By Jack Chavez, Staff Writer

(Dec. 22, 2022) As the settlement case between the Ocean Pines Association and former director Tom Janasek continues, Janasek is taking his grievances public.

During the regular board of directors meeting on Saturday, Janasek took to the podium during public comments to air his grievances for all in attendance. He claimed his reasoning was to ensure such a conflict doesn’t happen to an Ocean Pines homeowner again.

Ever since the OPA attempted to suspend his amenities privileges for 90 days — a move that may not have been covered under the association’s bylaws and was subsequently enjoined by a Circuit Court judge — Janasek has claimed that the whole conflict has had nothing to do with protecting Ocean Pines members and amenity patrons.

“What the board did to me was wrong — period,” Janasek said during the meeting. “I didn’t want it to happen to anybody else. They weren’t looking out for Ocean Pines, as they said. (But) it had nothing to do with saving Ocean Pines from big, bad Tom. It was personal. The judge said so. It’s been proven that that’s what it was.”

Referring back to times the board took action against former director Slobodan Trendic and current director Rick Farr, Janasek claimed that those past instances along with the current beef were not only personal but “against the wishes of our attorneys.”

“It has nothing to do with the 8,500 members of Ocean Pines, even though they’re paying for this as we go along,” Janasek said.

At one point he took aim at an allegation that a member of the board said the purpose of drawing out negotiations and ensuring Janasek receives as little compensation as possible was “to bleed him dry.”

In response, OPA President Doug Parks asked Janasek to please refrain from speaking on any details that are directly linked to the ongoing litigation.

Because of a confidentiality agreement, no one named as a defendant in the lawsuit can speak on the record about it. Defendants include the board as well as former directors Larry Perone, Josette Wheatley and Amy Peck. 

The settlement will return to court on Jan. 25 if an agreement is not made before then.

The board imposed the suspension on Janasek after he verbally accosted a female member of the board in public and reportedly used language considered to be highly offensive to women.