Response to Jackie Carey Commentary
by Joe Reynolds The mid-October issue of the Progress contains a guest commentary written by Jackie Carey, president of the Ocean Pines Fire Department. The commentary is titled "More contrived controversy from Monsieur Reynolds." Jackie Carey is a great person and one of Ocean Pines' greatest assets. I dislike taking issue with her on anything, but her commentary begs a response. Her Progress article is in response to commentary of mine published in the October 6, 2004 edition of the Ocean Pines Independent about the coming debate over a new community hall and other space needs. Below is a link to my commentary on OceanPinesForum.com. Read it to see what I actually wrote.
The heart of Carey's commentary is based on what I quoted from the "Space Requirements Study," prepared and approved by the Ocean Pines Comprehensive Plan Committee on June 3, 2003. In my commentary I quoted the following sentence from the study in regard to the north firehouse: "The Committee has also confirmed, in consultation with the Fire Department, that removal of the Firehouse would in no way diminish the ability of the Fire Department located at the South firehouse to serve all of Ocean Pines."
Carey wonders why I didn't also quote committee chairman Art Sachs' comments made during his presentation to the Board of Directors on October 6, 2004 that his committee is not prepared to endorse closing of the north fire station until a risk analysis is undertaken.
The answer to that one is fairly obvious - my commentary was published in the Independent on October 6, 2004, the same day Sachs presented his committee's recommendations to the board. When I wrote the commentary five days earlier, Art Sachs had not yet said what Carey thought I should have quoted him as saying. It should also be noted Sachs did not say closure of the north station was out of the question. Use link below to see a video of Sachs' presentation. See and hear what Art Sachs said or didn't say.
Space Recommendation
Video of Art Sachs presentation on 10/6/2004.
Based on Carey's comments, she was the individual who initially provided the information to the Comprehensive Plan Committee that the north station was not needed. During his October 6th presentation, Art Sachs stated he would be unwilling to recommend closing the north station based on a "casual comment." What Sachs referred to as a casual comment, apparently made by Carey, ended up as strong language in the study that the north station was not required.
Apparently Carey has changed her mind. Nothing wrong with that, but the information in the Comprehensive Planning Committee Report has not been changed. OPA President Dan Stachurski even held up a copy of the report prior to Art Sachs' presentation and noted it was the basis for looking at the space needs of Ocean Pines. Either Carey never informed the committee of her changed views on closing the north station, or was not concerned with the language in the study saying the north station was not needed. In any case, if the Space Requirements Study is not currently accurate in regard to the north fire station, as Carey says, one can only wonder what else might be inaccurate.For the record, here is the full quote from the study, page 10, in regard to closure of the north station:
"The committee has also confirmed, in consultation with the Fire Department, that removal of the Firehouse would in no way diminish the ability of the Fire Department located at the South firehouse to serve all of Ocean Pines. However, the perception of residents in the North is likely to be that their fire protection is diminished without the North Station. It may be necessary to construct a new Firehouse somewhere in the North to assuage the concerns of residents unless, through education, they can be persuaded of continuing complete and quality fire coverage from the South Firehouse."
Carey jumps to the conclusion that by quoting from the above I was recommending closure of the north station. She even goes to the extreme of making it personal when she wrote, "Joe, your argument is more than a little disingenuous, because you live on the south side." How Carey managed to change her advice to the Comprehensive Planning Committee into something I was advocating is incomprehensible. Closure of the north station certainly isn't my idea -- it was Carey's idea and it ended up in the Space Requirements Study.
In my commentary I asked the following questions, based on the Space Requirements Study quote above:
"Since the fire department is not an arm of OPA, rather an independent corporation, why doesn’t it simply tell the board it no longer needs the space currently occupied at White Horse Park? Why would the board even consider building a new northside firehouse when there is no need for it? Why, in the face of meeting space shortfall, didn’t the board long ago take over the unneeded fire department space? If the fire department says it has no need of a northside station, should lot owners not take their word for it?"
Those are valid and logical questions based on the study, and intended to provoke thought and discussion, as good commentary should. My intent was not to answer the questions, rather to ask them.
The OPA Board has urged all lot owners to read the Space Requirements Study. Yet someone actually taking the time to read the study, making a direct quote from it, and asking questions about it prompted Carey to write, "Yet you take one part of an ongoing discussion, twist it so its own mother wouldn't recognize it, create a completely different issue and then blow it out of all proportion to stir up controversy."
That's a pretty strong accusation based solely on my quoting from the Space Requirements Study and asking the four questions above.
One of the things I found curious about Carey's commentary in the Progress is that she did not even mention what was written about the north station in the previous early-October edition of the Progress about eliminating the north station.
In a story about Ocean Pines space needs, editor Rota Knott wrote on page 4P, 2nd column: "According to Jerrigan (Design Associates), moving or eliminating the north side fire station is critical to all options for for renovation or expansion of the existing Community Hall."
Jerrigan included this in his report to OPA only because closure of the north station was an item in the Space Requirements Study from OPA. Same study I've quoted.
On page 3P, 2nd column, Knott wrote,".... the existing community center could be demolished and the (north) fire station replaced or eliminated, as well"
Knott even goes on to explain how much additional space would be needed at the main south station if the north station is closed. I guess Carey didn't read Knott's article.
Carey writes early in her commentary that she discussed closing the north station with Wayne Moulder over a year ago. She obviously must have convinced Moulder and his Comprehensive Plan Committee the north station was not needed. It's in their report to the OPA Board, and was considered by Design Associates, the company OPA hired to do the space needs study.
Yet towards the end of her commentary, Carey writes, "There are no plans now, nor have there ever been, to close the North Station."
Jackie -- you and the fire department are right up there at the top of any list of what makes Ocean Pines a great place. Take issue with my commentaries at any time, but at least base any complaints on what I actually write.
Uploaded: 10/16/2004
