Berlin, Ocean Pines News Worcester County Bayside Gazette
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Feb. 28, 2019) Town of Berlin budget work sessions for fiscal 2020 began last Thursday with rate increase recommendations for utility fees and property taxes, with the latter possibly going up by a third or more. Stormwater fees are recommended to double for residents – from $50 annually to $100 –… Read more »
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Feb. 28, 2019) Five years ago, this week, former Anne Arundel County firefighter Mike Wiley went to his volunteer post at the corner of Route 50 and Main Street with a special purpose: to announce that Berlin had been named “America’s Coolest Small Town.” Wiley, a Berlin resident, has been in… Read more »
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Feb. 21, 2019) “Your vote counts” is the theme of a new publicity campaign of the Ocean Pines Elections Committee aimed at increasing voter turnout and reducing voter error in the next board of directors election. Last year, 80 votes were not counted, including 66 received after the voting deadline. Ocean… Read more »
Pines committee on Friday considers role in advising those running for office By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Feb. 21, 2019) No candidates have yet filed for the 2019 Ocean Pines Board election, but the committee that oversees the voting is already well into discussing its role in the process. Elections Committee Chairman Steve Habeger, last… Read more »
GM Bailey departure follows rocky 2019 budget process By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Feb. 21, 2019) Ocean Pines General Manager John Bailey has departed that post, following a tumultuous six-month budget process that had yet to conclude as of the middle of the week. According to a statement released Tuesday by the association, “The Board… Read more »
Daly to GM: ‘the system doesn’t work that way’ By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Feb. 21, 2019) The Ocean Pines Board approved four of five capital purchase requests Saturday, with one in particular catching the attention of several directors. Two golf maintenance items, a reel grinder and bedknife grinder, passed 6-0 with Director Slobodan Trendic… Read more »
By establishing a transition team to help replace departed General Manager John Bailey with a different management approach, the Ocean Pines Board of Directors risks confusing what should be a straightforward matter. Understandably, the board and Bailey parted company this week in the waning days of a budget struggle that frequently veered into left field… Read more »
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Feb. 21, 2019) Ocean Pines’ most recent financial report was optimistic, with a positive year-to-date operating fund variance of more than $150,000 and a positive December variance to the budget of $11,780, according to Treasurer John Viola. According to the December financial report, the month is the sixth straight with a… Read more »
No consensus, but as a membership drive mtg. success By Josh Davis, Associate Editor (Feb. 21, 2019) Little progress was made in terms of a public consensus on the future of the multipurpose building at last Friday’s Berlin Community Improvement Association meeting, but, as a general membership drive, the session could be called a success. BCIA… Read more »
Funding honors Worcester County resident to whom ‘kindness was a way of life’ By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer (Feb. 21, 2019) The Kurtz family, who tragically lost their son nearly two years ago, created the inaugural Matt Kurtz Kindness Grant to help individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of others. The… Read more »