Four commissioners sign on paid parking code changes

Pilot program will start at Shell Mill public boat ramp

By Jack Chavez Staff Writer

(May 12, 2023) Four Worcester County Commissioners sponsored legislation on May 2 that paves the way for a pilot program that would create a parking charge for out-ofstate people using the Shell Mill boat ramp in Bishopville.

With the signatures of Commissioners Chip Bertino, Jim Bunting, Eric Fiori and Caryn Abbott, the new majority in county leadership can now determine the feasibility of one of its ideas to drum up additional revenue.

The pilot program was approved in March, but a minor amendment was needed to implement it. Specifically, the code now adds “paid” to the parking zone designations.

The pilot program will charge outof-state boat ramp users $10 to use the north-county boat ramp. If the program is determined a success, similar charges will likely come to the rest of the county’s 14 other public boat ramps, which include the boat ramp on 64th Street in Ocean City and the ramp on Golf Course Road in

West Ocean City.

Back in March, Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said this move might just dissuade out-of-state boaters from using that specific ramp.

“We’re going to push these boat ramp users to other boat ramps,” Mitrecic said then. “If we’re going to do it, we need to do it with all boat ramps in the county.”

Fiori disagreed, saying that parking is so bad at other ramps that the public will need to weigh its limited options.

“By 9 a.m. on a Saturday, these lots are already filled,” Fiori said. “You’re not going to take your family and boat to another ramp because of a $10 fee.”

Commissioner Jim Bunting said that the county must start somewhere.

“It’s a problem (at Shell Mill boat ramp),” he said. “This helps us track who’s coming from out of state. We’re going to get it straight and we’ll have the ability to enforce the number of boats and trailers there. We won’t have them stacked up the road and blocking, loading and unloading.”

The pilot program will begin 45 days after the commissioners pass the legislation.