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5/3/2010 3:54:05 PM
 
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Section 5: OPA Board Subject: OC Bayside Debacle Msg# 737474
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Joe: I know you can't stand it, but let's address the facts for a change. The lease relationship Ocean Pines Association, Inc. enjoys with Seacrets is a great deal for the Ocean Pines membership. The only noticeable difference between the existing lease arrangement and no lease agreement is an amount of assessment dollars in the neighborhood of $75,000.00 a year. BTW, every one of our old lease agreements that I have seen are accompanied by an exhibit which depicts the entire property. Marty
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For reference, the above message is a reply to a message where: At the last OPA Board meeting the directors voted to allow OPA Board President Bill Rakow to sign a new 5-year lease with Seacrets for the OPA-owned Ocean City bayside property. The terms of the lease are top-secret when it comes to association members, something becoming all too common of late. Why should we care? Well, let's backtrack for a moment to about a year ago when the board was considering a 99-year lease for the entire bayside property to Seacrets, a deal that would have provided effective ownership of the property to Seacrets. During that prior lease negotiation I pointed out that a visual inspection of the property indicated Seacrets had built a structure on the water side of the OPA property, in violation of the lease, at that time only for use of parking spaces on the OPA property. One or more board members said I didn't know what I was talking about. Association members were also told the property was not very valuable because the majority of it was wetlands. Comments from some board members made it sound almost as though they were representing Seacrets and not OPA. More on that shortly. There were any number of reasons why the proposed 99-year lease was a bad deal for OPA and, thankfully, the board voted not to accept the deal. Subsequently the board began negotiations with Seacrets for a renewal of the expiring five-year lease for parking. Now, fast-forward to the board meeting of April 14, 2010 when two significant items of information became available. First, the aforementioned action of the board allowing president Bill Rakow to sign a new lease, one never even shown to association members. Second, Comprehensive Plan Committee Chairman Art Sachs presented some research information to the board about the bayside property. This research was done in connection with efforts by another committee to look into the possibility of constructing a walkway/pier from the waterside of the property to the parking area in order to provide boaters some access to the OPA Beach Club. There was once such a walkway/pier but OPA boards over the years allowed it to rot away. The walkway idea may have some merit, but the surprising part of Sachs' presentation was the revelation that areas marked as tidal wetlands by OPA's surveyor a year earlier may be incorrect. In a nutshell there is a distinct possibility the property can be filled, just as many other properties in the same area have been filled over the years. Sachs based his comments on an on-site meeting with some zoning and environmental people from Ocean City. The property could be worth millions. We don't know for sure, and the board didn't know the entire time it was negotiating a possible 99-year lease with Seacrets, who almost hit the jackpot at OPA's expense. Director Marty Clarke let slip one aspect of the latest top-secret lease during the recent board meeting, an extremely important aspect. Apparently the lease Rakow was authorized to sign was for Seacrets use of the entire bayside property, not just parking rights as had been the case with the prior 5-year lease. When asked about this Rakow confirmed the lease was for the use of the entire property. As for any OPA committee suggestions about a walkway, Rakow said such a project would never take place and, even if it did, OPA had a good relationship with Seacrets and Seacrets would most likely give OPA approval to build a walkway on our property. The entirety of this bayside property debacle is yet another example of how OPA boards have too often been found lacking in protecting the financial interests of the association when dealing with savvy outside business interests. OPA came very close to inking a 99-year lease with Seacrets, without even fully investigating the status of the wetlands, something you can bet Seacrets did. It is probably a safe bet that had Seacrets obtained a 99-year lease the land would have been filled and used in a manner OPA has been telling association members is impossible. Board members, if asked, will provide all the reasons why the property is not valuable, or why OPA needs to be a "good neighbor" to Seacrets. Now, with the latest lease, OPA will have to ask permission of Seacrets before it can do anything with our own property. Seacrets needs the OPA parking area. It is highly likely they would have accepted a lease on the same terms as the prior lease insofar as use of the property for parking-only goes. The new lease is purported to have a higher monetary value, but OPA's consultant had already reported the old lease was way undervalued. At some point OPA may allow association members to see this top-secret lease. Whatever other surprises it may contain remains to be seen. |
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