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OPA new board validated

By Greg Ellison

Staff Writer

(Aug. 22, 2019)

Departing members of the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors welcomed three newly elected officials to the ranks last Wednesday after officially validating vote counts for the 2019 election.

Election results, which were tallied the previous Friday, were approved by a 6-0 vote during the meeting on Wednesday. While originally slated to be confirmed during the homeowners Annual Meeting last Saturday, finalizing the results was delayed as the gathering failed to garner the required quorum of 100 lot owners.

The OPA reported 3,122 ballots out of the 7,957 total mailed to residents were returned, with 49 disqualified for either being late or deemed invalid. This computes to a return rate of just over 39 percent.

The outgoing board also voted unanimously to approve a food management contract extension with the Matt Ortt Companies, which was brought on board last year to manage food services at the Yacht Club and Beach Club.

The board opted to extend that agreement until at least 2023, with an additional two-year option included contingent on performance. The renewed terms also include operating the still-under-construction Tern Grille at the golf clubhouse.

In a press release, Association President Doug Parks said establishing ongoing contract parameters was an involved process.

“The attorneys for Matt Ortt … [and] attorneys for Ocean Pines have been going back and forth over the past week or so,” Parks said. “The final terms and conditions … has been agreed to by all parties involved and that information has been shared with everybody on the board.”

The contract also requires the Matt Ortt Companies to coordinate with Golf Director John Malinowski for events produced at the Tern Grille, which will be located inside the revamped golf clubhouse.

Parks praised outgoing board members Jeff Knepper and Tom Piatti, who filled in as temporary directors following the resignations of two members.

“I’d like to again publicly thank Jeff Knepper and Tom Piatti for stepping in when we needed them,” he said. “Your contributions to the organization and to the community are well noted.”

To complete the changing of the guard, newly elected members Tom Janasek, Larry Perrone and Camilla Rogers were seated and the freshly constituted board assigned officer positions.

As its first order of business, the board voted unanimously to return both Parks as association president and Steve Tuttle as vice president.

The board was also in full agreement on reinstating Colette Horn as secretary and Michelle Bennett as assistant secretary.

Former Budget and Finance Committee Chairman Perrone was selected as treasurer and Finance Director Steve Phillips was appointed as assistant treasurer.

Following a brief discussion, assigning an auditing firm was delayed, with the board directing General Manager John Viola to solicit proposals for service.

Also, no parliamentarian was selected during the meeting last Wednesday.

Aiming to bring new members up to speed, the directors scheduled an orientation meeting for Aug. 26 beginning at noon.

Seeking continued community input, a trio of town hall meetings were booked on Saturday, Oct. 26, Saturday, Feb. 1 and Saturday, May 16. All meetings begin at 10 a.m.

The forthcoming board of directors meetings were also scheduled and will alternate between Saturdays at 9 a.m. and Wednesdays at 7 p.m. All summer meetings will be held on Wednesdays.

The meeting dates are: Saturday, Aug. 31; Wednesday, Oct. 2; Saturday, Nov. 2; Wednesday, Dec. 4; Saturday, Jan. 4; Wednesday, Feb. 5; Saturday, March 7; Wednesday, April 1; Saturday, May 2; Wednesday, June 3; Wednesday, July 1 and Wednesday, Aug. 5.

Ocean Pines Association President Doug Parks provides direction while Board member Frank Daly listens last Wednesday as the 2019 election totals were officially validated.