OCEAN CITY — The proposed expansion of the iconic Ocean City Lifesaving Station Museum at the foot of the Boardwalk will likely require a change in state law and city officials this week asked Delegate Mary Beth Carozza to pursue the legislative change.
For decades, the Ocean City Lifesaving Station Museum has sat on the south end of the Boardwalk offering a glimpse of life in the resort dating back a century or more with various exhibits and displays. The building was a working lifesaving station in the early 1900s and was moved to its current location at the end of the Boardwalk where it was converted into a museum.
It has largely remained unchanged for decades, however, and while the building maintains its quaint charm, the facility has outgrown its usefulness somewhat as a public museum. Last May, the Museum Society Board proposed a new two-story facility adjacent to and connected to the historic lifesaving museum at the foot of the Boardwalk. However, the proposal calls for the expansion to go to the east over a section of the Inlet parking lot, which would require approval from the state. Current state law does not allow new construction east of the Boardwalk.
While the Mayor and Council first learned of the proposal last spring, it has been quietly on the back-burner as a line item in the proposed Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which was reviewed again this week during a work session. The total estimated cost of the project is around $1.4 million, but the Museum Society Board has been working on raising the lion’s share of the funding through various state grants and private donations.
Because of the anticipated legislative change needed to allow an expansion east of the Boardwalk, and because of the complexities in obtaining some of the state grants sought, the museum board has asked the Town of Ocean City to be a facilitator in its efforts for expansion. The board is also seeking a financial commitment for the town, contingent on the board’s ability to acquire the necessary grants and public sector donations. The CIP reviewed on Tuesday showed a $300,000 commitment from the town in fiscal year 2020, followed by a $2.5 million commitment in fiscal year 2021.
However, Mayor Rick Meehan explained he had received a letter from the Museum Society Board seeking only a commitment of around $200,000 for three years, or a total commitment of $600,000. Meehan said the town’s financial commitment would strictly be based on the board’s ability to secure the remainder of the funding. He compared the proposed project to the highly successful new Ocean City Art League building on 94th Street and the cultural contributions to the town that facility has made.
“This will be a project contingent upon obtaining grants and various other sources of financing both private and public equaling $1.4 million,” he said. “They’re asking for a project much like the Center for the Arts. If you read our comprehensive plan, culture and the arts are referred to over and over again. That has far exceeded the impact we thought it would have. It has had an impact on our community and this is a very similar project.”
Meehan reiterated any financial contribution from the town would be solely based on the board’s ability to raise the funding for the balance of the project.
“They are proposing the same type of agreement,” he said. “They’re asking for about $600,000 over three years, but only if in fact they are able to secure grant funding. I think the expansion of the Lifesaving Museum and what it would bring to the Boardwalk and tourism make this a viable project. I think we all might look at it a little differently than we did. I think putting a place-holder in for the next two to three years is a reasonable request.”
With assurances the town’s financial contribution relied only on the ability of the board to secure the necessary grants and private funding, some on the council seemed inclined to move the project up the priority list in the CIP. However, there was still the all-important need to get state approval to move the expanded area east over a portion of the Inlet lot. City Engineer Terry McGean said he has had cursory discussions with the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and it appears the agency would not oppose the expansion, but it would require a change in state law.
“The DNR said it would require a legislative change,” he said. “The DNR has said it would not oppose a legislative change, but we have to go through that process first.”
The council agreed gaining approval from the state through a legislative change was a necessary first step, citing the importance of seeing first if it is even possible before going forward with an approvals or commitments. Councilman Dennis Dare agreed the proposed expansion was akin to the Art League project and said it should be explored further.
“We’ve seen the success with the Art League and what that’s added to the livability of Ocean City,” he said. “We need to make the museum successful and allow it to grow into something much larger. I’m not in love with making it closer to the ocean and taking away those parking spaces. I think we need to appropriate a little money to begin studying it so we can make a decision going forward.”
Councilman Wayne Hartman said the town’s proposed commitment to the project differed somewhat from what was first proposed last May. He agreed the proposed expansion over the Inlet lot was favorable to any proposed expansion north of the existing museum.
“The proposal from the Museum Society is much different than what we first heard,” he said. “I think the loss of parking would be negligible because that lot is rarely completely full and those spots are probably the last to fill in. Building parallel to the Boardwalk would be an injustice to the oceanfront property owners there, so the alignment going over the parking lot is less objectionable.”
Councilman John Gehrig said Carozza had attended the meeting last May and had already said she would introduce any needed legislation in Annapolis to help move the project along.
“To me, the proposal looks basically the same,” he said. “We already asked Delegate Carozza to take this to Annapolis. The takeaway from that meeting was to see if we can even do this.”
The council officially voted unanimously to ask Carozza to introduce legislation during the current General Assembly session that began on Wednesday to make the expansion over a portion of the Inlet lot possible.