'Fully engaged' - A message from the General Manager

We have used the word “unprecedented” many times during the last seven months, and the team in Ocean Pines has faced a lot and has overcome a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team has been fully engaged during this period.

There is no playbook for what we’ve experienced so far this  year,  with  many  closings  and  limited  capacity mandates from the State of Maryland limiting amenities

However, department heads and staff across the board have responded by cutting costs and finding creative ways to keep us moving forward.

That started with the finance team, led by Steve Phillips, helping us secure a federal grant to keep our workforce in place. Based on the most recent financial report, we’re well ahead of budget because of that assistance, despite facing many challenges.

Our amenity directors have also done good work in cutting costs and dealing with COVID restrictions that have affected their revenues. Credit to Debbie Donahue at Recreation and Parks and Kathleen Cook in Aquatics, as well as Ron Fisher at the Marinas and Tim McMullen at Racquet Sports. The entire team continued to provide services during this time.

COVID also impacted our Golf operations, and they lost some valuable time in the spring, when revenues are generally among the highest of the year. But John Malinowski and his team have helped the amenity bounce back and we're seeing some great things at the course, not the least of which was the opening of our new Golf Clubhouse earlier this year, which finished on schedule and under budget.

Food and beverage, under the leadership of the Matt Ortt Companies, continued to provide quality food service while adhering to Gov. Hogan's mandates and requirements of the CDC.

Meanwhile, Josh Davis and Julie Malinowski from Public Relations have kept the public informed on the latest COVID news that affects our area, including making a dedicated webpage with up-to-date information that’s easy for the public to digest at www.oceanpines.org/web/pages/covid-19- announcements-and-closings.

In August, we opened our renovated Police Station, under budget, and said goodbye to longtime Police Chief David Massey. New Chief Leo Ehrisman is a homegrown talent who will lead our police force for many years and continue to keep Ocean Pines as one of the safest communities in Maryland.

Eddie Wells and Public Works have also been through a lot, but the team there was a big part of finishing two major construction projects on time and under budget. Police and Public Works also worked together to help clear the roads and minimize the damage of a major storm, when Isaias hit us in August. Nobie Violante has helped to restart our bulkhead program, and crews are getting ready to start a phase of work behind Terns Landing and Stacy Court, to address damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.

Eddie also worked closely with Colby Phillips to help us secure more than
$500,000 to improve drainage in Ocean Pines, and the team will continue to work on that effort over the next several years, as we work closely with county and state officials to help reduce flooding in the community. Colby presented the project to the Board on Sept. 8 with county officials and commissioners in attendance. The Board and I showed full support for the project."