OCEAN PINES – Recently re-elected board member Doug Parks will lead the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors this year.
On Friday, Aug. 25, during the first board meeting since the Aug. 12 annual election, the seven-member board of directors elected officers and set meeting dates for the coming year. The board elected Parks to serve as president and Cheryl Jacobs to serve as vice president. Pat Supik will continue as treasurer and new board member Colette Horn will act as secretary.
Parks pledged to do his best in the leadership role.
“I want to thank those who are now holding positions,” he said. “Moving forward this is the team we’re assembling. This is what we can do collectively to move forward. Let’s get off on the right foot.”
The vote for vice president was split, as Slobodan Trendic suggested Jacobs while Tom Herrick nominated Supik. Herrick said he thought Supik was a good choice because of her past demeanor.
“She stayed neutral and non-partisan throughout her first term…,” Herrick said. “We have to get off on the right foot as a board.”
When votes were counted, however, Jacobs received four while Supik received three.
Following the election of officers, Parks announced that the board would retain its current legal counsel, Lerch Early & Brewer, and its current auditing firm, Stout, Causey & Horning. Trendic said he planned to bring both topics up at a board meeting after the association’s new general manager was in place. John Bailey has been hired and will begin his duties as general manager Sept. 11.
Trendic said that the board had made a formal decision to work with multiple legal firms and yet had primarily used Lerch Early & Brewer.
“As we all know last year the board passed a motion favoring three different legal firms be selected for a variety of legal services to the association,” Trendic said. “Over the course of last year most of that work has been given to our current legal counsel … We have passed a motion which calls for use of more than one legal firm depending upon the subject matter requiring legal assistance.”
Parks agreed that the selection of additional legal counsel would be a suitable topic for the first board meeting following Bailey’s arrival.
“It’s probably a discussion worth having,” Parks said.
Trendic said he wanted to explore other companies to handle the association’s auditing because there were cheaper options than the association’s current firm.
“My intention is at the next meeting to put a motion forward for a competitive bid for the auditing service,” he said.
The board agreed to schedule its annual day-long orientation session for Sept. 22 so that Bailey could participate. At Supik’s suggestion, a conflict of interest form will be included in this year’s orientation for board members to sign.
“I don’t think we do that now,” Supik said. “I think it’s a good idea.
