(April 13, 2017) A seemingly small change to the aquatics schedule in Ocean Pines set off a firestorm last week and the directors have called a special meeting today, Thursday, to discuss the controversy.
Resident Gary Miller, a member of both the clubs and aquatics advisory committees, noticed the change in the spring/summer issue of the Ocean Pines Activity Guide released on April 4 and brought it to the attention of others in the community, including several board members.
On page 26 of the Activity Guide, the Oasis pool, formerly called the yacht club pool, was listed as the “Adults-only pool (except for Sundays June 4-Sept. 3, 2-6 p.m.)”
Page 27 included a blurb for the new “Sunday Family Funday” at the Oasis pool, as well as a corresponding adults-only event at the Swim and Racquet Club pool from 1-8 p.m., Sundays from June 4-Sept. 3.
This was a shock to some members of the community because the Oasis pool had long been an adults-only facility. According to several sources, the changes were made by interim General Manager Brett Hill without consulting the other directors.
Miller sent a letter to the board and to local media on April 5, stating his objections.
Another resident, Colette Horn, sent a similar letter to the board on April 7 and copied the Gazette. She said the changes were made “without regard for the limits on the powers and responsibilities of the General Manager, and without regard for the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors.”
At least four directors responded to Horn and their responses were forwarded to this paper.
“I want to thank you for writing a very thoughtful, comprehensive assessment of the recent action taken by our interim GM, Mr. Hill,” Director Cheryl Jacobs wrote. “As you correctly point out, this change did not include any discussion with the Board; however, there will be discussion forthcoming. Speaking for myself, I am opposed to this change.”
Director Doug Parks wrote that he was in favor of maintaining the adults-only status of the pool.
Board President Tom Herrick responded that under Resolution M-02, on amenity policy, the general manager has the authority to “control the reservation and scheduling of Association amenities and in addition establishing rules for participant use for various amenities including the use of our swimming pools.”
“Rules are not subject to pre-implementation approval by the Board. A Board member who desires a review of a new or revised rule is responsible for having a review placed on a Board meeting agenda,” Herrick wrote. “The Board of Directors has recently decided that the proposed scheduling and rules changes made to the Oasis pool by the General Manager be placed on the agenda for our next scheduled Board meeting for further discussion.”
Board Vice President Dave Stevens said he was present when the original version of M-02 was passed by the board.
“I … can say with a fair degree of certainty that allowing a GM to make a change of this nature was not envisioned,” Stevens wrote. “Changing a policy that has been in effect since the beginning of Ocean Pines nearly 50 years ago is hardly in the class of the routine scheduling and rules generation found in M-02. However, at the same time, there is nothing in M-02 that specifies an exception for the ‘adults-only’ policy at the YC pool, nor as far as I know has anything been written in the past that establishes this as a policy.
“I believe that the most straightforward way to address this issue is for a Board majority to request a Special Meeting which will make it clear that our long-standing use of the of the pool as ‘adults-only’ is policy. I have already requested this meeting,” Stevens added.
Helen Curley, who has been a regular at the pool for nearly two decades, also sent a letter to the board last week.
Curley, during a phone interview on Friday, said the recent installation of a pirate ship playground next to the pool seemed to her like the first step in changing the longstanding adults-only policy.
“To me, it’s just a way of having the parents be able to come out without having to hire a babysitter and bring the kids with them so they can sell food and liquor at the bar there,” Curley said.
Curley said her letter received several responses from board members.
“They said they didn’t even know this was happening – this was news to them,” she said. “But they weren’t in favor of it.
“They didn’t say what they planned to do, but several of them also felt that the wooden pirate ship was the beginning of bringing kids to that pool,” Curley added.
She also received a response from Hill, which she said she did not care for.
“He offered to give me my [pool membership] money back,” Curley said. “Well, that wasn’t the point. The point was I wanted to go to the adult pool and he’s trying to take it away. I didn’t think that was a very nice way to respond to me, to say ‘here’s your money, don’t come back – here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?’”
According to Curley, Hill invited her to use the Swim and Racquet Club pool on Sundays, but she balked at the suggestion. Then, she said, he went so far as to look into Ocean Pines records to see how often she used the pool.
“Strange as it was, he went back and counted the times I was at the pool on Sundays in the last two years,” Curley said. “He said, since [she is] not at the pool that much on Sundays, he doesn’t see where it’s an issue for me.”
Curley said she had spoken to many of her friends in Ocean Pines who were also opposed to the change.
“The adult pool is sort of the one thing that the seniors have, and we’ve been feeling for a while that they didn’t want us to have it,” she said.
She said it was ironic the pool was renamed “Oasis.”
“It’s still the yacht club pool to me,” she said. “It seems like this whole thing was done unilaterally with no knowledge – none of the directors knew it. All my friends that I’ve discussed this with, they’re not happy about it. That’s our pool.
“I think they feel they don’t make as much money off of the seniors as they would with the younger people and people with kids – they buy more liquor [and] that’s where they make their money,” Curley continued. “But that’s our pool. It’s been my pool for 18 years.”
Hill, also on Friday, said he wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about.
“I know Gary Miller wrote a letter to the board. And we had one other resident send a letter to the board who asked for her money back, and when we offered her money back she said, ‘don’t worry, it doesn’t matter, I don’t use the pool on Sundays anyway,’” Hill said.
He said the change was made because county restrictions closed the popular Family Fun Night, previously held at the Oasis pool on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. Hill said ordinances related to occupancy of Mumford’s Landing, the yacht club, required the adjacent pool and marina to close by 6 p.m.
“We’re trying to play good with the county and the rules that we’re supposed to follow,” Hill said. “What we proposed and what’s in the Activity Guide is we would make Swim and Racquet an adult-only pool for Sunday afternoon and make it a fun day on Sundays over at, now the Oasis Pool, for the afternoon.
“At the end of the day, the county bent over backwards for us to allow for the facility to open at all,” Hill said. “Where Ocean Pines was given an inch, they took a mile [under a previous administration], and they definitely stretched everything beyond the limit. At the end of the day we’re in this county forever and we need to have a good relationship with the county. It they have rules and guidelines, it doesn’t matter how big of a taxpayer base we are or who we think we are, we have to follow the rules like everybody else.”
Hill said Family Fun Nights brought in as much revenue “as bands we pay $1,000 for.”
“To lose that kind of revenue out of the restaurant by not having the families over there – and for the sheer popularity of the event – we tried to find the best way to accommodate everyone,” he said. “The solution came to switching one of the other pools to adult-only at that time.”
Ocean Pines is also pursuing a liquor license for the Swim and Racquet Club Pool, Hill said. He said the matter would be on the county liquor board agenda for May 17.
“We won’t be a full service bar because of the size of the operation, but we will be able to serve limited beverages out of the Swim and Racquet Club facility, pending that license award,” Hill said. “With a May 17 review, it is very likely that the liquor license will be in place before the facility is open.”
Hill said he would not open the Oasis pool to families, other than during Sunday nights from June through September.
“There are no plans,” Hill said. “I believe that is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the time which is shifted for adults only was shifted to another pool. Operations recognize the needs and desires of a certain portion of the community to have that private, adult space. The alternative location provided, I believe, a fair compromise that should accommodate the entire membership.”
Jacobs, however, said that was something of a red herring because the board was told Family Fun Nights would simply be moved to Wednesday nights at the Swim and Racquet Club pool.
She also objected to the way the news was delivered to the board.
“We’ve received a complaint from a homeowner, which is how I learned about this in the first place – [the board] didn’t know anything about this, as per usual,” Jacobs said on Friday. “As a result of that we have had and will continue to have further discussions about this.”
A special meeting is set for 7 p.m. in the Assateague Room in the community center on 235 Ocean Parkway.
Resident Gary Miller, a member of both the clubs and aquatics advisory committees, noticed the change in the spring/summer issue of the Ocean Pines Activity Guide released on April 4 and brought it to the attention of others in the community, including several board members.
On page 26 of the Activity Guide, the Oasis pool, formerly called the yacht club pool, was listed as the “Adults-only pool (except for Sundays June 4-Sept. 3, 2-6 p.m.)”
Page 27 included a blurb for the new “Sunday Family Funday” at the Oasis pool, as well as a corresponding adults-only event at the Swim and Racquet Club pool from 1-8 p.m., Sundays from June 4-Sept. 3.
This was a shock to some members of the community because the Oasis pool had long been an adults-only facility. According to several sources, the changes were made by interim General Manager Brett Hill without consulting the other directors.
Miller sent a letter to the board and to local media on April 5, stating his objections.
Another resident, Colette Horn, sent a similar letter to the board on April 7 and copied the Gazette. She said the changes were made “without regard for the limits on the powers and responsibilities of the General Manager, and without regard for the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Directors.”
At least four directors responded to Horn and their responses were forwarded to this paper.
“I want to thank you for writing a very thoughtful, comprehensive assessment of the recent action taken by our interim GM, Mr. Hill,” Director Cheryl Jacobs wrote. “As you correctly point out, this change did not include any discussion with the Board; however, there will be discussion forthcoming. Speaking for myself, I am opposed to this change.”
Director Doug Parks wrote that he was in favor of maintaining the adults-only status of the pool.
Board President Tom Herrick responded that under Resolution M-02, on amenity policy, the general manager has the authority to “control the reservation and scheduling of Association amenities and in addition establishing rules for participant use for various amenities including the use of our swimming pools.”
“Rules are not subject to pre-implementation approval by the Board. A Board member who desires a review of a new or revised rule is responsible for having a review placed on a Board meeting agenda,” Herrick wrote. “The Board of Directors has recently decided that the proposed scheduling and rules changes made to the Oasis pool by the General Manager be placed on the agenda for our next scheduled Board meeting for further discussion.”
Board Vice President Dave Stevens said he was present when the original version of M-02 was passed by the board.
“I … can say with a fair degree of certainty that allowing a GM to make a change of this nature was not envisioned,” Stevens wrote. “Changing a policy that has been in effect since the beginning of Ocean Pines nearly 50 years ago is hardly in the class of the routine scheduling and rules generation found in M-02. However, at the same time, there is nothing in M-02 that specifies an exception for the ‘adults-only’ policy at the YC pool, nor as far as I know has anything been written in the past that establishes this as a policy.
“I believe that the most straightforward way to address this issue is for a Board majority to request a Special Meeting which will make it clear that our long-standing use of the of the pool as ‘adults-only’ is policy. I have already requested this meeting,” Stevens added.
Helen Curley, who has been a regular at the pool for nearly two decades, also sent a letter to the board last week.
Curley, during a phone interview on Friday, said the recent installation of a pirate ship playground next to the pool seemed to her like the first step in changing the longstanding adults-only policy.
“To me, it’s just a way of having the parents be able to come out without having to hire a babysitter and bring the kids with them so they can sell food and liquor at the bar there,” Curley said.
Curley said her letter received several responses from board members.
“They said they didn’t even know this was happening – this was news to them,” she said. “But they weren’t in favor of it.
“They didn’t say what they planned to do, but several of them also felt that the wooden pirate ship was the beginning of bringing kids to that pool,” Curley added.
She also received a response from Hill, which she said she did not care for.
“He offered to give me my [pool membership] money back,” Curley said. “Well, that wasn’t the point. The point was I wanted to go to the adult pool and he’s trying to take it away. I didn’t think that was a very nice way to respond to me, to say ‘here’s your money, don’t come back – here’s your hat, what’s your hurry?’”
According to Curley, Hill invited her to use the Swim and Racquet Club pool on Sundays, but she balked at the suggestion. Then, she said, he went so far as to look into Ocean Pines records to see how often she used the pool.
“Strange as it was, he went back and counted the times I was at the pool on Sundays in the last two years,” Curley said. “He said, since [she is] not at the pool that much on Sundays, he doesn’t see where it’s an issue for me.”
Curley said she had spoken to many of her friends in Ocean Pines who were also opposed to the change.
“The adult pool is sort of the one thing that the seniors have, and we’ve been feeling for a while that they didn’t want us to have it,” she said.
She said it was ironic the pool was renamed “Oasis.”
“It’s still the yacht club pool to me,” she said. “It seems like this whole thing was done unilaterally with no knowledge – none of the directors knew it. All my friends that I’ve discussed this with, they’re not happy about it. That’s our pool.
“I think they feel they don’t make as much money off of the seniors as they would with the younger people and people with kids – they buy more liquor [and] that’s where they make their money,” Curley continued. “But that’s our pool. It’s been my pool for 18 years.”
Hill, also on Friday, said he wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about.
“I know Gary Miller wrote a letter to the board. And we had one other resident send a letter to the board who asked for her money back, and when we offered her money back she said, ‘don’t worry, it doesn’t matter, I don’t use the pool on Sundays anyway,’” Hill said.
He said the change was made because county restrictions closed the popular Family Fun Night, previously held at the Oasis pool on Wednesday evenings from 6-8 p.m. Hill said ordinances related to occupancy of Mumford’s Landing, the yacht club, required the adjacent pool and marina to close by 6 p.m.
“We’re trying to play good with the county and the rules that we’re supposed to follow,” Hill said. “What we proposed and what’s in the Activity Guide is we would make Swim and Racquet an adult-only pool for Sunday afternoon and make it a fun day on Sundays over at, now the Oasis Pool, for the afternoon.
“At the end of the day, the county bent over backwards for us to allow for the facility to open at all,” Hill said. “Where Ocean Pines was given an inch, they took a mile [under a previous administration], and they definitely stretched everything beyond the limit. At the end of the day we’re in this county forever and we need to have a good relationship with the county. It they have rules and guidelines, it doesn’t matter how big of a taxpayer base we are or who we think we are, we have to follow the rules like everybody else.”
Hill said Family Fun Nights brought in as much revenue “as bands we pay $1,000 for.”
“To lose that kind of revenue out of the restaurant by not having the families over there – and for the sheer popularity of the event – we tried to find the best way to accommodate everyone,” he said. “The solution came to switching one of the other pools to adult-only at that time.”
Ocean Pines is also pursuing a liquor license for the Swim and Racquet Club Pool, Hill said. He said the matter would be on the county liquor board agenda for May 17.
“We won’t be a full service bar because of the size of the operation, but we will be able to serve limited beverages out of the Swim and Racquet Club facility, pending that license award,” Hill said. “With a May 17 review, it is very likely that the liquor license will be in place before the facility is open.”
Hill said he would not open the Oasis pool to families, other than during Sunday nights from June through September.
“There are no plans,” Hill said. “I believe that is clearly demonstrated by the fact that the time which is shifted for adults only was shifted to another pool. Operations recognize the needs and desires of a certain portion of the community to have that private, adult space. The alternative location provided, I believe, a fair compromise that should accommodate the entire membership.”
Jacobs, however, said that was something of a red herring because the board was told Family Fun Nights would simply be moved to Wednesday nights at the Swim and Racquet Club pool.
She also objected to the way the news was delivered to the board.
“We’ve received a complaint from a homeowner, which is how I learned about this in the first place – [the board] didn’t know anything about this, as per usual,” Jacobs said on Friday. “As a result of that we have had and will continue to have further discussions about this.”
A special meeting is set for 7 p.m. in the Assateague Room in the community center on 235 Ocean Parkway.