OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
NOVEMBER 15, 2019
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
LIFESTYLE
WINTERFEST OF LIGHTS
Annual festival, now in its 27th year, kicks off with an opening ceremony next Thursday – Page 25
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Camera surveillance issue strikes too close to home Cell tower debate becomes argument about propriety of eyes in residential areas
MORGAN PILZ/OCEAN CITY TODAY
VETERANS DAY Eagle Scouts Kurt Leinemann, left, and Nicholas Coleman place wreaths in front of the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Table for One during the Veterans Day ceremony, held at the American Legion Post #166 on 24th Street, Monday. See more photos on page 20.
By Josh Kim Staff Writer (Nov. 15, 2019) As if requesting permission to install a small cell antenna within residential areas wasn’t enough to agitate members of the City Council Tuesday night, the suggestion to add a police surveillance camera to the structure in an uptown neighborhood was the tipping point for Councilman John Gehrig. “My kids live there,” Gehrig said pointedly to Councilman Mark Paddack, who had made the suggestion. “There are two young kids in this whole neighborhood and you want to put a camera in my neighborhood?” The source of Gehrig’s agitation grew out of the Crown Castle com-
Hotels want more pet beach time Lodging industry wants city to consider extending time dogs, masters have access By Josh Kim Staff Writer (Nov. 15, 2019) With more hotel owners allowing guests to book a room with their pets, the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association [HMRA] is hoping to change city policy, and allow pets on the beach for a longer period of time. “The bottom line is that in the past, there were four members [of HMRA] that took pets in 1995,” executive director of the association Susan Jones said during Wednesday’s Tourism Commission meeting. “Now, 22 of our members take in pets.”
According to an American Pet Products Association survey, 67 percent of American households own a pet, which is equivalent to 84.9 million homes.
LISA CAPITELLI/OCEAN CITY TODAY
A dog has his day on the beach. If the hotel industry has its way, he would have two more months of opportunity to dig his surroundings.
In addition, a TripAdvisor survey found that 53 percent of travellers take their pets with them, while 52 percent of those travellers will only stay in pet-friendly properties. Thirty-five percent of these travellers take shorter vacations because of the lack of pet-friendly accommodations, and 25 percent of pet owners take fewer vacations overall. Based on these statistics, Jones said it is paramount that the city expands its current pet policy to capitalize on this growing market. Currently, the city policy only allows pets on the beach from Oct. 1 to April 30, which she said negatively affects hotel owners who allow the furry creatures on premises. “For example, [one hotel owner] takes pets, but we can’t take animals See HMRA Page 58
JOSH KIM /OCEAN CITY TODAY
Ocean City Councilmen John Gehrig, left, and Mark Paddack argue over the installation of small cellular antennas in residential neighborhoods, Tuesday. Paddack suggested putting a police surveillance camera in one area, which drew even greater ire from Gehrig.
pany’s request to install a small antenna node near 311 Old Landing Rd. in the Caine Keys neighborhood where the councilman lives. In addition to the Old Landing See CELL Page 58
Uber, Lyft pinch riders from OC transit system Bus ridership down, as ride-hailing increases By Josh Kim Staff Writer (Nov. 15, 2019) Ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft have taken another victim in Ocean City: public transit, as five years worth of data showed an estimated 15.5 percent decrease in ridership since 2015. “A substantial number of those people using Uber and Lyft have eroded our ridership, no different than how they’ve decimated the taxicab industry See RIDE-HAILING Page 58