OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
JANUARY 14, 2022
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
TAX BUMP
COUNTY VOTES ON INCREASE State legislators next in line to consider 1-percent jump in Ocean City room rental tariff – Page 11
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Council raise might be on agenda soon
Hospital ERs overwhelmed, issue alerts
Officials’ last pay increase came in 1989 at $10,000
AGH, TidalHealth forced to restrict ambulances’ entry
By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Jan. 14, 2022) The last time Ocean City council members’ salaries were raised, Council President Matt James was not yet born. The year was 1989 and the amount decided on was $10,000 annually for the six regular council members and $11,000 for the president. Now, sitting members of council are looking into whether to place a request to more than double that amount in 2023. The discussion came up Tuesday during a council work session. However the subject did not initially come from the dais. Ryan Whittington, the president of the resort’s firefighters’ union, advocated for a raise for council members during a recent public meeting. City Manager Doug Miller took the reins and began researching comparable salaries in other municipalities across the state. Through the research he determined that, based on the duties and responsibilities of the Ocean City Council members, their pay is on the low side. See TALK Page 14
By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Jan. 14, 2022) A perfect storm of high patient numbers exacerbated by covid mixed with staff shortages have catapulted the region’s hospitals into emergency crisis modes not seen in many years. The trend is a familiar one across the country as healthcare facilities grapple with the effects of omicron — the latest, highly contagious variant of covid — as well as other seasonal illnesses and the handicap of a limited number of employees available to tend to the sick. On Monday night, for the first time in 20 years, Atlantic General Hospital officials initiated a yellow alert for the emergency room and a red alert for the overall facility due to high patient volumes. The yellow alert prohibited ambulances from bringing patients to the ER for several hours and the red alert established an emergency within the hospital because no cardiac beds were available. “The yellow and red alert was initiated at 5 p.m. on January 10 beSee PATIENT Page 8
GREG WEHNER/OCEAN CITY TODAY
WATCH THAT BOTTOM STEP
Painting the outside of a water tower on 94th Street and recoating the inside began this week, as crews were seen climbing the bulb and reworking the inner guts of the facility on Monday. Ocean City Council members agreed in November to hire D&M Painting to complete the work for $367,650. The project was originally budgeted for $350,000.
Council about to name McGean manager Long-time city engineer considered best qualified to assume top admin post By Mallory Panhuska Staff Writer (Jan. 14, 2022) Exactly two weeks after Ocean City Manager Doug
Miller announced his resignation, city officials are close to naming a replacement from within. All the i’s may not be dotted yet, and the t’s may not all be crossed, but the writing is on the wall for City Engineer Terry McGean to step into City Hall’s top administrative post.
“The council believes Terry would be the most qualified candidate for the position and has proven to be a great employee,” Council President Matt James said in a text message late Wednesday in response to questions about whether McGean would be moving into the spot. “I hope to have
a formal announcement of his appointment in the near future.” Miller announced his resignation on Dec. 29 after almost exactly six years in the position. He was hired in February 2016 after a six-month nationwide search. See MCGEAN Page 12
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Commercial fishermen come to OC for annual trade show By Greg Wehner Staff Writer (Jan. 14, 2022) Commercial fishermen, scientists, and shellfish farming experts from up and down the eastern seaboard and around the country are expected to come to Ocean City this weekend for the 47th East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s and Aquaculture Trade Expo at the convention center on 40th Street. Trade show coordinator Victoria Brown, who was setting up the event on Wednesday, said the show has drawn upwards of 4,000 people in the past, but since people are itching to get out and do something, this year could draw the same or more. “We’re expecting a big crowd,” she said. Doors for the expo will open on Friday, Jan. 14 at 11 a.m. and will shutter at 5 p.m. On Saturday, the event is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost to attend the expo is $15 for one day, $25 for two days, and $30 for three days. On Saturday, the association will hold its annual membership meeting on the second floor of the convention center at 10 a.m., and coffee and pastries will be served. Several seminars will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, which will include topics like commercial fishing and regulations, regulations on menhaden and striped bass, marketing for the future, and shellfish. The seminars will be put on by experts from the University of Maryland, University of Delaware, Virginia Tech, and the National Aquaculture Association, just to name a few.
Following the seminar at 3 p.m., the Waterman of the Year competition will take place in room 208 of the convention center. A non-denominational church service will be held at 9 a.m. on Sunday at the convention center, followed by the annual truck raffle drawing at the Maryland Watermen’s Association booth at 3 p.m. Along with the trade show, the expo will feature a cocktail party and auction at the Clarion on 101st Street on Friday evening, which is open to the public. For $40, attendees will get all-youcan-eat seafood hors d’oeuvres – which will include things such as rockfish, catfish, crab balls, clam chowder, clam strips, fried oysters, and scallops – and a raw bar. The cocktail party, which starts at 6:30 p.m. and runs until 8:30 p.m., will also have an open bar for the first hour and a half, before switching to a cash bar. At 7:15 p.m., the auction will begin. Brown said an auctioneer will be on hand to auction off items from vendors. She explained that every vendor donates at least one item, which could be a crab pot, survival suit, book, picture, hat, shirt, or anything else, and the money raised goes toward a fund to help watermen in need. As for covid-19 restrictions, Brown added that if people are not vaccinated, they will be asked to wear a mask, just like many businesses require. “We’re hoping the turnout is really good because people are ready to get out and about, even with covid,” she
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Thousands from across the country are expected to attend the 47th East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s and Aquaculture Expo this weekend at the convention center on 40th Street, which includes seminars, a cocktail party, auction, truck raffle, and the waterman of the year competition.
said. “We’re going to have a good show.” The Maryland Watermen’s Association was established in 1973 and serves the interests of watermen and
the seafood industry throughout the state. For more information about the trade show, visit www.marylandwatermen.com/Trade-Show.html.
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Hartman, Carozza highlight Worcester goals By Jack Chavez Staff Writer (Jan. 14, 2022) In the lead-up to the 2022 session of the Maryland General Assembly, which commenced Wednesday, Worcester County’s two representatives, Republicans Del. Wayne Hartman and Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, spoke to Ocean City Today about the important issues the county faces this year. “First of all, opening day is a day of reflection,” Carozza said. “I’m humbled that I represent the best district in the state of Maryland. It’s exciting but also intense, given that this is year four (of my time in the senate) and an election-year session.” Both representatives talked about the continued fight against the covid19 pandemic, which at the onset of session will prevent the assembly
from meeting in person in lieu of a virtual option. “(Hopefully) we’re able to have a session that’s open to the public and provide as much transparency as possible (eventually),” Hartman said. “We were somewhat hindered last year — no in-person testimonies or commit- Wayne Hartman tees, no people in for the regular house session floor. I don’t think that’s the right thing to do for our constituents in Maryland.” Carozza said that the virtual sessions are in effect until at least February, but she is hopeful that the spread of the omicron variant will have peaked and started to decline by then. Carozza serves on the Senate Edu-
cation, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee, which she says produces the most bills of the various senate committees. As such, the number of Worcester issues and constituents she must serve in her capacity as a committee member is vast. “I try to move around all three M.B. Carozza counties (that I represent) and make sure I’m working with all of my key constituencies — hospitality industry, retail, hotel/motel, poultry, farmers, commercial watermen … healthcare providers, including local health department and hospitals, EMS (among others),” she said. Carozza represents all of Worcester
and Somerset Counties and parts of Wicomico County. Hartman, whose district covers most of northern Worcester County and parts of eastern Wicomico County, said he’s forecasting a “challenging session” because of the fall elections and likely a barrage of bills that he felt might not be in Worcester County’s best interest. “I think there are more bills that we’ll see this year than we have in the past,” he said. “Four years ago, the folks who came in when I was elected, many of them, their ideas were much further to the left than I think would be the consensus of constituents that live here in District 38-C.” “With more liberal people (elsewhere in the state), the challenge is to preserve our way of life here on the lower Eastern Shore. The challenge is there and we will be fighting harder.” He added that sometimes it’s not about the bills they do pass, but the ones they stop. “It’s not necessarily the (good) bills going forward,” Hartman said. “A big part of it is killing the bad bills also coming forward,” he said. “A lot of committee work entails making bad bills better or killing them before they get to the floor.” Carozza offered a similar take. “My general approach to the legislative part of my job is I tend to introduce a fewer number of bills, and those that I do are tied to my district,” she said. “And I focus also on reviewing all of these bills coming into my committee that will have an impact,” she said. “(There are) bad bills to oppose outright, bills that have momentum that need amendments to be more workable for the shore. It’s a time-consuming process to understand the true impacts on my district.” One example for Hartman is the police reform mandate that was passed last year, which he opposes because the state isn’t doing enough to help the counties and municipalities that have to enforce it. “(That was) the worst thing that came in session — body-worn cameras in particular,” Hartman said. “I truly do not have a problem with the cameras but the funding mechanism is going to be a challenge. The equipment will be a small part of the equation. Storage, employees to retrieve whatever footage is needed for court or to handle requests for public information (are the issues). The mandate included in that is huge.” Carozza broke down her legislative priorities into four areas: public safety, cost of living, economy, tax relief, fairness in representation and inperson education and parental involvement. She intends to continue working closely with the top law enforcement officials around the county and continuing her support of Gov. Larry
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Worcester delegation prepared for session Hogan’s crime initiative — including the Violent Firearms Offenders Act and Judicial Transparency Act — as well as his initiative to give retirees tax relief. “(With fairness in representation,) we are dealing with redistricting this session,” Carozza added. “I will continue to take a strong stance against the gerrymandered maps we’ve had in the past and work in some balance with these maps.” “I’m going to continue to push for in-person education, parental involvement and local control and flex-
ibility. (These are) consistent priorities for my district … (We need) meaningful and early parental involvement and local control and flexibility, especially in light of the (state education reform-focused) Kirwan Commission moving forward. I will continue insisting on local control and flexibility because Kirwan was put forward pre-covid and we have a moral responsibility to consider these proposals (because) our students, teachers and parents have been living through it. There has been a negative impact with virtual learning and neg-
ative academic, social and mental health impacts.” This will also be the last session that Hogan will preside over. The day before session began, Carozza released a statement saying that she endorses the governor’s final agenda and afterward, praised how he has prioritized the Eastern Shore. “When you look at his proposals on retiree tax relief and small business fee reductions, to his proposal earlier this week on refund the police, knowing that it’s his last legislative session, we on the shore have the opportunity
to continue to benefit from the governor continuing to prioritize our shore priorities,” Carozza said. “I will continue to work closely with Gov. Hogan and his administration on covid health and economic recovery. I will continue to work with the governor on his tax relief initiative, public safety initiative and specific shore priorities that will be on his budget later this month.” Check back every week from now until the last week of session in April for Worcester County updates in the General Assembly.
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