$50 Fee Outlandish
Editor:
Fifty dollars to park at the Inlet — have the city leaders lost their minds? Fifty dollars is an outrages amount for a day parking.
To say it’s not for the revenue is political talk for we are trying to suck as much out of the visitors as we can. Wouldn’t $30 be more reasonable? Who came up with this outlandish amount?
I don’t go to the Inlet on the Fourth of July because it’s always too crowded and I prefer the entertainment at Northside Park, but I feel sorry for those that do and will be saddled with this outlandish fee.
I think everyone should call City Hall and complain, write emails to the mayor and all the council people and complain. Then maybe when the peoples voices are heard this will be reduced, but who am I kidding. What do they care?
They will probably all be home or parked in their free parking spaces at City Hall.
Len Bender
Ocean City
Light Change Welcomed
Editor:
Finally, kudos to the city.
They have finally adjusted the traffic lights at 94th Street to give the pedestrians a fighting chance to get across Coastal Highway safely. Previously, there was about a three-second delay before the light changed from walk to green for vehicle traffic. Now there is over a 30-second walk signal before vehicles can turn onto Coastal Highway from 94th Street,
Certainly, a step in the right direction.
P. Wiedermann
Ocean City
OC Priorities Off
Editor:
While we spend $5 million a year for advertising in four states and Washington, D.C to get people to come to Oecan City, it would seem that we could and should inform the police in the town that we appreciate guests who come here and we do not want to unnecessarily harass them.
I am referring to a situation I saw today, Saturday, June 22. A tourist whose wife was shopping on the Boardwalk fell asleep in the car and his parking meter ran out. The city response: two teams of two policemen each visited his car. Did they knock on his window to tell him of the problem(s) or, even worse, to see if something was wrong? No, they each wrote him a ticket and went on their way.
When our guest awoke, he was upset and felt somewhat helpless and abused. The best I could was to tell him to write a letter to the city since it is obvious that he will not be able to come back in a month or two to present his argument in court.
And then the City Council debates whether or not we should paint a water tower, “Thank You For Coming To Ocean City.” Thanks indeed. Let’s just hope he didn’t get stopped for speeding by the four to six State Police troopers that set up a radar station to unsuspecting incoming traffic every day.
It seems to me that in a town that was truly caring and appreciative that its police, if they wanted to demonstrate that they were truly proficient in their work and interested in our tourists and the city, would have handled this situation much differently. But, in a town that thinks more of squeezing each dollar out of each tourist, it is understandable that the $30 or $50 earned by the police to help meet the city’s deficit spending caused incidentally by the pay raises negotiated by the police union is going to take priority.
Al Wendling
Berlin
Treatment Appreciated
Editor:
The family of Betty O’Brien would like to express their appreciation to the medical professionals who treated Betty — the Ocean Pines Fire Department Ambulance crews, the wonderful staff from Coastal Hospice, and to all of Betty’s friends and neighbors who cooked, called, and visited.
Betty’s last weeks were filled with love and support. We are deeply appreciative.
Linda Clukay
Clarifying Bethany Hotel
Editor:
It can be confusing to understand what all the fuss is about over building a new three-story Oceanfront Hotel facility in Bethany Beach. While we think it is great to debate whether a brand new oceanfront facility will have a positive or negative impact on the Quiet Resorts, some of the arguments and rumors I have heard about the new three-story Oceanfront Hotel are just plain wrong and misleading.
I want to make a couple basic points just to clarify some incredible misconceptions.
Point No. 1: Our new Bethany Beach Hotel project is only three stories tall and it did not require any special height adjustments from the Town of Bethany Beach. Someone actually told me I was going to build a six-story high-rise. Can you believe it?
Our new 3-story Oceanfront Hotel facility would replace an existing 3-story motel facility. Of course, because we would be building a brand new facility, we are happy to be able to offer a wider range of newer and more comfortable amenities.
Point No. 2: This is a Bethany Beach favorite – parking. Some people think that a new three-story Oceanfront Hotel facility will increase parking problems in downtown Bethany Beach. In reality, a hotel in Bethany Beach must provide on-site parking for its guests. Providing on-site parking is part of the requirements for a three-story Oceanfront Hotel facility. Our new facility will provide ample parking for our guests.
Point No. 3: Some people have said the new hotel would bring more people to that location then currently could use the existing area. We did an analysis. The Blue Surf Hotel had 35 rooms and the Bethany Arms had 50. Because they were larger rooms than we are going to build, their maximum load of people was actually greater that ours will be in the new hotel.
I hope everyone will understand that we want our new three-story Oceanfront Hotel facility to be a positive addition to Bethany Beach. We have been pleased to develop properties in the Quiet Resorts before and look forward to building a brand new hotel facility that everyone can be proud of.
Jack Burbage
Petition A Waste
Editor:
After reading the article concerning the group starting up a partition drive to bring the parking issue before the voters, my first thoughts were what a gigantic waste of time and money over this issue. We all know this is just a lame attempt by the condo owner association and the business up there to keep the free parking for their guest and patrons.
Why can’t they just accept that this is going to happen and let it be? Why do we need to waste all this time and money fighting what will be a losing cause and they will be paying anyway? The condo owners already have free parking that came with their condos so in reality they are only trying to keep free parking for the guest. Well guess what the free parking is over and they will just have to learn to adjust.
I am still for the idea of having paid parking on the oceanside all the way from 120th to 146th streets. This will help pay for needed improvements throughout the city help balance the budget.
Len Bender
Ocean City