By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 7, 2017) The Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors discussed the following items during a meeting in the community center last Thursday:

Prez’s remarks on pool

Association President Doug Parks gave a “shout out” to the Oasis Pool Working Group and its recommendations for usage of the formerly adult-only pool. The group sought the advice of a lawyer and concluded a set of rules urging calmer, quieter behavior was appropriate.

“I thought it was well done,” he said. “There was a lot of interesting information there and I just wanted to publically thank them for the effort that they put forward in gathering all that information and presenting something to the board for consideration.”

Treasurer’s report

Director Pat Supik said payroll at the yacht club and beach club were much higher than the industry standard of 35 percent. She said yacht club payroll, as of Oct. 31, was 52 percent and beach club payroll was 46 percent. Both amenities have performed below expectations this year.

General manager’s report

General manager John Bailey said a draft of the next fiscal-year budget is finished and is due to the budget and finance committee. Copies were also sent to the board.

The directors are scheduled to meet Jan. 8-11 to discuss the budget.

Bailey said he met with several local food and beverage consultants and would sort through proposals “over these next few weeks.” A report is due to the board, he said.

The yacht club is open on Fridays and Saturdays only through March, he said, adding, “Special events and banquets are … occurring as scheduled.”

He said sound-damping panels for the yacht club, purchased, but never installed, had recently been found. Bailey said a sound engineer would need to be hired to install them.

Research is being done into updating architectural drawings for renovations at the country club, Bailey said. Planned renovations paused and apparently have not resumed.

“That would probably be limited to just the main part of the second floor, where we’re talking about the meeting rooms and the large open space in the middle, if we’re interested in having any of that area be available to us by the summer, 2018,” he said.

Refuse and recycling contract

Bailey said two companies responded to a request for proposals for refuse and recycling contracts, including current vendor Republic Services and Chesapeake Waste Industries. The current contract expires Dec. 31.

He said the bid from Republic was lower, but both proposals were “pretty close.”

The board voted 7-0 to select the bid from Republic.

CPI violations

Three compliance, permit and inspection violations were forwarded to Ocean Pines’ attorney for action, all by unanimous 7-0 votes.

They are: 7 Pinecone Way (unpermitted skateboard ramp), 4 Hemlock Lane (vehicle violation) and 73 Boston Drive (unpermitted fence).

Association officials attempted to contact the property owners and deal with each issue, but were not successful.

Annual reports

Director Ted Moroney briefed the board on an annual report submitted by the bylaws and resolutions committee, and Cheryl Jacobs discussed a report by the clubs committee.

Moroney said the committee asked for legal review of association documents to be included in the budget.

He said the committee recommended keeping board liaisons consistent after elections, when possible. Currently, those assignments are shuffled each August.

Moroney said the committee also reported major issues with Resolution M-02, which governs amenity policy.

Jacobs said the clubs committee turned in a comprehensive 14-page report, complete with photos, which was included in the board packet and is available online.

She said the committee’s top-three recommendations were hiring a consultant to improve food and dining experience, improving the sound quality for bands and audience members at the yacht club, and increasing handicapped access to bar and dining areas.

“I want to thank them again for a really wonderful, comprehensive annual report and all the good work that they’re doing,” she said. “We all have the same goal in mind and that is to have a successful food and beverage operation here in Ocean Pines.”

50th anniversary update

Jacobs, also the liaison to the 50th anniversary committee, announced a series of dates to celebrate the semicentennial of the association, next year.

She said a sign ceremony and dedication has been set for Jan. 6, a special license plate auction for March 24, a parade on June 2, golf tournament on June 30, 4-k run on July 4, beach bash on July 22, time-capsule opening on Aug. 11, racquet tournament on Aug. 18 and winter gala at the yacht club on Nov. 10.

Motion denied

Director Slobodan Trendic moved to direct the general manager to reduce recurring operating expenses by 5 percent in the next fiscal-year budget.

He said the association lost more than $360,000 in fiscal 2016-2017 and losses could be even higher during the current fiscal period.

“The intent is to deal proactively with the deficit concerns by implementing cost-saving measures with a focus on the recurring operating expenditures,” he said. “This will enable the association to improve its financial performance in a fiscally responsible and conservative way.

The motion died for lack of a second.

Parks said of the motion’s demise, “by no means are we abandoning any approach to prepare a very fiduciarily responsible budget that does deal with the deficit … [but] putting a specific target on that hampers the ability to be creative when it comes to the cost side of the ledger.”

Committee appointments

Parks appointed John Viola as chairman of the budget and finance committee and Tom Janasek as chairman of the environment and natural asset committee.

Other committee appointments included Larry Perrone and Larry Decker to the budget and finance committee, Cathy Gallagher and Peggy Turner to the search committee and Doris Lloyd to the marine activities committee.