Ocean City · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Ocean City public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Fire Prevention Commission Restructuring
The body that appoints the fire marshal, hears fire code appeals and writes the fire code currently consists only of the four volunteer fire chiefs. The restructuring adds the career fire chief as chair, a volunteer deputy chief, and at-large citizen members to make appeals look and feel more neutral.
Board of Supervisors of Elections vacancy filled
With an election a couple months away, the council appointed Bobbie Lynne DaCosta to replace longtime board chair Mary Adeline Bradford, who retired after about 40 years.
Fire department GPS tracking for missing dementia patients
Retiree Andrew Sanderson asked the council to move about $25,000 from the discretionary fund to equip the fire department with GPS tracking devices for at-risk wanderers; the city manager will take the request to the fire department.
State short-term rental fire safety law
A new Maryland law requires evacuation maps, fire extinguishers, interconnected smoke/CO alarms in short-term rentals starting October 2026, and county-level annual inspections by 2028. Ocean City's 9,000 rentals make annual inspection impractical, and the mayor plans to seek an amendment.
Fire Station #4 apron project
Bids for the fire station apron came in far under the $210,000 budget, with the low bid at $58,919.
65th Street Service Center Renovations
The city's maintenance hub is getting renovated under a contract awarded to the lowest of six bidders. Work is funded within the original budget allocation with contingency for unknowns.