The search for a general manager in Ocean Pines is as much about finding the right person for the position as it is determining what kind of operation the Ocean Pines Association wants to be.
All in all, the approach the community has followed over the years — a general manager and staff overseen by a board of directors — has worked out just fine, give or take the occasional political kerfuffle along the way.
It’s also the simplest form of management there is, as compared to those in place in larger planned communities such as Columbia, Maryland and in the south and west, where some homeowners associations are so large that community subdivisions have their own management companies.
Columbia also has multi-tiered management, with the Columbia Association responsible for certain operations and facilities, village associations enforcing covenants and creating master plans, and Howard County government handling essential services such as police, fire and trash collection.
Obviously, something like that wouldn’t work here, which leaves the board and association members two choices: keep doing what has been done or turn over much of the community’s operational and financial responsibility to a professional management company.
As to the latter option, the big question is what would be gained by doing that? Would it save money? Probably not. Would it improve the quality of life for residents? No. Would it do a better job of providing services than the current system and staff? That’s unlikely, since most everyone agrees that a highly capable staff is already in place.
All Ocean Pines needs, as the board has agreed, is the right general manager, someone who has been vetted by a professional executive search company and the directors.
Finding that best manager isn’t the easiest thing to do, as the Town of Ocean City discovered a few years ago with its managerial miscue, but it is still the best course to take, especially considering that no strong case has been made how residents would benefit by doing something different.