The Ocean Pines Association’s Board of Directors and the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department signed an agreement last week after roughly eight months of negotiations to ensure the department is set up for years to come.
Ocean Pines Association President Rick Farr is all smiles as Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department President Joe Enste signs a memorandum of understanding between the two groups.
Tara Fischer / Bayside Gazette
By Tara Fischer, Staff Writer
The Ocean Pines Association’s Board of Directors and the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department signed an agreement last week after approximately eight months of negotiations to ensure the department is set up for years to come.
“The MOU (memorandum of understanding) is in perpetuity,” OPVFD President Joe Enste said. “There are specific years and terms around the new south station and the apparatus replacement schedule, but we worked collaboratively with the OPA board, with our general counsel, and our membership to make sure that the department is going to be set up for the future … there are a lot of things we wanted to do to make sure the relationship we had is as solid as it could be moving forward, and we can leave a lasting legacy here for another 50 years.”
Enste said that the board assembled a work group of OPA President Rick Farr, Vice President Stuart Lakernick and Director Jeff Heavner and approached the department to collaborate with him and Fire Chief Joe Widgeon to determine each party’s needs. The joint effort drafted the official MOU with Ocean Pines counsel Bruce Bright and the fire department’s counsel, Genevieve Macfarlane.
The agreement outlines the roles of the board of directors and the fire department.
Per the MOU, the department membership must consist of at least 20 members, including three active officers. All individuals must “reside within the effective radius of the department based on the location of the South Station.”
The fire company will provide Ocean Pines emergency medical services and fire and rescue protection. If roles change and expand over time, they “shall be determined with reference to the needs of OPA (as determined by OPA in consultation with the Department) and the requirements for the Department to maintain its standing as a volunteer fire company duly chartered and recognized by the Worcester County Commissioners.”
The MOU also establishes funding arrangements for the OPVFD. The agreement states that the department must apply for and pursue the maximum available monetary support from the Worcester County Commissioners each year.
The document guarantees that the company will make a “diligent and organized effort” to garner private donors and fundraising initiatives, which must be communicated to the OPA Board of Directors six months in advance.
The department must also maintain a “Capital Replacement Reserve Schedule.” According to Enste, the fire company keeps a replacement schedule that evaluates the cost of apparatus across the country and how that compares to their current pieces.
“We figure out how much it is going to cost to replace this piece of apparatus and when it needs to be replaced based on our county charter,” the fire president said. “Our county charter says that front-line engines must be 20 years or less old, so each piece of apparatus we have has an age requirement. Then we will look at and say, ‘If it is going to cost this much money, and we need to replace this in 20 years, how much money do we have to put away every single year to make sure we have that in 20 years from now?’ Every year, we try to reevaluate that to account and adjust for inflation.”
The reserve will be funded using a 25%/ 75% split, with the OPVFD contributing 25% of the yearly required reserve contribution and the OPA contributing 75%. This arrangement will be reassessed every five years.
The MOU specifies that if the department’s funding obtained by the commissioners and grants and fundraising activities is inadequate to meet the needs of the company and provide the agreed-upon services, they may submit a request for additional monetary support from OPA. In this case, the parties will meet for an official discussion.
The signed agreement outlines arrangements for constructing the new firehouse on the South Station Property, located at 911 Ocean Parkway, Ocean Pines.
Per the MOU, “OPA shall manage the construction on the South Station Property of a newly constructed firehouse to be utilized exclusively by the Department…The firehouse shall be constructed to meet industry standards set forth by the National Fire Protection Association and all State and local regulatory requirements.”
The OPVFD will determine the design, interior dimensions, layout, color schemes, and furniture and have them approved by OPA. Upon the project’s completion, the department will pay all property taxes and maintenance associated with the South Station property and its improvements.
The MOU breaks down the initiative’s funding by the fire department and OPA. The agreement determines that the fire company will use “grant and bond funds previously secured toward the project’s construction cost. The department shall also utilize funds raised through charitable fundraising efforts or otherwise available for the Department for the project.”
Ocean Pines will be responsible for the remaining costs, “subject to OPA having exclusive control over the ultimate cost and scope of the project, as well as management after that.”
The fire company president said OPA General Manager John Viola is working on determining the next best steps for the new station. He hopes construction will be underway in the next year or two.
“We would not be here right now if not for the collaboration between the OPA Board of Directors and the OPVFD,” Enste said. “We have been in constant communication throughout the years, but this was another opportunity to sit down, pull back the curtain, and say, ‘how do we move forward and move forward in a way that is going to be beneficial to OPA and Ocean Pines Fire Department?’”
The OPA Board expressed their excitement at the newly outlined agreement.
“This is a huge win for the Ocean Pines Community, being able to provide public safety, having the state of our equipment that we have, they are going to have a state-of-the-art building that we are going to provide for them,” Farr said. “We had a great team to get this over the finish line.”
Director Heavner echoed Farr’s sentiments.
“This is indeed a new era of cooperation,” he said. “…A carefully crafted memorandum of understanding will enable the Ocean Pines Volunteer Fire Department to provide exceptional fire protection and emergency medical and rescue services for decades.”
The fire company president said the MOU is necessary in part because the original agreement was ratified in 1975 and replaced with a new version in 1977. Since then, a plethora of addendums have been added, complicating the parties’ relationship. As one of only ten recognized and chartered volunteer fire departments in Worcester County, having the support to provide emergency services effectively is vital.
“The MOU…aims to clarify the relationship and the responsibilities of each orga
nization, ensuring a clear and effective partnership now and in the future,” Enste said. “…For over 50 years, we have proudly served this community. And this new agreement… will allow us to continue serving for many years to come.”