Two investigative reports released last week by the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors paint a rather troubling picture of relations between upper-level management employees. While OPA General Manager John Viola and some department heads are constantly praising OPA teamwork and constantly using the word "team," The reports prepared by attorney Michael Neary reveal internal squabbles and catfights among department heads.

The released reports cover two investigations by Neary. One was related to charges made by now-former Director of Amenities and Operational Logistics Colby Phillips against OPA President Larry Perrone; the other was an investigation of some supposed employee plot to see Viola replaced as General Manager.

Combined, the reports reveal a crisis of leadership, or as my grandmother used to say, "A fine kettle of fish."

According to the report, "Several members of the management team, however, expressed concerns that Ms. Phillips may have been involved directly or indirectly with OPA members efforts to undermine the General Manager leading up to the last election of the Board of Directors. No direct evidence corroborated the concerns raised." Also related to the last election, "The uncertainty surrounding whether a new Board would retain Mr. Viola seems to have fostered some of the suspicion and discord amongst staff."

On the other hand, OPA board member Frank Daly wrote publicly that the board initiated the investigation of a smear campaign against the GM based on the testimony of one very reputable but unnamed association member.

Then there is the following, "Five members of the management team suggested the General Manager favors some Departments over others. One group believed the General Manager favors the Golf Department and Recreation and Parks Department over Public Relations/Marketing and Amenities and Operational Logistics. Whereas another group reported the General Manager favors Amenities and Operational Logistics over others."

We now know, from Phillips, that former OPA Board member Esther Diller was "mentoring" Colby Phillips, at least through 2019. We do not know the nature of the mentoring, but we do know that Diller's husband, Stuart Lakernick, was a candidate for the Board of Directors in the August 2020 election, and is again a candidate in the upcoming 2021 election. Lakernick recently posted a message to OceanPinesForum.com asking the board to hold even more investigations.

Lakernick wrote: "There have been a number of questions that have come up since Colby resigned. Among them is what was the GM's role in all of this? It is not whether the GM has done a good job for us, rather the question is for the GM where was he during all this? Why is the board involved in fighting his issues with his staff and as the proverbial you know what has hit the fan this weekend, why haven't we heard from him? Complete silence. I would request that the current board look into and investigate this entire situation."

Here are some other quotes from the two reports:

"Ms. Phillips believes that the Board started a process to investigate her in mid-summer for attempting to undermine John Viola. She believes Mr. Perrone was the leader of these efforts on the Board. Ms. Phillips has formed this view from community members who she believes had knowledge of the Board’s deliberations."

"Mr. Perrone’s actions toward Ms. Phillips throughout this period were motivated solely by legitimate business reasons. The evidence to support this is that no witness suggested Mr. Perrone made any comment referencing a protected characteristic of Ms. Phillips. The closest any witness came to suggesting Mr. Perrone’s actions were motived (sic) by unlawful reasons was Ms. Phillip’s (sic) suggestion that Mr. Perrone treats another male employee and 'everyone else' differently than her. Mr. (Doug) Parks noted one instance in particular where Mr. Perrone acted in a direct and abrasive manner toward a male employee of Ocean Pines."

It appears a major focus of the Phillips charges were her interactions with Perrone during meetings related to what was then the two-million-dollar-plus Bainbridge Park drainage project. The report says, "Mr. Perrone denied harassing or demeaning Ms. Phillips. He specifically denied yelling at Ms. Phillips. Mr. Perrone acknowledged that he had significant concerns about the Bainbridge project. He acknowledged asking direct questions about the project. He believes that Ms. Phillips often failed to address his questions. He believes it is his duty as a Board member to scrutinize the project thoroughly to protect Ocean Pines."

As a "finding of fact," the report says, "Ms. Phillips subjectively perceived her interactions with Mr. Perrone as harassing and hostile. She experienced Mr. Perrone as yelling at her in two meetings. The evidence supporting this finding was that Ms. Phillips contemporaneously reported general concerns about Mr. Perrone to another employee in June 2020. Ms. Phillips routinely reported her specific concerns about Mr. Perrone harassing her to two other employees since then."

Association members have very little direct knowledge as to what went on during various meetings where Phillips alleged Larry Perrone treated her in a disrespectful way or yelled at her.

However, one item in the investigation of charges against Perrone was: "On January 19, 2021, Ms. Phillips attended a public budget meeting. She reported Mr. Perrone picked on her department specifically in a manner to target her. She recalled feeling like Mr. Perrone was again speaking to her in a condescending and demeaning fashion."

As it turns out, that meeting is available on video. Larry Perrone did not talk to Phillips in a "condescending and demeaning fashion" during that meeting.

Association members, like Lakernick, are rightfully wondering where General Manager Viola was during all of this. Why did Viola apparently go along with or encourage a board decision to conduct a lawyer's investigation of all his department heads into some supposed effort to undermine him? Were board members too involved in discussions of projects being studied by the General Manager? One source says Viola took the position that since the Board had given Phillips the title she held, it was up to the Board to deal with her complaints.

Read the complete reports and comment on those via the two links below:

 Undermining GM Report

 Phillips v Perrone

OPA Budget Meeting on Aquatics OPA board reviews 2021-2022 Aquatics budget with Colby Phillips