Kiwanis Hears from Ocean City Mayor
by David Landis

Ocean City is the only Atlantic Ocean seashore resort Maryland has and it's in good shape according to Ocean City Mayor, Rick Meehan, who addressed the Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines/Ocean City at the Carousel Hotel during the weekly Kiwanis meeting on October 17th. Pictured are Kiwanis Club President, Ed Schaefer, with Ocean City Mayor, Rick Meehan, on the right.

"Life doesn't stop in Ocean City after Labor Day", said Meehan. It's a year round resort that contributes over 100 million dollars to Maryland State coffers each year. Ocean City has continued to grow and meet the needs of both residents and vacationers. It's a "clean and safe community" with an annual budget of over 75 million dollars of which 41 million is spent on safety including the police and fire departments. There are over 600 year round city employees and that number doubles in the summer months.

Meehan stated that some vacationing has changed from the one to two weeks that families traditionally spent in OC to shorter and more frequent vacations at the shore. Those needs are being addressed with ongoing rebuilding of the city. The infrastructure for growth is in place. With new hotels, a new library, the scheduled repair of the Rt. 50 drawbridge in January, and plans for a new downtown parking garage, which are still being worked out, Ocean City is meeting those needs and remains a great place to live and vacation. The Kiwanis Club of Greater Ocean Pines/Ocean City is proud to be a part of the community.