By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(Nov. 5, 2026) Two competing proposals to amend the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors’ meeting procedures sparked debate over whether to impose additional restrictions on how directors introduce motions and discussion topics.

During Saturday’s board meeting, directors Rick Farr and Amy Peck offered amendments to Ocean Pines’ Resolution B-02 — the rules of order process for board of directors meetings. Both measures were presented as a first reading.

The proposals address whether motions should require a second before discussion. The difference was that Farr’s amendment called for additional requirements governing motions procedures, while Peck’s proposal focused on requiring a second to the initial motion before the board can debate.

Farr’s proposal aims to clarify the board’s longstanding order of business by putting existing practices in writing.

Under Farr’s proposal, a director cannot introduce a motion for consideration unless it was included on the advance agenda or added through an approved agenda amendment.

“A motion must be on the agenda prepared in advance of a meeting and approved during the meeting must be added to the meeting agenda by way of properly made and approved amendments to the agenda for the motion to be considered, discussed, and voted upon during the meeting,” Farr’s suggestion reads.

Additionally, Farr’s resolution would require motions to be seconded before a discussion may begin. The chairperson would ensure motions are read aloud and restated before a vote.

Peck argued that Farr’s modifications are unnecessarily restrictive. She maintained that if approved, they would limit a director’s ability to bring issues forward for discussion.

“The proposal Director Farr just read adds a massive list of new restrictions designed to block directors from speaking … and tying a small seven-member board up in red tape,” Peck said.

Although Peck’s amendment would also require a second before a topic may be discussed, it is narrow and, Peck said, her motivation for it is different.

Board attorney Bruce Bright said Farr’s recommended changes would match bylaw verbiage with meeting processes the association already follows.

In an email following the meeting, Peck said she does not believe a motion has to be seconded to initiate discussion on a director’s motion. Rather, Peck said her proposal is meant to establish clarity.

“If the majority is determined to restrict director speech by institutionalizing a requirement for seconds, that restriction must be formally written into Resolution B-02 so that future directors/boards/ homeowners have absolute clarity,” she said.

The disagreement stems from differing interpretations of Robert’s Rules of Order.

Peck pointed to Section 49:21 of Robert’s Rules, which provides relaxed parliamentary procedures for small boards, defined as those with fewer than 12 members. Under those provisions, motions generally do not require a second before discussion.

Peck said the seven-member OPA board should have the flexibility afforded under those rules and argued that requiring seconds has increasingly been used to prevent discussion of directors’ proposals.

She cited a motion she introduced in September to reinstate hybrid public comments died for lack of a second and therefore was not discussed.

Board President Jeff Heavner defended Farr’s proposal, saying the board has historically followed the formal procedures outlined in his amendment, even though they were not explicitly written into Resolution B-02.

Heavner also disputed Peck’s characterization of Farr’s proposal as restrictive. The board president pointed to language in Robert’s Rules that he said supports the board’s ability to establish its own procedures.

“We have had a historical way of order of business for the Ocean Pines Board of Directors,” Heavner said. “It’s always been the way that this first reading has been put into words. It just wasn’t put into words…And as far as small boards are concerned, and you addressed our attorney’s opinion, I found in Roberts Rules of Order, under special order of business, there is wording in there that absolutely suggests that small boards do not have to adopt the rules for small boards.”

Board attorney Bruce Bright agreed that the small-board provisions offer an option rather than a requirement.

He added that while Ocean Pines’ board is only seven members, it serves a membership comparable to a large corporation.

“It’s how a corporation of this size ought to operate,” Bright said. “We have $9 million in reserves. We have an annual budget of $18 million. We are a very large, professional corporation and the board needs to operate, in my legal opinion, as any corporate board of a company that size would operate.”

Bruce added that requiring motions and discussion topics to appear on the agenda in advance allows management and legal counsel to review them and allows homeowners to know what the board intends to consider.

Still, Peck argued that allowing discussions and motions to be presented “on the fly” promotes greater transparency.

“My amendment changes nothing else about how this board works,” she said. “It doesn’t change how meetings are run, it doesn’t limit topics the director can bring up for discussion, and it doesn’t take away the flexibility we need to respond immediately to community issues on the fly.”

Bright questioned Peck’s opposition to Farr’s proposal, noting that her own amendment similarly requires motions to receive a second before discussion.

Peck responded that she supports clarifying the seconding requirement but opposes the additional provisions in Farr’s amendment.

“I’ve been here a long time, and I’ve never seen not seconding a motion used as a way to stop an idea from being brought to the floor,” Peck said. “The reason for my motion is that I do want transparency. I want to make sure that directors and homeowners are all on the same page so future directors know, if you can’t get permission to bring something to the floor, if you can’t get a second on your motion, it’s not going to happen.”

Director Stuart Lakernick said he has witnessed motions fail for lack of a second during his 13 years in Ocean Pines.

The board did not vote on either amendment this week. Both were presented as first readings, with further consideration expected at the November meeting.