OCEAN CITY – The field is set for an intriguing Ocean City municipal election next Tuesday with four candidates vying for three open seats, including two incumbents, meaning there will be at least one new face joining the council.
Mayor Rick Meehan is unopposed and will remain in his position. Councilman Lloyd Martin did not file for re-election, ending a two-decade run on the council including a long stint as council president.
Current Council President Matt James filed early in the summer for his third term and will be among the four candidates vying for three open seats next week. One-term Councilman Mark Paddack is also among the four candidates, being the last to file just before the deadline last month.
Potential newcomers among the four candidates for three open seats include local Realtor Carol Proctor and local businessman and volunteer firefighter Will Savage. The other council seats currently occupied by Council Secretary Tony DeLuca, and Councilmen John Gehrig and Peter Buas will come up for re-election in 2024, with the mayor’s position up for grabs every two years.
The Dispatch sent each of the four candidates five questions in the lead-up to next Tuesday’s election covering a wide variety of currently important local issues. Their responses are printed here verbatim to give the voters a better understanding of where each of them stands on critical local issues facing the resort currently.
Q: What makes you the best candidate for one of the open seats?
Matt James
James: Experience, vision and proven leadership ability. In addition to my public service on the City Council and as a volunteer with the Ocean City Fire Department, I also have several years of upper-level management experience where accountability and results matter. As it is with being President of the City Council, in business I have a lot of people who rely on me, and who have faith in my ability and my judgment. The skill set and common sense I’ve needed professionally, have also been a valuable asset for me with my work on the council, particularly with budgets, procurement and contractual issues. I’m comfortable asking tough questions because I know the taxpayers want value and results for their money, just like I do. My wife and I have started a family here, I own property here, and I plan to be here for many years because I really do love this town.
Paddack: Because of my 34 years of service to this community, and your support and guidance, my work on the City Council has been financially responsible for revenue, expenditures, and human resource development. Thank you. You spoke, and I listened, learned, and made informed decisions. Thank you. You spoke, and I redefined goals, developed teams and leaders, and marketed the town’s success. Thank you. I ask that your vote in the election be for me because I want to continue to serve, lead, and do so while also listening to your concerns and your needs as a community. We live here together, and together we shall be stronger. Let me continue to be your voice, so we can ensure that Ocean City remains as the world’s finest family resort.
Proctor: I understand this is a big job, I am committed to helping people. Now that I live in Ocean City, I see how critical it is for the citizens of Ocean City to have a Voice. I believe I can be that voice for them. Too many times politicians forget that they are there to serve the people as well as they need to be good stewards of their tax dollars paid by citizens. I am committed to working with the citizens of Ocean City as well as public safety employees focusing on the future of Ocean City. As you can see with my current and past jobs, I carry a strong work ethic and diverse background. I believe I can offer some diversity on the Council.
Savage: I have a proven history of integrity, experience, community engagement and education. I want to use those qualities to serve our taxpayers and their families. I believe with my public service background as a member of the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company since 1993, my service as assistant fire chief, my years of successful business experience at my family’s local hotel and owning/operating two Ocean City Boardwalk retail locations, I am a perfect candidate to represent our community on the Ocean City Council. If elected, I commit to improving the overall quality of life for residents, while maintaining sensible government and a consistent tax rate. I further pledge to promote the town and all its businesses in a positive, professional manner to spur sustainable tourism growth and keep Ocean City a world class destination.
Q: What do you feel about the growing development and redevelopment trend? The proposed Margaritaville project is the highest profile right now, but there have been others and certainly more to come.
James: When done in a responsible manner, I think development and redevelopment is a good thing. As property owners invest in their properties it often encourages others to do the same and this usually increases the overall value of our community. Unfortunately, not all development has a positive impact. As I’ve publicly stated many times over the last year, I think the proposed Margaritaville project is too large for the Beach Plaza property and that specific neighborhood. We know this neighborhood is already parking deficient and overdeveloping this property would be detrimental to the quality of life in the surrounding area. At this time, the developers don’t even have the necessary square footage to apply for a Planned Overlay District, so I hope to see a scaled-down version of this project come back for approval.
Mark Paddack
Paddack: The proposed “Margaritaville” project is the highest profile right now, but there have been others and certainly there will be more to come. Ocean City is a world class vacation resort destination with many success stories from both citizens and the business community. As such, redevelopment operates on a cycle, dictated by market trends and economic stability. Historically, the town has included all stakeholders in the process of development. For example, in 2018, the town established a vision and mission, established organizational values, and success factors and involved all stakeholders. In 2022, the town proactively reassessed and updated the vision in the strategic plan.
The Margaritaville project is following what we have done — include the community. The proposed project is wonderful for the critical success of the entire town and is supported by the Ocean City Development Corporation. The proposed project has, thus far, followed the current policies and codes established by the town’s previous Council members. I support high quality modern amenities, tourism options for guests, employment opportunities for the community, and revenue-generating opportunities to help the town maintain the current content yield tax rates for residents.
Proctor: This project, in my opinion, will undergo many more changes. They need 90,000 square feet in order to request a POD and they only have 85,000 square feet. I would have to believe a developer would have done their due diligence with an understanding of what was needed to build the resort. I would further believe that their due diligence would not have included the need of a POD or stacked parking. In my opinion, without seeing the plans of the original build, they have increased the size and scope of the resort resulting in the need for a POD as well as stacked valet parking. As far as Baltimore Avenue is concerned, the current Council has a Capital Improvement Plan. I believe the Margaritaville development should have not been granted an expedited approval as the Capital Improvement Plan has not been given a green light. It is also my understanding that the cost of this project is $20,500,000. However, costs have gone up since this estimate was obtained making the Capital Improvement Plan almost doubled from the original estimate. With this cost to the city, it is unknown when it will be implemented. There is a petition going around that does not specify just the Margaritaville Project. It encompasses the entire Capital Improvement Plan. If passed, the entire Capital Improvement Plan would never happen. Currently along North Division to 15th streets, there are many individually-owned properties. Some of the said properties have already encroached on the city-owned property. If passed, what do you think Ocean City should do with the individual property owners that have encroached on city-owned property? We need to be conscious of the impact on all of the citizens of Ocean City as well as the development of the Margaritaville Resort needs to fall within established restrictions. Currently Ocean City does not have enough parking in the downtown area and overbuilding a resort is only going to contribute to the deficiency. I would like to see how the project has changed since its original proposal. There are many hotels and condominium projects downtown that have complied and developed their projects in accordance with city guidelines. When you consider the age of the properties in the downtown area, there will be other redevelopment projects. When do the exceptions to establish guidelines end?
Savage: I am in favor of reasonable development, especially redevelopment that is consistent with the town’s comprehensive plan. It is outstanding when original structures can be revitalized and preserved for future generations. However, many times that is not feasible for a multitude of reasons.
Overall, I am in favor of the Margaritaville concept, but I have concerns. It is obvious that this particular parcel of land is ideal for redevelopment for a mixed-use building. If this parcel is not redeveloped as a Margaritaville, I can say with almost certainty that it will be another large mixed-use building containing hotel rooms and/or condominium units. My concerns with this project are density and the conveyance of the Baltimore Avenue right-of-way. The density issue seems to be solved with the mayor’s veto of the stacked parking ordinance. The Baltimore Avenue right-of-way is concerning because the developers want that land now, but the Baltimore Avenue project has been placed on hold. I feel that conveying that land along Baltimore Avenue before we have a start date for the North Division Street to 15th Street revitalization project is potentially premature.
Q: Are you generally satisfied with the town’s marketing strategy? Much of the resources are directed at the big metro areas just hours away although other areas are being targeted as evidenced by the variety of license plates observed around the resort.
James: I am satisfied with what the town is doing now. This year we started working with a new advertising agency and I have been impressed with the work their team has done so far. They have spent a lot of time in Ocean City and have connected with many people in the community, including residents, visitors, and business owners. We will always be a drive-to destination given our geographical location and it is important to stay relevant in our key markets. The markets we most heavily focus our resources on are only a few hours away from multiple beach vacation destinations and we want to continue being the most attractive option for both new and existing customers.
Paddack: The town’s marketing strategy is one that attracts over eight million visitors annually. As a world-famous family resort, our infrastructure and business community entertain all visitors regardless of where they reside, and the revenue generated from these visitors makes our town thrive and town property tax manageable. The data suggest that most tourists come from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and the Philadelphia metro areas, so those areas need to be targeted so that they continue to visit us, generate money for our economy, and remind these visitors why they want to return.
Moreover, experts in the field of resort tourism use technology to identify opportunities for the town. The data enables us to prioritize resources and expand tourism options that generate revenue to offset the town’s operating budget and maintain a constant yield property tax. Our tourism efforts provide 60% of the Worcester County revenue that the Commissioners use to balance their operating budget for Worcester County residents.
Carol Proctor
Proctor: One, I am looking forward to meeting with the head of the department to understand the Tourism Department. It is my understanding that there is a Tourism Commission, which is essential to speak with them to see what their thoughts are on our marketing dollars. I would like to see a broader range of businesses represented.
Two, I believe we have made efforts in the right direction, most recently with “Oceans Calling Music Festival” which attracted people from all over the country. This event helped people discover O.C. I believe that we should focus on high profile events that deliver a significant return on investment for our business owners. This department is funded through the collection of room tax.
Savage: Generally, I am happy with the town advertising strategy. Based on my experience in hotel management, advertising is pennies on the dollar of increased revenue. When I was handling hotel advertising, we did both targeted and broad distribution marketing. Rarely were we ever disappointed in investing in advertising. If elected, I will support both targeted and broad distribution marketing diversified among billboard, print, television, radio, and both conventional digital marketing as well as geofencing marketing.
Q: Do you have any suggestions for improving the town’s affordable seasonal workforce housing shortage, which is arguably the biggest issue facing the resort?
James: Given the seasonality of our business, we rely heavily on seasonal workers, and over the last few years, we have seen many of the workforce housing units get converted into short-term vacation rentals. Elected officials representing both Ocean City and Worcester County have met with developers that are interested in building workforce housing in our area and continue to discuss this issue facing our community. Multiple parcels of land have been identified as possible options for such a project, but the details are still being worked out between the involved parties.
Separate from any one specific project, I think it would be beneficial to encourage employers to offer housing for their employees. This could be done with possible zoning exceptions based on the seasonality, location, and use of the housing options available. I believe the business community needs to be part of the solution.
Paddack: I listen to concerns about seasonal workforce housing needs and the overall condition of living spaces. I serve on the Property Review and Enforcement Strategies for Safe Housing Committee (P.R.E.S.S.). The affordability of private sector rentals is a challenge because the private sector property owners set rental rates not the town of Ocean City. Some business owners have taken the initiative to secure and provide seasonal workforce housing for their employees. However, the summer seasons experienced fewer workers and J-1 students in the past couple of years. My understanding is some former seasonal housing is now being rented short-term to visitors by various nationally-known rental companies. I have had various discussions with Ocean City Development Corporation and private rental property owners. As a member of the town’s Transportation Committee, I fully support routing mass transportation to West Ocean City to bring seasonal workforce employees in town. Hopefully, a suitable affordable land location can be found in West Ocean City or elsewhere. I am open to discussing all options on the table at any given time
Proctor: One, I believe we should have affordable housing for our local community as well as seasonal workers. Why should Ocean City limit affordable housing just for seasonal workers? Affordable housing just doesn’t affect seasonal workers, it also affects citizens of Ocean City. I believe we should provide affordable housing for seasonal employees as well as the citizens of Ocean City. For example, my daughter is a nurse with Tidal Health. She is a young person that is having a challenge with finding affordable housing. With the increased property values as a Realtor, I find it is difficult for our local community to find affordable housing.
Two, this is a challenging subject. Our seasonal workers normally don’t have cars and need public transportation. Currently, due to market conditions, land is at a premium. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with the business owners to better understand their needs and what they can do to contribute as a joint venture.
Will Savage
Savage: As a hotel manager, I regularly had to mitigate the shortage of affordable seasonal workforce housing. The solution to this problem is laid out in the sponsorship application process governed by the U.S. State Department for J-1 student visas. These same basic needs and principles apply to the U.S. citizen seasonal workforce. In short, as a sponsor employer, you need to ensure housing, transportation, and cultural activities for the J-1 employee. The cultural activities are the easy part, Ocean City has that covered. The hard part is housing and transportation. I feel we need to look at a regional approach, and the best solution is to provide reliable, consistent transportation into Ocean City from our outlying communities where affordable housing could be built. This can’t be limited to Maryland Routes 50 and 90. We need to utilize Route 54 that connects to the Delaware communities as well. In addition, we could look at utilizing express busses that could integrate into the existing Ocean City transit system. This same transit plan would also benefit local workers.
Q: How would you vote on the three specific referendum questions for Ocean City voters? Do you support allocating more of the room tax revenue to advertising and marketing? Do you support increasing the mayor’s pay from $30,000 to $50,000? How about the council pay from $10,000 to $20,000?
James: I support all three of the referendum questions facing the Ocean City voters.
Room tax is generated by the folks that visit Ocean City and our efforts have proven to be successful. The proposed ordinance offers a fair allocation of funds that will allow future elected officials and town staff the ability to promote Ocean City and everything we have to offer.
The salary of the Mayor and City Council was last adjusted in 1989 and is currently considerably lower than that of similar elected bodies. Town staff completed a comparison of salaries for elected officials throughout the state and this is how we determined the new desired salary rates for both the Mayor and City Council. Having served on the council for eight years, two as council president, I can attest to the time commitment that is required to be prepared for and engaged during our weekly meetings and other community events. While no elected official should serve their community for the money, I hope that a pay increase will encourage others to consider getting involved in our local government.
Paddack: I am neither an expert in advertising nor marketing, but the town staff’s professionalism and expertise in data collection and research plus my overseeing of the budgets enabled me to take emotions out of the decision-making process to focus on factual data. The formula for distributing and allocating room tax revenue to Tourism and Economic Development for advertising was codified in an ordinance by the previous Council on or about 2007 and is based on a 2% allocation of gross annual room tax revenue. Currently, the budget estimate in fiscal year 2022 is $22,500,000, with $9,000,000 dedicated to advertising. I recently learned that in fiscal year 2024 there would be a $10,000,000 estimated dedicated room tax revenue for advertising. The town also receives a state grant in which the amount does fluctuate, so there are no guarantees from Maryland. I am not aware of any ordinance to prevent the council addressing and revising funding for advertising which is proposed. This should be a year-by-year collective decision by the council at budget time. I will vote for the ballot question as presented by the people to repeal the proposed ordinance.
Proctor: The people should decide. The people should decide. The people should decide.
Savage: I am in support of increasing both the mayor and city council’s salary, as these salaries have not been increased since 1989. I feel the increase will help keep/retain qualified individuals for these very important positions. I do not feel individuals that run for these positions are doing it for the money, but it will help keep them focused on doing the job and not losing money for time that they could be spending in their primary occupation.
I am 100% in favor for more of the room tax revenue to go to advertising and marketing. Simply put, advertising keeps the tourism engine running. The more we advertise, especially with targeted advertising, the greater the demand on hotel rooms will be, directly correlating to increased room night prices and a subsequent increase in the overall room taxes collected. This is what will keep residential taxes affordable and is key to maintaining a year-round community.
