The recent bylaws referendum result was a complete rejection of the scare tactics promulgated by the Ocean Pines Board of Directors in an effort to influence the vote. 

It was a dramatic and convincing victory for association member Slobodan Trendic and those who supported his petition drive and a subsequent court battle with OPA. It culminated a nearly two-year battle between petitioning association members and a smug Board of Directors unanimously voting to use scare tactics about the consequences of a referendum YES vote to limit board spending on a single project to $1 million without approval of the membership.

The scare tactics included telling association members if the referendum spending limit bylaw passed it would require "a referendum before the annual bulkhead replacement projects can be authorized" every year. Former OPA assistant Treasurer Gene Ringsdorf told the Board their position was incorrect even before the ballots were mailed. The board ignored him. Adding insult to injury, the Board purchased about seven expensive full-page ads promoting the scare tactics in at least two local newspapers during the weeks leading up to mailing of the referendum ballots.

This waste of your assessment dollars was to no avail. The scare tactics were to no avail. Association members voted two to one to approve the bylaws change limiting board spending. It was a crushing defeat for the Board.

Aside from the scare tactics, the Board apparently also failed to comply with Maryland corporate law when taking a formal position urging association members to vote NO on the referendum and making the scare tactics a part of that formal position.

Attempts to ascertain how the Board of Directors approved the official OPA position on the spending limit referendum, as well as the spending on newspaper ads to support the board position have been unsuccessful.

Apparently, it was done via email as an "Informal Action by Directors" outside a meeting as allowed by Maryland law. Asked when the vote took place and who made the motion, Director Frank Daly wrote on April 12, 2021, "That information would need to come from the Secretary and Larry (Perone). I don’t keep that information as a matter of record. I just vote for the procedural motion and when approved for the actual motion."

Assuming what Frank wrote is correct (not a given), that a motion and vote did take place outside a meeting, one can find nothing in any board meeting minutes where "the consent and action taken shall be filed with the minutes of the next Board meeting" as required by Maryland law.

Asked about this via email on April 24, 2021, the Board did not respond.

The Board could not even admit their total defeat by Trendic in court.  A February 16, 2021 OPA news release stated, "Ocean Pines Association and Slobodan Trendic have reached a settlement to resolve the Slobodan Trendic and Ocean Pines Association, et al. matter." There was no out-of-court settlement. The court found in favor of Trendic. Period.

Then there is the personal side of all this. Mocked by some, insulted by others, Slobodan Trendic's tenacity paid off, proving one can "fight City Hall" and win. Trendic has been at loggerheads with some members of the Board for years. He is often blamed for financial losses while then-Director Brett Hill was acting General Manager, yet Trendic was the only board member who attempted to rein in spending and control Hill, voting against many of Hill's proposals while angering most of his fellow board members who supported policies leading to a financial freefall.

Director Doug Parks wanted Trendic removed from the Board of Directors at one point. In an interview published in the Bayside Gazette, Parks suggested that trying to "salvage" Trendic might be the equivalent of trying "to polish a turd." Parks was subsequently rewarded with re-election to the Board of Directors and currently serves as OPA Treasurer.

Unfortunately, this board soap opera never ends. The upcoming OPA board election will be a battle for control of a board majority, with Parks again at the center, along with Tom Janasek. Informed sources say Parks and Janasek hope for the election of candidates supported by former board member Esther Diller.

For those who enjoy following the ins and outs of OPA politics, it should be an interesting summer.