OCEAN CITY – Another extremely generous donation to the resort’s mounted patrol unit was accepted this week.
At the conclusion of Monday evening’s Mayor and City Council meeting, City Solicitor Guy Ayres announced some good news.
A few years back, Ocean City resident Virginia Murray passed away and left a large amount of money to be used specifically towards the Ocean City Police Department’s Mount Patrol.
In the past, Ayres has delivered the city two checks, equaling up to $300,000 from Murray’s estate.
“I have the final distribution from that estate,” Ayres said. “I have a check here tonight for $27,416.85, which means the total under her will of $327,416.85.”
On top of what Murray had already donated to the patrol, she has also named it as a beneficiary of a charitable trust. In September, Ayres received a check for $51,400.
“I don’t know how much longer the trust will go on but there is potential for more money to come to us from the trust,” he said. “That is a total so far that we received from Ms. Murray’s estate of $378,829.03.”
“God bless that woman,” Council President Jim Hall said. “That is absolutely incredible…that is quite a gift from that family.”
On Tuesday Pfc. Michael Levy of the OCPD said the endowment to the mounted patrol is set with certain limitations and restrictions, as well as two appointed trustees to monitor the expenditures.
“Since that endowment, we have purchased five police horses and training for them,” he said. “It is an incredibly generous donation by a citizen to ensure our department and our citizens and visitors to Ocean City are able to have a functional and effective amounted patrol group.
He added the horses cost anywhere from $75,000 to $85,000 alone, plus the costs to train them.
“Some of that money that the endowment allows is used for training the police horses,” Levy said. “Not for training the officers, not for equipping the officers, or lodging and feeding the officers while they’re in training, it is strictly for the horses and training the horses. Most horses won’t do what those animals do without a lot of training.”