OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.NET
OCTOBER 7, 2016
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
LIFESTYLE
ENDLESS SUMMER Annual Cruisin’ event kicked off Thursday and continues through Sunday in Ocean City – Page 49
FREE
City buys post office property Council says rent from Postal Service will pay for purchase
JOSH DAVIS/OCEAN CITY TODAY
SNAPPER SHOT A large snapping turtle headed for dry ground in an Ocean Pines driveway after last week’s heavy rain, even though it was well equipped to deal with it. With a length close to 18 inches, this snapper probably weighed in at more than 20 pounds. In other words, it’s not moving until it wants to move ... regardless of what might fall on it in the interim.
Side street cell towers? City officials fighting plan to plant poles in residential areas, ask public to object
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Oct. 7, 2016) A company hoping to erect cell phone poles, some as tall as 38 feet, in two of Ocean City’s residential areas was rebuffed Monday night by the City Council. The elected officials are also calling on residents of those neighborhoods to voice their objections as well. City Engineer Terry McGean told the council Monday that the city staff had denied permits to install about 90 distributed antenna systems in Ocean City,
citing concerns on their location and their appearance. “We have not approved a single one of them at the local level,” McGean said. “We said that we were very strongly opposed to these installations, particularly in our residential neighborhoods where utilities are already undergrounded.” Mobile operator company Crown Castle first approached resort officials about installing the technology to expand the city’s bandwidth to improve internet accessibility in 2015. That initial proposal sought to install new hardware on existing light and utility poles. But when Crown Castle returned this spring, it was with a completely new plan that caused concern among city officials.
“At first [in 2015] we were willing to work with them. But then they went through different consultants and their proposal was substantially different than what we had previously seen,” McGean said. McGean added that the resort’s current cell hardware on standing utility poles and water towers do provide adequate coverage, but it’s not enough to supply the bandwidth that will be needed with upcoming technology. For example, McGean said, a person at Ravens’ game could have cell service but be unable to go online. “We understand this is needed technology and something our residents and guests with cell phones are going to be See PUBLIC Page 5
By Katie Tabeling Staff Writer (Oct. 7, 2016) The property on which the downtown post office sits now belongs to the Town of Ocean City, almost, following the City Council’s vote Monday to buy the property for $1.35 million. Although the council passed the measure authorizing the purchase, papers will need to be signed to make the deal official. The U.S. ‘The city has a P o s t a l purpose for Service the property, leases the and secondly, property f r o m if it went into Jacqueline other hands, Hanna of we could lose Pompano the Post B e a c h , Office.’ Florida, — Councilman who acWayne Hartman quired the property after her husband, businessman Henry Hanna, died in 2006. The five-year lease was renewed to February 2022, and the city will be abiding by that agreement. After that, the land could be used for parking. “My feeling is that with us purchasing it, the Post Office is going to be there another five years,” Councilman Wayne Hartman said. He added that the rent received on the property would more than cover the cost to buy it. Further, he said if the See RESIDENTS Page 3