All this secret negotiation stuff is almost laughable if Tom Stauss' article in the Ocean Pines Progress is accurate to any extent. Stauss says the lease amount increases by $10,000 the first year and then by cost-of-living for each of the next four.

What was the fair market value for parking as determined by our consultant last year?

Stauss also says the lease was "negotiated" by Director Bob Thompson and Seacrets owner Leighton Moore. Stauss also says the old parking lease was "several years away from expiration," and noting Seacrets was under no obligation to renegotiate at this time. If that is the case it only reinforces the idea that Seacrets really needs our parking.

Has the board knowledge of whether or not Seacrets needs our parking to comply with any applicable laws or zoning regarding the number of parking spaces they are required to have to operate on their current scale?

Seems like such information would be a very valuable bargaining tool in any negotiation. While I don't fully agree with Rick that $40,000 or even $75,000 is chump change for OPA, it sure sounds like chump change for an operation like Seacrets.

Until a lease is signed the details should not be made public. I think you know exactly what Jeff meant using the term "negotiation" and are parsing in an attempt to make a point.

Negotiation is either ongoing or not. When the OPA Baord of Directors votes in public session to allow the president to sign a lease why are negotiations ongoing? Bill, this is not national security issue. It is a lease between a HOA and a private business. There is no reason for any of the negotiations on this lease to be secret. There are indeed instances when secrecy in negotiations is important. The renewal of a ongoing lease for use of parking space is not exactly such an instance, despite any board rhetoric to the contrary.

The details of the lease were reviewed and rereviewed by the Board before I signed it. You know that. And, the people who are on the contract review team all have business backgrounds and looked at the contract from a business sense and not just for legal sufficiency. I think you are well aware of that, too. Contracts are not signed as before and the payments are not paid as before, and I am sure you know that, too.

Yes, I am aware of the above. That has nothing to do with whether this particular lease negotiation needed to be secret, secret to the point of association members having no knowledge of it even after the board approved the terms of the lease. What is there to fear from association members knowing the terms?

As always, you will continue to have the last word.

This isn't a board meeting. There is no such thing as a last word, for anyone, on the forum, unless all choose to make it the last word..