By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

The Ocean Pines Association’s advisory committees, who are charged with identifying needs and possible improvements in their assigned areas, are officially a thing of the past.

The OPA Board of Directors on Saturday voted 5-1 to dissolve most of the association’s committees, effective immediately, despite passionate pleas from association members to spare them.

The association’s bylaws require that the Budget and Finance Committee, the Elections Committee, and the Architectural Review Committee remain intact.

Axed in the purge were the Aquatics Advisory Committee, the Golf Advisory Committee, the Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee, the Environment and Natural Assets Committee, the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, the Bylaws and Resolution Advisory Committee, the Communications Advisory Committee, and the Marine Activities Advisory Committee.

Board member Jeff Heavner initiated the action by moving to disband the committees. With a second from Director Stuart Lakernick, President John Latham, Director Elaine Brady, Director Rick Farr voted for the motion. Director Steve Jacobs was the sole dissenting voice. Treasurer Monica Rakowski was absent.

The associations committees consist of OPA homeowners who pursue projects they believe will enhance specific amenities or sections of association life. These members are all volunteers, many of whom bring expertise — and a resident’s perspective — to their assignments.

But as was demonstrated Saturday, the majority of the board feels that the existence of these advisory panels has become unnecessary, and in many cases, redundant or unproductive. Heavner sent a memorandum to all chairs of the groups on the chopping block ahead of Saturday’s vote.

The director’s statement reads, “the current dynamic (which I believe has existed for some years) has resulted in understandable frustration on the part of the above-listed Advisory Committees, as they seek in good faith to find ways to make contributions to the Association, but their unilaterally formulated ideas and plans may not be practical or feasible and/or in keeping with Board and Management goals and priorities.”

Saturday’s in-person meeting was filled with residents, most of whom came to plead with the board to keep the committees. Some offered to work with the directors to develop a more productive volunteer system.

Keith Kaiser, a member of the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, noted that the advisory teams provide a platform for OPA citizens to have their voices heard and serve as an avenue to promote volunteerism.

“Recent national events have taught us once again that if we stop talking, bad things happen,” Kaiser said. “In my opinion, an HOA is the purest form of self-governance that there is. That’s what we’re attempting to do here: we’re attempting to govern ourselves. We do that with volunteers from the people, who are of the people being governed.

“One of the big challenges of doing that is that there are a lot of people who aren’t interested in participating in their governance…but the problem with that is that it makes it easier to take advantage of a community that’s not paying attention … It’s incumbent upon those of us paying attention to show up and speak up. Governance of a free society is never easy. The only kind of society that’s easy to govern is a tyrannical one.”

Gary Miller, who chairs the aquatics committee, also urged the board to reconsider. Miller agreed that the current volunteer formula could use some fine-tuning, but said stronger communications between the board and committees could ensure that projects are in sync with the association’s priorities.

Miller pointed to Heavner’s letter, in which the latter described the interaction between committees and the board and staff as “inefficient and strained.”

“As you said, the lines of communication between the committees and the board and/or management have become ‘inefficient and strained, resulting in unproductive conflict and disagreement,’” Miller said.

“The main reason for this, in my opinion, is due to a lack of communication between the committees and their liaisons and the department the committee was established to help. It should be noted that several committees have made suggestions to improve communication among the committees, the board, and OPA management, including a request that their respective department heads attend committee meetings on a quarterly basis. This would bring the committee up to date on problems or concerns, as well as any new projects that may be planned for the future.”

According to the board, the association’s email, info@oceanpines.org, is the most effective way to share suggestions, instead of relying on the committees. Aquatics committee member Vivian Koroknay, however, countered that an email address is insufficient to bring about meaningful improvement.

“My takeaway is that some members of the board do not see the benefit of resident advisory committees and see no value in the work that the advisory committees do,” she said. “That’s sad. Really sad. The advisory committees provide a window to the board and to management as to what association members want and what they observe daily in their own community.”

Miller and Linda Yurche, chair of the Communications Advisory Committee, pointed to the successful Ocean Pines Season Kickoff, an event that, for the last two years, has welcomed OPA citizens to learn about the various clubs, amenities, and organizations within the community. The idea for the kickoff, which she and Miller lead, came out of an aquatics committee meeting.

Board members acknowledged the while the kickoff was an outstanding event, it was run by an ad hoc committee rather than a standing group. Ad hoc committees were mentioned in Heavner’s letter as a possible replacement for the dissolved advisory groups.

Miller and Yurche, however, maintained that while a working group was created to take on the event, the well-attended kickoff would not have been possible without the brainstorming and work of committees that meet regularly.

Despite a dozen residents imploring the board to save the advisory committees, board members argued that they are no longer necessary. The directors also said they are looking at more effective ways to encourage volunteerism in Ocean Pines.

“I know this is a contentious issue and we have a lot of very passionate people that want to volunteer, but we’ve gotten to the point where we’ve grown, and to where we want to put more of this talent to use better,” Lakernick said.

“I mean …why can’t these people who are in these committees, why can’t it be a club? Why can’t we have clubs that advise? I mean, agree or disagree, we have talented people; we have groups, one that’s maintaining a graveyard they found. These are not committees … [Eliminating the committees] is a restructuring to make better use of your talent.”

Brady concurred with Lakernick, pointing out that there are thousands of homes in Ocean Pines, and that a reorganization of the volunteer system would make way for more participation.

“I think we all agree that it’s not the people on the committees,” she said. “We value every one of them … It’s the process that needs to be changed. It needs to be more efficient and effective for everyone.

“There are ways we need to look at to do that at this point. I think that all of you have expertise and a lot of ideas, but we have about 50 people on these committees. We have 8,500 homes. There are a lot of people who aren’t participating, but they do have a lot of expertise and additional opinions that can also be heard and are welcome to be shared.

“It is sometimes easier if they don’t have the constraints of attending a monthly meeting. There are other ways that we can look at the process to include everybody and to try to grow those voices.”

Heavner reiterated that temporary teams assigned to specific missions will serve the community better.

“I brought this motion because I believe it’s time to try a different approach using ad hoc, working groups, and, as [Lakernick] pointed out, even clubs, where we can still value the expertise and experience of all the association members,” he said.

“I didn’t come to this position without talking and listening to a lot of people over the last eight months. I’ve spoken with existing chairpeople, and I’ve spoken with past chairpeople. I’ve talked to existing committee members, past committee members…and the majority answer is the reason this motion came about is because they supported this.”

Members of the audience interrupted Heavner, demanding to know who these committee members were and why they were not present at the meeting.

Heavner replied, “I have no obligation to share that with you.”

Jacobs, who voted against the motion, said that while he sees value in restructuring committees, he believes their elimination is a last step. He suggested tabling the motion until the November meeting and in the meantime holding an executive council meeting can take place for further discussion. At that time, committees can make recommendations for improving the communication setup, he said. In November, once more information is gathered, the board can vote on the future of the advisory groups.