(Aug. 18, 2016) After listening to months of debate and attending three public forums, Ocean Pines homeowners learned on Saturday that Brett Hill, Slobodan Trendic and Patricia Supik had won the 2016 board of directors election.
Each will serve a three-year term on the OPA board and will join returning directors Pat Renaud, Cheryl Jacobs, Dave Stevens and Tom Herrick at an organizational meeting on Monday, when new officers will be elected.
Speaking during a phone interview on Monday, Hill, the leading vote getter and the youngest of the 11 candidates by more than a decade, said he was “very pleased” with the outcome.
“What we thought was the opinion of the community was actually seen true, and it was pretty exciting to see what the results were. I think we have a really great team on the board and I look forward to working with Slobodan and Pat,” Hill said. “Pat seemed to have some differences with Slobodan and I going through the debates, but I think we’re going to be able to establish a good working relationship.”
He and Trendic, Hill said, “preached the need for change” during the election.
“We need better communication and better all-around management within the association,” Hill said. “We’re prepared to take the actions necessary to open up communication, get the transparency that’s needed out there, make sure that we have management follow-through on all of our projects, and that we get the controls in place that the community feels are necessary with their finances.”
First, Hill continued, “we really need to clean ourselves up as a board.”
“Out of the gate, we need to change the way that the board’s been operating,” he said. “The whole ‘majority,’ ‘minority’ and ‘4-3’ game has got to get out of the picture, and we as a board need how to learn to work together first. I can see, just in the last 48 hours, we’ve had really good communication between us and I’m optimistic that the behavior that I think disappointed many of the homeowners – we’re going to be able to get rid of that and you’re going to see a much more professional organization,” he said.
“That has to happen before we’re able to make any changes amongst anything else in the neighborhood – we have to be able to work together,” Hill added. “I’ve seen steps of that happen and I’m excited for that.”
Trendic, who received the second most votes this year, maintained something of a poker face when he learned the results during the annual meeting on Saturday. He finished third in the vote last year, when only two seats were open.
“I had to be kind of unemotional because I really didn’t know which way it was going to go,” he said on Monday. “I know that a couple of other candidates had spent a tremendous amount of funds on their campaigns.”
That included what he said was heavy advertising by some that targeted homeowners who live “across the bridge.”
“For that reason I really couldn’t be totally optimistic. I was confident that I was going to get at least as many votes as I got last year, and I was hoping to get more,” he said. “I am very happy with the outcome and I’m extremely excited that the community elected Brett Hill.”
Trendic made his ballot public, which included a vote for Hill, himself and Steve Lind, and said the results of the election “speaks for how the community feels about the makeup of the board.”
“We knew that we are a diverse community, but in the course of my campaign what I discovered is that multigenerational diversity is beginning to become more and more important,” he said. “Brett represents that new population that we are getting in Ocean Pines, which is very important for many different reasons.
“What I also discovered is that we are actually like a microcosm – like a mini-world,” he added. “I met people from Latin America that live here, I’ve met people from Europe that have homes here and live here, I’ve met people from Asia that have homes and live here. That kind of diversity really says volumes to what Ocean Pines is evolving into, as opposed to what we used to be 50 years ago.”
In terms of actions, Trendic hopes to accomplish coming out of the gate, he said he plans to “pretty much stick to my campaign messages.” That includes reforming the way votes are counted, putting the brakes on the more expensive aspects of the Manklin Meadows racquet sports expansion and addressing critical infrastructure, from information technology to bridges.
“One of my other priorities is really the issue related to the management situation,” Trendic said. “I’ll be encouraging the board to look at that.
“I think the most important one is really to bring more synergy, more respect between the board members,” he added. “I will do everything I can to reach out to every individual board member and treat them with respect and courtesy.
“I am hoping that we will be seeing that kind of tone from every board member, and I’m sure that the community will welcome that. I think we need to think in terms of we are all on the same side, and that is the community’s side.”
Supik, who finished third, said she expected Trendic to win, but did not know Hill was “such a frontrunner.”
“That kind of surprised me,” she said. “I had talked with Frank Daly and George Simon (who finished fourth and sixth, respectively) a lot before the election and was kind of hoping that one of them would get in, but they didn’t.”
During the campaign, she said she would “go back and forth” between thinking she could make it into the top three.
“A lot of people had talked to me and I felt good about the election, but you never know,” she said. “If you talk to 100, 200 people … that’s out of 8,500. You have no idea what the majority of people are going to do.
“I was pleased to be elected and I am looking forward to serving on the board,” she added. “Some of the things that we talked about in the election process, as far as the tone of the board and the personalities and functions, are of great interest to me.”
Supik, who has served as chair of the budget and finance committee during the last two years, expects to become entrenched in developing the next fiscal year budget very soon. Traditionally, that process begins in the fall and stretches well into the next year.
“It’s not just the numbers part of that, it’s the idea that the budget is tied to any strategic plan in the short term and the long term. I would like to move toward formalizing that idea, that the strategic plan for the community is part of crafting the budget process – and I think that will be a large part of what the board is doing,” she said, adding that there is no strategic plan in Ocean Pines.
“I don’t think you have to spend weeks and angst to get an idea of a strategic plan. I just think that, in crafting a budget you should get an idea of the direction of the community as a whole in both the short term and the long term,” she added.
John Viola, Supik said, is her pick to succeed her as chair of the budget and finance committee. Board members cannot serve on committee, except as liaisons.
“I think he has the background and a lot to offer the community,” she said. “He knows what he’s talking about from a financial perspective, and the financials as far as the whole operation [and] as business goes. I think he really has a sense of that, and he’s calm and rational – we need more calm, rational, forward-thinking people.”
Each will serve a three-year term on the OPA board and will join returning directors Pat Renaud, Cheryl Jacobs, Dave Stevens and Tom Herrick at an organizational meeting on Monday, when new officers will be elected.
Speaking during a phone interview on Monday, Hill, the leading vote getter and the youngest of the 11 candidates by more than a decade, said he was “very pleased” with the outcome.
“What we thought was the opinion of the community was actually seen true, and it was pretty exciting to see what the results were. I think we have a really great team on the board and I look forward to working with Slobodan and Pat,” Hill said. “Pat seemed to have some differences with Slobodan and I going through the debates, but I think we’re going to be able to establish a good working relationship.”
He and Trendic, Hill said, “preached the need for change” during the election.
“We need better communication and better all-around management within the association,” Hill said. “We’re prepared to take the actions necessary to open up communication, get the transparency that’s needed out there, make sure that we have management follow-through on all of our projects, and that we get the controls in place that the community feels are necessary with their finances.”
First, Hill continued, “we really need to clean ourselves up as a board.”
“Out of the gate, we need to change the way that the board’s been operating,” he said. “The whole ‘majority,’ ‘minority’ and ‘4-3’ game has got to get out of the picture, and we as a board need how to learn to work together first. I can see, just in the last 48 hours, we’ve had really good communication between us and I’m optimistic that the behavior that I think disappointed many of the homeowners – we’re going to be able to get rid of that and you’re going to see a much more professional organization,” he said.
“That has to happen before we’re able to make any changes amongst anything else in the neighborhood – we have to be able to work together,” Hill added. “I’ve seen steps of that happen and I’m excited for that.”
Trendic, who received the second most votes this year, maintained something of a poker face when he learned the results during the annual meeting on Saturday. He finished third in the vote last year, when only two seats were open.
“I had to be kind of unemotional because I really didn’t know which way it was going to go,” he said on Monday. “I know that a couple of other candidates had spent a tremendous amount of funds on their campaigns.”
That included what he said was heavy advertising by some that targeted homeowners who live “across the bridge.”
“For that reason I really couldn’t be totally optimistic. I was confident that I was going to get at least as many votes as I got last year, and I was hoping to get more,” he said. “I am very happy with the outcome and I’m extremely excited that the community elected Brett Hill.”
Trendic made his ballot public, which included a vote for Hill, himself and Steve Lind, and said the results of the election “speaks for how the community feels about the makeup of the board.”
“We knew that we are a diverse community, but in the course of my campaign what I discovered is that multigenerational diversity is beginning to become more and more important,” he said. “Brett represents that new population that we are getting in Ocean Pines, which is very important for many different reasons.
“What I also discovered is that we are actually like a microcosm – like a mini-world,” he added. “I met people from Latin America that live here, I’ve met people from Europe that have homes here and live here, I’ve met people from Asia that have homes and live here. That kind of diversity really says volumes to what Ocean Pines is evolving into, as opposed to what we used to be 50 years ago.”
In terms of actions, Trendic hopes to accomplish coming out of the gate, he said he plans to “pretty much stick to my campaign messages.” That includes reforming the way votes are counted, putting the brakes on the more expensive aspects of the Manklin Meadows racquet sports expansion and addressing critical infrastructure, from information technology to bridges.
“One of my other priorities is really the issue related to the management situation,” Trendic said. “I’ll be encouraging the board to look at that.
“I think the most important one is really to bring more synergy, more respect between the board members,” he added. “I will do everything I can to reach out to every individual board member and treat them with respect and courtesy.
“I am hoping that we will be seeing that kind of tone from every board member, and I’m sure that the community will welcome that. I think we need to think in terms of we are all on the same side, and that is the community’s side.”
Supik, who finished third, said she expected Trendic to win, but did not know Hill was “such a frontrunner.”
“That kind of surprised me,” she said. “I had talked with Frank Daly and George Simon (who finished fourth and sixth, respectively) a lot before the election and was kind of hoping that one of them would get in, but they didn’t.”
During the campaign, she said she would “go back and forth” between thinking she could make it into the top three.
“A lot of people had talked to me and I felt good about the election, but you never know,” she said. “If you talk to 100, 200 people … that’s out of 8,500. You have no idea what the majority of people are going to do.
“I was pleased to be elected and I am looking forward to serving on the board,” she added. “Some of the things that we talked about in the election process, as far as the tone of the board and the personalities and functions, are of great interest to me.”
Supik, who has served as chair of the budget and finance committee during the last two years, expects to become entrenched in developing the next fiscal year budget very soon. Traditionally, that process begins in the fall and stretches well into the next year.
“It’s not just the numbers part of that, it’s the idea that the budget is tied to any strategic plan in the short term and the long term. I would like to move toward formalizing that idea, that the strategic plan for the community is part of crafting the budget process – and I think that will be a large part of what the board is doing,” she said, adding that there is no strategic plan in Ocean Pines.
“I don’t think you have to spend weeks and angst to get an idea of a strategic plan. I just think that, in crafting a budget you should get an idea of the direction of the community as a whole in both the short term and the long term,” she added.
John Viola, Supik said, is her pick to succeed her as chair of the budget and finance committee. Board members cannot serve on committee, except as liaisons.
“I think he has the background and a lot to offer the community,” she said. “He knows what he’s talking about from a financial perspective, and the financials as far as the whole operation [and] as business goes. I think he really has a sense of that, and he’s calm and rational – we need more calm, rational, forward-thinking people.”