In 2002 there was a special OPA referendum on bringing property owned by Steen Associates, Inc. into the Ocean Pines Association. Now known as Triple Crown Estates, 30 of a potential 60 lots are under development. Two homes are currently built and occupied.

This was all part of an agreement going back to 2002, an agreement involving Steen, the YMCA, the Ocean Pines Chamber of Commerce, and OPA. The referendum, required by Worcester County, passed by a narrow 11 votes with some 5,000 or so members voting.

In a nutshell, Steen's property, now accessible via King Richard Lane in Ocean Pines, would all become part of the Ocean Pines Association. Steen needed water and sewer connections for those proposed 60 lots. Steen agreed to donate a parcel of the property as a site for a new YMCA and health center with an indoor pool. OPA wanted an indoor pool. The Chamber of Commerce hoped to build an office on a small parcel as a part of the deal. 

OPA agreed to sell Steen 60 EDUs it owned/controlled for $6,500 each so he could proceed with obtaining Worcester County approval for his development. An EDU is an Equivalent Dwelling Unit connection to the County's water and sewer plant. EDUs are more valuable than gold in Worcester County. Today an EDU may cost over $15,000. Development in Worcester County is more or less impossible without EDU connections.

The July 10, 2002 contract stipulated the YMCA had to obtain a "permit" within five years of taking ownership of the 26-acre parcel. However, association members were misled by the Board of Directors in the subsequent referendum. The Board's support for the referendum included this statement: "Should the YMCA fail to begin construction work in five years the ownership of the 26 acres will revert to the association." In reading the actual referendum documents and comparing those to the contract wording, the amount of misinformation supplied to association members by the Board of Directors is staggering.

As it turned out, the YMCA was not built, but OPA never obtained ownership of the property. OPA took the YMCA to court and lost. The court decided the poorly worded contract did not require the YMCA to build anything, or even obtain a permit to build a YMCA. The YMCA obtained a permit to build a wildlife viewing platform and the court said doing so met the terms of the contract.

OPA's failure to include clear and concise language in the contract cost the Association ownership of a piece of property that could be worth $300,000.00 or more today. With a lovely fishing pond, it represented a great additional amenity. Shamefully, in dealings with outside entities and developers, the Board of Directors far too often fails to adequately protect the interests of the membership.

Is the so-called "YMCA Deal" on the cusp of seeing OPA now losing $390,000 of cold, hard cash, cash it should receive in accordance with the July 10, 2002 contract signed between Ocean Pines Association, Inc. (signed by President Judy Boggs), Steen Associates, Inc. (signed by President G. Marvin Steen), and Committee To Bring a YMCA to Northern Worcester County (signed by Chairman James G. Barrett)?

Language in the contract agreement states: "Steen agrees that the payment of Six Thousand Five Hundred Dollars for each EDU transferred, will be prior to or at the time of issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy by Worcester County for each subdivided lot to a maximum of 60 lots."

Author Tom Stauss wrote the following about the "YMCA Deal" back in 2002: "Perhaps the most significant feature of the OPA's agreement with Steen is that the developer has agreed to purchase from the OPA rights to water and wastewater treatment services for 60 equivalent dwelling units (EDUs) in an estate lot subdivision that he intends to build on roughly 200 acres east of the proposed YMCA site. At a cost of $6500 per EDU, these 60 EDUs will generate for the OPA $390,000 in EDU impact fees, to be collected whenever prospective homeowners submit a new home application. These fees most certainly will be passed on to the new homebuyer at settlement."

At least two homes in Steen's Triple Crown Estates subdivision apparently received occupancy permits. OPA has not received one penny, much less the $13,000 for the two occupied lots. OPA is not commenting on the status of any current or future payments it should receive.

Another interesting aspect of the 2002 agreement is all the land in question was to be "annexed" into the Ocean Pines subdivision. With regard to the 26-acre YMCA parcel, the agreement states the YMCA would not need to pay an assessment "so long as the property is utilized for the purposes of a YMCA." The YMCA is not currently paying an OPA assessment. Perhaps it should be paying.

Finally, the July 10, 2002 contract states: "All of said lots within the final approved Subdivision shall be considered 'Estate Lots' and shall pay Estate Lot Assessment to OPA in the same manner as presently existing Estate Lots within the Ocean Pines Subdivision." OPA lists only four of the lots as Estate Lots. Assuming all 60 potential lots were currently paying assessments, OPA would be losing about $28,000.00 a year in assessment dollars by not collecting the higher Estate Lot assessment on all the lots as called for in the agreement.

The way things are shaping up, OPA and its association members may be screwed again due to the "YMCA Deal" - the gift that keeps on taking.