By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(March 22, 2018) In an effort to improve communications with membership, Ocean Pines Association officials this week announced that a series of town hall meetings will begin next month.

“The Board will be scheduling a ‘town hall’ meeting sometime in April,” Association President Doug Parks said in a statement emailed on Monday. “The intent is to have an open session with the membership where they can ask questions on any subject, as they are not restricted to general board meeting rules regarding agenda structure and public comments.”

Regular board meetings allow for public comments, but the directors rarely reply to statements made by homeowners.

“The benefit of this format is that it promotes open communication and allows the sharing of accurate information along with differing viewpoints and opinions. Any improvement on communications we can establish is a benefit to the entire community and we look forward to this meeting and scheduling additional ones as warranted,” Parks said.

He added there are no immediate plans for board members to use the official Ocean Pines Forum website to communicate with homeowners.

“We may look into using it in some manner in the future, but for now it is not part of our communication strategy,” Parks said.