By Greg Ellison

(March 10, 2022) Analyzing survey data acquired in 2021 to develop long-term strategies was the focus of the Ocean Pines Strategic Planning Committee last week.

On Tuesday evening, Committee Chair Bernie McGorry hosted a town hall to review results of the recent property owners’ survey. That was followed by a group meeting on Wednesday morning to contemplate the committee’s next steps.

McGorry said the committee would work with the board of directors to formulate plans with a target date of this August.

“Strategic planning is a process and we’re trying to drive the process,” he said.

On Wednesday, McGorry said Pines property values have recently trended upwards after previously stagnating.

“It’s up significantly over the past three years,” he said.

McGorry said compound annual growth rates in Ocean Pines have averaged 4.6 percent over the past decade, with the figure jumping to 11.6 percent in the last three years.

Committee member Jenny Cropper Rines said Pines home values have grown significantly over the past several years, with the average closing price nearing $400,000.

“Higher-end homes are definitely selling more, which does skew that average selling price,” she said.

Photo by Greg Ellison
Ocean Pines Strategic Planning Committee Chair Bernie McGorry, center, orchestrated a town hall meeting to discuss results of the recent property owners’ survey last Wednesday.

Other survey conclusions released on Wednesday included community stature.

“Ocean Pines is the largest community in Worcester County,” he said.

McGorry said compared to Worcester overall, Pines residents are generally less diverse, skew older with slightly higher income and education, along with a lower percentage of renters.

“From a strategy standpoint, we need to make sure we’re getting our fair share or more,” he said.

McGorry advised improving diversity while leveraging relative size within the county.

Ocean Pines resident Stuart Lakernick, who attended Wednesday’s hybrid meeting virtually, after the board voted to deny his committee membership application last month, highlighted a recent influx of new faces.

“We have over the last couple of years had a lot of younger folks and families moving in,” he said.

Lakernick estimated roughly 1,500 Pines homes have changed ownership in the past several quarters.

“We should aim our efforts to engage them for more community involvement,” he said. “Half of them may not know all the amenities.”

McGorry said Ocean Pines generally has an annual turnover of up to 500 homes, compared to 150 on average at comparably-sized HOAs in the area.

“Why is it that Ocean Pines has three times the turnover compared to the other HOAs we looked at?” he asked.

As for community safety, McGorry said 58 percent of survey respondents identified the topic as being significantly or slightly above expectations.

“Ocean Pines was ranked as the safest city in Maryland in 2021,” he said. “We should have a banner out front that says, ‘Welcome to the safest community in Maryland.’”

McGorry said safety, maintenance of infrastructure and community appearance were the top three issues of importance culled from survey results.

“The largest gaps between what’s important and current customer satisfaction are in maintenance of infrastructure, community appearance and HOA fee value for money,” he said.

In total, only 23.6 percent of respondents ranked infrastructure maintenance as significantly or slightly above expectations, while 24.7 percent ranked assessment fee value in the same manner.

From the data received, McGorry suggested the association should prioritize infrastructure investment, along with community beautification, while simultaneously limiting assessment fee hikes.

“There was higher positive support for investing in current versus new amenities,” he said. “Overall, Ocean Pines residents using amenities are very satisfied.”

In total, 58.7 percent of respondents slightly or strongly agreed with investing in current amenities, while 35.7 percent preferred fresh concepts.

In terms of top issues, over 80 percent of respondents included transparency, infrastructure and collaborative work between the board and general manager.

Looking at core values, the top five deemed very or extremely important by respondents were integrity at 86.4 percent, accountability at 82.2 percent, collaboration at 76.3 percent, respect at 74.4 percent and sustainability at 74 percent.

“Ocean Pines should adopt, embrace and activate the five core values,” he said.

In total, 1,382 survey replies were received, with 96.5 percent completed online. Full-time residents accounted for 61 percent of replies, while 37 percent were part timers.

The next Strategic Planning Committee is March 24 at 9 a.m.