Seabay Lane Concerns
Editor:
Since the rezoning of a piece of marshland just south of the Route 90 bridge, also known as Seabay Lane, the Town of Ocean City has permitted the construction of a massive hotel complex within a small existing neighborhood.
We have 25 taxpaying homeowners who have been waiting four years for a road maintenance agreement regarding our “private” street. This winter our homeowner’s association has paid over $1,000 to remove snow after the last storm. With this huge hotel on the north side of all of Seabay Lane, we still have no agreement from the town or our new neighbors to address any of the problems now facing this once quiet neighborhood.
There are many unanswered questions for all of us. The town chooses to ignore this whole issue, as if it will go away. We will also be dealing with the repercussions for four years of construction, settlement, drainage problems and wind events. The wind has blown all kinds of construction debris, including their insulation, fences, port-a-johns and anything else not tied down, right into and across our street. This has created a dangerous situation more than once.
From the beginning, there has been very little correspondence with the new hotel, no good faith interaction and no communication. We are left to live everyday with this mess that has been created by the big push to overbuild rooms in this town. Remember, Mayor Rick Meehan said recently about the wind farm development, “This is a really big project that will be there for many years, and we have only chance to get right.”
Why did no one care enough to get it right on Seabay Lane?
Seta Martin
Ocean City
x
Bill Needs Attention
Editor:
Since I haven’t seen any local news coverage of important legislation under consideration in Annapolis, we thought we’d let our fellow Lower Shore citizens know what’s up.
The “Sanctuary State” legislation (called “The TRUST Act” last year) is back in the guise of “The SAFE Act.” House Bill 1461 will be heard in the Judiciary Committee on March 13.
Now would be a good time to contact members of the Judiciary Committee to voice any concerns you may have. Contact information for all Maryland legislators (including committee assignments) is easily available on the website mgaleg.maryland.gov. HouseH
There are several bills regarding voting in Maryland which should be of grave concern:
Voting by Mail (Senate Bill 547-Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee).
Same Day Registration/Voting (this would be a Constitutional Amendment – SB 594-Education, Health and Environmental Affairs and HB 532 (Ways & Means;).
Automatic Voter Registration (House Bill 152-Ways & Means Committee/Senate Bill 1048-Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee).
It’s not all bad, though. Governor Hogan has proposed legislation (SB 135-Budget & Taxation Committee and HB 98-Economic Matters Committee) that would mitigate some of the harmful effects of the “Paid Sick Leave” bill passed last year. He has also proposed bills regarding government accountability and, especially, accountability regarding our public schools.
It would also be helpful to inform our local legislators, Delegate Mary Beth Carozza, Delegate Charles Ott and Delegate Carl Anderton as well as Senator James Mathias of your opinion.
Carol Frazier
(The writer is the legislative chair of the Republican Women of Worcester County.)
x
Questionable Raffles?
Editor:
In light of the recent school massacre in Florida, is it appropriate that Maryland’s volunteer fire departments (as well as those in Delaware and Virginia) routinely raffle off “assault rifles” and semi-automatic handguns for the purpose of fund-raising?
All one has to do is Google “Maryland + Fire Department + Gun Raffle” to see how prevalent this practice is within the state.
Regardless of one’s opinion regarding gun ownership, most Americans would find it incongruous for a hospital charity event to feature cartons of cigarettes as door prizes.
Yet many of our first responders, who may be called upon to assist in the case of a mass shooting, don’t seem to find it inappropriate to offer weapons that were once banned under the now expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban, to pay for their resource needs.
John Pratt
Fenwick Island
x
Wind Power Considerations
Editor:
The State of Maryland controls only three miles out into the Atlantic, the rest is Federal for another 197 miles, so Maryland has no real jurisdiction. Maryland can only control where it comes to shore.
If wind turbines are not built here, they will be built nearby, and we would lose the revenue of the jobs and construction. Perhaps since Ocean City is the best place around here with the electrical infrastructure, the city can put a tax on the power sent through, like they tax everything else. That may quiet some complainers down with lower bills.
Some people have complained about the possibility of seeing wind turbines from their condos, but they neglect to think about all the views their own condo have blocked, particularly the taller ones.
Many of us remember being able to see the ocean from homes, even some on the bayside. We spend a lot of time on the ocean boating, fishing, and diving and our view of the beach is spoiled by some of those hulking monstrosities. Out 15 miles it is usually hard to make out any of OC. Curved earth, you know, and often hazy. We would really enjoy the habitat that these rigs would create, the fishing in the gulf is fantastic around rigs, so we might not have to go as far for tuna and marlin, just like in the old days.
If you insist on complaining about a clean renewable energy source with lots of extra perks, perhaps your beach may not need our money from the state and feds to renew so often. The beachfront owners can pony up the bucks. After all there will always be waterfront property, just maybe behind yours in the future. You might not believe in the science and data behind climate change, but the intensity of storms is on the increase, as well as the actual height of the water around you. Look out your window during the next storm. Coal and oil power stations are large contributors to the CO2 increases. Wind and solar require no fuel after installation. Nuclear power is the cheapest form, but they have never charged and saved for future cleanup. Guess who pays those billions of dollars for our geriatric nukes? The wind power industry is required to have money for the eventual removal of the units. Think about some of this please when you voice your short-sighted and petty opposition.
Thanks for contemplating.
Hans Van Den Bosch
Snow Hill
x
Campus Project Too Costly
Editor:
I have always been perplexed about how low-cost government projects mushroom into multimillion dollar boondoggles. I believe the current public works “campus” is such a project. The total adjusted cost of the project is now estimate to be $25.1 million with Ocean City taxpayers’ share of the cost being $8.7 million. The Maryland Transit Administration, a state agency, is paying for the remaining project’s cost.
By boring down into the details of the Project Cost Analysis, we find this project includes $7,863,000, or about 30% of the total project’s cost, for the construction of a new public works administration building. After review, the MTA decided to pay for only 43% of the building’s construction. By comparison, the MTA is paying 100% for a $5.3 million bus storage structure. Because the costs to construct a four-story, multi-level parking facility with a rooftop helicopter landing pad was too high, a $1.2 million surface parking lot is being added to the “campus.”
I do not believe a new parking lot is needed. Many days when I drive down Coastal Highway and pass the Public Safety Building parking lot located between 65th and 66th streets, I see very few vehicles parked in the eastern more section of that parking lot.
Now I recognize that many may believe that the completed “campus” should be dedicated as the “Hal Adkins Public Works Campus” to recognize the many years of his outstanding service as Ocean City’s public works direction. I fully agree with the view that Mr. Adkins has done an exceptional job for the Ocean City taxpayers and visitors. However, I believe that there is a much cheaper approach to recognize the 33 years of Mr. Adkins’ outstanding service.
I think we should take $1,000 and have a bronze plaque engraved with the “Hal Adkins Public Works Depot” and installed at the 66th Street public works entrance. Cleary, while it may be too late, this gold plated “campus” should be subjected to a detailed evaluation by an independent party to determine other areas where this project’s costs can be reduced.
Joseph Potter
Ocean City