(April 7, 2016) It was a year ago on March 28, 2015 that the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors voted 5-1 to approve a contract with Salisbury University group BEACON to assist in creating a new comprehensive plan.
Now, 12 months later, real progress on developing that plan has remained elusive.
At the time of that original vote, BEACON (Business Economic and Community Outreach Network) Director Dr. Memo Diriker told the board the “most difficult thing, when you’re doing long-term planning is … having a good idea as to how the future is going to be shaped.” His services, he said, would help Ocean Pines understand just that.
BEACON, at a cost of $33,000, was tasked with creating and implementing a communitywide survey and analyzing its results so the association could have more data to help with developing its plan.
Diriker cut the price tag in half, with the understanding that SU graduate students would be allowed to work on the survey and use it as a learning tool. He said the two phases of operations would each take “10 to 12 weeks.”
A year later, the board of directors has yet to approve the questions for the survey, let alone analyze the data they hoped it would provide.
Director Dave Stevens, who board president at the time and one of the five board members to vote in favor of the BEACON contract, said he has seen “very little progress” since it was approved.
“I don’t know any more about the programs that [BEACON] purportedly has and uses – I don’t know what they do – and I do not believe the survey answers the right questions,” he said. “I believe the survey questions are shallow and geared to near-term questions and problems, when you’re really looking for something that’s trying to look out into the future 20 years and get a handle on that.”
Although Ocean Pines is a homeowner’s association – not a municipality – he said he believes the community should operate as a municipality “where we can.” That includes having a comprehensive plan.
“I believe it’s in our best interest – if Berlin can have a comprehensive plan and Ocean City can have a comprehensive plan and the county has one – then I believe we should show that we’re capable of having one,” he said. “If we’re showing that we’re not capable of having one, then we really don’t make our case for special consideration.”
He went on to say he did not believe the study would ever take place.
“I think if you don’t start with a different premise about what it is you’re trying to get, then you might as well throw it all away,” he said. “I’m saying all this without knowing what tools Dr. Diriker – and BEACON – actually have.”
Director Bill Cordwell was the lone “no” vote on the original motion.
“I voted against it then, because I never bought into the concepts that we could get enough information from the residents so some college kids behind computers, that have no idea what Ocean Pines, Maryland is, could tell us what we need in the future,” he said.
“I’m just of the idea that the residents should be telling us what we need, and I never bought into the concept that a computer program could give us a good outlook on our future,” Cordwell added. “So far, I haven’t seen anything that’s changed my mind on that.”
Cordwell said the last meeting between the directors and the comprehensive planning committee, March 14, did not go well, and that he had not received any more information since that session.
He added that the current questions proposed in the survey were not “adequate for anything other than to tell [the association] how we’re doing now.”
“I think that, if we don’t get a response from pretty much every homeowner in good standing, I don’t think that it’s going to do us any good,” Cordwell said. “We spent money on it, so whatever the committee is going to do with it, I’ll participate. But whether it ever sees the light of day or not, I don’t know.”
OPA Board President Pat Renaud, who introduced the original BEACON motion, did not return calls seeking a comment.
Now, 12 months later, real progress on developing that plan has remained elusive.
At the time of that original vote, BEACON (Business Economic and Community Outreach Network) Director Dr. Memo Diriker told the board the “most difficult thing, when you’re doing long-term planning is … having a good idea as to how the future is going to be shaped.” His services, he said, would help Ocean Pines understand just that.
BEACON, at a cost of $33,000, was tasked with creating and implementing a communitywide survey and analyzing its results so the association could have more data to help with developing its plan.
Diriker cut the price tag in half, with the understanding that SU graduate students would be allowed to work on the survey and use it as a learning tool. He said the two phases of operations would each take “10 to 12 weeks.”
A year later, the board of directors has yet to approve the questions for the survey, let alone analyze the data they hoped it would provide.
Director Dave Stevens, who board president at the time and one of the five board members to vote in favor of the BEACON contract, said he has seen “very little progress” since it was approved.
“I don’t know any more about the programs that [BEACON] purportedly has and uses – I don’t know what they do – and I do not believe the survey answers the right questions,” he said. “I believe the survey questions are shallow and geared to near-term questions and problems, when you’re really looking for something that’s trying to look out into the future 20 years and get a handle on that.”
Although Ocean Pines is a homeowner’s association – not a municipality – he said he believes the community should operate as a municipality “where we can.” That includes having a comprehensive plan.
“I believe it’s in our best interest – if Berlin can have a comprehensive plan and Ocean City can have a comprehensive plan and the county has one – then I believe we should show that we’re capable of having one,” he said. “If we’re showing that we’re not capable of having one, then we really don’t make our case for special consideration.”
He went on to say he did not believe the study would ever take place.
“I think if you don’t start with a different premise about what it is you’re trying to get, then you might as well throw it all away,” he said. “I’m saying all this without knowing what tools Dr. Diriker – and BEACON – actually have.”
Director Bill Cordwell was the lone “no” vote on the original motion.
“I voted against it then, because I never bought into the concepts that we could get enough information from the residents so some college kids behind computers, that have no idea what Ocean Pines, Maryland is, could tell us what we need in the future,” he said.
“I’m just of the idea that the residents should be telling us what we need, and I never bought into the concept that a computer program could give us a good outlook on our future,” Cordwell added. “So far, I haven’t seen anything that’s changed my mind on that.”
Cordwell said the last meeting between the directors and the comprehensive planning committee, March 14, did not go well, and that he had not received any more information since that session.
He added that the current questions proposed in the survey were not “adequate for anything other than to tell [the association] how we’re doing now.”
“I think that, if we don’t get a response from pretty much every homeowner in good standing, I don’t think that it’s going to do us any good,” Cordwell said. “We spent money on it, so whatever the committee is going to do with it, I’ll participate. But whether it ever sees the light of day or not, I don’t know.”
OPA Board President Pat Renaud, who introduced the original BEACON motion, did not return calls seeking a comment.