(Sept. 22, 2016) Many of the more than 8,400 property owners in Ocean Pines see the community as a special place. It’s close to the beach, has plenty of amenities and boasts one of the lowest crime rates in the entire state.
The Ocean Pines Association is also different from many other homeowners’ associations in that it operates as if it were a municipality.
That’s something could make finding a new general manager more difficult, a point interim general manager and member of the board of directors Brett Hill said repeatedly during a work session on Monday.
“I would say, in the last two-to-three weeks that I’ve been involved here, it’s become very apparent to me that I think, before we can decide on a direction, that we have to define what we’re looking for,” he said. “My synopsis of the entire situation is that we’re a community that, for over 40 years, has grown.”
He said responses to a request for proposals to fill the general manager position have carried a common theme.
“’Well, you call yourself an HOA, but you’re really a municipality,’” he said. “We function as a legal entity as an HOA, but there are not many comparable examples nationwide that have a police department, that run the amenities, that run a full rec and park program. We function in so many ways and offer so many government-type services under the guise of an HOA. Saying we need an HOA manager – we’ve kind of gotten beyond that.
“We’ve evolved into something that’s much bigger,” he continued. “In many areas we’ve built very strong teams to support individual areas, but we haven’t really built an organization that supports everything as a whole.”
Before Ocean Pines decided on either filling the role or finding a company to take over the general manager duties, Hill suggested the association “go back and revisit what the role is and what the responsibilities are.”
“I think until we have that full picture, that we’re kind of foolish to say we know exactly what we’re looking for [and] we can solve the problem quickly – I’m not seeing that,” he said. “Once we have our own identity created, then we can figure out who fills the role in managing that identity.”
Director Dave Stevens agreed, although he pushed for the association to at least consider outsourcing the job.
“We’re looking at it from our perspective,” he said. “We should just continue to drink our own bathwater if we don’t go out and see what others offer.
“If you don’t look, you’re not going to learn anything,” he added, referring to what he called “larger property management” companies.
“What I’m suggesting is …we expand our view of the world to find out what’s out there, as opposed let’s hire another general manager for Ocean Pines,” he said. “Is there a map or not, or in fact are we so unique that nobody out there does anything like that?”
Director Pat Supik called hiring a new general manager a “huge decision,” and said there was something of a time factor involved.
“There’s got to be a time limit on you,” she said, referring to Hill, who also runs FTS Fiber, a company that provides Internet infrastructure services from its headquarters in West Ocean City.
“The sooner the better,” Hill said, adding, “I will do what I need to do to help us get through this. At some point you guys are going to have to hire somebody and start paying a salary. That’s not for me – you need somebody else in here, but I don’t want to rush it and say we need to have it done next month.”
Before that could happen, he said more analysis had to be done.
“If we just go to replace what we had … we’re not changing anything and we’re just setting someone else up for failure,” he said. “We need to create a position for success. We need to identity some goals for the position and figure out what the position is really doing. The job has evolved with the growth of the community.
“Who are we today, what are we expecting of a manager and how can we positon that manager to be successful to those expectations,” Hill continued. “The job description we have out there right now and what we’re asking, from what I’m seeing on a daily basis, is not in line.”
Asked by Stevens if that meant seeking professional help to fill the position, Hill said again that he needed more time. He also threw cold water onto a proposal from Director Slobodan Trendic, who wanted to form a task force to explore the issue.
“If we go and form a committee, I don’t know what you’re even going to ask a management company,” he said. “You’re going to tell a management [to] give us ideas for managing an HOA, but I can’t tell you that we fit in that box.
“I need at least another two or three weeks before I can tell you,” Hill continued. “I just think we might be premature on this.”
Asked by Board President Tom Herrick to table the issue until the next working session, next month, Stevens balked.
“I can’t ever understand anything that’s premature about getting information,” Stevens said. “I’m afraid we’re going to get down to the end of this thing and we’re not even going to have explored the idea of having a management company. That’s my concern, and I think that’s irresponsible.”
“I don’t think anyone would let it get to that point,” Hill said. “I’m just cautioning running out too quickly.”
The Ocean Pines Association is also different from many other homeowners’ associations in that it operates as if it were a municipality.
That’s something could make finding a new general manager more difficult, a point interim general manager and member of the board of directors Brett Hill said repeatedly during a work session on Monday.
“I would say, in the last two-to-three weeks that I’ve been involved here, it’s become very apparent to me that I think, before we can decide on a direction, that we have to define what we’re looking for,” he said. “My synopsis of the entire situation is that we’re a community that, for over 40 years, has grown.”
He said responses to a request for proposals to fill the general manager position have carried a common theme.
“’Well, you call yourself an HOA, but you’re really a municipality,’” he said. “We function as a legal entity as an HOA, but there are not many comparable examples nationwide that have a police department, that run the amenities, that run a full rec and park program. We function in so many ways and offer so many government-type services under the guise of an HOA. Saying we need an HOA manager – we’ve kind of gotten beyond that.
“We’ve evolved into something that’s much bigger,” he continued. “In many areas we’ve built very strong teams to support individual areas, but we haven’t really built an organization that supports everything as a whole.”
Before Ocean Pines decided on either filling the role or finding a company to take over the general manager duties, Hill suggested the association “go back and revisit what the role is and what the responsibilities are.”
“I think until we have that full picture, that we’re kind of foolish to say we know exactly what we’re looking for [and] we can solve the problem quickly – I’m not seeing that,” he said. “Once we have our own identity created, then we can figure out who fills the role in managing that identity.”
Director Dave Stevens agreed, although he pushed for the association to at least consider outsourcing the job.
“We’re looking at it from our perspective,” he said. “We should just continue to drink our own bathwater if we don’t go out and see what others offer.
“If you don’t look, you’re not going to learn anything,” he added, referring to what he called “larger property management” companies.
“What I’m suggesting is …we expand our view of the world to find out what’s out there, as opposed let’s hire another general manager for Ocean Pines,” he said. “Is there a map or not, or in fact are we so unique that nobody out there does anything like that?”
Director Pat Supik called hiring a new general manager a “huge decision,” and said there was something of a time factor involved.
“There’s got to be a time limit on you,” she said, referring to Hill, who also runs FTS Fiber, a company that provides Internet infrastructure services from its headquarters in West Ocean City.
“The sooner the better,” Hill said, adding, “I will do what I need to do to help us get through this. At some point you guys are going to have to hire somebody and start paying a salary. That’s not for me – you need somebody else in here, but I don’t want to rush it and say we need to have it done next month.”
Before that could happen, he said more analysis had to be done.
“If we just go to replace what we had … we’re not changing anything and we’re just setting someone else up for failure,” he said. “We need to create a position for success. We need to identity some goals for the position and figure out what the position is really doing. The job has evolved with the growth of the community.
“Who are we today, what are we expecting of a manager and how can we positon that manager to be successful to those expectations,” Hill continued. “The job description we have out there right now and what we’re asking, from what I’m seeing on a daily basis, is not in line.”
Asked by Stevens if that meant seeking professional help to fill the position, Hill said again that he needed more time. He also threw cold water onto a proposal from Director Slobodan Trendic, who wanted to form a task force to explore the issue.
“If we go and form a committee, I don’t know what you’re even going to ask a management company,” he said. “You’re going to tell a management [to] give us ideas for managing an HOA, but I can’t tell you that we fit in that box.
“I need at least another two or three weeks before I can tell you,” Hill continued. “I just think we might be premature on this.”
Asked by Board President Tom Herrick to table the issue until the next working session, next month, Stevens balked.
“I can’t ever understand anything that’s premature about getting information,” Stevens said. “I’m afraid we’re going to get down to the end of this thing and we’re not even going to have explored the idea of having a management company. That’s my concern, and I think that’s irresponsible.”
“I don’t think anyone would let it get to that point,” Hill said. “I’m just cautioning running out too quickly.”