Speech Flows Freely at Ocean City Sessions

OCEAN CITY – Every town’s governing body has its regulars, people who turn out to public meetings for an opportunity to directly participate in the process of democracy.
Controversial topics may pack them in, but in Ocean City, there are several members of the public at every City Council meeting, often ready to have their say.
Some have specific complaints about local issues – concerns over road projects, requests for pothole repairs and all too often issues over flooding. Just as often, speakers raise issues way beyond the pay grade of a municipal governing body.
At the May 9 council meeting, held in council chambers on the third floor of City Hall, council members heard from a perennial presidential candidate, a military veteran concerned about his benefits, and a representative of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce inviting people to the annual unlocking of the ocean May 24.
Every municipal government meeting includes time for public comment, at which residents and others are free to voice their concerns and comments. Ocean City is unusual in that it holds two comment periods, one at the end of the meeting like other towns, the other for a half hour at the start of the meeting.
“It’s a courtesy if anybody wants to speak,” said Council President Peter Madden. “Council meetings used to be hours long.”
The early comment portion provided an opportunity for someone to be heard without waiting until 10 or 11 p.m., which at one time was common for Ocean City meetings. They are now typically done far earlier – the most recent meeting lasted about a half hour altogether – but council has kept the format.
“The initial public comment period is 30 minutes when people can comment on whatever they’d like,” Madden said. To speak at that portion of the meeting, people have to sign up before the start of the meeting. Comments are limited to five minutes, which is cut to three minutes if there are a lot of commenters.
“There were times and situations where you could come in and have 100 people. All of a sudden we’re there for six hours,” he said. Now in his second term on council, Madden said not everyone knows they have to sign up first.
“The regulars are certainly aware, but not everybody is,” he said. If someone does not sign up, they can speak at the end of the meeting.
Some focus on local issues while others cover broader topics.
On May 9, the comments started with Ed O’Donnell, who used his time to take the national media to task and spoke about bullies he encountered in school. O’Donnell runs for president every four years as a third-party candidate.
“You have these bullies in the community and the television media is not explaining this syndrome,” he said.
Another speaker said he spoke for “us senior citizens.” He said he was tired of seniors being treated as second-class citizens, saying, “every time we go for some benefit, we get turned down because we have a savings in the bank.”
The man identified himself as a veteran and said the only one who has listened is President Donald Trump.
“I worked hard all my life and never asked for anything I wasn’t entitled to. I’ve never been unemployed. Yet every time I went for a benefit, I got turned down,” he said. “I’m not asking for anything. I want all senior citizens to be treated as equals.”
Some of the speakers addressed issues within the city’s power. Resident Donna Moore continued her campaign to convince the city to limit its use of herbicides and chemicals on city property. This year, she attended each meeting, raising issues with specific chemicals used on city property, suggesting that they harm both human beings and the seaside environment. Using handmade signs and the chemical names of the herbicides, Moore has campaigned to minimize pesticide use in the city.
At the recent meeting, a resident supported Moore.
“I hadn’t a clue what the … she was saying but what I do know is she is sincere in what she’s saying,” said Bill Hartranft, a regular commenter at council meetings. He said after listening to Moore for years, he now has rain barrels on his property, uses solar panels and does not use pesticides. “I don’t feel any healthier but that’s because I’m old. But I want to support what Donna is saying.”
He said he can tell council members are paying attention, saying he can see it in their eyes.
Earlier this year, citing Moore’s advocacy, Mayor Jay Gillian said pesticides would not be used at the Bayside Center at Fifth Street when renovations are completed there, as a test this summer.
On a lighter note, local real estate broker John Walton used the public comment portion to publicize the 16th Annual Business Person’s Plunge, when he and many others march into the ocean in business attire to mark the start of the season.
Business attire in Ocean City is more likely flip-flops and a polo shirt than a suit, but he attended the meeting in a jacket and tie, carrying the same briefcase that comes with him into the ocean each year.
“I still have some sand from last year I just noticed on my briefcase,” he said. The Memorial Day Weekend event is a fun unlocking of the ocean. He used the forum to encourage council members and everyone else to attend the event, planned for 11:30 a.m. May 24 at the south side of the Ocean City Music Pier at Moorlyn Terrace.
“Don’t miss out on the fun. A nationally-recognized event awaits you,” he said.
The regular commenters are nothing new and were a fixture long before Ocean City began televising meetings. Longtime council observers remember council regulars like E. Barry Dutton and Jack Bryson who attended meetings faithfully for years and commented at almost every meeting.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.