Dear Friends,City Council last night voted unanimously to authorize the purchase of the former car dealership lot next to the Ocean City Community Center. Council also took the first steps toward acquiring other adjacent parcels. I’m not sure we’ll ever get another chance like this to protect an entire city block, and I believe that if we were to walk away from this deal, dense residential development would be inevitable. One of the things residents have told me over and over again in my two terms as mayor is to stop the overbuilding in Ocean City. This is a great opportunity to do that, and I look forward to working with the entire community on a plan for public use of the property.In addition to the neighborhood drainage projects, paving work in many other areas throughout town will begin in the coming weeks. Final work to restore utility lines and pave the W. 17th Street Bridge will continue for another two weeks. As always, I thank you for your patience and understanding as we restore roadways in the favorable fall weather.We were extremely fortunate to escape the path of Hurricane Florence. Everybody here who was impacted by Superstorm Sandy knows what residents of the Carolinas are going through right now and what they will face as they return to their homes in the aftermath of the storm.
Once again, I hope you all will join me in extending thoughts and prayers to them. Even though the storm is still going on, the toughest times lay ahead. I encourage you to look for ways to help as the rebuilding begins. I will provide links for the best ways to contribute as they become available in the coming days.Finally, I’d like to remind everybody of our air shows this weekend. All events are on schedule as planned and are free to attend. The Ocean City Airport Festival runs 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Municipal Airport on Bay Avenue. The spectacular Parachute Pyrotechnic Show returns to the air over the boardwalk at 8 p.m. Saturday, and the Boardwalk Aerobatic Air Show goes off at 1 p.m. Sunday. See more information on these events.Warm regards,Jay A. GillianMayor
