OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City resident implored City Council to enact a transparent process for appointments to the resort’s boards, saying fellow residents are tired of a “developer-first” decision-making process.
Marie Crawford read a lengthy statement during public comment at council’s May 22 meeting, reacting to actions and comments from the board’s May 8 meeting.
Crawford said the board should rescind the appointment of Terry Gallagher to the Zoning Board, not because of an issue with Gallagher but because the process was not fair and open.
She said council should adopt a transparent and consistent appointment process and solicit public notice.
“Stop hiding important decisions on page two of the agenda,” she said. She suggested Gallagher could earn the position if he is the best candidate.
“Ocean City residents are rising up. We are paying attention,” she said. “We know what’s at stake. And we know that trust cannot be restored without transparency, accountability and the courage to put people before politics.”
Crawford noted two council members objected to the appointment and two others acknowledged their reservations about the process but still voted in favor because they did not want to “rock the council in public.”
“But the boat needs to be rocked,” she said, “and the process must change.”
She explained that the role on the Zoning Board is not minor, but instead “one of the most powerful and consequential bodies in Ocean City.”
She referenced the long-running TV show “M*A*S*H” as the tactic used to make the appointment.
“This felt like a classic Radar O’Reilly move — slip it into the stack, confuse the colonel and hope it sails through unnoticed,” she said. (O’Reilly was a corporal who would get his superior to approve orders without reading them.)
Crawford noted serious concerns about the process including inadequate notice, insufficient time to assess the appointment and deviation from past practice that kept council members in the dark, allowing them no time to get public input.
She pointed out that the Zoning Board and Planning Board shape neighborhoods and should not be based on political favors. She said the Zoning Board approved a commercial marina in a quiet residential cove even though the zoning officer opposed it.
“The developer won and the neighborhood lost its peace and safety,” she said. “That case is a textbook example of ‘developer-first’ decision-making that has plagued Ocean City, leading to overdevelopment, overcrowding, parking chaos and the erosion of our middle class.”
Crawford said that is why grassroots movements are growing because people are tired of “backroom deals, broken promises and elected officials acting like it’s their city, not the people’s city.”
Those movements have led to “pushback” that stopped a kennel and is opposing a hotel on the boardwalk, which she noted is something “all of you promised you would never support.”
Crawford said the board should involve the community and earn its trust because it should not take “contentious three-hour City Council meetings to be heard.”
Because of the policy of City Council, members did not respond to Crawford’s comments.
Before she spoke, Second Ward Councilman Keith Hartzell asked the solicitor the best way to set up a formal process for appointing board members.
McCrosson explained council could make it a rule in the council policies or could codify it by creating an ordinance.
“It’s your call,” she said.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
