By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

The Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors this week approved a capital request to replace an aging Ford Escape used by the Compliance, Permits and Inspections (CPI) Department with a 2025 Ford Bronco for $40,039. The new vehicle will be added to the community’s non-police fleet carpool.

OPA General Manager John Viola emphasized that Ocean Pines’ carpooling model continues to reduce fleet size and improve vehicle efficiency.

During the board’s meeting on Saturday, Nov. 22, Viola said the six-plus-year-old Ford Escape had reached the end of its useful life, and thus needed replacing. The vehicle was originally slated to be exchanged as part of the next fiscal year’s budget, but association staff opted to bring the request forward slightly earlier than planned after receiving what Viola described as “a decent trade-in value.”

Viola said while the Escape was commonly used by CPI staff, none of the association’s vehicles are assigned exclusively to one department or employee. Since the implementation of the fleet-wide carpool system, Viola said, staff share all non-police cars based on daily operational needs.

“I want to reiterate: Nobody gets a specific car,” he said. “Ever since I’ve been here, we carpool all the cars so that if somebody needs a pickup truck, they can use it. With the carpool, keep in mind, we have reduced the number of trucks, non-police, by six.”

The request was unanimously approved by OPA’s Board of Directors on Saturday, with Director Elaine Brady absent.