Editor,
So here we are. We have leadership who have been caught in blatant lies and who may have illegally audio-taped employees.
Who fired management because they stood in the way of jamming through a technology conversion without competition, even though management oversaw the best year financially in decades.
Who has fired several excellent long tenured employees and given bogus reasons for their departures, even saying they were taking vacation.
And who have been allowed to do this, without the intervention of several others in leadership, who were advised of these indiscretions.
These acts were revealed by an employee brought in to take over for our controller of over 35 years and the new employee was paid $40,000 more. The majority also fired the previous general manager, because he made too much money. The majority hired an expert head hunter to find someone to fill the position and the expert said the position should carry a salary almost $20,000 more than the previous GM was making.
Sound like Washington D.C.? Unfortunately, it’s right here in Ocean Pines.
This current board majority and interim general manager have put this community in a possible position to be sued. Their actions might cost us, the members of this community, to open our wallets and pay for their antics.
They had the opportunity to take care of this situation, when the matter of the audio/video taping of employees was brought to them, but the board majority chose to stay silent and hope the matter would go away.
And that majority includes Doug Parks, who is on the current board and is running again to retain his seat. He had the opportunity to join directors Trendic and Jacobs and rectify the situation, but he decided to stick with the majority and do nothing.
And now Marty Clarke is trying to come back on the board because even though his buddies on the board followed through on things he wanted done, they didn’t cut the budget enough, to his liking, to where we won’t have money to do things that still need to be done. So he will come back to save the day! Clarke and Dave Stevens have been parts of the last 15 boards.
They are partially responsible for the decay in our facilities. Clarke wants to renovate 45-year-old buildings which actually cost us more in the long run than building new, and Stevens gets nothing done because he had paralysis by analysis. Study things to death which stalls any progress.
We have spent $75,000 on several reserve studies, at Stevens’ request, and nothing has been done with them because they didn’t say what he wanted. They all keep saying our reserves are in the “poor” range.
So Clarke wants to lower them even more. That way nothing gets done and he is happy with that.
Clarke’s buddies on the board fired the general manager of six years, outside legal team of 30 years and outside auditing firm of over 20 years even though they were all doing a good job, all of which Clarke had wanted to do over the years. I haven’t now or have ever heard a good justification for any of these.
But Clarke will go to his alternative facts sights of the “Forum” and “Progress” to push his bogus theories. He has done this for years, mostly without any fact-checking from either source. I worked for four years directly beside Clarke and personally I can’t believe a word he says. It seems like it’s not about the truth with him, and not about the good of the community, it’s about winning. If he has an idea, doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong, it’s about him winning the argument.
I have kept pages of notes on things he has said in taped meetings, in the paper and on the “Forum” which were completely false, but he goes by the adage if you say something enough times people will believe it. A perfect example of this was last year everyone received a postcard saying untrue things about Pat Supik. This card was signed by “Beth.”
After the election, Clarke admitted to being responsible for the postcard, using the name “Beth” and saying that is one of several names he has used in the past. And I understand our new lawyer might have advised the leadership to get rid of the taping equipment and destroy the audio tapes which may be the basis for the lawsuit.
I care deeply about our community and hope it succeeds beyond any of our expectations. Therefore, I believe we need a change away from those who keep coming back to inhibit progress. I personally will vote for faces who are new and excited for the challenge. Enough with the old biases and buddy system. I’m voting for two who have not been on the board before and who might breath some fresh air into the place.
Bill Cordwell
Ocean Pines
Excitement for new Berlin branch library
Editor,
Anticipation and excitement for the new Worcester County Library – Berlin Branch was evident at the groundbreaking ceremony held on June 6.
Many state, county, and town officials were in attendance to show their support of the project. The State of Maryland, Worcester County, and the Town of Berlin have all provided funding for the new branch. The Worcester County Library and the Worcester County Library Foundation are thankful for their commitment to the project.
We are also very grateful to the many members of the community who have made personal and business donations to make this project a reality. The Humphreys Foundation provided two major donations to the Library Foundation, which initiated the fundraising campaign. The Berlin Library Fundraising Committee, a sub-committee of the Library Foundation; the Friends of the Berlin Library; and library staff members have worked diligently to raise awareness and funds.
The Worcester County Library Foundation is on track to raise $425,000 for the new Berlin branch library. With significant funding from county and state government, and local donations from individuals, families, civic organizations, and businesses, the $6.25 million dollar Berlin branch library project is underway at 13 Harrison Avenue.
The Bricks-to-Books fundraising campaign continues for those who would like to purchase a brick with a customized message, quote, or name of a loved one. By working together, we are building a wonderful new library to be enjoyed by generations to come.
Howard Sribnick, President
Worcester County Library Foundation, Inc.