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JULY 11, 2014
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MGH deal must be done over Closed-meeting vote on contract extension violates procedures
LISA CAPITELLI/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Crowds jam the Boardwalk during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, which turned out to be one of the resort’s busiest in years. Despite a weather forecast that said rain and strong winds spawned by Hurricane Arthur were likely, clear skies and dry weather on Saturday and Sunday greeted visitors to the beach.
Fourth: big crowds, little storm Resort sees one of its biggest holiday weekends in years By Clara Vaughn Staff Writer (July 11, 2014) Despite threats from a hurricane passing offshore, Independence Day brought a flagship weekend for businesses in Ocean City. “It was one for the record books. I have
never seen so many cars, so many people coming in to Ocean City,” said Annemarie Dickerson, owner of the Francis Scott Key Family Resort in West Ocean City. Forecasts calling for stormy weather as Hurricane Arthur traveled up the coast might have thwarted vacation plans for some, but the storm only brought rain Friday morning followed by an ideal beach weekend. Hotels across the resort filled their
rooms for the long weekend, said Susan Jones, executive director of the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association. “It was about 95 percent full” across HMRA members, she said. “There were people leading up to the weekend who were calling who were very concerned about the weather. I did hear of a few cancellations, but only a handful. I think they filled everything that was canceled.” See FOURTH Page 10
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Friday, July 4, when Coast Guard crews on a pair of 47-footers rescued a surfer and three members of the Beach Patrol who had been carried by a strong current into the inlet. The Coast Guard received the call for assistance at 3:04 p.m. and recovered the four swimmers just eight minutes later about 30 yards east of the south jetty’s tip, according to Petty Officer
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By Clara Vaughn Staff Writer (July 11, 2014) The Ocean City Beach Patrol knows what it’s talking about when it issues advisories regarding dangerous currents, considering that even the resort’s best can find itself in need of assistance when the tide is really rolling. That is, after all, what happened last
2nd Class Kyle Wood. No one was hurt during the incident, he said. “Most of the time around the inlet, they’re going to need our help because of the way the current runs in there. It’s a pretty standard procedure for us,” Wood said. That procedure is well practiced and See RESCUE Page 9
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By Zack Hoopes Staff Writer (July 11, 2014) The Ocean City Council will revisit its closed-door decision of two weeks ago to sidestep its own purchasing requirements so it could grant a contract extension to the resort’s marketing firm, MGH Advertising. The move appeared to be an attempt to avoid re-entering the bidding process for an advertising agency, since MGH’s contract expires at the end of this year. Although the outcome of the public vote, set for July 15, is not likely to be different, the dispute over the contract this week appears to have validated some council members’ accusations that City Hall’s preferential treatment of its long-time advertising agency could be seen as going too far. “I believe that the contract that got voted on in closed session has violated the Open Meetings Act,” said Councilwoman Margaret Pillas, who was not present at the meeting two weeks ago when the agency was granted a threeyear extension, valued at $826,488, without previous public disclosure. “I’d like to see what the procedure is to get the state’s special prosecutor involved,” Pillas said. “I’m very suspicious here.” In a four-to-one decision, the council granted MGH a three-year extension at the agency’s current rate of $22,598 per month, instead of See CLOSED-DOOR Page 6 We Service All HVAC Brands
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