OCEAN CITY — Six candidates shared their views on multiple topics during a forum Monday hosted by the Ocean City Sentinel at the Hughes Performing Arts Center at Ocean City High school.
At-large members of City Council represent the entire island as opposed to a single ward where they must live.
Following a brief introduction, each candidate took a turn answering questions posed by moderator David Nahan, editor of the Sentinel.
First Ward resident Donna Moore called herself a citizen’s advocate. The 42-year island resident raised her family here and said she has seen decades of growth and change.
Moore said she wants to listen to the concerns of year-round residents regarding quality of life across the entire island and be a voice for the people.
Councilman Pete Madden, who is seeking a third term, said he has lived in the city for 17 years. He’s a real estate agent and part owner of Goldcoast Sotheby’s International Realty who served on the Ocean City Board of Education prior to joining City Council.
He said he represents the “collective wants and needs” of his constituents and that his role is to be part of a team working together to discuss possibilities and potential outcomes before making decisions.
Councilwoman Karen Bergman said she is a “strong voice for a common-sense approach” who is proud of her achievements in two stints on the governing body.
Citing her dedication to the public, she noted that while representing the Second Ward from 2008-12, she sold the building where she lived and moved to the Third Ward but rented an apartment so she could continue to represent those who elected her until the end of her term.
Bergman, who is catering director at the Flanders Hotel, said she also serves the city through community events.
“I work with diverse groups and know the complex needs of the community as a whole,” she said. “I want to continue to serve and complete some positive projects.”
Second Ward Councilman Tom Rotondi said he grew up working in a family-owned pizza shop, is a U.S. Army veteran, former police officer and former state corrections officer who now does consulting work.
Rotondi said he serves on the board of the Arc of Cape May County.
He said he and his wife moved to the city 14 years ago and bought their first home two months before Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012.
Rotondi said they left the island and found when they returned that their home was intact, so they volunteered to help others across the region for a couple of weeks
John “Tony P” Polcini said he is a lifelong island resident of 50 years and former business owner who is married with two children. Polcini acknowledged that the election is his “first rodeo” but said he does not see his inexperience as a disadvantage, instead saying he offers a “new perspective.”
“I’m not a politician nor do I strive to be a politician. I want to be the voice of the people in this town and keep Ocean City a place people love,” Polcini said, calling himself a family man who prides himself on hard work.
Lauding the administration, he said progress has been made with people in the forefront of the decision-making process.
Michael DeVlieger, a father of two who served as a First Ward councilman before a “family crisis” forced him to quit in the middle of his term, now wants a chance to represent the entire island less than a year later.
“One of the things I have always prided myself on is being passionate and giving it my all. I couldn’t do that anymore, couldn’t concentrate 100 percent. I had to focus on my family,” he said.
He offered his telephone number — (609) 231-8987 — in case anyone wanted to go into further depth about anything discussed at the forum.
He said he has been involved with City Council for nine years and was elected three times before stepping down last year.
“I had to focus on my family but we resolved that and now are moving forward,” he said.
Offshore wind farm
DeVlieger, who took time out from answering other questions to rail against the wind farm proposed by Danish company Ørsted, was unequivocal in his response.
“We should do everything and anything to stop it,” he said. “What I found scared the hell out of me.”
Ørsted has been disingenuous throughout the process and is “trying to steamroll us,” he said, and it’s wrong to think there is nothing the city can do to stop it.
“That’s the nonsense that every bully thinks he can use against a weak person,” he said. “Time kills all deals.”
He said the city should file lawsuits and put up roadblocks at every turn.
Moore, an environmental activist who supports green energy, said the world must reduce greenhouse gases to prevent worsening weather conditions and sea level rise “for our children and grandchildren.”
She suggested maintaining an open dialogue with Ørsted to advocate for having the power-transmission lines routed another way.
Madden said there are many pros and cons and that it’s City Council’s job to take in the information and “use clear heads and good judgment to make sound decisions.”
“We’ll be left to deal with the consequences,” he said.
Polcini, who is just getting up to speed on the wind farm, said the city does not have a lot of control over the state-backed project.
“Hopefully they can move them further out so we cannot see them,” he said. “We need to mitigate the harm.”
Bergman is dead-set against the project, saying there is no way of knowing what harm would be caused to the ocean environment.
She also questioned the effort and expense for a project with just a 25-year lifespan.
“It doesn’t make sense,” she said.
Bergman said the city has added electric vehicle charging stations and that there are other ways to get clean, green energy.
If the project cannot be derailed, she said, “I would fight for and champion proper compensation.”
Rotondi used the question to attack Mayor Jay Gillian, saying the amusement park operator negotiated with Ørsted in private for years.
“Ørsted created an ordinance for Ocean City,” he said. (Ørsted did propose an ordinance to the city allowing transmission lines across the island, but the administration never presented it to council.)
Rotondi said wind turbines are the worst green energy available and require mining in third world countries and disrupting the ocean flood.
“I am 100 percent against it because it is not green,” he said.
Alcohol sales in city, BYOBs
Asked if he supports the sale of alcohol on the island, DeVlieger said “no” and returned to his objections to the wind farm.
Calling herself a “listening ear,” Moore said she has talked to a lot of people and believes “we have to stay with what we have.”
She said BYOB “may open the door” to other public consumption.
Madden said Ocean City is a brand, a niche, for being a dry town and he is against alcohol sales.
Bergman said the city is one of only a few in the nation without alcohol sales and said she is vehemently against BYOB.
Rotondi said he learned that the older generation of residents was more forgiving when it came to alcohol but the younger generation, those raising children, want to keep the city dry.
“I want to keep pathways to alcohol out of the city,” he said.
For his part, Polcini offered a flat “no” on alcohol.
Police station best location
Last year the administration presented a plan for a $42 million public safety building at Sixth Street to house the police department and fire station. The plan included demolition of the existing fire station and relocation of the city’s popular skate park.
Other ideas include building across Central Avenue from the current police station and at the public transportation center between Ninth and 10th streets on Haven Avenue.
Rotondi said as soon as the plan was pitched he challenged the location.
“Every 90 days pedophiles have to check in with the police department. To put it so close to the school, I’m not in favor of that,” he said, adding that with bail reform “criminals are released on the streets.”
He thinks the best location for a new police department is on the current site.
“It looked great but the money was too much,” he said of the proposal.
Rotondi said the city needs to give the police department a state-of-the-art facility and then figure out what the fire department needs.
Given what Rotondi said, Polcini agreed that across from the school is not the best place for a police station. However, he said, the city-owned lot across Central Avenue from the current station is an ideal location that would allow the OCPD to stay in its building until the new one is complete. The current site could then be turned into a parking lot.
“They do a wonderful job and deserve a new facility,” he said.
Bergman said she was initially in favor of the joint public safety building, saying “it made a lot of sense,” but noted that she changed her mind when people approached her with concerns that the Ocean City Primary School is just across the street.
She said the department is in dire need of new digs but she was uncertain of the best location.
DeVlieger said he would like to see a police station built at the city’s transportation terminal, calling it the most cost-effective plan.
Referencing the proposed public safety building, he said it’s pretty but he disagrees that the Sixth Street firehouse needs to be replaced. He suggested raising the bays to accommodate larger equipment.
DeVlieger also objected to moving the skate park, saying “that’s where you lost me.” He said the city spent months determining the best place and found it.
“That’s one of the busiest public spaces on the island,” he said.
Moore said she believes a police station should be built close to the current location and the city could then decide on whether to build a garage or surface lot for parking.
Moore also said the COVID-19 pandemic moved much of court proceedings online, reducing or eliminating the need for a large courtroom and vestibule to accommodate a crowd.
Madden said the city has been talking about the project for years and has done “a tremendous amount of vetting.”
He said the Sixth Street site is not an ideal location but “there is no ideal location and we have to do the best with what we have.”
Madden said he is open to other ideas but noted that the city already has bonded money for the project.
“The longer we wait the more expensive it’s going to become,” he said.
Helping police enforce the law
Rotondi, noting he neither drinks alcohol nor does drugs, said the city voted correctly to outlaw marijuana sales and that City Council needs to listen to Police Chief Jay Prettyman and provide him with what he needs to get the job done.
Polcini said there’s no place for marijuana in the city.
“I don’t want to see that in front of my children or your children,” he said, adding that more activities for youth would help maintain the city’s clean, safe image.
DeVlieger called the state law that prevents police from making marijuana arrests based on smell and limits what officers can do “ridiculous.”
He said he is against the sale of marijuana.
“I don’t want it sold in Ocean City, period,” he said.
Moore noted adults have the freedom to do what they want at home and noted that the city voted in the past to ban BYOB.
“We chose as a town to continue to be dry, there is no smoking on the boardwalk,” she said. “We need to stay the course.”
Madden said he is not in favor of alcohol sales “and certainly not pot.”
He said the chief’s hands are tied but that City Council responded by boosting the department’s budget, allowing for more police presence as a deterrent to “keep Ocean City America’s Greatest Family Resort.”
Bergman said the solution is education and community involvement. She said City Council invited Prettyman to explain what was going on so the public was aware of the situation.
“We took the initiative to start to educate the public,” she said. “We can tackle the problem by the community getting involved.”
Capping number of building trade board members
Madden said he thinks it’s a good idea to limit the number of members on volunteer boards from the real estate and building industries but also thinks it’s important to have that sector represented. Regarding term limits on volunteer boards — such as the planning and zoning board that control construction — he said it takes time for members to get acclimated and that putting a deadline on involvement may hinder their effectiveness. He added that he is open to discussion on the topic.
Bergman — the only woman on City Council — said every board should have a diverse group of members. She said taking advantage of the expertise of professionals such as a planner, engineer and architect is smart but that each board “needs and everyday person.”
Bergman said she would not be opposed to term limits but would make the terms four years rather than two.
“There’s something to be said for experience,” she said.
Rotondi said he went door to door and found that the most common concern was over-development. He said boards need a diverse group of members, noting he believes in term limits.
Polcini agreed with Bergman that longer terms would be better.
DeVlieger said he is in favor of term limits but would like to see an avenue in which experienced members could serve as non-voting advisers because of their “subject matter expertise.”
Moore supports term limits for the zoning and planning boards, saying they must stop approving variances to building codes to suit the few to the detriment of others.
She said the city provides an attorney and engineer, so she thinks the board should be staffed minimally with real estate agents, builders and developers but balanced by knowledgeable citizens.
The mayoral and council election is May 10.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff