OCEAN CITY – The resort’s tourism-related revenues are lower than the peak of 2021, when crowds eager to escape their home confines as the COVID-19 pandemic eased packed Ocean City last summer, but should meet budget predictions.
Business Administrator George Savastano provided an update on beach tag and parking income through the end of July, while noting the city’s jitney pilot program has “promising” early results, mostly from loops taking people to the boardwalk, but not so much on the downtown loop.
He said looking at data collected through July 31, beach tag revenue, anticipated at $4 million this budget year, was behind last year’s to date, but ahead of where the city was in 2019, which itself was a record year.
As of July 31 in 2019, beach tag revenue was at $3,483,000. That dipped in 2020 to $3.3 million, but rebounded in 2021 to $3,769,000.
So far in 2022, revenue is $3,487,459.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think we’ll be close to $4 million” by the end of the summer season, Savastano said.
Parking revenue, which continues into the fall, is “not as good” as beach tag revenue, which ends on Labor Day weekend.
Through July 21, parking revenue in 2019 was $1,946,000. That dropped precipitously in 2020 to $1,380,000, but in 2021 rebounded to $2,188,000.
So far this year it is at $1,855,388.
“We’re $91,000 under 2019,” Savastano said, and $300,000 below last year.
The budget for parking revenue is $3.2 million.
“I think we might be close to that number. … It’s not great news. It’s not bad news. It’s OK news.”
“We’re not done yet. Hopefully we have a strong remainder of season and fall,” he said.
Jitney pilot program
Savastano said there have been mixed results with the jitney pilot program that has ferried people to and from the boardwalk and downtown, busy areas with limited parking for the crowds that fill the resort during the summer.
“The administration’s take is that early results are promising,” he said.
The boardwalk loop has seen consistent ridership, primarily from young people and families, but the downtown loop has had far less ridership in the first six weeks.
Through July 24, there were 6,715 total riders on the boardwalk loop for an average of 150 daily and a peak of 750 on July 3. During the same period there were a total of 383 riders on the downtown jitney loop with a high on July 20 of 59.
Public Safety Building
Replacing the aging and out-of-date police station on Central Avenue between Seventh and Eighth Streets has been discussed for more than a decade, but nothing has been accomplished.
The administration hopes to change that. It’s last proposal, putting up a joint Public Safety Building on the site of the fire department headquarters at Sixth Street and Asbury Avenue, was dismissed by council for multiple reasons in 2021.
Savastano told council the administration is gathering and reviewing all of the public safety building plans and designs that were advanced over the past 15 years.
“I think we all agree this project is necessary. We will be prepared to begin discussion of all the options with council and public sometime after Labor Day. We are doing our research. We know this is important,” he said.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff