(March 1, 2018) The Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors discussed the following items during a public meeting in the community center on Sunday:

GM report briefs

General Manager John Bailey said the association was finalizing a contract for some bulkhead repairs and would issue a request for proposals for additional work to be done “after the coming season.”

Bailey said drawings for renovations of the second floor of the country club were “90 percent complete.” He said they would be finalized and a request for construction bids would soon be released.

A cost estimate was not yet available, but would be determined when bids were received, he said.

Bailey said the technology work group met with staff to discuss new management software, but talks have stalled because implementing new systems for the coming season “may be a bit more than anybody wants to swallow” at the moment.

He said three-to-four companies would provide demonstrations during the next few months and discussions on implementation would likely resume following the summer.

Staff, county officials and two or three “at large members” of the community will meet this week to discuss drainage issues, Bailey said.

“If we haven’t contacted you yet, we may,” Bailey said. “We do want to have some input that’s not staff or county officials.”

HR consultant

The board unanimously approved a motion to spend $5,000 for a human resources consultant for work specifically to be done between now and April 31.

Director Colette Horn said the consultant was needed to review employee benefits, conduct a salary survey, create job descriptions and update the employee handbook “all in the service of an urgent need to ensure that our compensation package is fiscally responsible and also consistent with local standards.”

Director Pat Supik said money for a consultant was included in the next fiscal year budget, but that does not go into effect until May 1.

The motion was amended to state the consultant hired would continue into fiscal 2019.

Beach club sprinkler

The board put off approval of a $100,000 capital purchase request to replace the sprinkler systems at the beach club in Ocean City. Bailey said the current system could be made operational, but if a problem occurred it would likely take six weeks to repair.

“We’ve got to get this done before May 1 … I really don’t want us to lose six weeks of operation during the summer. Otherwise we’ll be right back to not making money at the beach club again,” Bailey said.

Bailey said bids were requested from four companies, but only one responded, Sure Fire Protection.

Several directors wanted to see more bids and said the matter should have been addressed when it first came to light, apparently last September.

Bailey said he would seek additional bids and also determine whether a fire department assessment of the current sprinkler systems could be done.

Country club

After some debate as to whether the most recent set of material changes to country club renovation plans were discussed in public, the board voted unanimously to approve the current set of plans.

Director Ted Moroney said homeowner feedback led to three changes from a previously approved design: moving the location of the upstairs bar, addressing storage space concerns, and adding a half-wall between the bar area and main meeting space.

Herrick asked for the board to allow one more period of member comments before bids are awarded and construction starts. Parks agreed that would be prudent.

Appointments

The board unanimously approved three committee appointments: Everett Myers to the comprehensive planning committee (first term), Kathy Grimes to the aquatics committee (third term) and Brenda Wascak to the elections committee (first term).