(Sept. 1, 2016) The members of the Ocean Pines Association Comprehensive Planning Committee appeared to reach something of a breakthrough during its last meeting on Aug. 25.
The five-member panel had been working for the better part of a year on creating a communitywide survey to gather data for a comprehensive plan – their mandate from the board of directors as one of its advisory groups.
The committee’s last hurdle was how, exactly, it would implement the survey.
Previously the board had employed an outside group, Salisbury University’s BEACON, to do just that. When the board and BEACON mutually dissolved their agreement, however, the committee was left to operate largely on its own.
Last Thursday the members of the committee were still grappling with whether they should target only homeowners or all residents and stakeholders in Ocean Pines, as well as just how many people, per household, would be able to take the survey.
They were also unsure whether the questions would be delivered electronically, or through a massive mailing to the more than 8,000 homes in Ocean Pines.
The previous board of directors largely favored polling only association members, and some worried that opening up any questionnaire would lend itself to potential issues of fraudulent results.
Facilities Manager Jerry Aveta, the staff liaison to the group, suggested a simple solution to solve all of those problems.
“You could learn an awful lot by just doing something,” he said.
Start simple, call it a “beta test,” and then refine the process gradually, he suggested.
“You refine it each time you go through the cycle. You get better – it’s like a wine,” he said. “Try it and see – try it … if you get good at this you could do this a couple times a year.”
The committee had long mulled using a free or low-cost method to deliver the survey and often came back to SurveyMonkey, an online, cloud-based software that specializes in survey development and analysis. The committee could set up the questionnaire on its own using that tool, alert the membership in Ocean Pines using its website, direct emails and regular newsletters, and see what kind of results that yields.
Chairman Frank Daly said he believed the general manager’s office should be conducting this kind of survey on an annual basis and delivering the results to the board. The committee’s role, he said, would then be “to see how that plan corresponds with the communitywide needs and priorities.”
“I think you’ve settled on a wonderful way to … get in the game and shape the future,” Aveta said. “The committee has been struggling to do that and I think we’ve found a way on a process to start doing that.”
Committee member Bill Neville agreed.
“You’ve been able to get us through a very difficult process,” he said to Daly. “I would suggest the quick and easy electronic distribution makes sense – that would be the step to take.”
Once the committee has the survey put together online, Aveta said that could yield a “powerful presentation” for the board of directors.
“Bring [the survey] to the board and let them see it, right in the meeting,” he said. “I think that would be so impressive.”
The committee members agreed to develop the survey, do a limited trial run, and present that to the board of directors during an upcoming work session, potentially by October.
“I think you have stumbled across what I think is a winning strategy,” Aveta said. “If you incrementally approach it simply and develop it, and show what you’re doing I think it’s a winner – I really do. Don’t promise them the world and you’ll get there.”
Sept. 8 at 4:30 p.m. in the community center is the next scheduled meeting for the committee.
The five-member panel had been working for the better part of a year on creating a communitywide survey to gather data for a comprehensive plan – their mandate from the board of directors as one of its advisory groups.
The committee’s last hurdle was how, exactly, it would implement the survey.
Previously the board had employed an outside group, Salisbury University’s BEACON, to do just that. When the board and BEACON mutually dissolved their agreement, however, the committee was left to operate largely on its own.
Last Thursday the members of the committee were still grappling with whether they should target only homeowners or all residents and stakeholders in Ocean Pines, as well as just how many people, per household, would be able to take the survey.
They were also unsure whether the questions would be delivered electronically, or through a massive mailing to the more than 8,000 homes in Ocean Pines.
The previous board of directors largely favored polling only association members, and some worried that opening up any questionnaire would lend itself to potential issues of fraudulent results.
Facilities Manager Jerry Aveta, the staff liaison to the group, suggested a simple solution to solve all of those problems.
“You could learn an awful lot by just doing something,” he said.
Start simple, call it a “beta test,” and then refine the process gradually, he suggested.
“You refine it each time you go through the cycle. You get better – it’s like a wine,” he said. “Try it and see – try it … if you get good at this you could do this a couple times a year.”
The committee had long mulled using a free or low-cost method to deliver the survey and often came back to SurveyMonkey, an online, cloud-based software that specializes in survey development and analysis. The committee could set up the questionnaire on its own using that tool, alert the membership in Ocean Pines using its website, direct emails and regular newsletters, and see what kind of results that yields.
Chairman Frank Daly said he believed the general manager’s office should be conducting this kind of survey on an annual basis and delivering the results to the board. The committee’s role, he said, would then be “to see how that plan corresponds with the communitywide needs and priorities.”
“I think you’ve settled on a wonderful way to … get in the game and shape the future,” Aveta said. “The committee has been struggling to do that and I think we’ve found a way on a process to start doing that.”
Committee member Bill Neville agreed.
“You’ve been able to get us through a very difficult process,” he said to Daly. “I would suggest the quick and easy electronic distribution makes sense – that would be the step to take.”
Once the committee has the survey put together online, Aveta said that could yield a “powerful presentation” for the board of directors.
“Bring [the survey] to the board and let them see it, right in the meeting,” he said. “I think that would be so impressive.”
The committee members agreed to develop the survey, do a limited trial run, and present that to the board of directors during an upcoming work session, potentially by October.
“I think you have stumbled across what I think is a winning strategy,” Aveta said. “If you incrementally approach it simply and develop it, and show what you’re doing I think it’s a winner – I really do. Don’t promise them the world and you’ll get there.”
Sept. 8 at 4:30 p.m. in the community center is the next scheduled meeting for the committee.