Over $600K in scholarships available to local students

(March 3, 2023) More than $600,000 in scholarships are available for area students through the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore.

The foundation, which awarded scholarships to over 400 students last year, has recently opened applications on its website. Many of the scholarships have an April 1, deadline, and details are available within each application.

“Scholarships are an investment in our future leaders and create an incredible impact in our local community,” said Community Foundation President Erica Joseph. “The foundation offers a wide variety of scholarships, each with their own unique See AWARDS Page 16

OCDC floats ‘Fee In Lieu Of Parking’ program for resort

By Mallory Panuska

Writer

(March 3, 2023) A voluntary fee program managed by an authority could be coming to Ocean City as officials tackle one of the resort’s most pressing longtime problems for the umpteenth time — lack of parking.

For years, resort officials have floated plans, studies and more to solve the issue, however little has advanced beyond the talking stage.

Piggybacking on some of that, members of the Ocean City Development Corporation recently hired a consultant to look into potential solutions based on modern needs and projections. The company they hired, Walker Consultants, recommended implementation of a Fee In Lieu of Parking, or FILOP, program. Their recommendation came with a road map to make it happen, and at a City Council work session Tuesday, organization representatives presented the details.

“I want to emphasize that we are not here today to provide all the answers,” OCDC member Joe Wilson said during the presentation. “We have begun exploration of the topic and the OCDC board has provided unanimous support for the town to form a parking committee to explore it further.”

Council members voted to approve the formation of a parking committee that would consist of the mayor, one or two council members, community development representatives, and members of the business and real estate communities.

The committee will research the FILOP concept and make recommendations for how to proceed.

According to the presentation, Fee In Lieu of Parking is a voluntary program in which property owners would pay the city a sum of cash instead of providing some or all of the code-required parking when developing projects. The fees collected would go into a fund set to pay for public parking through construction of a garage or other type of public project.

OCDC member Dennis Dare, who is also a former councilman and city manager, said the FILOP concept is not new, and that a similar plan was

See PARKING Page 16