentary of the work undertaken by the current board, Lakernick said new members could provide fresh perspective and innovations.

“Things are good right now, but I don’t want to get lulled into a false sense of security,” he said.

One key issue Lakernick hopes to focus on as a board member is deferred maintenance.

“From the beach club, to the club house, to the yacht club, every piece that we have,” he said.

Without instituting a delineated maintenance plan for OPA amenity structures the cost is likely higher, Lakernick said.

“We’re going to wind up just like we were with the yacht club, having to replace buildings because they’re too expensive to fix,” he said. “If we do the maintenance on an ongoing basis and put money aside for that, we’ll save huge money in the long term.”

Lakernick said in some instances revamping structures became inevitable.

“The police station was just a little cubbyhole,” he said. “We developed into a larger community that needed a larger police station.”

Another hot button topic Lakernick is focused on is drainage.

“We have some serious issues with drainage,” he said.

Lakernick lauded the ongoing efforts of Director of Amenities and Operational Logistics Colby Phillips to address the issue.

“Colby has applied for a grant from the government … to direct the drainage to make us more effective at remediating this, but when you’re in a community that’s at sea level, you’re always going to have issues,” he said.

Lakernick noted the larger solution should involve community members.

“Without our community chipping in to clean the swales out of the leaves and stuff, we’re always going to have drainage issues,” he said.

Another concern expressed by Lakernick included updating groundwater holding tanks at the Ocean Pines Water Wastewater Treatment Plant.

“They’re the property and responsibility of Worcester County,” he said. “I want to find out what’s the deal … and what do we have to do to get these old ones that are leaking sewage replaced.”

Maintaining funding for the bulkhead replacement reserves to continue current repair work is also a priority.

“It’s well-funded right now,” he said. “I want to make sure it continues to stay on track.”

Highlighting the presence of both EMS and police responders, Lakernick said in addition to maintaining an incredibly safe community, pines residents also have a wide array of amenities at their disposal.

“We get so much for our assessment dollars people don’t realize it,” he said. “Ocean Pines is a great place to live, work and play.”