BERLIN – Ocean Pines Association officials validated last week’s election results and elected officers this week.
New members Tom Janasek, Larry Perrone and Camilla Rogers were elected last week to fill three available seats on the board. Because there was no quorum at Saturday’s annual meeting, the outgoing board validated the election results in a special meeting Wednesday. In a separate session immediately afterward, the new board, made up of Janasek, Perrone, Rogers, Doug Parks, Steve Tuttle, Colette Horn and Frank Daly, set a schedule for the coming year and elected officers. Parks will once again serve as the association’s president.
“I will continue to work to make sure we obviously function as a well-oiled machine as much as we can and to be focused on the important issues among us in Ocean Pines,” Parks said.
This summer’s election gave voters the chance to choose three of seven candidates. Ballots were counted Aug. 9 and results announced shortly thereafter. Perrone, former chair of the budget and finance committee, received 2,131 votes. Janasek, former chair of the environmental and natural assets committee, received 2,160 votes and Rogers, a retired attorney, received 1,753 votes. Candidates who didn’t earn seats on the board in this year’s election included Paula Gray, who received 1,407 votes, Shawn Kotwica, who got 235 votes, Ed Solum, who received 191 votes, and Gregory Turner, who collected 478 votes.
At this week’s organizational meeting, the new board selected Parks to serve as president, Tuttle to serve as vice president, Horn to serve as secretary and Perrone to serve as treasurer. Michelle Bennett will serve as assistant secretary and Steve Phillips will act as assistant treasurer. While the board agreed to have Lerch, Early and Brewer continue as legal counsel, board members instructed General Manager John Viola to issue a request for proposals for an auditing firm. Parks said it was the industry standard to request proposals every three years.
A board orientation was scheduled for Aug. 26. It’s expected to provide new board members with information that will help them as they serve the community.
“We basically go through a lot of the general conditions about being a board director,” Parks said. “Our legal counsel presents a lot of information regarding the HOA act.”
As for the overall board schedule for the coming year, though Parks recommended continuing the practice of Saturday meetings, the board agreed to alternate between Saturdays and Wednesdays. Saturday meetings will start at 9 a.m. while Wednesday meetings will start at 7 p.m.
