By Donald Wittkowski
A proposed ordinance that represented Ocean City’s latest attempt to regulate the singers, musicians and other Boardwalk performers who entertain the summer crowds died Thursday night, but an encore is coming.
Acting on a request by Mayor Jay Gillian, City Council allowed the ordinance to lapse while negotiations continue with the performers and Boardwalk merchants on a new compromise version.
“The ordinance is not ready. We are substantially changing it,” City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson told Council.
McCrosson, on behalf of the mayor, advised Council to let the original Boardwalk ordinance die because the Gillian administration plans to propose a whole new set of regulations that will be submitted to the governing body for its consideration.
“We’ll bring you a fresh ordinance in a substantially different form as soon as it’s ready,” she said.
Talks will be held with the Boardwalk Merchants Association and representatives of the performers in hopes of reaching agreement on regulations that will satisfy both sides, Gillian said.
Boardwalk merchants have requested the ordinance to prevent large crowds from milling around the entertainers and blocking access to their stores. The mayor said he wants to avoid conflicts between the merchants and the performers by crafting regulations that would balance the rights of both sides.
Reiterating a pledge he made last month, Gillian said Thursday that he will “talk to everybody” before sending a final version of the ordinance to Council for a vote.
Gillian did not give a timetable for the new plan, but said it would be ready “sooner than later.” He expressed confidence that the regulations will take effect this summer season.
The mayor repeated his stance that there must be regulations to control the growing number of Boardwalk performers. At the same time, he stressed that he does not want to prohibit Boardwalk entertainment by imposing unusually strict rules.
“We don’t have to be over-government. But we have to have some control,” he said in an interview after the Council meeting.
The original ordinance, introduced by Council on Dec. 8, drew strong complaints from the public because it called for fingerprinting and criminal background checks for adult-age performers. Anyone having a criminal history of “dishonesty” or a fourth-degree crime or higher would have been barred from getting a performer’s license.
Performers under 18 years old would not have been fingerprinted under the ordinance, but their parents or other adult guardians would have been required to undergo fingerprinting and criminal background checks. After several young performers and their parents complained to Council last month about the fingerprinting, Gillian acknowledged that the measure was “harsh.”
On Thursday, the mayor did not rule out the possibility that he may drop the fingerprinting requirement in the new version of the ordinance.
“Everything’s on the table,” he said.
The original ordinance proposed restricting the performers to specially designated areas of the Boardwalk instead of giving them unfettered access to Ocean City’s most heavily visited tourist attraction. It also would have required performers to pay $50 for a license and a $25 administrative fee to cover the cost of fingerprinting and background checks.
This is the third time the city has attempted to regulate Boardwalk performers. In early 2016, Gillian yanked another proposed ordinance after expressing fear that a licensing fee might have caused financial harm to some of the younger street performers who live in town. The city also considered passing an ordinance in 2013 to regulate Boardwalk entertainers, but that measure was tabled.
In other business Thursday night, Council awarded a $31,000 architectural contract for the latest phase of the conversion of the city’s historic Life Saving Station into a museum.
Under the pact, Michael Calafati Architect LLC of Cape May will provide design services and construction management for removing sand, stones and other debris that were washed up on the Life Saving Station’s property by flood waters from Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Calafati will also oversee repairs to damaged sidewalks surrounding the property and the installation of a flagpole and wooden fence that replicate the originals that were on the grounds during the station’s early 20th century heyday.
Built in 1886, the Life Saving Station is being transformed into a “living history museum” under the supervision of a nonprofit organization that will operate it for the city. Construction crews are working on the building’s interior as part of the renovation work. The museum, at Fourth Street and Atlantic Avenue, is tentatively scheduled to open to the public during the Memorial Day weekend.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, Council honored Michael Petrozza for his longtime membership on the city’s Zoning Board. Petrozza recently stepped down after serving 10 years.
“By all accounts, he was a valuable member of the board,” Council President Peter Madden said while reading a proclamation in Petrozza’s honor.
In parting comments, Petrozza thanked Council and expressed hope that the Zoning Board will continue to do “a good job” for the city.
