By Greg Ellison

(March 31, 2022) Ahead of a board of directors work session slated for Tuesday, the Ocean Pines Strategic Planning Committee met last Thursday to prepare discussion points from survey data acquired in 2021.

Committee Chair Bernie McGorry said the “informal’ work session would be a hybrid event held virtual and in-person at the Golf Clubhouse meeting room.

“We’ll walk through it today in preparation,” he said.

Committee members plan to review “situational analysis” drawn from survey results.

McGorry said situational analysis is drive by data and facts and does not include opinions.

“You come up with conclusions and expectations and, importantly, it almost leads you to what needs to be accomplished,” he said.

Situational analysis is used to reveal potential moves but not to establish goals.

“It’s identifying, based on what we’ve learned here, we think this is what we should do,” he said.

McGorry said while board members have reviewed a wealth of survey data, other benchmarking done by the committee has yet to be shared.

“It’s heavily influenced by the survey,” he said.

McGorry said the work session would open with a recap of committee objectives, followed by soliciting board comment to ascertain possible surprises or omissions from survey results.

“Just to get the board talking,” he said.

The work session is also intended to brainstorm concepts for five-year goals and the development of a strategic plan.

“Then we could start to develop long-term goals,” he said.

Public comments will be welcomed during the work session.

Committee members are revisiting top conclusions drawn from survey results ahead of the board work session.

Among those reviewed again were that Ocean Pines offers better amenities with lower fees than comparable communities in the region.

“We should do our best to control expenses,” McGorry said.

Noting that Ocean Pines is the largest year-round community in Worcester County, the committee also emphasized the importance of leveraging voting power to ensure an equitable share of state and local resources.

Compared to countywide demographics, the survey also revealed Pines residents are typically older than average, with slightly higher income, education levels and a larger percentage of property owners.

“We should continue to embrace diversity and monitor demographics,” he said. “We have a lot of talent in Ocean Pines that we should continue to leverage.”

Survey respondents ranked safety as the top benefit of Ocean Pines living.

“Ocean Pines was ranked as the safest city in Maryland,” he said.

McGorry recommended continuing to stress this fact to educate the public.

“It’s the most important thing to people; we should be hammering them,” he said.

Other big-picture conclusions stemming from the survey include strong financial performance with association profitability for three years running, based in part on amenity revenues.

“Ocean Pines should continue financial performance, while communicating amenity profitability,” he said.

McGorry said the numerous association entertainment and recreation options are assets that can be managed to generate income.

“We have but need to continue to communicate that amenities are contributing or breaking even,” he said.

In total the committee has 25 slides of data to review with the board, including major priorities for the near future, issues to address, along with conclusions and recommendations.

“We want the board to really challenge, engage and understand it,” he said.