Ocean City Mayor and Council Work Session – May 26, 2026

The Mayor and City Council held a work session on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, starting shortly after 1:00 PM, following a closed session that ran from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM (legal, real estate, and public security matters). The meeting included public comments, consent agenda items, updates on the 5th Street Post Office demolition and downtown parking, approval of the Racquet Center redevelopment design, and a lengthy discussion on elected official residency requirements and potential charter amendments.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes Approval: The council approved the work session minutes of May 12, 2026, and regular session #9 minutes of May 18, 2026. Motion carried with six in favor.
• Standing Committee Reports Acknowledged: Police Commission (May 18) and Recreation and Parks Committee (May 14) reports were noted without discussion.
• Pension Committee Recommendation Approved: The council approved the recommendation to change the international manager and reallocate funds. Motion carried with six in favor. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee report was tabled at council's request.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Unidentified Speaker (male): Spoke in favor of several charter changes: clarifying year-round residency requirements (actual physical occupancy for majority of calendar year), reducing the residency requirement from two years to one (citing Berlin, Salisbury, and Maryland General Assembly as examples), ensuring that outside property ownership does not disqualify candidates, prohibiting the rental or exclusive occupancy of a claimed primary residence, and shifting the judging of candidate qualifications to the Worcester County Board of Elections or requiring abstention of council members up for election. He urged that any new rules apply to the November 2026 election cycle and that current council members should not be grandfathered.
• Leslie Smith (107 Convention Center Drive): Proposed eliminating the requirement that candidates surrender their rental license two years prior to election, arguing that residency can be determined by other factors (tax records, voter registration, driver’s license, etc.). She recommended requiring surrender of the rental license only upon assumption of office, and that the charter should continue to allow challenges to an elected official’s continuing residency.
• Vince Gisriel (1408 Sailing Road, Ocean City): Favored the Board of Supervisors of Elections as the deciding body on candidate qualifications, noted that the current two-year requirement is too long (other towns have one year), and opposed the short-term rental license provision as an unnecessary add-on. He noted existing appeal provisions in the charter (Section C-505) as safeguards.

Discussion Items

• Update on 5th Street Post Office Demolition and Parking (Hal Adkins, Public Works Director): Demolition of the post office building is expected to be complete by Friday, May 29, 2026. Public Works will begin site preparation on Tuesday, June 2 (grading, stabilization with asphalt millings/crushed concrete, temporary lighting). The lot is targeted to open for paid parking by June 11, ahead of the air show. Adkins also noted historical discoveries (an old parking garage slab from the 1930s) and provided broader context on downtown public parking: a 2006 study showed a deficiency of nearly 500 spaces; since then, the city added 63 spaces at the former Whiteside lot and gained about 30 spaces at the Worcester Street lot, but lost 31 spaces at Somerset Street/Baltimore Avenue when the police substation was built. Major events like the C3 music festival temporarily take about 1,700 parking spaces out of public use.
• Racquet Center Redevelopment Design Update (Hal Adkins, Kate Gaddis – Recreation & Parks Director, Taylor Hershey – Engineering Project Manager): The project is moving to 100% design development and bidding in July 2026, with construction anticipated to go to the bond market in November/December 2026. The proposed site plan includes new pickleball courts, resurfaced tennis courts (clay courts in good condition), and a new 2,600 sq ft building (double the current 1,500 sq ft) that unifies the coastal highway and racquet center sides. The building will feature retail space, an office, a multi-purpose room for camps/socials, bathrooms accessible without entering the main building, and storage. The design mirrors the architectural theme of the Ocean Bowl building. Council discussed adding shade structures on the deck and potential fencing/gating. The Recreation and Parks Committee had previously recommended moving forward. The council voted unanimously (5-0, with Councilmember Metrisick and Proctor absent) to proceed to 100% design development and authorize bidding.
• Further Discussion of Elected Official Residency Requirements and Charter Changes (City Solicitor Heather Stansbury): Stansbury reviewed the history of charter amendments since July 2025, including the change from four months to two years residency and the rental license provision. She presented three topics from the February 2026 special meeting: (1) who should judge candidate qualifications, (2) whether additional qualifications should be added, and (3) whether changes should apply to current council members. Council feedback included:
  • Judge of Qualifications: Consensus to keep the council as the judge (rather than the Board of Supervisors of Elections), but to allow approval of candidates on a rolling basis as they file, not only at the October meeting, to give candidates earlier certainty.
  • Additional Qualifications: Stansbury offered four options: (A) a brief, clear rule; (B) a rebuttable presumption; (C) a legislative intent statement; (D) do nothing. Council rejected options A and B (too specific or burdensome). There was interest in option C (legislative intent statement) – language clarifying that candidates must maintain Ocean City as their true, fixed, primary residence and that mere technical compliance with domicile is insufficient. Councilmember Heiser suggested adopting the legislative intent but also removing the current charter subsection C (the rental license prohibition). However, other council members noted that changing the rental license provision would unwind the July 2025 changes and that the current council might not have a full complement to make such a change. Ultimately, no consensus was reached on altering the rental license or two-year requirements.
  • Application to Current Council: Stansbury advised that if charter changes are made, they would apply to current council members immediately. Some council members (e.g., Councilmember Buis) expressed concern about changing rules for an individual case and suggested waiting for a full council.
• Vote on Charter Direction: Council agreed to have the City Solicitor draft a charter amendment resolution incorporating the items on which there was consensus (keep council as judge, allow rolling candidate approval, possibly a legislative intent statement). The draft will be brought back to the next work session with a full council present (Councilmember Proctor was absent, and Councilmember Metrisick had left). No vote was taken on any charter changes.

Key Outcomes

• Approved Racquet Center Redevelopment Design: Motion passed 5-0 to proceed to 100% design and authorize bidding.
• Consent Agenda Approved: Minutes, committee reports (police, recreation), and pension committee recommendation approved.
• 5th Street Parking Lot on Track: Demolition finishing May 29; site prep starting June 2; lot to open for paid parking by June 11.
• Residency Requirements – Direction Given: Council affirmed staying as the judge of qualifications, will explore earlier candidate approval, and may add a legislative intent statement. Rental license and two-year requirements were discussed but no change was directed; a draft charter amendment will be prepared for the next full-council work session.
• Closed Session Notice: Reported as held from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM on legal, real estate, and public security matters with the specified officials present.