OPA President Doug Parks speaks to the audience at the 2023 annual meeting.

By Cindy Hoffman, Staff Writer

(Aug. 31, 2023) The golf club meeting room was packed, with people sitting all the way out to the bar and restaurant area for the annual meeting of the Ocean Pines Association on Saturday. A quorum of members/voters was met with 135 people attending the meeting, both in person and virtually.

At the meeting, Doug Parks, president of the OPA board of directors, provided an overview of the accomplishments of the board of directors for the last year.

He highlighted the relationship with Maryland Coastal Bays Program in supporting the Jenkins Point project, which will take a better part of a year to complete.

The primary goal of this project is to restore and reconnect the eroding and fragmented islands once part of the Jenkins Point peninsula to provide long -term protections through a nature-based buffer for the Ocean Pines, Osprey Point, and the OP Yacht Club and Pines Point marinas.

The board authorized repairs and upgrades to the dock and gas pier at the Yacht Club.

Regarding contracts, Parks reported that the board had hired a new firm Ayers, Jenkins, Gordy and Almond, bringing the contract to a Ocean City firm. Bruce Bright of the firm was in attendance.

Parks was met with applause from the crowd when he noted that the board had extended the food and beverage service contract to Matt Ortt Companies for the yacht club, beach club and the golf club facilities.

“That [partnership] has been very beneficial,” Parks said. “Matt, kudos to you and your group. You’ve served Ocean Pines well.”

Public safety was enhanced this past year with the approval of the purchase three new police vehicles, body cameras for police officers and an attractive compensation package for officers that it hopes will attract new candidates to the force. He also welcomed Tim Robinson, the new chief of police in Ocean Pines, who was in attendance.

At the end of his final report to the association as board president, he thanked former board members Frank Daly and Colette Horn for their service on the board of directors and the members of the 14 committees that support the board on such issues as bylaws, elections, the environment and more.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to have been elected to serve this community over the past seven years, and I just wanted to recognize and thank the folks that supported me during that time. I appreciate all the help that I got,” he said.