(Aug. 31, 2017) The unpopular decision in July to open the formerly adults-only “Oasis” pool in Ocean Pines to people of all ages continues to be a sore subject with many in the community.
With that in mind, resident Gary Miller has decided to form a committee to consider ways to return that status.
Citing legal precedent, the seven-member board of directors voted unanimously in closed session on July 10 to open the pool to all ages.
Interim General Manager and Director Brett Hill later released the text of the motion, which read, “… after reviewing concerns raised by residents and legal counsel about whether the prohibiting children from using the adults only Yacht Club pool complies with State and Federal law and Ocean Pines’ tax exempt purposes, the prohibition on children using the Yacht Club pool is temporarily suspended to allow time for further review, effective immediately.”
The motion was apparently based on an opinion from Ocean Pines attorney Jeremy Tucker, although that opinion was never released.
Tucker spoke about the policy change during the Ocean Pines Association’s annual meeting on Aug. 12.
“We continue to look at and try to find options [of] how to address those concerns that have been raised. I make no promises as to what will end up happening,” he said. “I will be advising the new board as to what we’ve discovered and what we think, what the costs are, what the risks are.
“I understand and I can tell you, from my perspective, when we were looking at this issue we understood very much what that adult pool meant to many of the community members,” Tucker added. “We spent a lot of time and we continue to spend a lot of effort [looking for a solution].”
Miller, in a recent statement, said that wasn’t good enough for the hundreds of residents and pool users who continue to express their outrage.
“This sudden and drastic change to a long-standing amenity, without public input or discussion, has caused a tremendous amount of suspicion, frustration and anger among a large segment of Ocean Pines residents,” he said. “Many wonder how this could happen after so many years with no questions about the legality, and question if the law applies to a community that has five pools with only one designated as adult only.”
Miller said it appeared there could be alternatives, but that “Tucker … does not seem to be pursuing those.”
“Unfortunately, his research and legal recommendations were, and continue to be, discussed in closed session, which has led many to be suspicious of the findings acted on by the board,” he said.
While Miller agreed there are laws in play that protect families, Americans with Disabilities Act statutes also should be considered.
One idea being floated by members of the community, Miller said, was to combine the Oasis pool and adjacent Mumford’s Landing pools into a single campus that houses both family and adults-only swimming facilities.
Another option to consider was allowing an outside company to run the Oasis pool as an adults-only locale and charge a membership fee separate from the other pools.
“At this point, we don’t know if any of these ideas would work, but all options should be considered and discussed,” Miller said. “There is some hope that the newly formed board will take a harder look at this issue, but there is no guarantee that the current attorney will come up with anything different. The ‘temporarily suspended to allow time for further review’ portion of the statement has been repeated over and over with no additional public discussion or comment.”
Miller said the notion that the new board could seek the opinion of another attorney was probably overly optimistic.
“The only way I see that happening is for concerned residents to form a working committee to help research the issue and raise donations to hire and independent attorney who will look at other options,” Miller said. “With any luck, we might be able to enjoy an adults-only pool, or at least adult-only swim time, next year.”
To contact Miller about the committee, email garywm@mchsi.com.
With that in mind, resident Gary Miller has decided to form a committee to consider ways to return that status.
Citing legal precedent, the seven-member board of directors voted unanimously in closed session on July 10 to open the pool to all ages.
Interim General Manager and Director Brett Hill later released the text of the motion, which read, “… after reviewing concerns raised by residents and legal counsel about whether the prohibiting children from using the adults only Yacht Club pool complies with State and Federal law and Ocean Pines’ tax exempt purposes, the prohibition on children using the Yacht Club pool is temporarily suspended to allow time for further review, effective immediately.”
The motion was apparently based on an opinion from Ocean Pines attorney Jeremy Tucker, although that opinion was never released.
Tucker spoke about the policy change during the Ocean Pines Association’s annual meeting on Aug. 12.
“We continue to look at and try to find options [of] how to address those concerns that have been raised. I make no promises as to what will end up happening,” he said. “I will be advising the new board as to what we’ve discovered and what we think, what the costs are, what the risks are.
“I understand and I can tell you, from my perspective, when we were looking at this issue we understood very much what that adult pool meant to many of the community members,” Tucker added. “We spent a lot of time and we continue to spend a lot of effort [looking for a solution].”
Miller, in a recent statement, said that wasn’t good enough for the hundreds of residents and pool users who continue to express their outrage.
“This sudden and drastic change to a long-standing amenity, without public input or discussion, has caused a tremendous amount of suspicion, frustration and anger among a large segment of Ocean Pines residents,” he said. “Many wonder how this could happen after so many years with no questions about the legality, and question if the law applies to a community that has five pools with only one designated as adult only.”
Miller said it appeared there could be alternatives, but that “Tucker … does not seem to be pursuing those.”
“Unfortunately, his research and legal recommendations were, and continue to be, discussed in closed session, which has led many to be suspicious of the findings acted on by the board,” he said.
While Miller agreed there are laws in play that protect families, Americans with Disabilities Act statutes also should be considered.
One idea being floated by members of the community, Miller said, was to combine the Oasis pool and adjacent Mumford’s Landing pools into a single campus that houses both family and adults-only swimming facilities.
Another option to consider was allowing an outside company to run the Oasis pool as an adults-only locale and charge a membership fee separate from the other pools.
“At this point, we don’t know if any of these ideas would work, but all options should be considered and discussed,” Miller said. “There is some hope that the newly formed board will take a harder look at this issue, but there is no guarantee that the current attorney will come up with anything different. The ‘temporarily suspended to allow time for further review’ portion of the statement has been repeated over and over with no additional public discussion or comment.”
Miller said the notion that the new board could seek the opinion of another attorney was probably overly optimistic.
“The only way I see that happening is for concerned residents to form a working committee to help research the issue and raise donations to hire and independent attorney who will look at other options,” Miller said. “With any luck, we might be able to enjoy an adults-only pool, or at least adult-only swim time, next year.”
To contact Miller about the committee, email garywm@mchsi.com.