(June 25, 2015) After more than a month, at least one member of the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors says he has not received a requested update on facility usage statistics in the community – and he’s not happy about it.
The latest controller’s report, listing May financials, is also noticeably absent.
During a May meeting, General Manager Bob Thompson and several representatives from the 17-member facility use group met with the board to discuss their work on crafting a new policy for use of Ocean Pines’ many amenities. At the time Board President Dave Stevens was among several members to ask for more information from the collective, including a comprehensive list of usage requests.
“Who used it, how much did they use it, and how much, if anything, did they pay for it?” Stevens asked. “I want to know what database you were working from.”
Although Thompson agreed to provide that information during the next regular board meeting, no information was provided during the May 28 regular board meeting, and Thompson, on Monday said he did not plan to share any new information during the next regular meeting, on June 25.
He did, however, say the information had been sent to the directors.
“I have provided information in their board boxes Friday of last week,” Thompson said. “We printed it and pulled it off the system and it was almost the size of a phone book, so we actually tried a couple ways to consolidate it and then just ended up hand-computing to put it on four pages, versus 400.”
The additional time, Thompson said, was required because “this was not a normal record.”
“It took a little longer than we anticipated, but it’s really no big deal,” he said. “This was a compilation of a number of things we needed to kick around, and that’s why I didn’t want to fully roll it out until we vetted. We need to apply common sense.”
Not so fast, said Board Vice President Marty Clarke, who spoke with Michelle Bennett, executive secretary to the general manager, on Monday.
“I asked her if there was an updated controller’s report in my box and she said no,” Clarke said. “I asked her if there was anything on the facility usage and she said no. I said, ‘are you sure?’ She said, ‘Marty, I’m looking right at it.’”
Clarke added, “Either Bob Thompson or Michelle Bennett is a liar, and I know Michelle as a good, honest, Christian person.”
The controller’s report, according to the general manager’s office, was delayed for two reasons: the office had computer troubles, and the controller was bogged down with year-end audits.
Meanwhile two other members of the board, including Parliamentarian Tom Terry, insisted the facilities usage information was in the directors’ mailbox.
“That information was put in the mailboxes [Monday] morning,” Terry said. “I don’t know if was put in there after Marty called. I’m assuming that’s what happened here.”
The Gazette obtained a copy of a six-page report titled “Community Organizations Using Ocean Pines Community Center and Country Club For 2013 Regular Meetings” on Tuesday. In the first half of the report, 58 separate organizations were listed, along with the number of members, number of resident members, nonresident members and the average attendance during meetings.
The second half of the report listed 55 organizations, type of event, number of members, resident members, nonresident members, average attendance, room use, number of meetings each year, hours per meeting and hours per year. A final, totals page listed 3,053 total members of organizations using Ocean Pines facilities, 2,579 of which were residents versus 474 nonresidents. Total attendance in 2013 reached 2,405 over 1,452 meetings totaling 4,585.25 hours.
The latest controller’s report, listing May financials, is also noticeably absent.
During a May meeting, General Manager Bob Thompson and several representatives from the 17-member facility use group met with the board to discuss their work on crafting a new policy for use of Ocean Pines’ many amenities. At the time Board President Dave Stevens was among several members to ask for more information from the collective, including a comprehensive list of usage requests.
“Who used it, how much did they use it, and how much, if anything, did they pay for it?” Stevens asked. “I want to know what database you were working from.”
Although Thompson agreed to provide that information during the next regular board meeting, no information was provided during the May 28 regular board meeting, and Thompson, on Monday said he did not plan to share any new information during the next regular meeting, on June 25.
He did, however, say the information had been sent to the directors.
“I have provided information in their board boxes Friday of last week,” Thompson said. “We printed it and pulled it off the system and it was almost the size of a phone book, so we actually tried a couple ways to consolidate it and then just ended up hand-computing to put it on four pages, versus 400.”
The additional time, Thompson said, was required because “this was not a normal record.”
“It took a little longer than we anticipated, but it’s really no big deal,” he said. “This was a compilation of a number of things we needed to kick around, and that’s why I didn’t want to fully roll it out until we vetted. We need to apply common sense.”
Not so fast, said Board Vice President Marty Clarke, who spoke with Michelle Bennett, executive secretary to the general manager, on Monday.
“I asked her if there was an updated controller’s report in my box and she said no,” Clarke said. “I asked her if there was anything on the facility usage and she said no. I said, ‘are you sure?’ She said, ‘Marty, I’m looking right at it.’”
Clarke added, “Either Bob Thompson or Michelle Bennett is a liar, and I know Michelle as a good, honest, Christian person.”
The controller’s report, according to the general manager’s office, was delayed for two reasons: the office had computer troubles, and the controller was bogged down with year-end audits.
Meanwhile two other members of the board, including Parliamentarian Tom Terry, insisted the facilities usage information was in the directors’ mailbox.
“That information was put in the mailboxes [Monday] morning,” Terry said. “I don’t know if was put in there after Marty called. I’m assuming that’s what happened here.”
The Gazette obtained a copy of a six-page report titled “Community Organizations Using Ocean Pines Community Center and Country Club For 2013 Regular Meetings” on Tuesday. In the first half of the report, 58 separate organizations were listed, along with the number of members, number of resident members, nonresident members and the average attendance during meetings.
The second half of the report listed 55 organizations, type of event, number of members, resident members, nonresident members, average attendance, room use, number of meetings each year, hours per meeting and hours per year. A final, totals page listed 3,053 total members of organizations using Ocean Pines facilities, 2,579 of which were residents versus 474 nonresidents. Total attendance in 2013 reached 2,405 over 1,452 meetings totaling 4,585.25 hours.