OCEAN CITY – The town will auction off its next section of beach stand parcels this December.
On Monday, the Mayor and Council approved several consent agenda items, including a request to proceed with the auction for beach equipment franchise parcels in the mid-beach area. The approval will allow the town to begin its advertising process on Nov. 10 and to hold a public auction on Dec. 6.
“This year, mid-beach parcels, from 28th to 84th Street, are scheduled for auction,” a memo to the council reads. “Of 18 parcels, 10 will be auctioned. Eight first-term contracts were renewed for a second three-year term.”
The Town of Ocean City currently franchises 70 beach equipment parcels spanning the entire Ocean City beach. Those 70 parcels are divided into three sections – south end, mid beach and north end.
Each year, one of the three sections is actioned off, with the highest qualified bidder receiving a three-year contract to rent umbrellas, chairs and cabanas on the beach. The town’s code also provides one option for first-term contract renewals at an annual fee 10% greater than the initial term.
This year, operators of eight stands in the mid-beach area exercised their option to renew their first-term contracts. The council this week approved the request to auction off the remaining 10 parcels in December, with a minimum bid set at $500 per parcel.
The auction will follow last year’s successful bidding process for the south-end beach franchise parcels. Last December, the town garnered $418,500 in bids for the downtown section of beach stands, representing an increase from the $337,581 collected three years prior.
Bids ranged from $4,500 for the 20th Street beach stand to $82,000 for the Inlet beach stand. The one anomaly, however, was the Caroline Street beach stand, which received no bids.
To that end, longtime beach stand operator Drew Haugh offered to take on the parcel for $500, or the minimum bid requirement.
He was ultimately awarded the rights to the parcel when the entire bid package was approved by the Mayor and Council last January.
