OCEAN CITY – Did the Mayor and Council “cave” or did they “compromise?”
That is the question many are asking in the resort this week after the proposed ordinances regarding new measures that would control unruly crowd behavior during off-season car shows was abandoned in lieu of the existing laws on Tuesday night, much to the surprise of those who opposed it.
“We were completely shocked as well as elated,” said Susan Jones, executive director of the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association (OCHMRA). “The council has a delicate job in being responsive to both residents and businesses. When the ordinances were introduced, they certainly got our attention which is why we attended work and Council sessions. Fortunately, our government worked the way government should work; the Mayor and Council had lots of discussion and brainstorming with those that the laws would have affected. This back and forth dialogue helps everyone to better understand and work through situations. We look forward to working with the Mayor and Council to continue to improve the quality of events and life in OC.”
Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, who is also serving as interim city manager, believes the process was worthwhile.
“We wanted to bring this issue to the forefront of public conversation and find a solution that would work for everyone, and I believe we accomplished that goal and took a very important first step,” he said. “This was compromise and that’s what we always intended. We didn’t back down as some people are claiming.”
Meehan believes it was never the council’s intention to revoke people of their business licenses as outlined in section 58-72 of the proposed ordinance, which was also one of the biggest points of umbrage from the business community’s perspective.
“That part scared people, so I emailed our people, and Melanie [Pursel, Executive Director of the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce] did the same, and we came out to be heard,” Jones said. “That proposal shows why making laws in a vacuum doesn’t work. You have to talk to everyone it would effect.”
Meehan said the proposed ordinance was “almost a replica” of a law that exists in Virginia Beach that was passed to handle similar event-based issues that resort faces.
“We brought this up at the Police Commission level about a year ago, and there was no real action from the business community, so we knew we had to bring something forward to make some real progress. We know we have problems as these types of events have grown, and we know this isn’t a cure all, but to be honest, if we wouldn’t have brought these forward and raised a few eyebrows, we wouldn’t have made this progress.”
Meehan said he has been fielding calls and emails in the days that have followed the meeting criticizing the council for a perceived decision that favors the business community more so than those in the region that don’t have a stake financially in the events. He said those people consider car shows more as a public nuisance than anything else.
“We have a responsibility to everyone in the community, not just the businesses and we certainly don’t want to create problems. We want to solve them,” said Meehan. “But, as these events have grown and become spectator events as well as events for the participants, we have to focus on what we can do to protect our residents and our businesses.”
The timeliness of the conversation seems apropos as well with two sanctioned auto events — Cruisin and Delmarva Bike Week — and one un-sanctioned car event — the H2O International — happening within the next 30 days.
“I hope there is better enforcement on the laws already on the books,” said Jones. “We all can agree that burn-outs on the highway are still happening, and reckless driving and behavior are still an issue in recent years. I know the town is bringing in more help from a police perspective for these events, and that makes everyone happy, but I’m even happier they saw that this ordinance was not the answer. If we have no businesses, we have no resort.”