OCEAN CITY — Resort officials this week showed support for a proposed seasonal workforce housing project in West Ocean City.
Last week, the Worcester County Commissioners agreed to send a letter of support to the appropriate state agencies for a proposed seasonal workforce housing project in West Ocean City. Holtz Builders out of Wisconsin is proposing to develop a seasonal workforce housing project in West Ocean City totaling over 2,400 beds.
This week, the Mayor and Council agreed to send a letter of support to the state for special financing, a letter similar to the one the county commissioners are sending. City Manager Terry McGean laid out some of the accommodations the town would provide to make the seasonal workforce housing project a reality. He said one of the provisions included extending municipal bus service to the proposed area.
“They came to us with a couple of requests,” he said. “One is that we would extend our bus service out to where the proposed projects would be. They’re in pretty close proximity to the Park-and-Ride and we believe we can do that relatively inexpensively.”
McGean added, “The second thing is they would need assistance with sewer capacity in West Ocean City. Right now, Worcester County’s sewer capacity is capped. Based on an agreement the city has with the county, it caps the amount of effluent that can be taken from West Ocean City at one million gallons per day.”
McGean said the city currently has the capacity to support the proposed 2,400-plus bed housing project.
“West Ocean City sewage is actually treated in the Town of Ocean City,” he said. “The next thing they would look to the town for is to work with the county to allow this project to move forward and mitigate the increases in sewage flow. We do have the physical capacity at the plant to accommodate it. We would have to work out a number of legal details.”
In order to make the project a reality, Holtz Builders would need special financing from the state, which is why they were seeking support letters.
“What they need to make this happen is special funding through the state of Maryland,” he said. “Holtz Builders has asked Worcester County to send a letter to state agencies and elected officials to help their ability to work with the state to get the special financing for this project. They’re asking for a similar letter of support from the Mayor and Council.”
Councilman Peter Buas wanted assurances a letter of support sent to the state did not commit town resources to the project.
“With a letter of support, we’re not committing to any terms related to town services for this area?” he said. “I just want to make sure Holtz Builders will not be relying on any specific charge or lack thereof for services.”
McGean explained the proposed seasonal housing project would be treated just like any other user of the town’s sewer capacity.
“We would provide the capacity, but they would still have to pay the standard sewer rates that anyone else in the county is required to pay,” he said.
The council ultimately voted 7-0 on the provisions requested by Holtz Builders including the letter of support to the state, along with working with the county on sewer capacity for the project. Councilman John Gehrig then started a larger conversation about various seasonal workforce housing projects in the planning pipeline.
“It just seems like this is a hot topic,” he said. “We have multiple developers with projects. I’d like to meet with the developers on the projects, the locations, how many beds they are talking about, what the funding mechanisms are going to be. I’d just like to identify all of the players.”
Gehrig said the town needed to be out in front of the various proposed seasonal housing projects.
“There has been so much talk about government support and funding,” he said. “There are multiple projects being discussed. What are the unintended consequences of overdevelopment too. We just to get a plan. It’s certainly a primary need, but it just seems like there are so many questions and unknowns.”
Councilman Frank Knight outlined some workforce housing projects underway or in the development stage in the downtown area.
“There are projects going on around the model block,” he said. “Some of already have beds in them. OCDC has a plan for Dorchester Street plus they’re going to have 25 beds or so on Somerset Street. There are 150 or so beds in that immediate area.”
Councilman Mark Paddack said an inventory was needed of just how many seasonal housing beds are required to meet demand.
McGean said he would explore the issue and come back to the Mayor and Council with some firmer data on the number of seasonal housing beds needed.
“I’ve heard a couple of different numbers in the last year or so,” he said. “I’ll go back and see where those numbers are coming from. We’ll try to put that all together for you all.”
