OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
NOVEMBER 17, 2023
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
TURKEY DAY
COMMUNITY OFFERINGS
Meals and services are slated for Thanksgiving and beyond at an array of local churches – Page 24
FREE
Monster trucks in October?
Could be in offing, as work proceeds on new attraction
PHOTO COURTESY CONNIE ALDERFER
CHRISTMAS CONVOY
By Hunter Hine Staff Writer (Nov. 17, 2023) A fleet of professional monster trucks could be motoring around Ocean City’s downtown beach next October pending a vote from City Council. The Monsters of Metal Beach Brawl, a competitive monster truck event proposed to take place on the beach just above the pier from Oct. 18-20, received favorable recommendation from the entire Ocean City Tourism Commission at the body’s Monday meeting. Next, the City Council will consider whether to add the brawl to the city’s Fiscal Year See OC Page 6
A horse-drawn carriage pulls a 25-foot Christmas tree down the the streets of downtown Berlin toward the lawn of the Atlantic Hotel where crews erected it on Thursday. It will be officially lit during the town’s Ice Ice Berlin event on Nov. 24, and remain on display through the holiday season.
Parking scofflaws targeted New city department will emphasize enforcement and increasing revenue By Mallory Panuska Managing Editor (Nov. 17, 2023) Drivers who park in paid spaces across Ocean City will soon need to pay closer attention to signs and meters after establishment of a new department focused on enforcement. At a work session Tuesday, City Council members voted 6-1, with Councilman John Gehrig opposed,
to combine all paid parking activities into a single division under the umbrella of the transportation department, and hire a full-time manager and a host of part-time enforcement officers. Council members also unanimously voted to award a bid to parking and tolling provider Duncan Solutions to provide enforcement technology and citation management. The new division was created in response to a recommendation from a consultant who has been researching the city’s parking situation. City
Manager Terry McGean worked with staff members to develop the proposal for the department, which he said addresses a long-standing issue. “To have a revenue source, and frankly a system that’s fairly complex, and not to have a person be in charge of it, I think, is a mistake,” McGean said of the existing parking system, which brings in about $6 million annually in revenue. Public Works Director Hal Adkins echoed McGean’s comments. “You’ve got a $6 million revenue source, call it a ship, out floating in See PARKING Page 7
Monster trucks ride on 66-inch tires that weigh between 800 and 900 pounds.