The expected occurred this week when Ocean City Councilman Joe Mitrecic confirmed his intention to seek a seat on the Worcester County Board of Commissioners.
Even before he lost his council seat in the 2010 election, Mitrecic had been considering the resort’s County Commissioner seat for his political future. That defeat in the 2010 election derailed those ambitions for a bit until he was re-elected to the council in 2012. At an announcement this week, Mitrecic outlined his ambitions as a commissioner if he is elected later this year.
The biggest issue on his radar will be the city’s quest for tax differential, which would address resort property owners having to pay twice for certain services through their tax bills. For instance, Ocean City has its own recreation, tourism, police and Public Works departments. City taxes fund those operations, but Ocean City property owners also pay through their county tax bills for those services for the county at large. The county has never truly considered addressing this issue because of the huge hole it will leave in its revenue, but Mitrecic wants to tackle it with new gusto.
While it’s unrealistic to expect he will get anywhere on the matter, as it means millions of dollars for the county, it’s noteworthy that he wants to bring a new energy to the conversation. Other issues Mitrecic identified this week included opening up commissioner meetings more to the public through videotaping the sessions and restarting talks about Ocean City-based 911 calls being routed to Snow Hill first and then back to Ocean City.
The 911 call issue is an interesting one and was debated heavily for some time. No matter if they originate across the street from the Ocean City Public Safety Building or down the road from the Berlin Police Department, all 911 calls are handled through a dispatch center in Snow Hill and then funneled to the appropriate dispatch center. For instance, if a condominium owner needed assistance on 70th Street and called 911, the call would be received in Snow Hill and then transferred to the Ocean City Public Safety Building for handing, despite the fact the person is within a mile of the Public Safety Building. It’s a matter of seconds for the call to be transferred, but they matter in most emergencies. It was a passionate issue about 10 years ago, but it quietly faded when there appeared to be no willingness on the part of the state and county to alter the status quo.
As just one of seven commissioners, Mitrecic will have to build consensus for all of these matters, and history reminds us change at the county level is slow coming even on the most minute of issues. History also confirms that Ocean City representatives rarely get what they want at the county level. Mitrecic knows this and believes the resort has been treated unfairly over the years by the county.
Mitrecic is out of the gates early in this race, and that’s a smart political move. Now it will be interesting to see if his decision impacts the other names believed to be considering a run at the seat held by retiring Commissioner Louise Gulyas since 1998. I expect two other individuals to file in the coming months.
Can Berlin sustain all these restaurants? That’s a question I ask myself routinely, particularly now that there will soon be seven restaurants offering lunch or dinner within a mile of each other.
There’s currently the Atlantic Hotel, The Globe, Rayne’s Reef, Si’Culi, Tex-Mex and Beyond and the Burley Inn Tavern. Within a few months, a new face — The Blacksmith at the former Carriage House site — will join the scene. That’s seven places to grab lunch or dinner within a five-minute walk. This is not to mention the other downtown places offering more casual bites, like the two bakeries, coffee shop, candy store and deli. Of course, head over to Old Ocean City Blvd. and even more casual options exist.
If the fact I saw restaurant equipment being moved into the old Boomer’s site at the south end of town last month is any indication of new life being breathed into that site, there could soon be eight restaurants operating within a mile.
While I hate to be a skeptic as nobody is more of a homer for Berlin than me, there is no question the small residential base cannot support this many restaurants. It’s just not possible. I live in Berlin and that’s a fact. Of the ones that are open now, there are vast differences in popularities and successes. Some are doing well, while others are not. It’s exciting to see the commercial growth of Berlin, but I fear it’s too much too soon. I can’t see how this community can sustain it. The key will be increasing the amount of visitors to town.
Competition is a good thing, but when there are so many options and only so many tourists to snare, all of the proprietors could find a bit of an adjustment period ahead. They will all prosper on major event days and nights, such as New Year’s Eve, Christmas Parade and summer special events, but it’s the 300 or so other calendar days that separate the weak from the strong.
I am rooting for all of them and will do my part to support each, but I just don’t see how they can all be successful. I hope I’m dead wrong on this one.