Describes himself as available, responsive, experienced and adamantly against wind farms
Editor’s note: The Sentinel is running profiles of the candidates for Ocean City Council in the May 14 election. Former councilman Michael DeVlieger and Sean Barnes are running for the remaining term of the at-large position open because of the resignation of long-serving councilwoman Karen Bergman, who resigned early this year. In the Fourth Ward, Cecelia Gallelli-Keyes is challenging incumbent Dave Winslow. More profiles will appear in next week’s edition.
OCEAN CITY — Do your homework. Listen to the community and respect and respond to citizens. Those are keys Michael DeVlieger believed in when he served on Ocean City Council before and would rely on if elected to the at-large position in the May 14 municipal election.
“It is important to listen to and respond to community,” he said.
DeVlieger always had his cell phone number on his business card and on the city website when he served at First Ward councilman for just over nine years before resigning in 2021. Citizens may not always get the answers they want, he said, but he always would get back to them.
Coming from a family whose parents had a second home in Ocean City, DeVlieger made it a goal to buy his own home here, something he achieved in 1999. He has lived here full-time ever since. He credits his parents for bringing him up with good morals and values. “I think that is the baseline everything comes from,” he said.
Being available for citizens and prioritizing needs as a councilman is no different than what he learned in his professional career.
“I’ve run my own business, I have worked for other businesses, was an executive at two Fortune 50 companies. It’s about prioritizing and escalating things when they need to be escalated,” he said.
DeVlieger likened his public service to time spent as a young bartender while he was growing his own executive search business. “It’s about making a quality experience for somebody. You do a good job with that, they reward you. It’s that simple.”
DeVlieger said having a public record of what he did in the past on council allows him to put his voting record and actions “up against anybody.” He added that he always tried to do his homework and look at all sides, not just rely on whoever was pitching an initiative.
“My father used to say, ‘walk around the pool table three times before you shoot,’ which used to make for really long games, but you have to look at things from all sides.”
An example was the skateboard park built adjacent to the Ocean City Fire Department headquarters. He said walking around the First Ward, constituents were upset the former one, by the Sixth Street end of the Fifth Street boardwalk parking lot, was torn down because they wanted something safe for children, but at the same time were concerned about potential hooligans and noise from a park that was closer.
He said it took years to get one built with a lot of public meetings, but it resulted in a quality park, supported with $500,000 for the county and the remaining $250,000 from parking revenues. He also cited building the boathouse just over the 34th Street bridge for crew teams, also with the help of the county.
“That’s the kind of stuff that gets me out of bed in the morning. To find things that positively affect the community and families — our year-round residents but also the tourists — in a cost-effective way. Get it executed and done,” he said.
Pressing issues
Rapid, across-the-board inflation is a high priority, DeVlieger said. He said council must make sure they’re watching expenses, not wasting money, that things are competitively bid, and, like any family, tightening the city’s belt. He supports working with loyal and reliable vendors, but says even they must be kept in check.
“I understand loyalty if you have a good vendor, they do a great job, awesome, but you have to keep them in check. Can you pay a little bit more for somebody you can count on? Absolutely. I’m not going to knock that, but you want to make sure you’re not paying a half-million dollars too much. Now is the time to really keep an eye on things.”
Other issues
One other reason he is hoping to return to council is the proposed wind farm projects. On council, he was the point man for opposition to them.
“We’ve had some great fortune in that the resistance was able to drag things out long enough it became less economically viable for Ørsted to proceed with their projects (two wind farms off the coast of Atlantic and Cape May counties), but it’s a short-term victory,” he said. “There is nothing permanent about it. We have to keep our eye on the ball, stay active and keep a close watch on litigation relative to reversing the [Board of Public Utilities’] decision to put that transmission line through Ocean City.”
Getting home rule back after legislation took the power of permitting transmission lines away from the city and giving it to the BPU would allow the city keep wind projects off the coast of Cape May County. He supports ongoing litigation to that end.
Made in error
DeVlieger said the one issue that haunts him, even though he stands by making it at the time, was allowing coastal cottages to be built. They are smaller homes designed for small lots with the idea they would help attract young families who could not otherwise afford to move onto the island. That, he pointed out, didn’t turn out to be the case.
It also was what led to the high values for the Klause and Flood properties being taken for eminent domain. Although the coastal cottage project was set for one area in the city, it could not be exclusive for that zoning, as it was pitched.
“It opened the door for them (the Klauses) to be able to propose 22 single-family homes” on their lot, he said.
“What it did, in my opinion, was instantly increase the value of those lands that we later eminent domained and we essentially drove our own costs up. You can’t blame a private entity or person or family for wanting the highest and best value for their properties.
“It was tricky. There were additional mistakes made in that process, but I think what ignited that was the coastal cottage project not being limited to that location.
“If I could get that one back, I would,” he said.
Spending too much
DeVlieger said everyone is spending too much, referring back to inflation, and he wished the city could have resolved the Klause property with a “more reasonable number.”
He did cite employee hiring as one area of concern because pensions are a big part of the city’s annual budget. He suggested the city consider outsourcing certain jobs.
“We have to watch costs like a hawk,” he said.
Not spending enough
Overall he believes the administration and council have done a “pretty good job of spending money” and “staying in tune with the community.” He doesn’t believe there are areas being underfunded. He notes there are plenty of things on the “want” list.
As an example, he said some seniors who wanted extra railings on the bleachers at Carey Stadium for safety but they were delayed with the prospect the entire bleachers would be replaced. But when that big project didn’t happen, the city should have pivoted and just put up the railings at a much lower cost.
Why he’s the best choice
Asked why he is the best choice for the at-large position, he points to his “very specific” track record, carrying on the tradition of being responsive to citizens and how he worked on projects outside of his ward, building relationships with other ward council members.
“I think that gives me a great deal of experience and knowledge of how to get things done that I can take to the island-wide role of council at-large,” he said.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
The Sentinel is sponsoring a Candidate Forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, April 29, at the Hughes Performing Arts Center auditorium at Ocean City High School. The public is invited to submit questions via email at oceancitysentinel@comcast.net.