Ocean City News In Brief

OCEAN CITY — In the brief this week, the job description for a vital position in the resort became clear; the winning bid uptown project came in at quite a bargain; and the town moved toward making sure Tasers don’t make their way onto the island.

Town Seeks Building Manager

When Mike Noah resigned a few months back as the town’s tourism director and head of operations at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center, the question became whether the person who will fills the post should be more savvy in the areas of tourism or more so in the building management department.

With another expansion of the convention center on the horizon in the near future, City Manager Dennis Dare released the official job description for the position this week.

Assistant Tourism Director Deb Travers will continue her current duties and take on the tourism portions of Noah’s job, and though she will get the tourism director title she will get no change in pay and will answer directly to Dare.

What the town seems to be looking for is a seasoned veteran (six years minimum required) of high level building management experience at either a convention center or theatrical facility, who can simultaneously juggle sales and marketing as well as the staff of the center.

There is also a section in the job description concerning various topics such as the point that the applicant may need to lift things in excess of 25 pounds, work in precariously high places and needs to “effectively present information” to various entities ranging from the general public civic leaders.

Paving Project A Bargain

The pathway that holds the perimeter of Northside Park will be getting repaved in upcoming weeks, after the council unanimously approved the winning bid to American Paving for just over $27,000.

The notable thing about the project and the price is that the repaving of the pathway, which will also be widened in certain areas to address the tram used during the Winterfest of Lights, will be the last capital project done by the town indefinitely.

The council voted to halt all capital projects as part of a budget cutting measure last fall and completion of the pathway will mark the last project of its kind for at least the near future.

The $27,000 price tag, when compared to the $52,000 that was allotted in the budget for this project, had council members simultaneously reaching for their buzzers to make a motion to approve the bid.

Taser Ban Moves Forward

The council’s quest to stop Tasers from being allowed on the island took another step on Monday as the council voted unanimously to move the ordinance through to second reading, with two exceptions.

Councilman Doug Cymek, a licensed conceal and carry gun permit owner for 37 years, does not know why the state legislators voted to allow possession and retail sale of Tasers, which will be effective July 1, but he was an advocate of giving Maryland State Police gun permit holders the choice to carry a Taser, as well as reserved the right for someone to keep a Taser in their home in Ocean City.

“Whatever possessed them to allow 18-year-olds to have these things is totally beyond me,” said Cymek. “We took one of these things off the Boardwalk this week, so we saw an immediate need to address this situation before it becomes legal.”

The council voted through the caveats suggested by Cymek and decided upon at the police commission level. It is no secret that Chief Bernadette DiPino would like to see her officers have access to these Tasers.

“I know that the chief has asked for them in the past, and I think that a limited number of officers could be allowed to carry them,” said Cymek, “but do I think that every one of our officers should carry a Taser? Absolutely not.”