SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26
HALLOWEEN W h i t e H o r s e P a r k | 1 1 a m - 2 p m FALL FESTIVAL HAUNTED HAYRIDE
Elections Committee votes to retain hybrid voting
October 2024
During the late August meeting of the Ocean Pines Elections Committee, members voted to provide both paper and online voting options for property owners during next year’s elections. It also voted to stay with MK Elections of Pittsburgh, Pa., as the vendor. The vote amounts to a recommendation. The final decision rests with the Board of Directors, which has a history of deferring to the committee on such matters.
Ocean Pines ............... Pages 1-28 OPA Finances ............ Page 29-30 Opinion ............................... Page31 Lifestyles ..................... Page 33-37 Captain’s Cove ........ Pages 38-55
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COVER STORY
INSIDE TRACK FOR MATT ORTT COMPANIES?
Two-sport member option proposed by racquet sports clubs
INSIDE THIS EDITION
FACE PAINTING
THE OCEAN PINES JOURNAL OF NEWS & COMMENTARY
~ Page 5
Karen Kaplan, president of the Platform Tennis Club, attended the Sept. 25 Budget and Finance Advisory Committee meeting to propose the addition of a two-sport membership. Kaplan was joined by Donna Frankowski, president of the Pickleball Club. The two attended the meeting as representatives of the racquet sports community. ~ Page 14
costume contest
New food and beverage contract out for bids RFP asks bidders to submit proposals for a conventional commercial lease, including monthly rent and a percentage of revenues, but fine print allows potential vendors to submit their own financials proposals BY TOM STAUSS Publisher eneral Manager John Viola seems intent on managing a process to consider, in a fair and above-board manner, competing proposals for the management of three Ocean Pines Association food and beverage venues. That means he wouldn’t be biased in favor of the current vendor, the Matt Ortt Companies, when it submits a proposal in response to a re-
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NEWS ANALYSIS quest for proposals for the management of the three venues. The RFP calls for a five-year management contract. There nonetheless is speculation in the community that MOC has the inside track on a new contract. One source with insight into the OPA’s relationship with MOC told the Progress that MOC would most likely win the contract but only if
SPECIALS
the vendor is willing to take a “haircut” in its share of revenues earned at the Ocean Pines Yacht Club, the Clubhouse Grille and the Ocean Pines Beach Club. How much of a haircut the source didn’t say. Probably because this early in the process, it would be sheer speculation. Responses to the OPA’s RFP issued on Sept. 17 are due back to Viola on Oct. 18, followed by a staff To Page 3