(Oct. 13, 2016) The Ocean Pines Yacht Club is the number one priority of the new board of directors, according to a list of concerns that were ranked during a special meeting last Friday.
Following a closed session and tours of several amenities, the board convened at the yacht club, where Board President Tom Herrick asked each director to write down his or her top-four priorities. All but one of the board members present included the yacht club.
The directors agreed that finding a replacement for ousted former General Manager Bob Thompson was a given and was not included in the discussion.
Director Slobodan Trendic, apparently the only director not to cite the club, argued that it was a management issue – not a board one.
“The board can direct the general manager what’s important,” Herrick said. “Not specific changes to operations and saying, ‘Well, you have to have happy hour from 4-to-6,’ but the fact that the board is saying to the general manager the yacht club operations is extremely important to us and we need it to succeed, so work toward that goal.”
“We’re looking for, OK what are we going to do? This is one of the things we’re going to do – we’re going to pay attention to the yacht club,” Director Pat Supik said. “We’re not saying put five staff in the kitchen … what we’re saying is it’s got to be a good operation that the community appreciates and likes.”
Interim GM Brett Hill said he was in the process of performing an operational review.
“I would hope I’m giving you, as the board, the feedback to see the areas that are of concern in our operations in my cursory glance at it,” he said. “I’m also taking the steps as you’re suggesting in many areas to dig further and bring you back more information so, as a board and at the advisory level, you can direct me and whoever takes my place permanently in the right steps to provide the right direction to where, as a board, we see we need to more forward.”
Hill said he was working with yacht club Manager Jerry Lewis to get more specific information, and that August sales numbers had already been given to the board.
“We do not have the drill-down that I believe is necessary for the operational review you’re talking about, but we have the capability that I could tell you how successful Friday lunch is versus Friday dinner and Saturday dinner,” he said. “Our systems have that support – we haven’t utilizing them properly, and Jerry’s already making the changes necessary … to get us that information to quantify your assessment.”
Herrick said he wanted the priorities to focus on the short-term, largely the next three-to-four months.
“Yacht club is a great one,” he said. “The public is interested in seeing the change right away – we’re interested in seeing the changes. I think Brett’s already started on that path and I think he understands the importance of it.”
Other priorities that made the top-five list were the country club, property appearance, reserves and the next fiscal-year budget.
Supik said reserves and the budget went “hand in hand” and that the board would be spending “a chunk of time on both of those areas.”
Herrick said other items that received votes included information technology, maintenance, public works, the comprehensive plan and the boat ramp.
The board also firmed up its calendar for the remainder of the session, which ends next August when two new directors could take over.
An executive council meeting was set for Monday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in a to-be-determined venue, likely the Assateague room in the community center.
On Jan. 11 and 12, the general manager will present the first draft of the fiscal year 2018 budget to the budget and finance committee, followed by a presentation to the board during a regular meeting on Saturday, Jan. 28. A board work session will be held on Monday, Jan. 23.
In February, the board will hold a work session on Friday, Feb.17, followed by a board meeting on Saturday, Feb. 25.
Remaining board work sessions will take place on Mondays, once a month, followed by regular meetings on Saturdays. Those dates are March 20 and 25, April 24 and 29, May 22 and 27, June 19 and 24, and July 24 and 29.
The next annual meeting, when election results are announced, was set for Saturday, Aug. 12.
Following a closed session and tours of several amenities, the board convened at the yacht club, where Board President Tom Herrick asked each director to write down his or her top-four priorities. All but one of the board members present included the yacht club.
The directors agreed that finding a replacement for ousted former General Manager Bob Thompson was a given and was not included in the discussion.
Director Slobodan Trendic, apparently the only director not to cite the club, argued that it was a management issue – not a board one.
“The board can direct the general manager what’s important,” Herrick said. “Not specific changes to operations and saying, ‘Well, you have to have happy hour from 4-to-6,’ but the fact that the board is saying to the general manager the yacht club operations is extremely important to us and we need it to succeed, so work toward that goal.”
“We’re looking for, OK what are we going to do? This is one of the things we’re going to do – we’re going to pay attention to the yacht club,” Director Pat Supik said. “We’re not saying put five staff in the kitchen … what we’re saying is it’s got to be a good operation that the community appreciates and likes.”
Interim GM Brett Hill said he was in the process of performing an operational review.
“I would hope I’m giving you, as the board, the feedback to see the areas that are of concern in our operations in my cursory glance at it,” he said. “I’m also taking the steps as you’re suggesting in many areas to dig further and bring you back more information so, as a board and at the advisory level, you can direct me and whoever takes my place permanently in the right steps to provide the right direction to where, as a board, we see we need to more forward.”
Hill said he was working with yacht club Manager Jerry Lewis to get more specific information, and that August sales numbers had already been given to the board.
“We do not have the drill-down that I believe is necessary for the operational review you’re talking about, but we have the capability that I could tell you how successful Friday lunch is versus Friday dinner and Saturday dinner,” he said. “Our systems have that support – we haven’t utilizing them properly, and Jerry’s already making the changes necessary … to get us that information to quantify your assessment.”
Herrick said he wanted the priorities to focus on the short-term, largely the next three-to-four months.
“Yacht club is a great one,” he said. “The public is interested in seeing the change right away – we’re interested in seeing the changes. I think Brett’s already started on that path and I think he understands the importance of it.”
Other priorities that made the top-five list were the country club, property appearance, reserves and the next fiscal-year budget.
Supik said reserves and the budget went “hand in hand” and that the board would be spending “a chunk of time on both of those areas.”
Herrick said other items that received votes included information technology, maintenance, public works, the comprehensive plan and the boat ramp.
The board also firmed up its calendar for the remainder of the session, which ends next August when two new directors could take over.
An executive council meeting was set for Monday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in a to-be-determined venue, likely the Assateague room in the community center.
On Jan. 11 and 12, the general manager will present the first draft of the fiscal year 2018 budget to the budget and finance committee, followed by a presentation to the board during a regular meeting on Saturday, Jan. 28. A board work session will be held on Monday, Jan. 23.
In February, the board will hold a work session on Friday, Feb.17, followed by a board meeting on Saturday, Feb. 25.
Remaining board work sessions will take place on Mondays, once a month, followed by regular meetings on Saturdays. Those dates are March 20 and 25, April 24 and 29, May 22 and 27, June 19 and 24, and July 24 and 29.
The next annual meeting, when election results are announced, was set for Saturday, Aug. 12.