OCEAN PINES – The results of a community referendum revealed all 28 of the association’s proposed bylaw revisions passed.
On Tuesday, the Ocean Pines Elections Committee announced the vote totals for the 2022 bylaws referendum, which asked Ocean Pines Association (OPA) homeowners to consider 28 proposed changes to the bylaws. According to a count completed this week, all of the proposed revisions passed.
“This represents the culmination of many hours of work by our Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, our Board of Directors, and our Elections Committee,” said OPA President Colette Horn. “In addition, our general manager’s staff provided many hours of support in the way of materials preparation, meeting set-up, press releases, and technology. I thank everyone involved for getting us to this conclusion.”
She continued, “I also thank the association members who took the time to carefully consider all 28 questions and vote affirmatively on those with which they agree, and against on those with which they do not agree.”
In February, the OPA Board of Directors voted to support several motions involving amendments to sections of the association’s bylaws, including those relating to the candidate verification process and candidate eligibility requirements.
Nearly 30 motions advanced to a public hearing in March, during which several residents asked the board to reconsider the referendum. Horn, however, noted the proposed changes came after more than a year of review by a board committee, the Bylaws and Resolutions Committee and the full Board of Directors. She added that several public meetings were also held to review the proposals. The board ultimately voted to have legal counsel develop the appropriate amendments for an upcoming vote.
In total, homeowners were asked to consider 28 revisions to the OPA bylaws. Ballots were mailed out last month with a return date of May 19, just one day before the scheduled ballot count.
In a statement last Friday, however, Horn announced referendum results would be delayed due to a technical issue. Following a weeks-long voting process, the Ocean Pines Elections Committee was set to convene on May 20 to count ballots and announce voting totals.
“There was a technical issue with the ballot counting software on Friday, and the results were not immediately available,” Horn said in a statement last week. “The association is attempting to reach out to the vendor for assistance.”
Referendum totals were ultimately announced Tuesday, with vote counts for each question listed on oceanpines.org. A video of the ballot count will be posted on the association’s YouTube channel.
