By Greg Ellison

(May 7, 2020) Since granting a 90-day extension last month for annual assessment fees due May 1 in response to economic woes from the covid-19 pandemic, the Ocean Pines Association has received about half the overall total so far.

OPA Treasurer Larry Perrone updated both the status of assessment collections and reserve account balance forecasts during the Board of Directors meeting held online Saturday.

“As of the 30th, we received $4,193,000 and that’s of our total due of $9,126,000 [so] that is about 46 percent,” he said. “Our hope was to have about 25 percent to carry us to August, so we’re way ahead of that number.”

Since extending the window for assessment payments in early April, Perrone has been in regular communication with board members.

“I’ve been updating you every week on where we are on the assessments because we’ve moved the … due date back 90 days,” he said.

Perrone said despite collecting about half of total assessments by the end of last month, the rate of return is down about $1.5 million versus this point last year.

“What that says to me is that people are holding onto their money and, hopefully, the next couple of months people who can afford to send their us their assessment dollars will do it,” he said.

Perrone said further fiscal stability was gained late last month after the OPA was approved for a  $1.143 million loan through the Paycheck Protection Program.

“I think from a financial standpoint, a cash flow basis, right now we should be ok,” he said.

Although the ledgers remain balanced for now, Perrone stressed uncertainties surround future revenues whenever amenities resume activities.

“We don’t know at this point if people are still going to come to the beach [or] if they’re going to come to Ocean Pines,” he said. “We don’t know how long that impact will be or what the amount will be.”

Turning to short-term investment activity and cash on hand for March, Perrone said the association closed the month with roughly $9.2 million in cash, split up to include about $4.8 million in CDARs, with approximately $4.4 million stashed in money markets and other operating accounts.

“Our laddered investments are still growing about 2.5 percent,” he said. “Next month that number will be much lower because of the maturing of our CDARs and CDS.”

Switching to reserve account balances, including replacement, bulkheads and roads, about $6.9 million was deposited among the trio of accounts for this fiscal year at the end of March.

“Our reserve situation is still relatively stable,” he said.

After opening the fiscal year with a total reserve balance of $8.8 million, which included $5.2 million in replacement reserves, $2.5 million for bulkheads and $1.1 million for roads, infrastructure work has dropped those figures to $4.4 million, $1.9 million and $600,000 respectively.

Perrone said during the current fiscal year $2 million was deposited in replacement reserves, as well as $700,000 for bulkheads, which were both derived from assessment fees and interest earnings. Also more than $300,000 was received for roads from state issued casino funds.

The anticipated expenditure forecast for fiscal 2020, which closed on April 30, is about $3.5 million from replacement reserves, $1.6 million for bulkheads and just over $1 million for roads.