JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Ocean Pines Director Slobodan Trendic last Thursday introduces himself as the new liaison to the clubs advisory committee. Trendic, a strong advocate for the elections committee during the last several years, promised to also lobby on behalf of his new assignment.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Sept. 27, 2018) When Director Slobodan Trendic was the liaison for the Ocean Pines Election Committee, he became its advocate during board of directors meetings and saw to the passage of several key election reforms, such as opening the vote-counting process to membership and announcing vote totals immediately after votes are counted.

Trendic, on his new assignment with the clubs advisory committee last week, said he planned to be an activist for that group.

“If you feel, as a committee, very strongly about certain things, I will be your voice at the board level,” he said. “I have always gone the extra mile to represent my committees very effectively when it comes to bringing issues in front of the board.”

Trendic said responsibilities in the committee charter included advising and promoting beach, country and yacht club programs, and assisting with budget proposals for those programs.

“You also have the functional responsibility for reviewing association member ideas and concerns about club facilities and programs,” Trendic said.

Committee member Donna Hickey said the committee was “maybe taking a backseat for a time being” because the association recently brought on the Matt Ortt Companies to oversee food and beverage operations at the beach and yacht clubs.

Additionally, she said committee was in new territory because of planned renovations at the country club that have shut down parts of that facility.

“Not knowing what’s happening, it’s hard to make recommendations [because] we don’t even know what it’s going to be for sure – or when it’s going to be,” Hickey said.

Before the Ortt Companies took over, committee member Herb Roe said there were other unusual circumstances, including an acting general manager and previous board of directors that was not exactly responsive.

“We’ve had a little bit of a history … of no relationship or no communication between us and the board,” Roe said.

Committee member Gary Miller added that a board member had more recently told the committee, “that we should not be interacting with the management company at all,” and a lack of information made it difficult to make recommendations.

“If you feel that certain things need to change vis-à-vis your resolution, because we now have a management company involved, you as a committee certainly have the opportunity … to ask that the resolution be modified to reflect that new management relationship,” Trendic said.

“Just like what my previous elections committee did, when they wanted to change the ballot-counting to [being] an open, public meeting – which caused the resolution to be rewritten – we did that,” he added.

Trendic went on to say everyone was working to make sure the Ortt Companies are successful.

The agreement between the locally owned business and the association was struck in April and the results have been positive. July numbers suggest the best bottom line ever for the yacht club – a stark contrast to record losses incurred last year.

“What we wanted to make sure is that the first year is flawless – that’s why I know I, as an individual director, have stayed away from any discussions with them on any operational level,” Trendic said. “I didn’t even want to create a perception of … interference.”

Trendic went on to say board members were being “extra careful” not to stifle the originality of the Ortt Companies.

“Everything they’re doing was their original idea, whether it’s menu, whether it’s interior changes, improvements, staff training – all of that,” Trendic said. “That’s what we, as an association, are paying them to do, to bring that originality. The first year was extremely important to give them a clean slate … and I think everyone is happy with the results.

“Please don’t take what you’ve heard as a negative,” he continued. “I think it was more about being cautious and letting them do what they’re hired to do. If anything goes wrong it’s on them, and if everything is perfect and successful … it reflects on their success and their professionalism and their experience and expertise.”

Miller said no one on the committee made any suggestions or recommendations “to encourage them to go one way or the other.”

“Primarily, all we’ve been trying to do after last year’s fiasco was to find out what they were planning, so that we could encourage people to come back,” Miller said.

Committee Chairman Les Purcell added he had not heard anyone on the committee suggest to the Ortt Companies “there is something we would like you to do.”