By Tara Fischer
Staff Writer
A proposal in Ocean Pines to create two boat slips near the Clubhouse Bar and Grille on Clubhouse Drive has been met with resident opposition, with some citing safety concerns and arguing the project will fail to generate significant revenue.
Earlier this month, the Ocean Pines Association leadership announced its intention to look into the installation of two boat slips with enough room to accommodate two boats each, for a total of four possible vessels. These docks would be situated near the 10th tee of the Ocean Pines Golf Course and allow access to the property’s Clubhouse Bar and Grille. The total cost of the endeavor is estimated at around $14,000.
The slips would be for transient boats only and allow boat owners to travel by boat to the restaurant for a meal or an afternoon on the golf course.
OPA General Manager John Viola said a trail would be installed to steer boaters who park at these slips away from the links and nearby houses.
“We would have a stone pathway that would lead from the slips to the side of the patio at the Clubhouse,” he said. “It’ll be along the fence inside the golf course. It will not be utilizing the cart paths that are there.”
The general manager added that, as at West Ocean City’s Harborside Bar and Grill, boaters, would tie up their crafts to pilings and cleats.
Some community members, however, have expressed concerns over the proposal. Despite reassurances from OPA officials that the canal’s width of 94.4 feet is sufficient to accommodate watercraft navigation in both directions, residents have questioned whether this will be the case in practice.
Homeowner Eric Swanson, a sea captain for a container vessel, spoke during citizen comments at the Saturday, Nov. 22, meeting of the Ocean Pines Board of Directors. Swanson, whose house is about 60 feet from the space designated for one of the slips, said that boat traffic heading to the docks is at risk of jamming up, particularly on a nice summer day.
“During the summer months, when there is a lot of congestion with boats, it’s going to be like a three-lane highway,” Swanson said. “I’m a little concerned about that in the way of potential collisions.”
The homeowner also argued that the added slips could have a negative environmental impact. Boaters, he said, would engage and disengage the vessels’ engines, releasing exhaust fumes to the nearby trees and wildlife.
The effect on the golf course was another worry. Swanson said that with people parking near the tenth tee, they would be in the line of sight of golfers, disrupting play.
“You’re going to be inviting people to walk on the golf course while golfers are golfing,” he said. “I just don’t see the benefits of [the slips] at all.”
Resident Jean Higgins, who lives near the tenth tee, also spoke at Saturday’s meeting. She contended that the transient boat slips won’t generate enough revenue to justify their implementation.
Higgins said, as a boater and a golfer, she could theoretically park her vessel for a full round of golf and invite a friend to do the same, taking up two spaces for multiple hours, limiting how much money could be spent at the course’s eatery.
Ocean Pines homeowner Amy Peck echoed Higgins’ money-creating concerns, or lack thereof.
“I’m very happy to see that the estimated cost is only $14,000; I thought it was going to be much more. Regardless, for it to be a revenue-producing project, the clubhouse would have to sell $215,385 more in food revenue,” she claimed.
“That does not seem likely. This is a convenience project for boaters only. If golfers are playing 18 holes, I just can’t imagine. My husband is a golfer; he walks the course. It’s a four-hour, five-hour trip. You’re going to have someone parking there for at least five hours. So that takes up at least one slip. I’m hoping the board will look at the realistic revenue this project will produce, and then also look at the safety concerns.”
Another concern expressed by the community is that, because the hope is that the transient slips will encourage residents to enjoy an afternoon at the Clubhouse Bar and Grille, this could inadvertently invite boaters to consume alcohol and then take their boats back through the canal.
The transient slips are still in the preliminary stages, OPA officials maintained. The project has not yet been approved and is still undergoing research to determine its viability. Viola said that if the board decides to move forward with the endeavor, more information will be presented.
