January 2025
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THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
COVER STORY
Viola proposes $18.9 million budget with modest lot assessment increases Initial draft of spending plan would boost base assessment $25, $50 for owners of bulkheads maintained by the OPA
By TOM STAUSS Publisher he preliminary draft budget for 202526 unveiled by General Manager John Viola in late December calls for a modest increase in assessments, $25 in the base assessment and $50 for property owners who live along canals with bulkheading maintained by the Ocean Pines Association. If approved by the Board of Directors, the new base assessment would be $975 and $1,515 for most waterfront owners. It’s the first increase in several years and a break in the pattern of lower assessments
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resulting from $1 million operating fund surpluses in recent years. The proposed budget also is calling for increases in amenity membership dues. Viola attributed the latter to inflationary pressures and statutory minimum wage requirements, among other factors. He said staff surveyed other communities in the area and discovered that Ocean Pines was very favorably priced compared to others. That’s still the case even with higher membership dues, which range from about five percent in some categories to more than 20 percent in others. Ten perTo Page 3
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Board to vote Jan. 8 on new food and beverage contract
A press release was issued on Jan. 4 announcing a special Board of Directors meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 8, for the purpose of voting on a new food and beverage contract. The Board will discuss the contract in closed session and then will reconvene in open session to vote on it. General Manager John Viola told the Progress that the identity of the approved vendor would be officially disclosed during the Jan. 8 meeting. Sodel Concepts of Rehoboth Beach, De., has been reported as the prospective vendor with whom the OPA has been negotiating a contract. But an informed source told the Progress that that the Matt Ortt Companies is still in the running for a new contract. Lawyers for Sodel and the Ocean Pines Association are “butting heads hard” over terms of the contract, the source said, adding that Matt Ortt has been invited in to talk to Viola on Jan. 6 to discuss terms of a contract renewal. The Progress will publish a special report after the Jan. 8 meeting. Find it on www.issuu. com/oceanpinesprogress.
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INSIDE THIS EDITION
John Viola
Ocean Pines ............................... Pages 1-31 OPA Finances .................................. Page 32 Worcester County ..................Pages 33-35 Opinion ........................................... Page 36 Lifestyles .................................... Page 38-40 Captain’s Cove ....................... Pages 42-63