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Ocean Pines Maryland News
Stark choices could confront OPA in Yacht Club, Country Club projects
Tom Stauss
Publisher
Details of the Ocean Pines Association’s new five-year funding plan with cost estimates for various capital projects pegged at $4.243 million through 2015 have been widely reported, but hardly noticed is this intriguing possibility: Instead of renovating the aging Yacht Club and Country club amenities, at least some members of the task force who drafted the new plan are making little effort to disguise their interest in tearing these 1970s-era buildings down and replacing them with new energy-efficient structures that are more appealing architecturally and would be designed to meet the needs of Ocean Pines in the new millennium.
No one is flat-out advocating new buildings as opposed to renovating the old, but Task Force chair Ted Moroney told these assembled for the public unveiling of the funding plan Feb. 20 that, were it his decision to make, he might very well tear down the Yacht Club in particular, replacing it with something new, probably a one-story building of roughly 11,000 square feet. In comments about possible rehabilitation of the Country club, he made some disparaging references to the building’s lack of appeal and poor design, which could imply that there, too, he might personally prefer starting over.
The Country Club renovation is two or three years away from moving out of the planning stage to implementation, so there Moroney’s musings about new versus renovation have little immediate import. But the Yacht Club renovation project, which has already gone out for design/build bids with proposals due for submission March 15, could easily morph into something far more ambitious than a relatively straightforward, and probably less expensive, renovation.
OPA treasurer and board of directors member Pete Gomsak disclosed that, at a recent meeting of potential Yacht Club project bidders, at least two contractors asked whether they could submit, in addition to plans for a renovation, plans for a Yacht Club tear-down and replacement with a new building.
Published: March 04, 2010
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Hike in EDU charges likely in Ocean Pines Service Area
Tom Stauss
Publisher
Ocean Pines ratepayers will be paying an additional $26 per year, or $6.50 per quarter, in water and wastewater equivalent dwelling unit fees if a proposed service area budget is approved by the Worcester County commissioners later this year.
There would be no increases in water and wastewater user fees in the fiscal year beginning July 1. The increase would be reflected initially in the quarterly billing that would be mailed to ratepayers in September/October.
At a meeting of the Ocean Pines Water and Wastewater Advisory Committee meeting last month, members were advised that revenues generated by the rate increases would help finance two capital projects that have been on the service area’s to-do list for years.
At a public hearing last fall, the county commissioners heard no opposition to the proposal to spend up to $2.5 million for the long-delayed Northside fire hydrant project, which would ensure that all homes on the Northside would have fire hydrants in close proximity, such as they are in Ocean Pines section south of Route 90.
Published: March 04, 2010
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OPA asks county for almost $1 million
Rota L. Knott
Editor
In order to help meet operating expenses for the police department, correct drainage problems and maintain roads in Fiscal Year 2011, the Ocean Pines Association is requesting nearly $1 million from the Worcester County Commissioners when projected revenues are declining
The homeowners association presented to the Worcester County Commissioners on March 2 its request for a subsidy for the Ocean Pines Police Department.
The OPA is seeking $400,000 in funding from the county to help cover the cost of operating the Ocean Pines Police Department. OPA General Manager Tom Olson said the OPPD has a $1.4 million operating budget for the police department, which is now covering more territory than ever outside of Ocean Pines. Through an agreement with the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, the OPPD assumed the responsibility for providing coverage in the area of Manklin Creek Road.
Published: March 04, 2010
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OPA approves contract for S&R pool deck project
Rota L. Knott
Editor
With a contract approved by the board of directors, work is expected to get under way immediately on reconstruction of the swimming pool deck at the Ocean Pines Association’s Swim and Racquet Club.
Directors during a Feb. 17 meeting authorized General Manager Tom Olson to sign a $415,600 contract with the firm of Harkins Construction for a new concrete pool deck and some repairs to the pool itself. Concrete was chosen over an composite wood option. The old decking was wood.
A structural inspection last year showed piling deterioration at the Swim and Racquet Club pool deck, which had to be removed to undercover the extent of the piling damage.
“The pilings that were holding up the deck of the Swim and Racquet club pool showed considerable rot,” Olson said. He said the contract will specify that the work be completed by May 1.
Published: March 04, 2010
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Pines aims to improve customer service
Rota L. Knott
Editor
The Ocean Pines Association is putting on a happy face. OPA General Manager Tom Olson and a select group of staffers are developing a comprehensive customer service plan for the association that will be implemented this summer.
The overall objective of the program is to improve Community wide customer experience for residents and guests.
“We’re looking to achieve a measurable improvement,” Olson said during the Feb. 17 meeting of the board of directors.
A report submitted in November by an ad hoc committee appointed to study the OPA’s amenities found that customer service needs improvement across all amenities and through all employees and OPA committees. The committee said the OPA must address the issue of customer satisfaction and find a way to measure it. The board of directors handed that job to Olson.
To get the job done, Olson has appointed a task force of OPA employees from each department to help formulate, implement and evaluate the customer service plan. The campaign’s goals are to heighten staff awareness of the importance of customer satisfaction, make the public aware that we are trying to make customer service priority one and achieve a measurable improvement in customer satisfaction across all service areas.
Published: March 04, 2010
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Pines board to talk with golf management firms
Rota L. Knott
Editor
While not actively seeking proposals for outside management of the Ocean Pines Association’s golf course, the board of directors has agreed to talk with two firms that have expressed interest in running it for the OPA.
Directors approved a motion made by Director Bob Thompson during a Feb. 17 meeting to allow the two outside management companies to make a presentation to the board. Thompson’s motion said “In an effort to stabilize our under performing facility …” the companies would be invited to meet with the board so directors can see what they have to offer.
Both of the golf management companies, Kemper and RDC Golf Group, which is affiliated with Golf Profit Builders, approached the OPA offering to make a presentation. The OPA did not solicit proposals from them. Golf Profit Builders was the firm retained by the OPA to review and make recommendations for improvements to the golf course under the association management.
“We ought to consider all options” for managing the golf course, Thompson said. He said a golf task force created by the OPA last year did not consider outside management an option when it make recommendations for improvement to the operation. However, he said various other golf related reports over the years have mentioned considering outside management as an alternative.
Published: March 04, 2010
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Resolution expands GM’s authority to set rules for Pines
Rota L. Knott
Editor
A resolution that would allow the general manager to set rules for use of the Ocean Pines Association’s amenities without seeking the approval of the board of directors will be up for discussion at the board’s Feb. 17 meeting.
The resolution M-03 places the responsibility on the general manager for establishing, publishing and distributing rules regarding participant conduct at OPA recreation facilities. At present, such rules are established by board-approved resolutions.
The resolution was originally scheduled for first reading at a January meeting, but directors put off voting after discovering they had not all received the most up-to-date version.
Under the resolution the general manager will be authorized to establish, publish, and distribute the rules governing participant conduct in the use of the recreation facilities of the OPA. Advisory committees, within their area of responsibility, will be given the opportunity to propose rules or rules amendments and comment on those rules and rules amendments prepared by the general manager and staff. The general manager can immediately publish a new rule or amended rule, without further review, when it is considered in the best interests of the association to do so.
Published: February 07, 2010
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OPA budget still on track with $45 assessment increase
Tom Stauss
Publisher
The projected Ocean Pines Association budget plan for the fiscal year that begins May 1 is heading toward adoption by the board of directors at its regular monthly meeting Feb. 17, set to begin at 9 a.m. in the board room.
Property owners would face a $45 increase in lot assessments but no increase in amenity dues in the proposed $11.7 million budget. Total spending would reach $15.334 million when bulkhead/waterway funding and transfers from reserves are taken into account.
OPA General Manager Tom Olson’s sparsely attended budget presentation Jan. 23 drew only a handful of comments from property owners. Among the most noteworthy was a suggestion by Bill Wentworth to increase lot assessments to cover amenity membership for all property owners, an idea that would effectively eliminate separate memberships for golf, swimming and tennis.
Another was from property owner Doug Loewer, who proposed that the OPA revert to $541 per year in lot assessments, its rate before consecutive increases raised it to $808, the rate that has been included in the draft budget set for a vote Feb. 17. He said that any increase in assessments over the $541 should be subject to a referendum of property owners that he urged the board to conduct.
Published: February 07, 2010
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Pines board may reconstitute golf task force
Rota L. Knott
Editor
An innocuous item on the pending actions list about the status of the Ocean Pines Association’s golf advisory committee prompted a lengthy discussion by the board of directors in January about seeking proposals for the management of the golf course by private companies.
The discussion started as one about the lack of membership on the golf advisory committee but quickly turned to one about the best way to manage the golf course. Director Bob Thompson asked about the status of a letter from consultants Golf Profit Builders seeking to give the OPA a proposal for independent management of the golf course.
“If you have an amenity that’s losing money, maybe we can look at some alternative sources. That’s all I’m saying,” Thompson said.
Published: February 07, 2010
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OPA eyes partnership with county to resolve drainage woes
Rota L. Knott
Editor
Residents of the Pinehurst Road area will have the opportunity later in February to review and comment on plans for improvements designed to eliminate drainage problems in that area of Ocean Pines.
Tom Olson, in his Jan. 20 general manager’s report to the board of directors, said a town meeting will be scheduled in late February or early March to discuss the drainage woes along Pinehurst Road and how to best resolve them.
Olson said Ocean Pines Association staff has met with representatives of Worcester County, OPA public works department and the OPA’s engineers to discuss conditions in and around Section 3 of the community.
“We have asked our engineers to prepare topographic surveys in addition to work already preformed assessing flows and alternatives to better manage storm water in the area,” Olson said. “Once these reports are received, it will be necessary to analyze the data, complete a recommended plan and prepare a timeline.”
Published: February 07, 2010
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