Carolyn Cordial’s Life Celebrated At Beach Service

OCEAN CITY — A beloved local resident with “a heart filled with pure gold” was both mourned and celebrated by hundreds of friends and family members this morning with a solemn, but light, ceremony on the beach.

Carolyn Joy Cordial, 41, died peacefully at her home last Saturday after a courageous battle with cancer. Cordial was well known throughout the local community and beyond for her endless kindness and boundless energy for those most in need in the community. Even as her illness began to sap her energy near the end, she continued to advocate for those in need and less fortunate, often putting them ahead of herself.

Cordial spent the last 16 years of her professional life serving the community as a therapist, Assistant Director and Clinical Director of Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services (WYFCS) and dedicated much of her time to making a difference in the community.

She counseled youth and families, mentored young adults at risk of falling through the cracks and advocated for the less fortunate. Through her passion to help others, Cordial was instrumental in establishing many programs at WYFCS including the Lower Shore CASA and the SAGES program for adolescent girls.

Last weekend, after her passing, her colleagues at WYFCS documented their loss with a post on its Facebook page. It read, ““Our Sun shines less bright today … She dedicated her life to making a positive difference in our community; counseling youth and families, mentoring young adults, and advocating for the less fortunate especially abused and neglected children. Carolyn will forever be the Sunshine on our Shoulders as we continue her legacy of kindness, compassion, and love to those in need …”

Even elements of her name tell the story of what Cordial was all about. Her middle name, Joy, represented how people felt when they were around her, and her last name, although it was her married name, Cordial, was how she always treated others. While professionally she was a counselor and mentor, she exhibited those qualities even when she was not on the clock and was always quick with a kind word or a bit of advice for those closest to her and even strangers she had just met.

Hundreds of friends and family members gathered on the beach at the Inlet in Ocean City on Wednesday morning for the celebration of her life. Earlier in the morning, her ashes were spread in the ocean she loved so much and the beach setting provided the perfect backdrop for the celebration of her life. At the outset of the ceremony, a gray sky shrouded the early morning sun for the most part, but by the end the clouds broke and the Inlet beach was fittingly cast in bright sunshine. At one point during the ceremony, a couple of playful dolphins leaped in and out of the waves. Pastor Nathan Hyde presided and told those in attendance of Cordial’s wishes to be returned to the sea in a recurring theme throughout the ceremony.

“Her ashes this morning were given to the deep,” he said. “And what a beautiful place for Carolyn to reside.”

Hyde said in the waning days of her life, Cordial encouraged those around her to celebrate life.

“She taught us in the last few months how to dance,” he said, and read a verse from Ecclesiastes evoking that quality.

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance,” the verse goes.

A message from one of Cordial’s nieces read during the ceremony continued the recurring theme of a celebration of life and a return to the sea. The message said the quote was from one of Cordial’s favorite movies, “Chasing Mavericks,” which she watched with her niece.

“We all come from the sea, but we are not all of the sea,” the quote goes. “Those of us who are, we children of the tides, must return to it again and again.”

Cordial’s daughter Ally said her mom “had a heart filled with pure gold.” Cordial’s husband Billy Cordial read a poem called “Gone from My Sight” from the 18th century by Henry Van Dyke that probably best summed up the celebration.

“I am standing by the seashore
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean

She is an object of beauty and strength and I stand and watch until at last she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sun and sky come to mingle together

Then someone at my side says “There she goes!” Gone where? Gone from my sight – that is all

She is just as large in mast and hull and spar as she was when she left my side and just as able to bear her load of living freight to the places of destination. Her diminished size is in me, not in her

And just at the moment when someone at my side says “There she goes!” there are other eyes watching her coming and other voices ready to take up the glad shout “Here she comes.”

At the close of the ceremony, the hundreds gathered were invited to take a rose petal from a basket and cast it gently into the incoming tide, representing, as the poem suggested, a return to the sea but certainly not a final farewell.

Outdoor Reading Garden Created At Berlin Head Start

BERLIN — Just in time for spring, students from Salisbury University’s Social Work program have created an outdoor reading garden at Berlin Head Start.

“We thought the children may be more encouraged to read if they were not stuck inside the classroom all day,” said Salisbury University (SU) student Amber Wallace.

Along with fellow students Brittany Faulk and Venessa Owens, and as part of their Macro Community requirements, Wallace’s group decided to focus on a project that would benefit young children.

“My group decided to focus on my internship because I work with small children,” said Wallace, who interns with the Worcester County Health Department’s Early Intervention program.

Once they settled on a reading garden at Berlin Head Start, Wallace said the support from the town and community was incredible.

“We had 95 books donated and 64 music CDs and VHS tapes donated to offer the five classrooms,” she said.

Worcester Youth and Family Counseling Services’ (WYFCS) Berlin Youth Club, headed by Melanie Windsor, also volunteered to maintain the garden each season while a number of Berlin area businesses donated items to the garden. According to Windsor, the reading garden succeeds on several fronts.

“More and more of the activities that young children are drawn to involve being inside. I was happy to both help the SU students with the project, as well as involve the Berlin Youth Club in the garden, using it as an activity to promote community service and exposure to the outdoors. We plan to become involved in more community projects such as this one throughout the summer and beyond,” she said.

The SU students hope that the garden will be incorporated into teachers’ everyday lesson plans.

“Aside from the literacy aspect of the project, we also hope that the garden and flowers can become a new learning experience for the teachers to introduce to their students,” Wallace said.

As for the experience creating the garden, she added that her group benefited just as much as the children who will use the garden.

“This project has been wonderful and a great learning experience. I am able to recognize the connections between the [social work] literature and practicing in the field,” said Wallace. “Salisbury University’s Social Work program ensures the readiness and success of all of their students.”

New Union Contracts Feature Annual Salary Increases

OCEAN CITY – On Monday night, the Mayor and City Council came before a room crowded with members of Ocean City’s two unions to sign and ratify the long awaited collective bargaining agreements, which outlined a series of salary increases.

City Manager David Recor first introduced the resolution to ratify the collective bargaining agreement with the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 4269 as well as lead negotiator John Gilman of Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

“I want to acknowledge the municipal employees who assisted in the negotiations, and commend you for having wonderful employees who are very willing to help and go above and beyond in effort and time spent assisting me … and also commend the leadership of the respective departments of police and fire, and that they have a command of what they are doing on a daily basis, as well as their employees best interest,” Gilman said. “I am pleased to report to that the town and the IAFF union has agreed to a collective bargaining agreement that provides the city and union labor peace for three years starting July 1, 2013 running through June 30, 2016.”

Gilman added the agreement addresses several terms and conditions of employment and provides the town some cost savings moving forward, as well as preserving wages, benefits, healthcare and retirement coverage for the union membership.

“Although I support both the police and fire fighters, I cannot support this contract tonight,” Councilman Brent Ashley said.

Ashley explained he and Councilwoman Margaret Pillas, who was absent, had requested final total costs of the union contracts and he had not received a summary until immediately prior to the meeting.

“Now I am being asked to vote on a union contract without sufficient time to review the information and perform my due diligence,” he said as he made a motion to postpone the approval of the union contracts. “I was not part of the negotiation team so this cost summary is new information to me and the public. It is my understanding that some employees will see a 20-percent increase in their salaries … the council has fiduciary duty to the taxpayers to spend their money wisely.”

Recor responded that Ashley had not received any information that evening that he hadn’t seen before in Mayor and City Council closed sessions

“Not in the same format but we have seen the same numbers on a different sheet before,” Council President Lloyd Martin said siding with Recor. “As we went forward with the negotiations, we brought back everything to the full Mayor and City Council before we made any decisions on this contract.”

Ashley’s motion to postpone the vote died to a lack of a second.
“What a surprise,” Ashley said.

Council Secretary Mary Knight made a motion to approve the resolution ratifying the collective bargaining agreement with the career firefighters and paramedics and Councilman Dennis Dare seconded. The council voted 5-1, with Ashley opposed and Pillas absent to approve the resolution.

“Prior to the negotiating team entering into the negotiations, we were given parameters in which we needed to operate, and we needed to stay within those parameters, and we felt obligated to do so,” Mayor Rick Meehan said. “We came back to the council on several occasions and reported where we were with the negotiations. I can tell you our council said that they were very productive, and they were, but I am not going to tell you they weren’t difficult, and I am not going to tell you they weren’t adversarial at times because that is what negotiations are about.”

Meehan explained certain aspects of the IAFF agreement in detail, such as the agreed upon pay increases that the union did not receive in 2009’s contact.

“They have forgone step and COLAs [cost of living adjustments] that were actually in their contracts, and they did that to benefit all the citizens and the entire city during the situation we were in … it was a difficult contract, and it was difficult negotiations, and we wanted to go back and see if we could fix some of the things we weren’t able to do in previous years,” Meehan said.

According to the contract, the new wage table will go in effect for the IAFF on June 30. The contract spells out a series of three-year salary increases the union employees receive. The fiscal year 2014 impact of the raise is $96,724; for fiscal year 2015, $49,006; and for fiscal 2016, $35,412.

The contract reads, “… each Employee on payroll as of June 30, also known as Incumbent Employees, shall be advanced one Step more in Grade beyond the Step that the Employee occupied as of that time,” the contract reads. “On January 1, 2014, each Incumbent Employee shall be advanced one Step more in Grade beyond the Step that the Employee occupied at that time. On July 1, 2015, each Employee shall be advanced one Step more in Grade beyond the Step that the Employee occupied at that time.”

Additionally, the contract reads, “The Wage Rate Table shall be adjusted as of October 1 of each year of the contract term to reflect the same Cost of Living Adjustment, bonus or other wage increase, not including a step or anniversary increase, adopted by the Mayor and City Council, generally, for the City’s employees who are not covered by collective bargaining for the same period of time.”

Another significant change is the regular work hours of work for all Incumbent Employees in the Fire/EMS Division shall be the current 24/72 schedule and the pay period for computation for overtime shall be seven days. “The employer shall pay premium overtime for hours worked in excess of 45 hours in a 7-day pay period,” it reads.

Meehan outlined what the new contract will mean as far as benefits.

“They retained the define contribution plan for new hires … we also reduced the maximum amount of vacation new employees can have over the course of their career from five weeks to four weeks. We also implemented drug testing … in this contract there is no medical benefits for retirees in the IAFF,” the mayor furthered. “There are an awful lot of things in this contract that is good for all the citizens in Ocean City, especially the fact that we can stabilize our work force and provide them with a salary and benefits that are comparable with other areas. They have earned this and I think they have been very patient. “

IAFF Local 4269 President Michael Maykrantz took the time to thank the taxpayers, visitors, and elected officials of Ocean City.

“We have a fair agreement that will meet the needs of our members, the community, the elected politicians, and to the people that pay taxes we really do appreciate it,” he said. “We know when you pay that tax bill every year that is a tough thing to do but if you ever have to use our services you will see your investment comes back to you in many ways. We take our jobs seriously, we really take a lot of pride in doing it and we really believe in what we do.”

The city’s contract with the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 10, which represents members of the Ocean City Police Department, was also ratified, but it’s only for two years.

“This agreement provides advancements for the union members in regards to their wages and other terms and conditions of their employment, specifically their new provisions that address pension and retirement, healthcare coverage and other areas of the departments operations, such as specialty pay for speaking other languages,” Gilman said.

Councilman Doug Cymek made a motion to approve the resolution ratifying the collective bargaining agreement with the FOP and was seconded by Knight. The council voted 5-1 with Ashley opposed and Pillas absent to approve.

Meehan characterized the negotiations leading up to Monday’s ratification as “again difficult”, but reported being satisfied with the finalized document.

“There are a lot of good things in this agreement for both parties. Our police department they did forgo their steps and COLAs in 2009 and subsequent years, and they did it to support the citizens of this community during some very difficult times,” Meehan said. “We were able to give some increments and give two steps back to gain them some equity in their positions, and a chance to get some separation between some of those that had been hired over the period of years and there was no salary separation between them. We were able to accomplish that and our payroll this upcoming year will still be $390,000 less than it was in 2009 for the OCPD, and I think that is significant for us to note.”

Meehan said the new contract also “redefined the defined benefit plan for the police department.” He added, “That is an essential tool for them for recruitment and retention but we did redefine it. That was something we had every intention of doing a couple years ago but did not have the opportunity. That’s going to benefit our department. There was a lot of discussion, it wasn’t exactly what the FOP was looking for but I think they agreed after the way we presented it that was the best way to move forward and be able to continue to offer that particular plan at a reduced cost to our taxpayers, and I think even more beneficial to the department and our community in the long run.”

A similar outline of pay increases to the IAFF was agreed upon by the FOP.

Effective July 1, 2013, the city, “shall pay Employees a FY14 anniversary increment. This anniversary increment will cause Employees who are eligible to progress on the Wage Scale set forth in Appendix IV to advance 1 step from the Employee’s step position on June 30, 2013,” according to the contract.

Then on Jan. 1, 2014, the contract stipulates, “the Employer shall pay Employees employed on June 30, 2010, and who were eligible for and did not receive a step increment in FY10, the FY10 anniversary increment that has not been paid. This increment will cause Employees who are eligible to progress on the Wage Scale set forth in Appendix IV and who are eligible to receive this increment to advance 1 step from the Employee’s step position on December 31, 2013.” Similar language spells out another “anniversary” step increase in fiscal year 2015.

The planned raises’ impact on the fiscal year 2014 budget equals $220,188 and for fiscal year 2015 totals $181,354. However, in a summary of points chart distributed, the fiscal year 2009 wages compared to the fiscal year 2015 wages will result in $387,694 in saved wages.

“When we set out on this endeavor, really all we wanted to do is reach a mutual agreement between all of us that we thought benefited all of the stakeholders in this. The city, our management, our membership, taxpayers, the visitors and everyone that is involved in this,” FOP Lodge 10 President Shawn Jones said. “I think at the end of the day in the spirit of compromise we were able to do that, and do that well … it validated the fact that this process works here in Ocean City, and it can work here in Ocean City, and it will continue to work here in Ocean City through the years. That’s all we want and that all we are shooting for and we are continuing to accomplish that.”

New Boardwalk Restrooms Will Not Be Ready By Summer

OCEAN CITY – A decision was made this week to install temporary restrooms at Caroline Street on the Boardwalk as the new comfort station’s completion date has been delayed due to weather.

A last minute agenda item was added to Monday evening’s Mayor and City Council legislative session regarding a delay in the completion date of Caroline Street’s comfort station project.

Council President Lloyd martin presented the item that came before the council that afternoon as bids came in to place temporary restrooms off the Boardwalk on Caroline Street. Due to weather delays, the new Caroline Street Comfort Station and Stage will not be completed until the end of June.

According to City Engineer Terry McGean, the developers, Ocean City Fix and Black Diamond Builders have lost about 14 days of construction due to weather and another equivalent amount to clean up the site following the poor weather.

Staff recommended the Mayor and Council approve the temporary solution of Royal Restrooms in the amount of $17,050 per month plus $3,550 for delivery and installation. The council voted 6-0 with Councilwoman Margaret Pillas absent to approve.

The temporary restrooms will be located immediately next to the construction site on Caroline Street and will be installed by Springfest, which is set for May 2-5. They will include 10 men and female stalls, and two ADA stalls. The restrooms are trailer mounted, plumbed with running water and connected to the sewer system. A bathroom attendant will remain on site.

The demolition of the old underground facility began in December and at that time the estimated completion date was this May.

The early design stages for the new facility began a couple years ago and the Mayor and City Council went through three different renderings before deciding on a design, as well as budgeted $1 million for construction funded from a 2012 bond.

In November 2011, architect David Quillin and McGean presented a proposed design of the new Caroline Street building, but the council was not enthused and requested some changes. After several adjustments, Quillin returned for the final time last July with a rendering that the Mayor and Council approved that included the barrel-vaulted roof changed to a gable roof, the fabric awning over the stage also changed to a gable roof, and the end porches and stage were changed to have exposed wood trusses with bow bottom-chord.

New OC Beach Toys Sought; Safety, Age Concerns Leads Resort To Seek Alternatives

OCEAN CITY – The popular wooden playgrounds will not be returning to the beach this summer as city staff are in the midst of searching out safer replacements.

During a Recreation and Parks Committee meeting last Tuesday, Public Works Director Hal Adkins gave an update on the playground equipment that have been placed on the beach seasonally since the Mayor and City Council approved in 2000.

What is referred to as “beach toys” are five wooden playgrounds spaced out from Talbot Street north to 4th Street on the beach downtown. The toys were donated by several individuals and/or businesses, the latest being by Fisher’s Popcorn in 2005.

Adkins explained the condition of the beach toys has become a concern as they have aged over the years. The equipment is maintained on a daily basis during the summer season and examined thoroughly when they are stored at the airport during the off-season.

Adkins said the age of the equipment and the potential liabilities involved are major concerns. Additionally, he said they do not meet ADA (American with Disabilities Act) playground standards. Adkins added there are other unexpected uses that have raised concerns among staff.

“The fact is they are used for other activities in the late evening and early hours of the morning they weren’t designated for. We are cleaning them up on daily basis and we are questioning returning them to the beach this year,” Adkins said. “I think we all realize how often they are used. I am a father of four and I have used them over the years so I know it will result in a potential upset …”

Risk Manager Eric Lagstrom said he knows of three serious incidents involving the beach toys over the years, but he said the town was not held liable for them.

“I get calls from the police department often about children getting hurt and putting me on notice of it,” he said. “Could be from a protruding nail or screw, or a board is loose or something like that.”

Dealing with the potential decision to remove the beach toys from the beach, Adkins spoke with one of the donators, Greg Shockley of Shenanigans Irish Pub and Grille, and he explained if they were done away with the donators would be notified with the option to keep it personally or have the equipment sold and return the profits to the Recreation and Parks Boosters youth program.

“Which he thought was ideal,” Adkins said of Shockley.

Council President Lloyd Martin also recalled many years with his children spending time playing on the beach toys and asked about other playground alternatives to replace the beach toys.

“I would hate to see them go and not be replaced,” Councilman and Committee Chair Joe Mitrecic agreed. “They are 14 years old. The actual construction is going to stand up on the beach for only so long and I imagine they have been patching and gluing them for a long time.”

The committee directed Recreation and Parks Director Tom Shuster to research alternative beach toys that are ADA compliant.

“The playgrounds purchased were not intended for commercial playground equipment … and the principle concerns are obviously you want to have items that avoid entrapment and fall hazards and other damage hazards,” Shuster said. “These items were actually intended for residential use.”

A motion was made by Councilman Dennis Dare to not have the beach toys return to the beach this summer and offered to be returned to the donors. Also, the Recreation and Parks staff is directed to investigate the feasibility of providing commercial play equipment on the beach for 2013. The committee voted unanimously to approve.

During Monday evening’s Mayor and City Council legislative session, Mitrecic reported the discussion back to the full council.

“I would certainly hope we make every effort to establish some new beach toys for the summer of 2013,” Mayor Rick Meehan said. “We are a can do community and I think that is something that we can do. I did go online and there are an awful lot of options out there of those types of equipment that kids can use, are approved, and are made to used and meet that kind of safety tests.”

Revised Surfing Beach Plan OK’d; Flexibility Added To Schedule

OCEAN CITY – The Mayor and City Council approved this week the Surfing Beach Committee’s recommendation to expand the two rotating surfing beaches during times of good surf and have the Inlet open to surfers on a conditional basis on the weekends during the slower times of the summer.

The Surfing Beach Committee first met on April 1 to discuss modernizing Ocean City’s surfing laws. The committee weighed many different options in providing the surfing community more variety and space.

One of the options suggested by Surfing Beach Director Ward Kovacs was to widen the surfing beaches on days with good surfing conditions.

“Because what happens on good surf days, we get more and more surfers out there and it gets too compacted where there are concerns of people getting hurt …” Councilman and Recreation and Parks Chair Joe Mitrecic reported this week.

Prior to the Mayor and Council meeting that evening, the Surfing Beach Committee reconvened on Monday afternoon to review four proposed rotating surfing beach schedules.

The first version is the standard rotation extending through Sept. 30, with no third surfing beach except for the Inlet surfing beach being open Monday through Friday as is now. The standard rotation for surfing beaches is moving two blocks each day at a north and south location.

The second version includes the standard rotation, the Inlet open to surfers Monday through Friday but adds a third surfing beach into the rotation at a midway point between the north and south locations on Saturday and Sunday while the Inlet is closed.

The third version includes the standard rotation, but the Inlet open to surfers all week long in late May, June and September. It excludes the Inlet being open to surfers during the busy months of July and August at which time a third surfing beach will be added to the rotation at a midway point between the north and south locations on Saturday and Sunday.

The final version includes the standard rotation and adds the third surfing beach permanently at the Inlet to be open to surfers every day, except 4th of July, from late May through September.

The cost to fund a third surfing beach in versions two, three and four is $8,695, more specifically $6,670 for labor and $1,975 for materials and supplies.

Ocean City Beach Patrol Captain Butch Arbin passed around photos of the Inlet beach on 4th of July and on a random summer day with high temperatures where there was not an empty space to be seen in the water or the beach. However there was no wind, thus no waves, resulting in no need for surfers wanting to use the Inlet. If the Inlet were to be open to surfers on days with good surf conditions, beach goers and swimmers would be pushed about 50 percent to the north for the beach to be open to surfers.

“Version three is probably the most doable if we want to keep the Inlet beach open,” Arbin said. “When you add the third surfing beach, people are going to be impacted disproportionately. It’s going to happen … and version three is that hybrid model where we use the Inlet as often as we can. If we chose that one, we can monitor it by looking at how the crowds are affected by it.”

Councilman Dennis Dare and Mitrecic were quick to notice by adding a third surfing beach midway between the north and south locations there will be properties, such as the Quay and the Capri that will have a surfing beach located in front of their facility more than twice in less than 18 days apart.

“I think the compromise is expanding [standard rotation locations] when we can,” Shelly Dawson of the Surfriders Foundation said. “To ask to have another beach added and have people hit three, four and five times anywhere in town is unfair for us to ask for.”

Chris Shanahan of K-Coast Surf Shop reminded the committee that was what the surfing community had asked for — more space on the beach. He added the guards and equipment are already set up for the standard surf beach rotation and it would save the town the extra cost in initiating a third surfing beach in the rotation.

“I would start out with a bigger surfing beach and if the conditions don’t pan out the way its forecasted then we will bring it in,” Kovacs said.

As far as keeping the Inlet surfing beach open during the slower times of late May, June and September on the weekend, the committee felt exchanging the word “closed” for “conditional” would do the trick. This would mean during those months when surf conditions are good on the weekend at the Inlet the beach patrol will make the call to have that location open to surfers or not, except June 29 through Aug. 24 the Inlet will remain closed on the weekends due to the expected crowds.

The committee voted unanimously to send a favorable recommendation to the Mayor and City Council to approve the 2013 Surfing Beach Schedule as a modified version of schedule one. The Inlet beach will be open during the week days, conditional on the weekends in late May, June and September and closed on the weekends in July and August. The standard rotating schedule will stay in play and at times of good surf will be expanded to provide surfers with more space.

A few hours later during the Mayor and City Council’s legislative session, Councilman Doug Cymek made a motion to approve and the council voted 6-0, with Councilwoman Margaret Pillas absent, to go with the changes presented.

OC Invites Public To Community Planning Meeting

OCEAN CITY — The Town of Ocean City’s Planning and Community Development Department, in partnership with the Ocean City Development Corporation, would like to invite the public to attend a meeting to gather input on the Sustainable Community Plan. The meeting will be held on April 24, at 6 p.m. at the Red Doors Community Center on 3rd Street and Baltimore Ave.

“The goal of this meeting is to receive public input as the community applies for the designation as a Sustainable Community,” said Matt Margotta, Planning and Community Development Director. “We are currently in the process of updating the existing Community Legacy Plan and it is important for us to incorporate input from the citizens of Ocean City for the plan of action.”

The Sustainable Community Plan is the result of a January 2010 report, “Sustainable Maryland: Accelerating Investment in the Revitalization and Livability of Maryland’s Neighborhoods.” The report, which developed at the request of the Task Force on the Future for Growth and Development in Maryland, reviewed Maryland’s tool kit for revitalization and the impact of these tools over the last 15 years.

The report found that the Maryland communities that have made the most revitalization progress share the following characteristics; A specific local target area that has attained multiple State “designations” that make the community eligible for maximum access to State revitalization funding; a strong local leadership and partners from the public and private sectors that coordinate and leverage financing to implement ongoing initiatives; and, a multi-year investment strategy that is both realistic and ambitious, providing a road map for local stakeholders to create a more sustainable economy and livable community life.

“The findings of the Sustainable Maryland report recognized the importance of local leadership with locally driven and targeted plans,” Margotta said. “Our Sustainable Community Plan will include a range of revitalization strategies and projects that prevent or reverse the decline of or disinvestments in the Sustainable Community Areas (SC Areas) through improvements in residential, commercial, or other public or private properties and resources and can also result in reduction of community environmental impacts.”

Arrests In OC Counterfeiting

OCEAN CITY — Two local men this week were arrested and charged with counterfeiting two weeks after the Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) warned residents, business owners and employees about a rash of case of phony money being passed in and around t…

Berlin Plans To Reduce Spending While Giving Raises

BERLIN — The town of Berlin is proposing a balanced budget even though the Mayor and Council are currently including a 2-percent salary raise for all employees.

“We’re not between a rock and a hard place. I think it’s going to be a tight budget but I don’t think it’s going to make anybody miserable,” said Mayor Gee Williams.

The proposed general fund for the upcoming fiscal year will be $4,775,001, a 2-percent reduction from last year’s budget of $4,869,001. While expenditures are down, Williams did note that revenues have also seen a slight dip due mainly to recent property assessments that lowered values in Berlin. However, though revenue on that front decreased $172,000 or about 6 percent, the mayor took a positive look at the overall picture.

“Quite frankly, the way people were talking a couple of years ago, that’s a relief compared to some of our worst fears,” he said of the property tax revenue loss. “And I also believe that if some of the things that are in development come to fruition we’ll make up that 6 percent before the next re-assessment.”

Other areas have not been so lucky, Williams added, saying that revenue loss from property assessments has brought many towns “to their knees.” Berlin is in a much better boat, said the mayor. He attributed much of that success to the town’s emphasis on making Berlin as business friendly as possible.

“We just have to continue to support business development and economic development to the best of our ability,” he said.

Having a dedicated force of town employees is another boon to Berlin that has attributed to its success, claimed Williams, which is why the council is currently including a 2-percent across the board raise for all employees in next year’s budget.

“The department heads have shown very good management skills in managing their budgets for each department,” he said.

This would be the second salary increase in three years, with employees receiving a bump in 2011 but only a one-time bonus last year. This is only a proposed budget and that could change before the plan is finalized early next month, however.

While the current budget is balanced, Town Administrator Tony Carson explained that there’s a good chance the end budget could be even better. He pointed out that last year more revenue was collected than projected and Berlin seems to be on track to repeat that.

“Just last fiscal year we collected $1.2 million more than projected,” he said. “We’re on pace to again, probably not by $1.2 million but by a significant amount, have our revenues increase for FY13.”

There’s also an expectation that expenditures might come in lower than budgeted in the next fiscal year, which would continue a pattern of the last four years. If revenues come in higher and expenditures lower than expected, Carson remarked that Berlin is on a good path.

“Every year if we can have that we’re certainly going to be able to have some significant fund balances,” he said.

Berlin will also be entering this year’s budget with a prior year surplus of $181,000, which makes up the majority of the $182,000 projected capital budget for next year.

Some areas the town hopes to see more revenue collected than projected would be casino grants and funding from the Department of Liquor Control (DLC). Just like last year the town is currently budgeting $200,000 in the expectation of local impact grant funding, the money that the Casino at Ocean Downs shares with Berlin for providing town services like police coverage. Last year that $200,000 was exceeded to the tune of about $216,000, something the council hopes to see again but is being cautious while budgeting.

Likewise, grant funding from the DLC liquor mart in Berlin is not being budgeted for. The $100,000 the town budgeted last year was not received and the council decided to take a better-safe-than-sorry approach this year and not expect anything. Should any money be received Williams said it will be considered a surprise.

A final budget won’t be adopted until early May and the council still has to review the town’s enterprise fund. Williams is expecting a basically flat budget, though, and highlighted how unusual that is with all of the changes to utilities this year. For example, an entire new stormwater utility has been added, while the electric utility has seen a $67,000 loss in revenue due to the council’s decision to lower non-residential rates.

Sacrificing that revenue to offer businesses in town better electric rates was not a decisions taken lightly, said the mayor, but one he still fully supports.

Three Carvers To Score Awards At Ocean City Event

SALISBURY – The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, Salisbury University, the carving community’s recognized leader, has announced that carvers Delbert “Cigar” Daisey, Robert “Bob” Guge and Ernest “Ernie” Muehlmatt will be honored with the museum’s inaugural Living Legends Award.

The presentation will take place in conjunction with the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition and Art Festival award ceremony on Saturday, April 27 at 5 p.m., at the Roland E. Powell convention center in Ocean City.

The award recognizes individuals who have been long-time advocates for wildfowl art and the Ward Museum; are generous in spirit and commitment to teaching others and passing on their knowledge, skills and talents; and have created an impact on the field of wildfowl art and/or the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition.

Daisey, born in 1924, lives and works on Chincoteague Island, Va. He worked as the instrument man on a survey crew for 13 years, fished in the summers and hunted wildfowl in the winters. His first decoys were a rig made with his father, Herbert Daisey, in 1941, using a recycled World War II submarine raft. He describes his early carving career as “making decoys on the side,” in combination with other jobs, but he finally began carving as a full-time career in the 1960s.

His nickname “Cigar” was given to him by a game warden when he lost some cigars while stealing ducks from the warden’s traps (some say he left the cigars to taunt the warden). One of the last surviving people who made a living as a market hunter, Daisey became an avid conservationist later in his life, serving as the resident carver at Chincoteague Island’s Refuge Waterfowl Museum. His work appears in the Smithsonian Institution, the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art and the Chincoteague Refuge Waterfowl Museum.

Born in 1952 and current resident of Sleepyhollow, Ill., Guge is a self-taught artist, and has been carving since 1972. He was strongly influenced by his father, Roy, a carver of hunting decoys. As his father’s pieces became more sophisticated and entered competitions, Guge’s interest in birds and art grew. By age 12, he already had carved a few birds. His first career, however, was not carving, but house painting.

In 1973, Guge and his wife visited Chincoteague Island and met with Daisey. From then on, Guge kept his day job as a painter, but carved at night and on the weekends with a new determination to make a career in wildfowl carving. Eventually, he stopped painting houses and took off to pursue the professional, artistic pursuit of wood sculpture fulltime. Along the way, the work of Harold Haertel and other artists influenced Guge’s style.

Muehlmatt was born in 1927 in Springfield, Pa. He has spent over 30 years as a professional carver as well as a graphic and sketch artist, painter, florist and inventor. He is a firm believer that his work ethic, taught to him by his father while working on the family farm, is the reason that he has been successful in the fields he has chosen. He served for two years in the U.S. Army, stationed in the Aleutian Islands during World War II. He returned home and attended a two-year program in commercial art at the Advertising and Art Student League in Philadelphia. He put his skills to good use in the family’s floral business. Eventually, Muehlmatt and his brother closed the retail end of the business, and Muehlmatt’s true love for carving began.

In the 1972 Ward Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition, Muehlmatt won first, second and third place in different divisions. Since that time he has won the World Championship, Best in Show, on three different occasions. He has published four wood carving books and regularly teaches woodcarving and design.