DECEMBER 5, 2024
BERLIN • NORTH WORCESTER COUNTY• OCEAN PINES
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Food vendor choice left up to Viola Identity of chosen operator to remain anonymous until terms reach with contractor
STEVE GREEN/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
COOL SCULPTURE Dozens of ice sculptures lined Main Street during last Friday’s Ice Ice Berlin event, which was highlighted by the annual tree lighting. Above, Zoe Salvatore, 5, of Scarsdale, N.Y., gets a close-up look at the Bluey ice sculpture during the event.
Residents seek pedestrian safety OPA board told more needs to be done after vehicle hits, kills man on roadside By Tara Fischer Staff Writer (Dec. 5, 2024) Ocean Pines residents are calling for proactive measures on Ocean Parkway and throughout the community to enhance pedestrian and bike safety following a fatal neighborhood accident last month. Per a press release issued by Ocean Pines Association’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations Josh Davis, on the morning of Nov. 16, a
fatal motor vehicle collision occurred on Ocean Parkway between Briarcrest Drive and Beaconhill Road. The press release reported, “a vehicle…traveled off the right side of the roadway and struck an individual on the property of 47 Ocean Parkway.” At the community’s Saturday, Nov. 23 board of directors meeting, residents urged neighborhood officials to take steps to prevent similarly tragic incidents from happening again. Among the public commenters was Scott Shellenberger, whose wife was killed on Ocean Parkway in May 2023. Shellenberger asked OPA leaders
lto look at safety measures such as speed bumps and signs to make Ocean Pines a more pedestrianfriendly place. “[Accidents] are inevitable…they are going to happen here because this is publicized as a residential community, but the infrastructure is not residential,” he said. “There is something from a safety standpoint that can be done. Is it speed humps? Is it visuals? What can you do to slow someone down?” Also present at the Nov. 23 meeting was Patti Stevens of the Worcester County Bike and Pedestrian Coalition. Stevens emphasized that See RESIDENTS Page 4
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By Tara Fischer Staff Writer (Dec. 5, 2024) An updated Ocean Pines food and beverage contract is being developed, as the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors voted this week to authorize the community’s general manager to proceed with contract negotiations with an unnamed food and beverage vendor, The selected operator will manage the association’s Yacht Club, its Beach Club in Ocean City, and the Clubhouse Bar and Grille. In an open special meeting on Monday, the board unanimously approved a motion to allow association General Manager John Viola to proceed with negotiations with one of the three food and beverage bidders. The identity of the chosen company was not disclosed and will only be revealed once terms are agreed upon between the parties. According to OPA Board of Directors President Stuart Lakernick, three proposals were submitted between mid-September and Oct. 18. Since then, the general manager and his team, consisting of OPA Director of Business Administration Linda Martin, OPA Director of Finance Steve Phillips, marketing and public relations contact Josh Davis, and legal counsel, analyzed the responses, considering several criteria. These measures included thoroughness and extensiveness of the proposals, the vendor’s operational staff, management, and human resource process capabilities, profit and loss statements and the estimated return to Ocean Pines. Also weighed was the vision the bidders had for themselves and manSee FOOD Page 6
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