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12/7/2012 5:19:16 PM
 
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Section 5: OPA Board Subject: Clarke Under Attack Msg# 846718
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With the knowledge and approval of Tom Terry and some board members, OPA attorney Joe Moore is conducting an investigation of Clarke. The investigation was not authorized by a formal board vote.
Joe, Is this attorney's action actually protected under law? I mean, essentially, the situation as I see it is this: A few American citizens (who happen to be HOA board directors) appear to be using a member of the Bar to investigate a fellow American citizen. The purpose of which seems to be to punish; intimidate; ostracize; or, at the very least, render quiescent a fellow American citizen. I'm not particularly concerned for the director in question; he is fully capable of looking out for himself. However, WE as homeowners in the HOA should be troubled by the lengths to which a clique within the director group, in concert with the General Manager, will go to 'encourage' a director to capitulate on this or that matter brought before the board as a whole. I get the feeling that two other board members may be questioning the actions of the clique but I may be wrong; I sincerely hope not. Only when the clique is challenged, and the challenges see the light of day vis a vis the entire membership, will actions like this come to an end. One might submit that the 'investigation' is stratified, in that only HOA-related issues will be persued. That would be nice. Aren't we the purists. No! More often than not, there are things 'out there', in the ether, that can be construed all ways to Sunday. This stuff is not good for the community. Regards, Bob |
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For reference, the above message is a reply to a message where: One or more individuals on the OPA Board of Directors or OPA management are accusing OPA director Marty Clarke of violating a Code of Conduct for board members. Clarke bought the issue to the public eye at yesterday's board meeting. At the conclusion of the meeting a motion was made to go into private session for consultation with legal counsel." Normally the vote to do so is perfunctory and the board moves to closed session. Yesterday Dave Stevens or Marty Clarke insisted on discussion before the vote. That's when Clarke told the assemblage that OPA's president Tom Terry had informed him the closed session was to address Code of Ethics violations against him. Clarke asked that any such accusations be made in public. After some discussion, OPA attorney Joe Moore said he would not provide legal advice to the board in a public session. Dave Stevens then said he would go along with the private session so long as the discussion was generic in nature and did not address any specific charges against Clarke. Board members agreed and moved to closed session. It is likely the board reneged on that agreement and actually discussed Clarke. There are any number of absurdities involved in this inquisition. First off, Clarke was told he was to be charged with violation of OPA POLICY RESOLUTION 1-05-40, a Code of Conduct for OPA Board Members. This policy was passed by the board back on 12/21/2005. See video below:
However, it would appear Tom Terry as president, as well as the individual or individuals charging Clarke with violation of the Code of Conduct were not aware the board subsequently voted to dump the Code of Conduct. Interesting, the vote to dump the code in 2007 was during a meeting where the chairman of the meeting was Dan Stachurski (now on the board again), and the motion to dump the code was made by Ray Unger(now on the board again). See video below of vote to dump the Code of Conduct.
The party or parties responsible for this fiasco may never be known. Clarke was not even told the specific charges nor who was making them. After the meeting one board member indicated he was upset because Clarke had told a local paper he was upset because it took OPA didn't send out information about mandatory evacuation of Ocean Pines until about three hours after the National Weather Service announced it. Other complaints apparently stem from Clarke's revelations in the Ocean Pines Progress about the secret board offers to by the Pine Shore Golf property at a price just under an amount that would trigger a referendum. Board offers were reportedly in the range of $1.4 million. Interesting, all this land purchase business was discussed publicly at the board meeting yesterday, but that's for another post. Finally, there is no way the board is going to remove Clarke. A board member even acknowledged this after the meeting, suggesting the charges were more or less intended to rein in Clarke rather than to remove him. |
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Special Board Meeting - Board Room
11/21/2024 - 7:00 P.M. 3 days or less away! |
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OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
11/23/2024 - 9:00 A.M. 3 days or less away! |
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OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
12/21/2024 - 9:00 A.M. |
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OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
1/25/2025 - 9: A.M. |
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OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
2/22/2025 - 9:00 A.M. |