OC Today WWW.OCEANCITYTODAY.COM
NOVEMBER 11, 2022
SERVING NORTHERN WORCESTER COUNTY
WINTERFEST
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS IN OC
The 30th annual celebration kicks off with an opening ceremony at park on Nov. 17 – Page 22
FREE
Election:
James, Savage, Proctor take council seats Paddack reelection bid falls far short in four-way race By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer (Nov. 11, 2022) Two newcomers and one incumbent will fill the three seats that were up for grabs on the Ocean City Council. Council President Matt James was elected along with Will Savage and Carol Proctor, while Councilman Mark Paddack failed in his bid to gain a second term in Tuesday’s municipal election. See NEW Page 4 LISA CAPITELLI/OCEAN CITY TODAY
BOARD MEETING
The Town of Ocean City is in Phase II of its Boardwalk Re-decking Project, from Wicomico Street to 15th Street. The re-decking project is expected to be completed by late April.
Voters drop bonds on complex But 4,822 mailed ballots to be counted Thursday could change outcomes By Stewart Dobson Editor/Publisher (Nov. 11, 2022) Advocates and opponents of a county-financed sports complex might not have that idea to kick around anymore, as Worcester County voters rejected referendum Question A Tuesday. By a vote of 9,424 to 8,572, voters appear poised to kill a county bill passed last April that authorized the county commissioners to sell $11.2 million in revenue bonds to help pay for the design and construction costs of a $15.6 million Worcester County
sports complex. The legislation did not specify a location. But with more than 4,800 absentee ballots left to count, a process the county Board of Elections has said will go into Thursday afternoon, there’s no guarantee that the 852vote lead sports complex opponents had at the end of the day Tuesday will hold. Vince Gisriel, who helped lead the petition drive that forced the April legislation to referendum, acknowledged that uncertainty Wednesday, saying he would withhold comment until after the elections board completes its Thursday ballot count. The petition Gisriel and Ocean Pines resident Slobodan Trendic launched shortly after the bill’s ap-
proval targeted the commissioners’ plans to buy and develop a 94.5-acre parcel situated behind Stephen Decatur High School off Route 50. The price agreed to by a 4-3 commissioner majority and the property’s owners, the Harrison family, was $7.15 million and the original idea was to finance that purchase with proceeds of the bond sale. The commissioners were soon advised, however, that legal restrictions on bond revenue prohibited them from using it to acquire property, thus leaving intact the sale agreement but with no designated source of money to close the deal. The settlement date was subsequently postponed until Jan. 31 next year. See COMMISSIONERS Page 3
STEWART DOBSON/OCEAN CITY TODAY
Marilyn James, mother of Council President Matt James (left), Carol Proctor and Mark Paddack wait to hear vote totals from Tuesday’s municipal election at the convention center.