OCEAN PINES – While an anomalous test is to blame for reports that elevated levels of human waste were found in the community’s ponds, association President Larry Perrone disputed claims that the board and general manager were hiding the results.
In a Nov. 20 meeting of the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors, Perrone provided an update on the results of water quality testing that was conducted in the community’s ponds.
“I addressed the issue yesterday with the Environment and Natural Assets Committee, and I wanted to address it with the community,” he told attendees.
Perrone asserted that about a month ago former committee member Marty Clarke “made an allegation on social media that this board was hiding test results from the community regarding testing that had occurred in the ponds in Ocean Pines.”
“Normally, this board receives a lot of allegations on a routine basis, and normally we just don’t respond to them,” he said. “But this one I think was a little more serious.”
Perrone said he wanted to address comments Clarke had made on the Ocean Pines Forum website.
On Oct. 12, Clarke wrote, “What concerns me personally, as well as other members of our committee, is the lack of action and what would appear to be a case of the board sitting on these results. This north gate pond should have been roped off to public and pets and the cause of the human waste immediately investigated.”
He followed up on Oct. 18, saying, “The fact is our committee asked over and over again for the results of the November report and didn’t get a copy from the [general manager] or the board ever.”
Perrone said he and Director Colette Horn were in a meeting last December with General Manager John Viola when they received a call from former Director Tom Janasek, former board liaison to the Environment and Natural Assets Committee, notifying them a recent test of the ponds indicated high levels of human waste.
“The initial report indicated that it was most likely an anomaly because the number was so high,” Perrone said. “We agreed at that point to go ahead and have the test redone, and we would wait and see what the second test results showed.”
He then added that a second test was completed in December, but that the board never received the results of either the first or second round of testing.
“About a month ago, coincidentally the day after Director Janasek had resigned, Marty Clarke had made these allegations on the Ocean Pines Forum, that the board had the results and that the board was hiding these results,” he said. “In fact, one email indicated the board was negligent for not putting up barriers or fencing around the pond. Cleary the board had not received the results.”
Perrone said he received copies of a report dated Dec. 11, 2020 and a report dated Sept. 19, 2021, this month, and that those test results had been shared with Horn, Viola and Director Amy Peck, the current liaison to the Environment and Natural Assets Committee.
“As expected, the second report indicated that the results from the first report was an anomaly and that there was no problem regarding human waste in the ponds,” he said. “It was disappointing that these allegations were made against this board and the general manager, that we were hiding these results.”
Additional copies, Perrone said, would be made available to other board members.
“I wanted to make sure the community understood this board did not hide anything from anybody …,” he said.
In an interview this week, Clarke said he continued to stand by his comments.
“Everything I said was true,” he said.
“What [Perrone] said I said wasn’t written on the Forum,” he added.
