OCEAN CITY — The steadily deteriorating parking lots at the Ocean City Tennis Center complex are in need of a serious repaving, but the lots are pretty far down the town’s paving priority list.
During a Recreation Committee meeting last week, it was learned the town-owned parking lots at the Ocean City Tennis Center complex at 62nd Street had fallen into disrepair and were in need of repaving. Recreation and Parks Director Susan Petito told the committee she had spoken with Public Works Director Hal Adkins about paving the lots and learned while there was funding for paving in the budget, there were streets and others lots higher on the list.
“Those lots are in shabby shape,” she said. “Hal said the council had approved funding for paving in the budget, but it wasn’t what he hoped for. These lots are pretty far down the priority list. If we want to move them further up the list, we would need some direction from the council.”
Councilman and committee chair Wayne Hartman agreed.
“We have roads in worse shape than those lots,” he said.
Recreation Supervisor Kate Gaddis said she understood the town’s paving priority list didn’t include the lots at the tennis center, but said they had really fallen into disrepair.
“If they can’t do it now, at least there should be some patchwork,” she said. “They have a lot of potholes and some you could drive a car into.”
Mayor Rick Meehan said the lots at the tennis center are not always utilized for tennis event participants, who can get a parking pass to cover their fees if they are participating in an event or playing tennis. However, while the lots are metered with CALE machines, many are using them to go to the beach or nearby restaurants and are ignoring the meters.
“There has to be a sign that those lots are dedicated to the tennis center and recreation complex and if someone is parking there for something other than that purpose, they have to pay the meter or be fined,” he said. “We have two parking meters there that generated just $3,300 last year and they’re full a good part of the time. A single meter on a regular street generates that much. If the signage was improved and enforcement stepped up and we got people to actually pay the CALE machines, it would increase the revenue that could be used to improve the lots.”
Hartman recommended taking a closer look at the two lots.
“We need to find out where it is,” he said. “Does it need a complete rebuild or can a simple overlay be done for now?”
