Ocean City Today
JANUARY 6, 2012
COUNTY BRIEFS NANCY POWELL ■ Staff Writer (Jan. 6, 2012) The Worcester County Commissioners discussed the following topics during their meeting Tuesday, Jan. 3.
Housing rehab The commissioners awarded the work for the general rehabilitation of a singlefamily owner-occupied house in the Berlin area to Global Home Improvements, which had submitted the low bid of $67,991. The project is proposed to be funded through a combination of the state special loans program and the county’s current housing rehabilitation grant. They also approved the bid package for the rehabilitation of another singlefamily, owner-occupied home located in the Berlin area. This project is proposed to be funded through the county’s current housing grant.
Gum Point ramp The commissioners awarded the work for engineering services at Gum Point boat ramp and the finger pier design to George E. Young III of Pocomoke City, who submitted the low bid of $4,500. Funds of $13,495.81 for the work are available through a Waterway Improvement Program grant from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Berlin Health Center The commissioners grant the request of Public Works Director John Tustin to award the work to complete repairs at the Berlin Health Center to Pritchett Controls at a cost of $31,171. The county Health Department is committing $27,171 to augment the county’s budgeted funds. Pritchett Controls had served as the county’s sole source provider for professional services and mechanical repair since May 2010. The company inspected, tested and balanced the HVAC equipment and associated ductwork as part of its work that was approved by the county in April 2011. The company has since summarized repair recommendations for the deficient conditions. The $31,171 will be used for those repairs, which are needed to improve the indoor air quality.
Ocean Pines meters The commissioners granted Tustin’s request to purchase 500 new water meter registers for Ocean Pines. The original automated meter reading system in Ocean Pines was installed in 1999. Tustin said the need to replace meters would be a continuing occurrence and he wanted to purchase the new meters “so when we find a deficient meter, we can replace it on the spot.”
www.oceancitytoday.net updated every friday
NEWS 15
Plan Maryland passage offers funding for smart growth TOM RISEN ■ Staff Writer (Jan. 6, 2012) Plan Maryland, the state’s ambitious Smart Growth land use policy, went into in effect on Dec. 19 by virtue of an executive order issued by Gov. Martin O’Malley and Worcester County officials are assessing what its local impact might be. If anything is certain, it is that Maryland counties have the option of submitting land use designations to the state this year. How that will be done or what happens beyond that remains to be seen. “It’s tough to tell since the plan is rather vague,” said Ed Tudor, county director of the Department of Development Review and Permitting. “We have to designate planning areas, but there is no criteria how that will be based or how to do it. It says that criteria will be developed.” O’Malley introduced the plan to curb developmental sprawl, to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay and to preserve more than
400,000 acres of forests and farmland that could otherwise be developed by 2035. “It’s Maryland’s first long-range, sustainable growth plan, which will serve as a tool for targeting state resources with maximum transparency to encourage smarter growth,” O’Malley said in a statement. In rural areas such as Worcester County, the plan seeks to preserve farmland and wetlands and to encourage planned development in “cities and towns where development would be most beneficial,” said Raquel Guillory, spokeswoman for O’Malley. Although some critics have decried Plan Maryland as a state takeover of local zoning authority, Guillory said that is not the case. Participation in the plan by counties is voluntary, although a county’s decision to go in another direction would have consequences. “If it [the plan] does not fall under the authority of the state now, then it won’t in the coming years,” Guillory said. “What
Plan Maryland says is that the poor planning decisions will no longer be supported with state resources.” More bluntly, it is likely there would be no state money or aid of any kind to support projects that don’t fit into the smart growth developmental envelope as established by the counties and accepted by the state. “Another example is historic and cultural areas,” Tudor said. If such an area is not designated accordingly in the county’s comprehensive plan, historic preservation funding might be withheld. “We are going to nominate these areas, but the final approval on those proposals will be up to the state,” he said. The General Assembly begins on Jan. 11, and for that 90 days politicians and lobbyists from across the state both supporting and criticizing the plan have said they will watch developments and statements related to development options Plan Maryland.
Worcester County Land Use in Acres 2002 3 2010 2 Acres Acres
Land Use Change 2002-2010 Acres Percent
Very Low Density Residential1 Low Density Residential
6,605 8,551
7,036 9,745
431 1,194
6.5% 14.0%
Medium Density Residential High Density Residential Commercial Industrial
4,614 1,569 3,045 446
4,845 1,628 3,585 527
231 59 541 80
5.0% 3.8% 17.8% 18.0%
4,814 29,644
5,393 32,759
579 3,115
12.0% 10.5%
Agriculture Forest Extractive/Barren/Bare Wetland Total Resource Lands5
93,943 156,976 2,497 18,658 272,074
92,373 155,021 2,958 18,607 268,959
-1,571 -1,955 461 -51 -3,115
-1.7% -1.2% 18.5% -0.3% -1.1%
Total Land Water
301,718 132,141
301,718 132,141
Other Developed Lands/ Institutional/Transportation1 Total Developed Lands5
HAPPY HOUR DRINK SPECIALS
SUNDAY-FRIDAY 11 AM - 7 PM SATURDAY 4 - 7 PM
FOOD SPECIALS 4 - 7 PM DAILY
NFL
PLAYOFFS
FOOD AND DRINK SPECIALS DURING GAMES 52 TELEVISIONS HI DEF BIG SCREENS!
$5.00 Lunch Specials
11 AM - 3 PM • Dine-In Only
Monday
10 Wings OR Taco Salad
Tuesday
10 Wings OR Crunchy Chicken Caesar Wrap
Wednesday
10 Wings OR Meat Ball Sub
MEXICAN MONDAY TUESDAY TEAM TRIVIA WEDNESDAY BURGER NIGHT THURSDAY SHRIMP NIGHT
Entertainment Thursday - Randy Lee Ashcraft Friday - Randy Lee Ashcraft And The Saltwater Cowboys
Saturday, January 7th RED SOLO CUP NIGHT WITH DJ TRE $1.50 Domestic Drafts $1.75 Rails $3.00 Fire Ball Shots
Thursday
10 Wings OR Chicken Quesadilla
Friday
10 Wings OR Fish Tacos Like Us On Facebook WiFi Available • Find Our Smart Phone App! 37234 Lighthouse Rd.-West Fenwick Ireland, DE 302-436-4716 www.smittymcgees.com
Bloody Mess Bloody Mary Bar
Every Saturday & Sunday 11 AM - 3 PM