OPA issues dominate commissioners’ meeting
By Bob Lassahn

The November 21 gathering of the Worcester County Commissioners marked the final time the panel would include Commissioners John "Sonny" Bloxom and Tom Cetola. Commissioner Bloxom lost in his bid for a seat in the Maryland House of Delegates and Cetola was defeated in both the Republican primary and again in the general election as a write-in candidate. Both men received accolades from their fellow commissioners and county staff during the course of the meeting.

During the meeting Ocean Pines rated a number of considerations. The first was unanimous passage of a resolution to empower the Ocean Pines Association (OPA) "Dog Warden" (officially designated as a Community Service Officer by the association) to issue civil infraction notices for violations of the Animal Control Law within Ocean Pines. As explained by Sheriff Charles Martin, under the existing circumstances the officer has no authority to issue a citation for such violations, requiring that a county animal control officer respond to initiate the action. The authority is granted under an appointment by contract and must be accepted in writing by OPA.

A request from the Covenants Committee from The Parke at Ocean Pines to install "No Parking" signs along three areas of the county-owned Manklin Creek Road where it passes through The Parke also was considered. The committee cites damage to the surfaces and environmental concerns as the primary reasons behind the request, but John Tustin, director of Public Works for the county also noted a potential hazard to drivers on the roadway resulting from such parking.

The areas include the south side of the roadway to the east and west of Hatteras Court and a section on the north side in the immediate area of the OPA Community Gardens. The commissioners unanimously approved the request for the signs.

A public hearing was held to consider acceptance of roadways into the county inventory included within the subdivisions of OPA known as Manklin Greens and The Parke at Ocean Pines. With certification that the roadways meet county specifications and no objections from those in attendance the commissioners voted unanimously to pass the resolution and accept the roadways into the inventory.

The county will turn over the roads to OPA for maintenance and the additional mileage will be added to the total used to assign a pass- through of gasoline tax funds to OPA.

At the request of outgoing Commissioner Cetola the county Department of Public Works considered an evaluation of Ocean Pines sewage force mains and what problems might be associated with the aging infrastructure. The issue arose due to a recent spate of failures in one section of pipe along Ocean Parkway.

Deputy Director John Ross summarized that replacement of the entire Ocean Pines force main system would likely cost between $5 and $10 million. He also noted that a number of sections are fairly new and have not presented any problems. He suggested that a program to analyze and prioritize older, less reliable sections could be initiated with input from the Ocean Pines Advisory Board and consideration of financial impacts on the service area. No official action resulted from the presentation.