(May 5, 2016) One week after the Ocean Pines Association Search Committee held a meeting where no potential candidates for office attended, they held another that drew one possible candidate.
That was Frank Daly, who currently serves on the association’s comprehensive planning committee, and has led recent efforts to get that group back on track.
Daly said he was was considering a run for the board of directors, but had yet to decide.
Attending that April 27 meeting were chairman Martin Baer and six other members of the search committee, along with elections committee Chairman Bill Wentworth and OPA Association directors Pat Renaud, Cheryl Jacobs and Jack Collins.
Collins is one of two directors whose three-year term is about to expire. While he has not made up his mind about seeking a second term, the other, Bill Cordwell, is not expected to run for reelection.
Tom Terry’s term is also set to expire in August, although he cannot run again this year, because of term limits.
Community bylaws state that two more candidates than vacancies must file for the election, meaning the search committee was hoping to entice at least five candidates before the May 10 deadline. After which, the committee would have to ask the board for an extension.
To date, only two candidates have publically announced they would run. Baer said he could not disclose whether any more had actually filed the paperwork to do so.
Asked if any of the directors had any advice for Daly, Jacobs joked that she did not want to scare him off.
“We’re looking forward to some good people stepping up and being a part of the board to help us deal with the issues that we have facing us,” she said. “We encourage you to [consider it], and Gary [Miller] is going to lock the door, like he did with me, and not let you out until you submit your application.”
“Should I do that now?” Miller deadpanned.
Renaud encouraged Daly to run, saying, “he knows my pitch,” and joked that volunteers get “free liquor” each year during volunteer appreciation night at the yacht club.
“I’ll need it,” Daly said.
Collins said anyone who runs should be commended.
“Do your best. Tell the folks exactly what you stand for, why you’re running and what you hope to accomplish when you’re elected,” he said. “You will receive the support of the community if you resonate.
“I think you’re well intentioned by stepping up in the first place,” he added. “It’s very commendable. I congratulate you on that … and I wish you luck.”
Wentworth said anyone who steps up is “part of the solution.”
“It’s easy to complain or criticize, but we’re looking for people who are interested in being a part of the solution – not part of the problem,” he said.
Daly has been a resident of Ocean Pines for three years. He holds master’s degrees in engineering and business, and has served on the board of the University of California Berkeley’s Center for the Environment, and on a homeowner’s association board in Columbia, Maryland.
He has also sat on four separate executive committees for private companies, and has held senior-level positions in sales, marketing and operations.
If he does run, he said one of the issues he would like to address are the way Ocean Pines distributes its votes. Current bylaws only allow one vote per property, regardless of many people own or live in the property.
“The assessment comes, and it’s addressed to me and my wife because our house is titled joint tenants – but we get one vote. We don’t always agree,” Daly said. “If a couple can’t compromise, then you may not get a vote. So, the issue of voter participation would be one of the issues.
“Right now, a fair amount of the people are, from just an election point, disenfranchised,” Daly added.
Wentworth noted that a change in those rules would require amending the bylaws – and a costly referendum.
“I understand the financial implications, but, from my standpoint as a homeowner you have 11,000 residents in the community and 8,400 property owners,” he said. “There are some sharp issues, and the issue of compromising or voting is, I think, kind of central.”
Daly added that could be a “long-term issue.”
“The community is 40 years old, so maybe an upgrade in some of those bylaws might serve the interest of the greater community,” he said.
Candidates for the 2016 board of directors’ election must file before May 10.
A candidate forum will be held on June 22. To be eligible to vote, homeowners must pay all assessments by July 2. Ballots will be mailed on July 7, and must be received by Aug. 11.
Votes will be counted on the following day, and will be announced on Aug. 13, during the annual meeting in the community center.
That was Frank Daly, who currently serves on the association’s comprehensive planning committee, and has led recent efforts to get that group back on track.
Daly said he was was considering a run for the board of directors, but had yet to decide.
Attending that April 27 meeting were chairman Martin Baer and six other members of the search committee, along with elections committee Chairman Bill Wentworth and OPA Association directors Pat Renaud, Cheryl Jacobs and Jack Collins.
Collins is one of two directors whose three-year term is about to expire. While he has not made up his mind about seeking a second term, the other, Bill Cordwell, is not expected to run for reelection.
Tom Terry’s term is also set to expire in August, although he cannot run again this year, because of term limits.
Community bylaws state that two more candidates than vacancies must file for the election, meaning the search committee was hoping to entice at least five candidates before the May 10 deadline. After which, the committee would have to ask the board for an extension.
To date, only two candidates have publically announced they would run. Baer said he could not disclose whether any more had actually filed the paperwork to do so.
Asked if any of the directors had any advice for Daly, Jacobs joked that she did not want to scare him off.
“We’re looking forward to some good people stepping up and being a part of the board to help us deal with the issues that we have facing us,” she said. “We encourage you to [consider it], and Gary [Miller] is going to lock the door, like he did with me, and not let you out until you submit your application.”
“Should I do that now?” Miller deadpanned.
Renaud encouraged Daly to run, saying, “he knows my pitch,” and joked that volunteers get “free liquor” each year during volunteer appreciation night at the yacht club.
“I’ll need it,” Daly said.
Collins said anyone who runs should be commended.
“Do your best. Tell the folks exactly what you stand for, why you’re running and what you hope to accomplish when you’re elected,” he said. “You will receive the support of the community if you resonate.
“I think you’re well intentioned by stepping up in the first place,” he added. “It’s very commendable. I congratulate you on that … and I wish you luck.”
Wentworth said anyone who steps up is “part of the solution.”
“It’s easy to complain or criticize, but we’re looking for people who are interested in being a part of the solution – not part of the problem,” he said.
Daly has been a resident of Ocean Pines for three years. He holds master’s degrees in engineering and business, and has served on the board of the University of California Berkeley’s Center for the Environment, and on a homeowner’s association board in Columbia, Maryland.
He has also sat on four separate executive committees for private companies, and has held senior-level positions in sales, marketing and operations.
If he does run, he said one of the issues he would like to address are the way Ocean Pines distributes its votes. Current bylaws only allow one vote per property, regardless of many people own or live in the property.
“The assessment comes, and it’s addressed to me and my wife because our house is titled joint tenants – but we get one vote. We don’t always agree,” Daly said. “If a couple can’t compromise, then you may not get a vote. So, the issue of voter participation would be one of the issues.
“Right now, a fair amount of the people are, from just an election point, disenfranchised,” Daly added.
Wentworth noted that a change in those rules would require amending the bylaws – and a costly referendum.
“I understand the financial implications, but, from my standpoint as a homeowner you have 11,000 residents in the community and 8,400 property owners,” he said. “There are some sharp issues, and the issue of compromising or voting is, I think, kind of central.”
Daly added that could be a “long-term issue.”
“The community is 40 years old, so maybe an upgrade in some of those bylaws might serve the interest of the greater community,” he said.
Candidates for the 2016 board of directors’ election must file before May 10.
A candidate forum will be held on June 22. To be eligible to vote, homeowners must pay all assessments by July 2. Ballots will be mailed on July 7, and must be received by Aug. 11.
Votes will be counted on the following day, and will be announced on Aug. 13, during the annual meeting in the community center.