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Election to delay comprehensive plan

(July 21, 2016) While the Ocean Pines Association Comprehensive Planning Committee had hoped to present a major update to board of directors this month, it will likely have to wait until after the August election.
The advisory committee has almost completed work on a new 1,400-word, 39-question communitywide survey designed to gather data for a new comprehensive plan.
Members of the committee had planned to present a draft for board approval by as soon as the July 28 public meeting. During a July 14 committee meeting, however, Chairman Frank Daly said that was unlikely.
According to Daly, Board President Pat Renaud also told the committee “we should not expect this board to go into special session to review it.”
“We want to be very careful because of what happened last time,” Renaud said, referring to a spring meeting with the committee and the directors that, by all accounts, did not go well. “We want to be as prepared for every contingency as we can.”
Previously, the committee had relied on Salisbury University Group BEACON and its director, Dr. Memo Diriker, to create and implement a survey. When Diriker did not attend a meeting with the committee and the board in March, other committee members in attendance did not seem prepared to speak on that subject.
Following that meeting, the committee regrouped, found new leadership in Daly and a new member in Ocean City Planning Director Bill Neville. The OPA also terminated its contract with Diriker.
“It’s not that we’re trying to avoid anything – we are just slowing down,” committee member Gail Blazer said. “We were just rushing it too fast [in March] and we weren’t doing a good job.”
Daly, who is one of 11 people running for three seats on the board of directors, said the committee would likely finalize the survey during a July 28 committee meeting at 4:30 p.m. in the community center.
Results of the election will be announced during the annual meeting on Saturday, Aug. 13. Afterwards, the board will call an organizational meeting to elect new leadership. As a result, the committee would likely not be able to take its proposal to the board until at least September.
Currently, the survey includes 14 “chapters,” including questions on “future growth considerations and restrictions,” “capital planning,” “reserves & assessments,” “revenue generating amenities,” and “governance.”
During its eventual presentation to the board, the committee is expected to offer several options on how to conduct the survey, ranging from a free or low-cost online version, to mailing questionnaires to all homeowners in the Pines.