By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer

Tom Piatti

(May 9, 2019) Tom Piatti has been named to fill the seat on the Ocean Pines Board of Directors vacated last month by Slobodan Trendic, whose term will expire in August.

Board Vice President Steve Tuttle introduced Piatti at the board’s Saturday session. Tuttle chaired the session in the absence of board President Doug Parks.

“Mr. Piatti has significant experience with The Parke HOA, and will benefit this board as it moves forward,” Tuttle said. “He also brings specific expertise in the areas of new capital enforcement, preparation and restrictions.”

Piatti, who recently stepped down as president of The Parke homeowner’s association, was a part-time resident of Ocean Pines from 2002 to 2013 before taking up permanent residence.

“I was a part time resident for 11 years, so I understand why people don’t respond to voting and stuff like that, because you have the expectation that the people who live here, who experience it, are making the right decisions when they elect officials,” Piatti said.

Since his retirement in 2013 as a operations director for a technology company, Piatti has looked for different projects to keep himself busy once he settled permanently in Ocean Pines. One of those projects including managing The Parke’s operations committee, then moving up the ladder as vice president then president of The Parke homeowner’s association.

“I did 30 years in the Army,” Piatti said. “When I retired, I was a defense contractor and I was a facilities manager, so I have a lot of experience when it comes to facilities, maintenance, and certainly running an HOA and using the people’s money wisely to make sure that the assets are maintained to keep the property values up.”

Piatti has already performed some committee work for Ocean Pines, having served two years on the Search Committee from 2017-18. He had stepped down from that post and as president of The Parke Association this year to travel with his wife.

A self-proclaimed entertainer who plays the guitar in a band called Still Rockin’, Piatti said he looks forward to discussing the future of the Ocean Pines Golf Clubhouse.

“I’m in the entertainment business so I understand the facilities, and making money and I hope that I can contribute to building up patronage, and I think that the new country club should be built,” Piatti said. “I [personally] think it should be larger but I’m good with the plans and I have a background in facilities and I’ve looked at it. I’m all for that.”

Before he can get to work on those projects, however, Piatti wants to research his new duties before he makes any decisions.

“I need time to look at the board documents and directives and have a better item of how to move forward,” Piatti said. “Let me see what I can do for Ocean Pines.”

Trendic resigned from the board on April 12 after the six other directors refused to adopt his recommendation that the question of whether to replace the golf clubhouse and a cart barn be put to property owners via referendum.