(Feb. 2, 2017) A larger-than-usual crowd showed up during a meeting on Saturday in Ocean Pines to voice opposition to a proposed pirate-themed playground at Mumford’s Landing, also known as the yacht club.
The board of directors ultimately disagreed with the public sentiment on display and voted 5-2 to approve the structure, which would be funded entirely through a donation from the Mary Mac Foundation, Inc.
Interim General Manager Brett Hill, who first introduced plans for the play area during a work session on Nov. 23, said he believed it would help attract young families to The Cove at Mumford’s Landing, the name of the yacht club restaurant.
During public comments Saturday, many homeowners made it clear they were concerned about the specific location – and not necessarily the playground itself. Plans show it would go roughly between the east-facing wall of Mumford’s and the yacht club pool.
Pat Seidel, a grandmother of 10 and property owner for three decades, said she spends about four days a week at the pool during the summer. She worried the playground, approximately 100 feet away, would create too much noise.
The yacht club pool is the only “adults only” swimming facility in Ocean Pines.
“While I love kids, I’m totally opposed to putting the playground near the adult pool and the tiki bar,” she said. “The primary goal of the board of directors should be to maintain the quality of life here, not to make The Cove either break even or make money.”
Seidel said the majority of residents in Ocean Pines were “mature adults,” about 72 percent of which were 45 or older.
“This adult pool is a haven of beauty … and quiet when you want quiet,” she said. “A view of a fence and a giant pirate ship would ruin this view.”
Gary Miller, a member of the clubs advisory committee, suggested the playground could lessen pool membership and said the board needed to get more feedback.
“I think one of the things that the board needs to consider is getting more public input before you make major decisions,” he said, drawing applause from many of the 50-plus people in the audience.
He asked for those who were opposed to the idea to stand up, and at least half in attendance rose to their feet.
Tom Janasek, a candidate for the board of directors during the last election cycle, said he supported the proposed playground and that it would be farther from the pool than people assumed.
He believed it could, as Hill suggested, benefit the bottom line at The Cove.
“The times are changing, people. We’ve got over 1,000 kids in this neighborhood,” Janasek said. “There are a lot of families in the Pines and we need to change the way we look at this thing. There are a lot of people who are going to spend money at the yacht club that don’t because they go across this river and go to Ropewalk, Lazy Lizard [and] Fish Tales.”
During the new business portion of the meeting, Director Slobodan Trendic proposed a motion to effectively halt construction of the playground until more information could be gathered.
He said the directors had received many calls and emails on the subject, and that the majority was not in favor of the proposal.
“The motion represents the voice of the community members that have basically stated their opposition to the idea – that’s what this motion is about,” he said. “If there is no alternative location at the Mumford’s Landing for a playground then I guess one would have to revisit the whole idea.”
Board Vice President Dave Stevens said there was no possibility of another location at Mumford’s Landing, and that Hill had stated as much during prior meetings.
Because of that, he called it an “impossible motion” that he could not vote for.
“The real issue is how, overall, Brett has made a lot of changes in the yacht club. And he is pushing forward to try and make it inclusive,” Stevens said. “It’s the right direction – he’s trying to make the yacht club populated for many people – not just the people who go to the pool.”
Board President Tom Herrick said he was against the motion, and called the playground itself a progressive development in the Pines.
“When I campaigned for this position I said I would always think about what is in the best interest for the entire community and not one small focus group or one agenda or one group’s feelings,” he said. “In this particular case I think it serves in the betterment for the entire association. It gives … families a reason to come to the yacht club.”
Indirectly, he added, it could benefit the entire membership if the playground helped increase revenues.
Director Cheryl Jacobs said the unusually high turnout was evidence the issue was a hot topic. She did not support the location and said the best way to improve revenues at the club was to ensure it had “good food and consistent service at a reasonable price.”
“I’m certainly not opposed to being more inclusive, but to say this is going to be a revenue generator is kind of ridiculous,” she said.
Jacobs said the majority of Ocean Pines amenities were focused on families and that opponents of the plan were by no means against children. She added that she was not convinced that other potential locations had been sufficiently explored.
“This was dropped on us as a fait accompli – let’s be honest here,” she said. “There was no discussion about this ahead of time … all we’re trying to do is say let’s put the brakes on this a minute – let’s be absolutely sure that there is no other location.
“We haven’t explored all the alternatives, but what we have done is draw a great deal of interest in this particular thing so that there are people showing up for meetings where there’s usually five or 10 people,” Jacobs continued. “There are tons of people sending us emails, calling me at my home.
“You’ve heard what the community has had to say,” Jacobs said. “There are people who are for it [and] there are a lot of people who are not for it at this particular location, so I would be more in favor of tabling this motion and gaining an understanding that I could agree with, that there is absolutely no other location for this at the yacht club.”
Trendic agreed there had not been sufficient discussion on alternate locations.
“This board was presented, by Mr. Hill, with two things – the pirate ship and the location. There was never a discussion of what the alternatives might be,” he said. “I question the location and that’s what my motion is about … I don’t think the project should go forward as it stands.”
Hill countered that’s Trendic’s motion “as written, is absolutely horrible and it does nothing.”
He offered a revised motion to approve the playground as presented, also adding in approval to proceed with plans for ADA remediation of the parking lot that would include two additional parking spaces and an ADA-compliant sidewalk leading to the pool.
The final vote was 5-2, with Trendic and Jacobs voting against the amended motion.
The board of directors ultimately disagreed with the public sentiment on display and voted 5-2 to approve the structure, which would be funded entirely through a donation from the Mary Mac Foundation, Inc.
Interim General Manager Brett Hill, who first introduced plans for the play area during a work session on Nov. 23, said he believed it would help attract young families to The Cove at Mumford’s Landing, the name of the yacht club restaurant.
During public comments Saturday, many homeowners made it clear they were concerned about the specific location – and not necessarily the playground itself. Plans show it would go roughly between the east-facing wall of Mumford’s and the yacht club pool.
Pat Seidel, a grandmother of 10 and property owner for three decades, said she spends about four days a week at the pool during the summer. She worried the playground, approximately 100 feet away, would create too much noise.
The yacht club pool is the only “adults only” swimming facility in Ocean Pines.
“While I love kids, I’m totally opposed to putting the playground near the adult pool and the tiki bar,” she said. “The primary goal of the board of directors should be to maintain the quality of life here, not to make The Cove either break even or make money.”
Seidel said the majority of residents in Ocean Pines were “mature adults,” about 72 percent of which were 45 or older.
“This adult pool is a haven of beauty … and quiet when you want quiet,” she said. “A view of a fence and a giant pirate ship would ruin this view.”
Gary Miller, a member of the clubs advisory committee, suggested the playground could lessen pool membership and said the board needed to get more feedback.
“I think one of the things that the board needs to consider is getting more public input before you make major decisions,” he said, drawing applause from many of the 50-plus people in the audience.
He asked for those who were opposed to the idea to stand up, and at least half in attendance rose to their feet.
Tom Janasek, a candidate for the board of directors during the last election cycle, said he supported the proposed playground and that it would be farther from the pool than people assumed.
He believed it could, as Hill suggested, benefit the bottom line at The Cove.
“The times are changing, people. We’ve got over 1,000 kids in this neighborhood,” Janasek said. “There are a lot of families in the Pines and we need to change the way we look at this thing. There are a lot of people who are going to spend money at the yacht club that don’t because they go across this river and go to Ropewalk, Lazy Lizard [and] Fish Tales.”
During the new business portion of the meeting, Director Slobodan Trendic proposed a motion to effectively halt construction of the playground until more information could be gathered.
He said the directors had received many calls and emails on the subject, and that the majority was not in favor of the proposal.
“The motion represents the voice of the community members that have basically stated their opposition to the idea – that’s what this motion is about,” he said. “If there is no alternative location at the Mumford’s Landing for a playground then I guess one would have to revisit the whole idea.”
Board Vice President Dave Stevens said there was no possibility of another location at Mumford’s Landing, and that Hill had stated as much during prior meetings.
Because of that, he called it an “impossible motion” that he could not vote for.
“The real issue is how, overall, Brett has made a lot of changes in the yacht club. And he is pushing forward to try and make it inclusive,” Stevens said. “It’s the right direction – he’s trying to make the yacht club populated for many people – not just the people who go to the pool.”
Board President Tom Herrick said he was against the motion, and called the playground itself a progressive development in the Pines.
“When I campaigned for this position I said I would always think about what is in the best interest for the entire community and not one small focus group or one agenda or one group’s feelings,” he said. “In this particular case I think it serves in the betterment for the entire association. It gives … families a reason to come to the yacht club.”
Indirectly, he added, it could benefit the entire membership if the playground helped increase revenues.
Director Cheryl Jacobs said the unusually high turnout was evidence the issue was a hot topic. She did not support the location and said the best way to improve revenues at the club was to ensure it had “good food and consistent service at a reasonable price.”
“I’m certainly not opposed to being more inclusive, but to say this is going to be a revenue generator is kind of ridiculous,” she said.
Jacobs said the majority of Ocean Pines amenities were focused on families and that opponents of the plan were by no means against children. She added that she was not convinced that other potential locations had been sufficiently explored.
“This was dropped on us as a fait accompli – let’s be honest here,” she said. “There was no discussion about this ahead of time … all we’re trying to do is say let’s put the brakes on this a minute – let’s be absolutely sure that there is no other location.
“We haven’t explored all the alternatives, but what we have done is draw a great deal of interest in this particular thing so that there are people showing up for meetings where there’s usually five or 10 people,” Jacobs continued. “There are tons of people sending us emails, calling me at my home.
“You’ve heard what the community has had to say,” Jacobs said. “There are people who are for it [and] there are a lot of people who are not for it at this particular location, so I would be more in favor of tabling this motion and gaining an understanding that I could agree with, that there is absolutely no other location for this at the yacht club.”
Trendic agreed there had not been sufficient discussion on alternate locations.
“This board was presented, by Mr. Hill, with two things – the pirate ship and the location. There was never a discussion of what the alternatives might be,” he said. “I question the location and that’s what my motion is about … I don’t think the project should go forward as it stands.”
Hill countered that’s Trendic’s motion “as written, is absolutely horrible and it does nothing.”
He offered a revised motion to approve the playground as presented, also adding in approval to proceed with plans for ADA remediation of the parking lot that would include two additional parking spaces and an ADA-compliant sidewalk leading to the pool.
The final vote was 5-2, with Trendic and Jacobs voting against the amended motion.