OCEAN CITY — After 13 years of serving her community on City Council, Karen Bergman resigned last week from her position as vice president to take a job overseeing another facet of the city.
“It’s truly been an honor serving all of the citizens of Ocean City. I will miss my fellow city council members. I will miss the administration and senior staff — you all have been most gracious in your support over the years,” Bergman said during a City Council meeting Jan. 25. “Most of all, I’d like to thank the citizens of Ocean City who have loved, supported and encouraged me over my tenure as your representative.”
Bergman will become supervisor of the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center when the city takes over there Feb. 1 from Cape May County.
“I’m really excited about this position. I believe that it’s a really good fit for me and offers me the opportunity to continue serving the community that I love so much,” she said.
Bergman was first elected to City Council in 2008, serving the Second Ward for one term before moving. She then was appointed to an at-large position in 2015 and re-elected twice, the last time in 2022 when she was chosen as vice president.
Bergman, longtime catering director at the Flanders Hotel where she was responsible for a budget of $1.5 million in revenue, has worked with diverse groups and knows the complex needs of the community as a whole, including its senior population.
“Anyone who knows Karen knows her personality and her caring,” Mayor Jay Gillian said. “I appreciate your service to Ocean City as a City Council member.”
Wes Kazmarck, president of the Boardwalk Merchants Association, said he attended the 10 a.m. meeting to express his appreciation for Bergman.
“I wanted to say how much I appreciated Karen for all of her years on City Council. I will genuinely miss your down-to-Earth common sense — I think the city will as well — and know you are going to crush your new job because that’s what you do wherever you go,” Kazmarck said. “I wish you the best of luck.”
“I know she will do great for us in her new role but I’m sorry to see her go,” Councilman Terry Crowley said.
Former First Ward councilman Michael DeVlieger, who resigned from his seat in August 2021, also thanked Bergman for her contributions.
“You’ve done a great job, I enjoyed working with you always,” DeVleiger said.“Just like you, having done one tour and came back to do another, I’m inclined to do the same. I will be submitting my name for consideration but more importantly I will be running in May.”
Changes coming for senior center
Community Services Director Dan Kelchner provided City Council with an update on changes taking place at the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center.
He noted that the country’s population is aging, saying that by 2040 one in five Americans will be 65+ and the number of seniors age 85+ is supposed to quadruple in the next decade.
“With such a large number of residents and visitors projected to become seniors, or that already are seniors, over the next 10 to 15 years, the city’s expansion of senior-focused programs and serviced is a strategy to continue to provide the highest quality of life to residents and visitors here to America’s Greatest Family Resort,” Kelchner said
The city will be assuming control and operation Feb. 1.
“The decision for us to get involved with the senior center is about local and national demographic trends and a desire to provide the highest quality of services to the community while providing an equal share of recreational social programs for an increasingly large segment of our local population,” Kelchner said.
He said new transportation and accessibility options, along with program enhancements, will be starting in February and rolling out incrementally throughout the year.
There will be daily recreational activities, yoga and fitness classes, special guests and events such as a performance of the Ocean City Pops, demonstrations by the arts center and bus trips both near and far.
“The key focus is fresh-cooked meals made daily and provided on site,” he said.
Services provided by the county, such as tax preparation and fare-free transportation will continue, he said.
“Overall, we’re looking to expand a lot of programs and services in a recreational social mode pertaining to a lot of different groups of seniors,” Kelchner said.
He believes funding for the programs will be secured through state and federal grants.
“The end goal with all of this from a funding and long-term feasibility standpoint is to have the senior center totally funded by grants by the end of 2024,” Kelchner said, noting the city has received some Community Development Block Grants and is pursing other funding opportunities.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff