Hi Friends and Neighbors:
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I wish everyone a very healthy 2022.
The OMP Board has unanimously agreed to increase dues this year by $125 to $975.
This increase is higher than our typical dues increase, but as detailed below and in the fall newsletter, we are working on a number of projects and it is appropriate and prudent to increase our capital reserves. The Board believes that $975 is still very reasonable considering what OMP offers: two beaches, a dock, maintenance of private roads, entertainment, etc..
In additon, I believe we should prepare ourselves for annual increases going forward. However, please note that no determination has been made yet as to future dues increases or whether a special assessment in lieu of/in addition to an annual dues increase would be necessary. We will continue to keep you all updated and informed as we evaluate these projects and we can all discuss whether we should even proceed with certain projects.
Project Updates
1. Jetty Maintenance Work- The jetty was worked on this fall. The Jetty Committee did a fabulous job upgrading the groin area behind the jetty. Cost came in under budget at $10,000. Kudos to Rich, Gerry and John C. for all their hard work.
2. Street signage upgrade- Jen, Julie, and Carolyn are busy working on an upgrade of all our street signs, posts and directional signs as well as a possible monument sign upgrade. As we all can see, the existing wooden posts are badly deteriorating and the street signs are fading. They will be recommending to the Board a course of action. Once the Board reviews their proposal, we will send out the Board recommendation to the neighborhood for discussion. Hopefully we can do all that prior to the annual meeting. The estimated cost is $25,000 plus.
3. Drains/Catch Basin- This project has been delayed due to a number of factors. I plan to have our engineer come to OMP and meet with interested Board members and neighbors to finalize the design and scope of the project so we can finally go out to bid. The reason for the catch basin project delay is thatthe plan of 5/28/21 (which was presented at the Annual Meeting and available upon request), had some missing catch basins. Also, some of the catch basin expansion areas shown on the plan impacted neighbors’ landscaping. A better solution is to expand the catch basins under our roads where possible or expand into neighbor’ lawn areas where there is no landscaping. We are also reviewing “low point” areas to see if we need additional catch basins. We have three contractors lined up to bid. I believe the Spring is when we will all be able to meet to revise the plan. Once we get the final plans, we still have to visit impacted neighbors to get approval to expand the catch basins under their lawns. We are probably one or two years away from commencement. The estimated cost is $80,000 plus.
4. Boat dock improvements- The Dock Committee is working on how to get fresh water to the dock. Other upgrades are being considered. There is nothing to report at this time.
5. Roads- Engineers recommend we wait a couple of years after upgrading the catch basins before tackling roads, to allow the catch basins to settle. The roads, if we decide to proceed, will be done on phased basis. Some streets are clearly worse than others. Work would proceed probably two years after catch basin project so timing is 3-4-5-6 years away if we do a phased approach. The estimated cost is $350,000 plus.
These projects should be seen as STAND ALONE projects. If we upgrade the catch basins, we are not required to do the roads.
As I have said previously, every project will be discussed and voted on by the entire neighborhood at annual meetings. Periodic updates will be sent via emails and also posted on our website. I think we have a sense that the neighborhood definately wants us to try to upgrade the catch basins. If OMP decides not to do the roads then there is certainly no need for a capital assessment and dues increases going forward can be minimized.
Cash Flow Projections– We currently have approximately $110,000 in cash and with the dues increases, we will add roughly $15,000-$20,000 to our cash position after expenses. Hopefully we’ll have approximately $130,000 in reserves next year. The goal of having more aggressive dues increases is to be able to maintain some reserves in case of emergency and to be able to commence capital improvement projects as necessary. If we proceed with the Catch Basin Project, we still want to have funds in reserves in case of an emergency.
If anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to email me or call me, contact any Board member or use our webpage to comment. I believe our web page is set up to have a community discussion, if not, we will try to set it up. Any volunteers?.
I look forward to seeing everybody in the Spring.
Please stay safe
Best regards
Mark Perechocky
617-901-3097 cell