New surfing beach regs approved

By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer

(May 12, 2023) Ocean City surfers should have more chances to catch waves this summer following a change to the resort’s south surf beach parameters.

Currently, surfing is prohibited while lifeguards are on duty, except on designated beaches, from Memorial Day weekend through the end of September.

A couple of months ago, City Manager Terry McGean said representatives from the Eastern Surfing Association asked for changes to the current regulations to establish more beach areas and time in the water.

After meeting with a group of stakeholders, including council members, the mayor, hotel owners, beach stand operators, and a Beach Patrol representative, staff came up with a recommendation beyond the parameters in place.

Council members voted 6-0, with Councilman Tony DeLuca out of the room, to approve the recommendation, which establishes the south surfing beach to its full allowable width each morning and narrows or re-opens the beach to swimmers based on surfing demand.

“It’s much easier to give the beach back to the general public than to take it away,” McGean said of the rea- son for the suggestion.

Currently, two surfing beaches are established each day, one south of 62nd street, and one north. The inlet beach is also available on weekdays and some weekends. The surfing beach moves two blocks each day so that any single location is only affected by a surfing beach for a single day.

The approved expansion was one of several the ESA representatives proposed. The others included extending the hours surfing is allowed, providing more surf beaches, and reducing the season when surfing is prohibited.

At Tuesday’s work session, repre- sentatives from ESA said they were happy with the decision, but hope it is just the beginning of the extended allowances as the sport becomes more popular.

A surfer stands on the beach near 37th Street. City Council members have approved a request from the Eastern Surfing Association for changes to the current south surf beach regulations to help create opportunities for more time in the water this summer.

“I think it’s important to know surfing is just booming,” ESA Executive Director Michelle Sommers said. “And you guys know, I’m sure you see it all summer long. There’s just so many more surfers than there were just five years ago. And I know that tourism is trying to bring surfers to the area, to Ocean City, as a surfing destination. And I think it’s important for us to offer them the access to get into the water and surf.”

By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer

(May 12, 2023) Members of the Ocean City Council approved and discussed the following matters at a meeting May 1:

Parking committee

In response to an Ocean City Development Corporation-sanctioned study, the town has created a more than 20member committee to look into solutions to longtime parking challenges.

OCDC members recently hired a consultant to research potential solutions to the issues, which have plagued the resort for decades. The company they hired, Walker Consultants, recommended implementation of a Fee In Lieu of Parking, or FILOP , program and presented plans to make it work. At a work session in early March, OCDC representatives presented the details.

Council members ultimately voted to approve the formation of a parking committee, made up of a variety of local members including the mayor, one or two council members, and businesses, real estate, community and development representatives.

At last week’s meeting, council approved the members. They are: Mayor Rick Meehan, Councilmen Frank Knight, Will Savage and Peter Buas, OCDC Board President Kevin Gibbs, OCDC Parking Committee members Dennis Dare and Joe Wilson, Hotel-MotelRestaurant Association representative Garvey Heiderman, chamber of commerce representative Sal Fasano, downtown hotelier G Hale Harrison, downtown restauranteur Greg Shockley, downtown retailer Todd Ferrante, property manager Igor Conev, developer Palmer Gillis, residents Bob Rothermel, Scott Chismar and Newt Weaver, City Manager Terry McGean, City Engineer

Paul Mauser, Director of Public Works Hal Adkins, Planning and Development Director Bill Neville, OCDC Executive Director Zach Bankert, and OCDC Program Manager David Noonan.

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

Fee In Lieu of Parking is described as a voluntary program where property owners would pay money to the town 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 parking project.

Budget and tax rate

Council members held a public hearing on the city’s tax rate and passed the first reading of the balanced fiscal 2024 budget with little to no discussion or feedback.

The more than $155.6 million budget was presented to council members for review on March 31, and they spent the next two weeks tweaking the details.

The numbers show an increase of a little more than $3.3 million from last fiscal year in the general fund, from more than $101.5 million to nearly $104.9 million.

One of the biggest focuses in the budget was staffing, with 3 percent step increases for general employees and cost-of-living boosts for police and firefighters, as detailed in their union contracts. Staff members also managed to find funds to hire 12 new full-time firefighters/emergency medical technicians, at the request of council members.

Council members voted 6-0, with Councilman John Gehrig absent, to approve the first reading of the budget, with the second and final reading set for a future meeting.

Council members also held a hearing on the tax rate, as required by law.

Each year, council members set the property tax rate and decide whether to leave it as is or raise or lower it to the constant yield.

The constant yield is the tax rate that would produce the same revenues as the prior year based on assessment es- timates. For fiscal 2024, the constant yield is 44.76 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is down from the existing rate of 45.26 cents per $100.

Staff members suggested, and council members agreed, to keep the existing rate, which if approved means property owners will pay 0.5 cents more per every $100 of assessed value.

The decision is expected to create an extra $478,005 in revenues, which staff have said are needed to maintain the current budgeted expenses and pay for new ones detailed in fiscal 2024.

At the end of the May 1 meeting, Meehan commended staff members for their hard work and success at putting together a “responsible” budget.

He also pointed out that property taxes are just 41 percent of the total general fund revenues, with the remainder generated from room taxes and other tourism sources.

Model block bank note

Council members approved the second reading of an ordinance that will allow members of the Ocean City Development Corporation to use money from the inlet parking lot fund to pay off existing debt on properties within the downtown model block.

The model block is a cluster of 35,000 square feet of properties between Somerset and Dorchester streets. For years, OCDC members have been acquiring land and floating plans to develop the area.

OCDC Executive Director Zach Bankert and Board President Kevin Gibbs asked council members last month for permission to pay off the existing $625,000 of debt from money allocated to the organization within the inlet parking fund. Bankert said paying off the total now will make future payments lower because of rising interest.

Through a city ordinance, 50 cents per hour of parking revenue collected on the weekends in the inlet lot downtown is allotted for OCDC use. The ordinance requires council approval for the organization to spend any of the money.

Council members approved the first reading of the request two weeks ago, sending it to second and final reading and approval.

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