City Council Members Participate In Last Meeting

OCEAN CITY – Monday evening’s Mayor and City Council legislative session was the last for a few council members as they took the opportunity to give thanks and say goodbye.

This year’s election left four open council seats and no question that there will be a new council by the conclusion of Election Day on Tuesday. Council members Brent Ashley and Margaret Pillas, along with Council President Lloyd Martin’s four-year terms had come to an end. Both Ashley and Pillas announced their intentions to step down, leaving Martin the only incumbent to run.

Although mid-term, Councilman Joe Mitrecic is also taking leave as he will now serve on the Worcester County Commission, representing the district of Ocean City, by virtue of being unopposed.

Pillas, who is currently traveling Turkey, said her farewell at the conclusion of last week’s work session.

“It was a worthwhile eight years to be sitting here. I have enjoyed every minute of it even though it was challenging at times for me. However, I would like to wish good luck to all of the candidates,” she said.

This week, with a heavy heart, Ashley thanked the citizens for allowing him to serve on council.

“I want to take a minute to thank the citizens of our great town for allowing me to represent them for the last four years. It has been an honor and I will be forever grateful,” he said.

Mitrecic, who has served on the council for a total of 12 years, found it to be a bitter-sweet moment. Looking back, he is thankful to have served with the current and past council members, specifically Nancy Howard, Vince Gisriel, Mary Knight, Doug Cymek, Dennis Dare, Martin, former Mayor Jim Mathias and Mayor Rick Meehan.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t thank our employees, all of our employees, especially some of our department heads, and all that I have learned from them over the years. I can’t say enough about them,” Mitrecic said.

Mitrecic started off by thanking Public Works Director Hal Adkins.

“The new council better start planning on how they are going to pay for the six people that are going to replace him when he retires because that is what it is going to take to replace him,” he said.

Mitrecic also mentioned the smiling face that greets visitors to City Hall, Annemarie Rohrer, Wayne Evans and Nettie Hastings in Human Resources, Martha Bennett and the Finance Department, Jessica Waters and Diana Chavis in the City Manager’s Office, Budget Manager Jennie Knapp and City Engineer Terry McGean.

“I hope as long as I am a citizen of this county he [McGean] never retires because I know you will never replace him,” Mitrecic said. “These are the leaders of some of the best employees around and I ask the future council to recognize the wonderful staff we have and never balance the budgets on their backs.”

Mitrecic challenged the new council to follow through with hiring a transportation expert to analyze Ocean City’s transportation system and recommend necessary changes in improving ridership and revenue, as well as listening to Recreation and Parks Director Susan Petito’s upcoming proposal to realign the department.

“I also want to remind them [new council] that getting along doesn’t always mean agreeing. It means respecting each other’s opinions and I think that is what most of us have done over the years,” he said.

Mitrecic concluded he will be returning to the Ocean City Mayor and City Council to present quarterly reports from the county, and one of the first initiatives he will tackle is to have commission meetings broadcasted. That is an issue that has come up before in Snow Hill to no avail.

“I will be letting everyone in Ocean City know what is going on with the county and how it affects you. I want to be able to call on this body and the citizens to come down there, sit down in that room when we have things that affect us, … There are a lot of things that happen on the county level that can adversely affect us, and we all need to know when it is happening,” Mitrecic said. “I pledge to you all and the citizens that I am going down there to do the best I can, and will bring it back so that you all know what is going on so that nothing happens to Ocean City on the county level that this town doesn’t know about.”

Before the meeting closed, Meehan also took the opportunity to wish his colleagues good luck.

“Margaret spent eight years serving the citizens of Ocean City. It is not an easy task. It is time consuming, and not everybody steps up to do that. Margaret stepped up to do that, and she represented the citizens to the best of her ability, and always had the Ocean City citizens at the forefront of her decisions,” the mayor said. “We have Brent, who has served four years, and again it is a commitment and I on behalf of the council and citizens thank you for that commitment for serving the Town of Ocean City.”

The mayor recognized it is because of Ashley that Ocean City’s water towers have been marked with a welcoming and thankful message.

“Brent, thank you for pushing those initiatives forward. I wish you all the luck in the future,” Meehan said.

In looking back over Mitrecic’s time on the council, Meehan recognized his contributions.

“You were our council president during some of the toughest times in Ocean City. In conjunction with the city manager and council, you were the leader when we cut about $5.5 million from the budget, and it was difficult in deciding what to cut, how to implement those cuts, how to move forward, and how to continue to grow,” the mayor said. “I also think that you are without a doubt the very best person in Ocean City to take the position of County Commissioner representing the Ocean City district. Being able to take that knowledge down there first-hand right from the council level to the County Commissioners is going to be a big asset for Ocean City and for Worcester County.”

There was excitement in the air Monday knowing as of Tuesday night there will be three new faces on City Council, the mayor stated.

“I hope those who are elected will come with their own ideas, with open minds, and are willing to work with us, so we can move the town forward,’ he concluded. “The citizens of Ocean City see what goes on the national and state level and we don’t want to have that on the municipal level. We can all work together and continue to be productive to move forward, to provide the citizens with what they are expecting, and that is living in the best community that they could possible find.”