At The Beach – Ocean City Maryland

This past week, sunshine gave way to overcast skies and eventually the remnants of Ida met with other weather presence and brought what is called a Nor Easter up the Atlantic Coast … affecting coastal Assateague Island, Ocean City Md and the Coastal Delaware communities including Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach and Lewes Delaware before continuing further north.

The extremely HIGH WINDS which prevailed for 2 to 3 days caused severe beach erosion and Dune Damage as well as damage to many oceanfront boardwalk ways to townhomes and condos. Damage otherwise was light and limited to minor sign and roof shingle type damage. Winds were at a constant 50 MPH plus / minus for 2 days and gusting to I am sure over 70 MPH in bursts here and there.

This picture illustrates the damage to the dunes, as it seems that some 50 percent of the dunes were gone after the storm left the area. All dune cross overs are 50 percent destroyed as are the components and fencing that surrounded them. I am sure the Corp of Engineers and others will have their work cut out for them to repair the coastal storm damage before the spring of 2010. let us hope we do not have another such storm before as the weakened dunes are rather now minimized in their protective value by 50 percent is my guess!

It was mostly a hunker in several days for everyone at the beach. Everyone is safe and ok for sure .. ( just glad to be able to get out and enjoy some sunshine today) .. I did manage to get down to the beach areas Saturday (yesterday the 14th of Nov 2009) and took photos. The photos mostly taken from 142nd and 146th St Ocean City MD and South Oceanfront area of Fenwick Island, DE and the Fenwick Island State Park just north of Fenwick Island DE. At the Fenwick Island State Park I encountered a young weak appearing Red Fox .. The poor guy .. I have put up a photo gallery of my activities and you can view them on our photo gallery site http://gallery.atbeach.com/gallery.php?gid=10

During my tour i also took a 2 minute long video which will give you a fairly good idea of the experience of walking the beach after a major wave and wind event at the beach!
CLICK HERE Nor Easter Storm Ocean City Md and Coastal Delaware Nov 12 and 13 2009

As always, there is live weather data streaming from our weather stations At The Beach in Ocean City MD Weather at 127th St on the Ocean in Ocean City MD and Weather from the Bethany Fenwick Island Chamber OF Commerce Building just north of Fenwick Island Delaware.

The weather forecast for the coming week is looking GREAT! Sunshine and temperatures above 60 degrees .. SO . squeeze in a 2 or 3 day getaway this week before winter sets in. Enjoy ” Cheap Ocean City MD Hotel Rates .. click here .. …

See ya ! .. later .. / dan

1. The Strategic Goal – Find a quality professional golf course near Ocean City Md.
2. The Economic Goal – Find a pro golf course with economical rates and yet close to Ocean City MD

Deer Run Golf Course meets the above goals .. .. Deer Run Golf Course is a mature golf course just 15 minutes drive from Ocean City MD and offering course rates for the budget minded golfer and family. CLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE MAP LOCATION of Deer Run Golf Course – Berlin Maryland

While I’m not a golfer (at least not for the past 40 years), I had occasion to take two foreign interns from France to the course. Neither of them had any previous golf experience. My function was limited to driving the golf cart and pointing us towards the next hole and keeping score (I quickly abandoned keeping score cards however as we decided that “multiple mulligans would be allowed)

We started the students off on the ” practice driving range ” .. they hit a bucket of balls with drivers and irons to get some “method” to their swing. After 10 or so balls they began to get the motion down and cheering with glee when the ball went straight out into the range. We then moved over to the practice putting green and practiced for 15 minutes putting golf balls into the “hole” ..

Now we were ready to begin the challenge on the 1st of the 9 planned hole golf outing. We were situated into a golf cart, I was given proper driving instructions and the golf cart was loaded with 2 golf bags, bottled water, digital camera and of course score cards/pencils and 2 wanna be golfers. Our cart guy ” Nick ” took care of bringing the cart out to us and was quite helpfull, friendly and pleasant (16 years old) ..

We anxiously set up on the first tee! .. It was crunch time and now the experience begins! Swing – MISS – Swing – Miss – and more of that .. FINALLY both Tristan and Dalya hit the ball and got it airborne .. From there we scurried to the balls and more HIT AND MISS swings and finally again success and the little white balls began their journey to the 1st hole! It was fun and surely a challenge for a beginner on a golf course.

This post ( article ) will be continued soon .. in the meantime .. you can enter to win a FREE ROUND OF GOLF at Deer Run Golf Course .. monthly drawing for Deer Run Golf Course Ocean City MD – click here to enter!

Assateague Island National Seashore – just 20 minutes drive from Ocean City MD – A return visit this spring was enlightening and somewhat of a welcome adventure from the past winter doldrums! Those of you who are visiting Ocean City MD should try to include this as a daytrip which can be completed in about 4 to 6 hours or longer if you wish! ( Oh! bring the kids and teens ) as they will love it if they understand and can learn more about our environment and continue to gain an appreciation for the wonders about us! The National Park Service has several FREE entry periods during the summer so take advantage of this and avoid the $15 entry (per car) fee. http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm. Senior Citizens (Over 62 years of age) qualify and can register for a FREE PASS card (with a one time $10 fee) at the Parks providing free entry ANYTIME to any of the Federal Parks in the USA. http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm.

[During our visit on June 2, 2009 to the Assateague National Seashore Park, we found an abundance of photo opportunities of Deer and Assateague Horses ( Ponies ) .. It sort of began with a feeding Deer as we drove down the road towards the entry to the National Park Area .. A Deer feeding on the succulent leaves along the roadside. We stopped and took a photo from the car. The deer just sort of looked at us wondering what we were up to! Be very quiet however with little or no movement as the deer will vanish in a second if they are concerned about you or your encounter on their world!

We passed through the ENTRY GATE of the National Seashore Park - display my senior citizen pass to gain free entry (normally $20 for a pass - good for 7 days) .. and our first stop was at the "Life of the Marsh Trail" - a 1/2 mile loop out over the marshy grasses and water! There are "Placard" stands along the walk explaining about the various types of "creatures" and "plant growth" that inhabit or grow in the marsh areas, such as crabs, minnows, marsh birds, herons, egrets, etc..

Two Seagulls were perched on a railing and enjoying the view on this hot day! They were quite reluctant to fly away until we were within 10 feet of them. We really didn’t want to disturb them but had to walk past them to proceed on the trail. Off they flew when we went past , and they quickly returned to their perch once we were beyond them and further along the trail.

About 1/2 way through the trail, there is an overlook with quite a spectacular view of the Chincoteague Bay! There is a bench at the top to take a rest, or just simply enjoy the fresh breezes coming across the water. On one side is a down ramp set of stairs that leads to the bay itself and you can get your feet wet there, as seen here in the picture of one of the students “Olga” who accompanied us on this Assategue Island Tour Day.

So – onward we walked to finish the loop and return to our car in the parking lot. After retrieving us a cold soda from the beverage cooler in the trunk, we drove on to the next adventure, BAYSIDE drive, which leads to a parking lot bordering on the Bay, with Porta Potties, rental canoes and kayaks, and a bulkhead and walk over bridge for crabbing.

There were quite a few parents with children crabbing from the dock area there. We were VERY surprised to see a family of Assateague Ponies just across the bridge. 4 or so adult and one baby pony! We walked over the small bridge leading to an smaller island in the marsh to get closer to the Assateague Ponies.

We quickly realized that in the small group of horses was a small pony (foal) probably not more than a few weeks old. Eventually we managed to approach the entire group and get closer to the small “newborn”. To our amazement, the adult horses simply ignored us and keep feeding on the marsh grasses as we slowly approached the small baby pony. I was accompanied by two international students from Russia ” Olga and Irina ” and they, as well as myself were delighted and excited to be so close to a natural setting. The girls wanted to see if they could “pet” the newborn foal and kept inching closer to it.

Sucess – to our surprise .. The girls were able to walk directly up to the baby Foal and pet it while the adult horses continued on with their feeding. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE 5 MINUTE VIDEO OF ASSATEAGUE Horses June 2009.

Visiting Ocean City Md for a vacation or family get away – don’t forget natures bounty is just a 45 minute drive away . Great Vacation Rentals are found on At The Beach – Ocean City Md. As always – ” best rate guaranteed ” Ocean City MD hotel reservations are available on At The Beach here:

The mix of economic issues looming for Ocean City Md is very REAL! Real Estate Property assessments increased significantly during the “speculation and development” boom a few years ago. This resulted in significant property tax increases for real estate property owners (Both Business properties and residential), creating hardship for local residents and increased operating expenses for business owners and those who have a 2nd home Condo and rent it out. Increased operating expenses require increases in prices to be charged the “visiting vacationers” … pretty well across the board.

This tax increase produced significant increases in revenue for Ocean City MD – in fact, a windfall! How did they spend that money??? Apparently it indeed was committed to more expenditures. Unfortunately, we are now in the midst of and possibly the beginning of future declines in revenue for the City due to the recession and declining real estate property tax revenues. The city now potentially faces a multi-million dollar budget deficit and must cut operating expenses or increase taxes. Let us hope the ENTIRE council puts the brakes on any NEW expenditures of any kind during this period until the economic trend is upward again.

If they increase property taxes AGAIN – the result will allow them to possibly balance their budget, but at the expense of Tourism, Local Residents, Absentee 2nd home property owners and all local Businesses. Let us hope that the entire city council realizes the pending need to reduce expenditures severely, possibly even to furloughing employees and reduction of staff(s). Look what happened to General Motors with the substantial labor costs and benefits they were having to sustain in a competitive market. Now they will ultimately have to cut back employee wages and benefits in order to be competitive or face extinction.

More taxation means businesses and condo rental owners must increase their prices AGAIN. Property Tax increases also would continue to dampen Real Estate Sales. This means that Ocean City MD becomes less affordable for vacationers in a time when they are seeking bargains and good vacation experiences for their reasonable vacation budget. So – The rationale is then (To the City Council) .. don’t increase property taxes – but rather “GET REAL” and put away your now slim city wallet and go on a serious diet! .. To even think about 5 million for a renovated Arts Center is insane in this economic climate! A renovated Arts center surely will cost MUCH MORE than it’s proponents say it’s economic benefits will be. It’s unfortunate that a vast majority of Ocean City MD property owners are absentee and have no voting rights or representation. Possibly the balance of representation would then put absentee property owners on an equal representation basis with the overly tourist minded council members elected by local interests.

The City Manager and Council need to scrutinize every city department for expense cuts – wages, benefits, inefficiency, needless overtime, etc.. – There are certainly many unneeded expenses, overstaffing or methods of operation which need to be reviewed and changed, so as to become more efficient resulting in and at a lower cost(s)! Certainly the wages and benefits paid to our city employees are OVER THE TOP! The State of Maryland just mandated a 5 day furlough for it’s employees covering the next few months (without pay) .. Ocean City MD may have to seriously think of similar cost saving means.

Worcester County MD appears to have gone on a strict diet and realizes that this is essential to maintain a budget without increased taxation. Even the purchase of a new lawnmower is deemed unnecessary during these stressful times. In September 2008, all County departments were asked to put aside their current operating budgets to be used next year. Since then, the Worcester county commissioners have announced next year’s budget will be 3 percent less than this year and have enforced a hiring freeze and denied any salary increases.

I often wonder what our full time city employees do during the winter? There is virtually nothing going on! During the summer it’s certainly understandable when the Town of Ocean City Maryland is full of vacationers that a full compliment of services and staff are necessary. Many local private businesses in Ocean City MD are struggling – They must layoff or simply let go employees when the lack of customers no longer require them to service needs. Those that own condos and rent them out depend on that rental income. It forces them also to try to recover that extra expense with increased rental rates. To even think about an increase in property taxes would have a negative effect. It’s TIME for the Town Of Ocean City Md to get out the “carving knife” and continue to trim the FAT!

UPDATE: Jan 26th, 2009 – Ocean City Maryland Town Council Meeting
The Council and City Manager continue the huge task of cutting expenses while staying trying to stay away from any thoughts of raising taxes or reducing services. This is a challenging task!

City revenue forecast does not look positive but rather indicates significant decreases in revenue in the current and future years! Let us pray and hope that city employee wages and benefit costs are scrutinized and adjusted to balance the budget! Taxpayers have already been burdened by huge tax increases over the past few years .. We hope that the City does not consider raising taxes as an option!

It should be noted that MANY towns, cities and communities in the USA are facing similar decisions. It is indeed a challenging time to serve as a public elected official for sure. We surely appreciate their time, effort and visions. Public input however is essential for elected town or city officials to hear and visualize others viewpoints and concerns.

UPDATE: FEB 15, 2009
HEADS UP to TAXPAYERS OF OCEAN CITY MARYLAND
The most recent Ocean City MD council meetings suggest that additional expense reductions are being made. It is evident that there is more “fat” to be cut from the city budget to balance it for the 2009 year. City Employees and the Fraternal Order of Police and Fire Depts hae apparently elected to forego their Cost of Living Increases also.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, with the future looking like tax revenues will likely continue to decline in the coming few years, more hatchet work will be necessary. Tax rates cannot be increased as they are already causing a detrimental effect on other facets of the local economy and of home / property / business property ownership in Ocean City MD. Our city, fire and police wages and benefits package is EXTREMELY HIGH already and composes a major percentage of the total budget. The city wage and benefits structure sort of resembles circumstances faced by General Motors. Huge wage costs and benefits and dwindling revenues!!!!!! Annual adjustments and retirement benefits will continue to cause upward increases in costs to the city to efficiently serve the taxpayers. How did this happen??? Why ??? What can be done to “retract” and reduce city wage and benefits packages?? Here is an interesting article published Jan 22, 2009 in FORBES MAGAZINE about PUBLIC SECTOR WAGES compared to private sector and the cause and effect of HIGH PUBLIC SECTOR WAGES! This link provides relative information relating to wages and benefits across the USA for CITY MANAGERS. “city managers salary survey”

And LAST but not LEAST . a link to another FORBES ARTICLE “When City Hall Goes BUST! —— Could this happen to Ocean City Md in 5 years?

Stay Tuned!!!

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Should you travel to Ocean City Maryland for a weekend get-a-way – you will find the Best Ocean City MD Hotel Rates here! ( Guaranteed )

If you wish to RENT a condo during the summer for a vacation .. click here and visit our Vacation Rentals Ocean City Md and Coastal Delaware including Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach Delaware to help you get started.

Cheers ! Here is to a Healthy and we hope Prosperous New Year 2009.

It’s election time for the Town of Ocean City Md city council representatives. In a day or two we shall know who shall represent the taxpayers (well – those that reside here – not those that own 2nd homes here and have their primary residence elsewhere and vote elsewhere) – Enough said for Taxation without representation ..

Ocean City MD is a vacation destination – It’s a well maintained city but only a small “spit” of barrier sand along the Atlantic Coast of the USA – SO.. I surely wish the governing body would push harder to preserve our natural habitat .. minimize overdevelopment in the future – promote green things such as Trees – Bushes – Flowers – Shrubs – etc..

Commercial buildings should be set back further along the highway to provide a more ambient and scenic Coastal Hwy .. Developers should be encouraged or mandated to provide more ever green foliage and ALSO to minimize rain runoff into our storm drains – which only continue to contaminate and polute our bays behind Ocean City Md .. There are ways to make this happen .. but I have not really seen any awareness of this or motivation to address this issue.

The resultant pollution (a thread for another day) continues to impact in a negative way our coastal bays, thereby reducing the wildlife and fisheries .. Read on here to learn more about the Maryland Coastal Bays and Environmental Issues.

Vacationers come to Ocean City MD to enjoy the pristine quality of life, to catch a fish or crab in and around Ocean City MD, and to play in our back coastal bays .. The evironmental condition of the bays continues to be suspect and not really improving in quality as I am aware of. There are surely more things we can do to improve the existing situation.

I would hope the new council representatives could also pursue the purchase of coastal highway properties (now for sale) to preserve and use to increase the amenities and greenery now almost absent in Ocean City MD … .. it may be more productive to invest in our infrastructure and zoning requirements rather than “increase” sales taxes which go toward more advertising (which only have a short term affect) ..

Should you travel to Ocean City Maryland for a weekend get-a-way – you will find the Best Ocean City MD Hotel Rates here! ( Guaranteed )

If you wish to RENT a condo during the summer for a vacation .. click here and visit our Vacation Rentals Ocean City Md and Coastal Delaware including Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach Delaware to help you get started.

Have a comment? Visitors are welcome to register and advance this topic, offer other views, etc.. You MUST FIRST REGISTER, AND A PASSWORD WILL BE EMAILED TO YOU: Simply CLICK HERE to login or CLICK HERE to register so that you may post a comment.

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