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JUNE 12, 2020
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
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Hundreds of people gather on the Ocean City Boardwalk to protest police brutality – Page 6
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Indoor dining returns, at last, to Ocean City
PHOTO COURTESY OCEAN CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT
QUICKLY HANDLED The Ocean City Fire Department responded to two separate fires in a downtown restaurant and apartment building that were quickly extinguished by fire sprinklers over the past week. Firefighters in this instance are at Trimper’s Apartments in the 700 block of the Ocean City Boardwalk. See story on page 16.
Meetings board finds against city Pier franchise negotiations were secret for months, against Open Meetings Act By Josh Kim Staff Writer (June 12, 2020) The Ocean City Council’s secret negotiation of the $9.1 million pier franchise renewal deal with the Synpuxent Pier and Improvement Co., seriously violated the Maryland Open Meetings Act, the state Open Meeting Compliance Board declared in an opinion released last week. “… We find that the council violated
the act over a period of time by secretly conducting public business that the act required it to discuss publicly and by failing to disclose to the public either the fact of the Lloyd Martin discussions or the creation of a negotiating committee until after the council had decided the terms of the franchise and ordinances. The council’s violations were not trivial,” the compliance board said in an 11page June 3 opinion. On Nov. 25, Mayor Rick Meehan
announced that a small committee of council members — Dennis Dare, John Gehrig and Mary Knight — had been working with franchise holder Charles “Buddy” Jenkins, head of the Synepuxent Pier and Improvement Co., for roughly 18 months to lay out the terms and the agreements of the franchise renewal. Jenkins has held the franchise agreement since April 4, 1979, and now will have it through 2054, rather than 2029 as per the original agreement. The franchise renewal was a blessSee OPEN Page 2
By Josh Kim Staff Writer (June 12, 2020) Indoor dining is back on the menu as of 5 p.m. today (Friday), following Gov. Larry Hogan’s announcement Wednesday that he would be partially reversing his mid-March executive order that closed restaurants to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. His phased-in approach to economic recovery, however, will limit restaurants’ indoor dining capacity to 50 percent. Still, that’s outstanding news to long-suffering restaurants, some of which have been teetering on the brink of insolvency during the state’s apparently successful effort to bring the transmission of covid-19 under control. “Because of the early and aggressive actions taken, we have not only flattened the curve, we have actually crushed the curve in Maryland,” Hogan said. “Every one of the important metrics in our state has continued to drop across the board in every single jurisdiction.” See GOV. Page 5
Safety plans set for arcades and amusements By Elizabeth Bonin Staff Writer (June 12, 2020) Amusement parks, mini golf and go-kart tracks are open tonight at 5 p.m. after being forced to close as a result of the covid-19 pandemic. Gov. Larry Hogan made the announcement during a press conference on Wednesday, citing the state’s decreasing number of hospitalizations and vastly improved coronavirus test results. Trimper’s Rides, Sportland and Marty’s Playland, all on the southern end of the Boardwalk, and Baja Amusements in West Ocean City have See AMUSEMENTS Page 3
Ocean City Today
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JUNE 12, 2020
Open Meetings board rules against council Continued from Page 1 ing for city leaders, who had been scrambling to find new revenue streams to cover diminishing revenues and growing costs. However, not all were as happy with the deal. “What benefit did the public get from all of these closed session decisions?” resident Tony Christ said during a council meeting in early January. Later that month, Vince Gisriel, a former city councilman, joined Christ in voicing dissent over the deal’s closed-door proceedings. “It appears to me that you’ve couched your approval to go in (closed session) under the concept of a contract, and the pier franchise agreement … is really an ordinance,” Gisriel said. The city had argued that the pier franchise agreement was a contractual matter, and therefore exempt under the act’s procurement exception. The compliance board, however, found that “the council’s agenda and materials for its Dec. 2, 2019 meeting make clear that there was no competitive procurement under discussion — no request for competitive proposals or bids was contemplated — and, in any event, no ‘pending’ or even ‘impending’ such process — the current franchise agreement was not due to expire until 2029.
“From the submissions, we find that no part of the council’s closed-door discussion about the pier franchise fell within the procurement exception. Thus, except to the extent that parts of the council’s closed-door discussions about the pier franchise might have fallen within the legal advice exception, the council violated the act at every closed meeting at which it discussed the pier franchise.” The compliance board also concluded that the council had little ground under the legal advice exception. “[The exception] is to be narrowly construed to cover only the interchange between the client public body and its lawyer in which the client seeks advice and the lawyer provides it.” This meant that just because an issue has legal ramifications it does not automatically qualify it to be exempt from public discussion. “After seeking and obtaining legal advice from its counsel, the public body must return to open session to discuss the matter and decide its course of action,” the compliance board said. The compliance board wrote that it said same thing to the council once before, when a smaller matter in 1995 ended up before that panel. “Of course, a legislative body may
not use the ‘legal advice’ exception as a mask for policy deliberations. Once the advice has been sought and provided, the body must return to open session to discuss the policy implications of the advice that it received or anything else about proposed legislation,” the board said at that time. Based on closed-session meeting minutes, the compliance board found that, more often than not, the meetings did not involve legal advice at all. ”Although some exchanges between the city solicitor and the council fell within the legal advice exception, those exchanges were rare, and they did not provide the council with a basis on which to exclude the public from any closed session in its entirety,” the compliance board said. Perhaps the council’s greatest fault was its failure to notify the public about the creation of the work force or committee, and to identify topics discussed during the closed sessions in its summaries, statements and minutes, which prevented the public from voicing any objections. “… the Council did not disclose any information about the franchise discussions until after it had determined the content of the many terms of its agreement with the company,” the board said. “Significantly, the council did not disclose the actions it took,
whether by consensus or vote, in closed sessions.” In its conclusion, the compliance board expressed concern that the council’s actions may reflect its longstanding reliance on the procurement exception to shield discussions about non-competitive procurements, as well as the council’s failure to properly document closed-session proceedings. “These facts suggest broader problems than the ones identified in the complaints that we addressed here,” the compliance board said. “We therefore encourage the council to carefully review its practices with regard to discussing contracts in closed session and to change the habits that it may have formed over the years.” Specifically, the council violated sections 3-301, 3-305 and 3-306. On Tuesday, Council President Lloyd Martin made a statement about the compliance board’s opinion, and said the council had signed the statement. “The council has always tried to honor the Open Meetings Act, and we are taking steps to better improve our practices,” Martin said. Beyond issuing opinions, the compliance board has no actual authority. Its findings are advisory, while enforcement of the act’s requirements falls to the courts.
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Ocean City Today
PAGE 3
Amusements ready with health-safety plans Continued from Page 1 spent weeks preparing for this opportunity. On Monday, representatives from various parks, event venues and restaurants on the Eastern Shore urged Gov. Larry Hogan to expand business openings and explained their plans during a press conference in Grasonville. Antoinette Bruno, president of Trimper’s Rides, said that the number of rides would be reduced.
“We’ve cleaned, we’ve scrubbed, we’ve polished every ride car in the amusement park,” Bruno said. “We’ve taken apart all of our skeeball and our video games.” On Facebook, Trimper’s said that Tidal Wave, Spinning Coaster, Balloon Ride, Haunted House, Pirate’s Cove and Mirror Maze will be open tonight. Next weekend, all rides will be open. There will be a ticketless option for customers to reduce contact. Trimper’s published a list of staff
protocols on its Facebook page. Among other things, employees must wear gloves and face masks, must have temperatures checked daily via infrared thermometers, and will limit guests on
Ocean City Today As members of the MarylandDelaware-D.C. Press Association, we subscribe to the following code of ethics: • Seek the truth and report it. • Minimize harm. Treat sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public with respect. • Act Independently. The primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public.
ELIZABETH BONIN/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Sportland, on the southern end of the Boardwalk, has created signs reminding customers to social distance while playing games in the arcade.
each ride and sanitize after each use. In addition, guests will be provided with disposable facemasks upon entry, disposable gloves will be required for See ARCADES Page 4
• Be Accountable and Transparent. Reporters must take responsibility for the accuracy of their work and respond quickly to questions about accuracy, clarity and fairness.
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Ocean City Today
JUNE 12, 2020
Arcades prepared by setting detailed health-safety plans
ELIZABETH BONIN/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Trimper’s Rides will open Tidal Wave, Spinning Coaster, Balloon Ride, Haunted House, Pirate’s Cove and Mirror Maze at 5 p.m. tonight. All rides will be open next weekend.
Continued from Page 3 Private’s Cove, Funhouse and Mirror Maze, sanitizing stations will be at the entrance to every ride, and the park will be fully sanitized at the end of each day. Customer guidelines have also been posted at the park. Bruno said that the park’s walkways, which range from 13 to 24 feet wide, can help reduce traffic on the 28-foot wide Ocean City Boardwalk. Baja Amusements Manager Valerie Kramer said Baja has been working on reopening procedures for the past three months, and has added signs listing covid-19 rules. “These rules include asking customers showing symptoms of covid-19 or have recently been in contact with someone with covid-19 to not enter the
park,” Kramer said. “These signs also remind customers to follow social distancing rules and maintain a six-foot distance from people, except for others in their household.” She added that there are social distance markers for customers waiting in line. Sanitizing stations have also been installed at each track, ride, ticket booth, restroom and other areas. “We have added sanitizing solutions that we will use to wipe down the go karts and specifically wipe down steering wheels, belt buckles, miniature golf clubs and any other high-touch areas in the park,” Kramer said. The snack bars will remain closed. Employees will be required to wear masks if they interact with guests. Employees must also undergo a daily temperature check. Each track only operates with two to three employees, thus allowing them to maintain a safe distance while working, Kramer said. “We have listened to the experts, we have prepared our businesses and we have put precautions in place,“ Kramer said. Jerry Greenspan, owner of Sportland, has prepared signs to remind guests of social distancing guidelines. “We have arrows for entry,” Greenspan said. “We have arrows for exits. We have ‘thank you for social distancing’ for our games.” There will also be hand sanitizer from Seacrets available. Marty’s Playland will open next weekend. Manager Joe Mohr said the arcade has installed hand sanitizing stations and wipe stations for games. “We’ve also marked on our floors six-feet markers and have the dots that say ‘Social distancing, six feet apart,” Mohr said. “We’ve also put signage everywhere throughout the arcade – one for showing where the hand sanitizing stations are and also notices for wearing face masks.” All equipment will be sprayed and sanitized at the end of each day. At the redemption counter for customers to turn in tickets, Marty’s has taped off six-foot sections for people to wait in line at a distance. There will also be a limit on the number of people in the building.
Correction In a police/courts briefs story last week, we erroneously stated that the husband of Silvana Heitmann punched her in an attempt to get away from her after she had begun to choke him. Heitmann was the one who was accused of punching her husband, which led to her arrest. Ocean City Today apologizes for this error.
Ocean City Today
JUNE 12, 2020
PAGE 5
Gov. Hogan puts indoor dining back on menu Continued from Page 1 Hospitalizations decreased to 960 and ICU stays have also plummeted to 308 — an eight-week low, Hogan said. He also reported that the state’s positivity rate — the percentage of people who tested positive for covid-19 out of all tests administered — has improved dramatically. “Our statewide positivity rate is down to 7.2 percent, which is a more than 73 percent decrease since its peak 55 days ago, when we were at 26.91 percent,” Hogan said. “Over the past week, Maryland has experienced the largest decline in positivity in America.” Even though city officials and resort businesspeople expressed extreme frustration last week with Hogan’s silence on indoor dining, Wednesday’s announcement blunted those criticisms for the most part. But the one issue that does remain for restaurants and bars is staffing, which apparently is in short supply. “Most operators have been working around the clock, navigating the [payroll protection loans] info, the CDC guidelines and trying to figure out when they could be open — many have had to work the lines and cook due to employee shortages,” said Susan Jones, Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association executive director. Those shortages, if they continue, could have an adverse effect on restaurant owners and their employees as more diners come in to be seated. “There is definitely a potential for early burn-out, which is why some sense of normalcy needs to be here sooner, rather than later,” Jones said. “The federal unemployment of $600/week has become an issue,” she said of the supplemental payment that has made being on unemployment more financially attractive to some recipients than returning to work. Nonetheless, local business owners have much to celebrate, as outdoor amusements and rides, miniature golf and go-kart tracks may reopen this Fri-
day, as well, and outdoor pool capacities may increase to 50 percent. Furthermore, if key metrics continue to decline or plateau, effective next Friday, June 19, at 5 p.m., indoor fitness, dance and martial arts studios may reopen at 50 percent capacity, as well as arcades, casinos and malls. All businesses must continue to follow strict Center for Diseases and Prevention Center (CDC) guidelines, as well as those of the National Restaurant Association. Schools also received some good news on Wednesday, includGov. Hogan ing the ability host outdoor graduation ceremonies. “In light of the encouraging data that we’ve seen in recent weeks … school systems will now be able to bring small groups of students and staff into school buildings for summer school programing,” State Superintendent Karen Salmon said. Schools are required to limit groups to 10 to 15 individual students and staff per room. Local school boards should prioritize students who have suffered the most during the pandemic closures, Salmon said, which includes students who have fallen behind, lack the ability to learn remotely and who lack educational resources. All non-public special education schools may also reopen for disabled students. As for free school meals, Salmon said those decisions would be left up to local school systems. High school sports may resume practice and training activities under the same guidelines issued previously for youth sports programs. Childcare providers may also reopen as long as they follow capacity restrictions, and maximum class sizes in child-
care centers are now 15 individuals per classroom. Despite the good news, Hogan reminded the public that low risk, did not mean no risk. “The fight against this virus is far from over. In fact, now more than ever, as we begin to come into contact with more people, we must all continue to remain vigilant,” Hogan said. Visit the following links for reopening guidelines: Education — http://marylandpublic-
ELIZABETH BONIN/OCEAN CITY TODAY
PEACEFUL PROTEST Black Lives Matter protesters came together on the Ocean City Boardwalk on Saturday, June 6, to share stories of their encounters with racism, particularly with police.
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Ocean City Today
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JUNE 12, 2020
Black Lives Matter protestors call out white supremacy
JOSH KIM/OCEAN CITY TODAY
At least 200 people gathered on the Ocean City Boardwalk on Saturday, June 6, for a Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality.
By Josh Kim and Elizabeth Bonin Staff Writers (June 12, 2020) “No justice, no peace, no racist police,” chanted the several hundred people who joined last Saturday on the Ocean City Boardwalk to protest police brutality and the extrajudicial killing of black men, women and children in America. “It started as a little grassroots protest on [the] Sunday [prior] and look at all these hundreds of people [today], it’s amazing,” said Rosie Bean, founder of FLIP and protest organizer. “It shows . . . all colors, all races, all communities, all sexual orientations, coming together for one fight, Black Lives Matter.” Globally, hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting daily since May 25, after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, killed resident George Floyd, who was black, by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd’s alleged crime was a counterfeit $20 bill. In multiple recordings of the incident, Floyd can be heard begging for See I CAN’T Page 8
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