By Greg Ellison

(July 22, 2021) Ocean Pines Director Frank Daly, the sole incumbent running in this years’ board election, gave his take on several hot-button topics during the second candidate forum last Tuesday.

Addressing the issue of personality differences affecting the board’s performance, Daly highlighted the annual turnover of two or three members.

After working with three different board lineups, Daly said all have exhibited functional variations.

“Each one has had a different characteristic in terms of people interacting … and personalities,” he said.

Daly said the most effective method to minimize internal conflicts is remaining focused on issues.

“The trick to getting things done is focus on issues, not who brought it to table,” he said. “In the industry they refer to that as ‘leave your ego at the door.’”

Daly said board members should have the ability to work collaboratively to find solutions best suited for the larger community, regardless of personalities clashes or varying perspectives.

“Big companies have people that really, at the end of the day, hate each other,” he said. “But they are forced to work together, and they solve problems [to] make progress because they put their differences aside.”

Delineating oversight responsibilities between the board and general manager was also addressed by Daly.

“Actually, I think the responsibilities are clearly defined,” he said.

Daly said the association’s general manager position serves as chief operating officer with oversight of day-to-day operations and facility maintenance.

Daly said the board is tasked with establishing policies and objectives for the operations team to execute.

“Where we run into problems is when one side, be it the staff or GM, gets in the board’s business, or the board gets in the GM’s business,” he said.

Daly also touched on enforcement of property regulations.

For the past three years, Daly has spearheaded efforts to enhance Worcester County short-term rental regulations to grant the association timely enforcement capabilities for violations.

“We do want to address the problem properties,” he said.

Last month, the board passed a resolution to proceed with asking each neighborhood section to vote on amending its declaration of restrictions.

In fact, Daly said a first step in the ongoing campaign to address noise or litter complaints from short-term rentals is forthcoming.

“The current board will be issuing a statement because we just met and have some concepts on how to enforce,” he said.

Daly said extending enforcement efforts to all Pines properties is also under consideration, but discussions are still in the early phase.

Daly was also questioned about long-term maintenance plans for the aging Beach Club building.

While there have been recent murmurs among board members regarding replacement, Daly questioned costs.

“I’ve spoken to two general contractors [who] both feel to get permitting done to replace it would be $1 million before you break ground,” he said.

Daly suggested the structure’s useful lifespan could be significantly extended with interior and exterior renovations.

“For probably under $500,000, we can renovate and extend the life 25-30 years,” he said.

Overall, Daly said association-owned facilities have taken an upswing over the last three years, with most major structural-deficiencies resolved.

“Now what we’re dealing with … [are] lower level problems that aren’t as intense as buildings falling down,” he said. “That’s exactly where we want to stay, to continue to get better and keep eating away at the problems that have bothered us over time.”