OPA Board Candidates Talk Issues At Forum

OPA Board Candidates Talk Issues At Forum
Pictured, from left with moderator Steve Habeger, standing, chair of the elections committee, are OPA Board candidates Steve Tuttle, Frank Daly, Gregory Turner, Paula Gray and Ted Moroney. Photo by Charlene Sharpe

OCEAN PINES – Candidates seeking seats on the Ocean Pines Association’s board of directors shared their views on drainage issues, amenity performance and a variety of other topics at a forum this week.

Five of the seven candidates running for seats on the board took part in Wednesday’s forum, which was held at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club. The need for a cohesive board that operates with transparency came up multiple times.

“We need to get everything out in the open,” candidate Paula Gray said. “Why? We are the Pines. We pay the bills. We need to know.”

In this summer’s Ocean Pines Association (OPA) election, ballots will be mailed July 6. Voters have until Aug. 8 to return their ballots with their selections.  While there were initially three board seats up for grabs — those occupied by Cheryl Jacobs, Tom Herrick and Ted Moroney — a fourth seat became available last week following the resignation of board member Pat Supik. Seven candidates — Frank Daly, Esther Diller, Gray, Arie Klapholz, Moroney, Gregory Turner and Steve Tuttle — seek to fill the four vacancies. All but Diller and Klapholz attended this week’s forum.

When asked how they’d address the community’s stormwater management issues, candidates offered a range of responses. Daly suggested issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to firms that focused on stormwater management.

“Bring them in and have them work on this issue,” he said, adding that after they implemented improvements they could instruct the association’s public works team on maintenance.

Turner agreed that it would take professionals to fix the longtime drainage issues.

“It’s a difficult situation,” he said. “Water doesn’t run uphill.”

Gray said that while the association could target community education now — reminding people not to dump leaves in ditches and that kind of thing — it couldn’t afford any major stormwater projects yet.

Moroney said OPA couldn’t consider issuing an RFP before its drainage working group finished exploring the problem. He added that he thought the community’s drainage issues could be addressed through incorporating funding in reserves, shaping culverts and improving general maintenance.

Tuttle advocated for reviewing the reports that have already been done regarding stormwater in recent years.

“Before buying more equipment or hiring more staff we need to evaluate the effectiveness of our current operation,” he said.

Candidates also identified what they perceived as the major issues facing the association. Turner said OPA didn’t bid out projects sufficiently and spent too much money in general. Gray addressed the communication among the board and OPA members.

“We’ve got a real dearth on back and forth,” she said.

She added that the board’s credibility was in question.

“We’d like to be able to trust the board going forward,” she said. “That means more openness.”

That was an issue brought up by Daly and Tuttle as well. Tuttle referred to the recent “breakdown of trust.”

“I believe the board can change,” he said. “I believe that will be accomplished with transparency.”

Daly called for strengthened accountability.

“We need a board committed to working together…,” he said. “We have to learn how to criticize without punching and how to accept criticism without crying.”

Moroney, the only incumbent in this year’s election, said he considered the major issues facing the association its antiquated software system and lack of a true preventative maintenance plan.

“The bottom line is deferring maintenance only exacerbates the problem,” he said.

When queried about solutions for underperforming amenities, candidates agreed that food and beverage operations had been the primary amenity causing concern in recent years. Several complimented the changes put in place by the Matt Ortt Companies, which now manage the yacht club and beach club. Daly praised General Manager John Bailey’s efforts to change OPA philosophy, which he said used to be “build it and they will come.”

Tuttle and Gray suggested an objective evaluation of amenities. Gray pointed out that even unpopular ones were appreciated by some members of the community.

“Just because we don’t all use it doesn’t make it expendable,” she said.
When asked what the current board could do better, candidates agreed for the most part that it held too many closed meetings.

“Be less secretive,” Daly said. “We’re a homeowner’s association not the national intelligence director.”

Turner said he agreed.

“If you can’t have a meeting in front of people you shouldn’t have a meeting,” he said.

Tuttle said work sessions that would allow residents to ask questions would be an improvement.

“One of the reasons people get frustrated is because they don’t know what’s going on,” he said.

Moroney acknowledged that he’d like to see the board return to hosting work sessions. He added, however, that issues involving personnel and contracts needed to be held in closed session.

“Anybody that negotiates contracts in public is nuts,” he said.

Video of the forum is available on OPA’s website, www.oceanpines.org.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.