The Ocean Pines Association (OPA) is in the process of throwing about $200,000.00 down a sewer.

Impossible, you say?

Let's examine the facts about how the Communications Committee and OPA's Board of Directors are accomplishing the impossible.

For years, the Communications Committee beat on the Board of Directors to install electronic signs as a replacement for the old "analog" signs along the length of Ocean Parkway. Analog because changing the text required a human and physical letters. An argument was made about the danger to employees changing the sign lettering. Whether anyone was ever injured changing the sign lettering was not mentioned.

Over the years, some of the arguments made by electronic signs supporters were beyond ridiculous. For example, at some point an argument for electronic signs was made because they could be changed remotely via computer and if there was some emergency the signs could be changed at 2 am. Left unanswered was how many association members would be reading those emergency notices at 2 am.

Committee member Cheryl Jacobs made a motion at the 2023 Annual Meeting to install electronic signs. Association members strongly rejected her motion. No matter. While only advisory, the results meant little or nothing to Board members who seem intent on placing five electronic signs at a installed cost of about $40,000 each.

Three are now installed. One at the North Gate entrance, one seen when leaving the Administration Building area (not visible from Ocean Parkway), and one at the entrance to the Yacht Club, the latter only visible heading toward the South Gate.

OPA's own news from the 2023 Annual Meeting contains the following: "The Communications Committee has proposed converting the North Gate marquee sign to a digital sign, although a motion to do so failed during the 2023 annual meeting. A mockup of the signs submitted by the committee showed a 36x60-inch LED sign that was white with black letters."

Worcester County gave OPA some sort of an exception for electronic signs in a residential area on the premise that all the old wood signs in the median be removed, no electronic signs can be in the road right-of-way, and electronic signs must be some specified distance from any adjacent properties outside OPA. 

Two additional signs are apparently desired - one on OPA property at the South Gate and one on OPA property at the Cathell Road entrance to OPA near the covered pool.

So.... just how important are signs on OPA roads? Well, every one of the old signs, staples for effective communication for over 50 years, if one believes the propaganda, have been removed. Their prior locations memorialized by "green" gravestones - a small evergreen shrub set in place to protect the old electric outlets at each sign location.

What was the reaction of association members to losing these incredibly helpful signs, notifying them for over fifty years with extremely important information like the next meeting date, time and location of the Restless Leg Syndrome support group?

Crickets. Nada. Nothing. Zilch. Zero. Zip. It is as though they never existed and were never noticed. This would be especially true today, with the myriad availability of digital communications like emails, texts, websites, etc. For $200,000.00 the Board could probably create one of the most terrific opt-in digital communications systems in existence.

Then there were the pronouncements by those supporting the electronic signs.

From the Bayside Gazette: "(Nov. 23, 2023) The question of whether Ocean Pines’ old signs should be replaced with programmable digital signs has been debated repeatedly during board meetings. But on Saturday, the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors decided to seek proposals to determine the costs for four digital signs to be placed in the community.

"Residents have asked if these signs would be too bright or commercial looking in the residential area.

"But OPA Director Elaine Brady assured the board and residents that the signs will appear exactly like the current signs and will be retrofitted into the current frames used now. There will be no backlighting to the signs. 'The lighting will be exactly like it is now. There is no change to the look and feel of the signs we have today,' Brady said."

Take a look at the electronic sign installed at the entrance to the Yacht Club and see if you agree.

Are the new electronic signs effective? They are very effective if one stops their vehicle in the road to read and comprehend, make notes of event, phone numbers, dates, locations, etc. Otherwise they are rather useless.

For example, the sign at the entrance to the Yacht Club changes about every six seconds. The signs tend to contain too much text, making them impossible to fully comprehend or read when riding down the Parkway at 35 mph.

An electronic sign on Manklin Creek Road near the intersection of Route 589 could prove to be dangerous. No matter. The Communications Committee insists OPA must have electronic signs. The Board of Directors rubber-stamps the nonsense and agrees to throw $200,000.00 or so of assessment dollars down a sewer.

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Here is a look back at 2020 when this went to the County:

Ocean Pines community sign count settled - Worcester County News Bayside Gazette