Around Ocean Pines
Commentary by Joe Reynolds

During the summer election campaign several successful candidates included a platform plank promising to make OPA meetings shorter and more focused on important issues – most notably Heather Cook.

The promise is unfulfilled. If anything, the board meetings are longer and often an inordinate amount of time is spent discussing what are essentially minor issues, non-issues, or issues where the board knows the outcome before discussion even begins. Another contributing factor to long meetings and endless discussion is lack of board counsel at meetings. OPA attorney Joe Moore rarely attends.

Ostensibly, Moore’s absence is a cost savings measure. However, there have been numerous times when some advice from Moore might have avoided endless arcane discussion, and other times when his legal advice could have served to bring certain issues to a conclusion rather than postponing decisions to another day and another discussion.

However, Joe Moore was not there and the developer’s attorney was answering questions. Stachurski properly did not take the Parke attorney’s answers as gospel. As a result, acceptance of the agreement was not completed, rather put off until another meeting and another round of discussion.

At the same meeting there was over an hour of discussion by the board about any contractual agreements between the Ocean Pines Fire Department and OPA. John O’Connor, reporting to the board as chair of an ad hoc committee looking into the issue, stated at the outset that there was no contract. However, General Manager Dave Ferguson had copies of contracts and/or agreements. The September 3, 1977 contract may be binding on both parties. Again, this is an issue the board should have asked Joe Moore to investigate. A clear answer from Moore on a number of fire department items could have saved everyone a lot of time.

Another hour was spent on discussion of board liaisons to advisory committees. By the time that boring discussion ended everyone not directly involved was asleep or left the room. Even one or two directors may have nodded off -- ditto for board debate about Point of Sale software for the Clubs.  

While all the directors contribute to making these discussions longer than necessary, it must be noted that Mark Venit is particularly prone to drone on and on, well after the outcome on an issue is evident to everyone else in the room. That could be the result of frustration, however, with at least three directors who tend to vote against anything suggested by Venit.

The December 8 meeting began at 9:30 AM and ended at 4:30 PM. At least three people were there from outside firms to make presentations or answer questions; two Clubs employees were there; Al Bridgman and two members of his By-Laws Committee were there. All of these people waited for hours. Bridgman’s report was put off until the next board meeting, after he and members of his committee waited for about four hours.

Dan Stachurski is to be applauded for allowing each board member wide latitude and time to voice their views on issues before the board. There comes a time, however, when there is too much of a good thing.

Joe Reynolds, a 14-year resident of Ocean Pines, is founder of OceanPinesForum.com. Contact Joe at jr@oceanpinesforum.com.