Ocean City Council- Wouldn't it be prudent to have a disaster reserve fund in place to make future emergencies easier and more prompt to deal with?

Steve Ross, property owner

Does any believe that Ocean City will be back to normal for Summer 2013.
I pray for this to become a reality for all .

Recently had 2 rental weeks cancelled on me. Tenants aid they were looking in Sea Isle or Avalon because the beaches south of 50th were badly eroded last year and would be worse this year. Bad for business all around.

avalon and stone harbor have already been granted an add on to their already scheduled beach replenishment for winter/spring 2013. and yet, nothing has been decided for the south end beaches of ocean city. the term beaches used loosely here. what does it take to get this done? we pay our taxes just like the rest of this island, but our beaches are continually left bare. nice to know we have the money for other projects, but protecting the homes from 50-59th streets is not all that important. we had a problem before the storm. the city knew it, and now NOTHING is being done.

There were also funds "diverted" from money set aside for the South End beaches a couple of years ago to augment the dune rebuilding and replenishment in the North End. Was that ever replaced? The idea that the sand pumped north of 14th St. would work its way down hasn't worked. It's created a bulge in the middle of the island and has made erosion in the south even worse. Unfortunately my guess is we have the highest concentration of second home owners. True taxation without representation!

It is true that the south end of Ocean City is used and abused. They use our tax dollars and ignore us. When a couple of Ocean City locals decided to take the wetlands in the south end for a tourist attraction at Crook Horn Creek and a bike path for their little hobby, we had to fight hard to keep that from happening and we will have to continue fighting because they are very used to getting their way in Ocean City. Yes - 2nd homeowners are treated very badly in Ocean City. They take our tax dollars, try to take our protective wetlands every chance they get and then let us blow in the wind. Our beaches have been eroded and getting smaller and smaller for years now. Nobody in the south end is a member of the "club" the Ocean City insiders club and that is also why we never get the proper attention.

What has been the experience of others with ServPro in the storm clean up in terms of sticking to their estimates?

Year round, local, 2nd home- we own in the southend, we are all "southenders". we all will be without a beach. we all will have homes in jeopardy from the lack of dune systems. i go to each council meeting and ask again and again, what is being done. i have called over and over for the past three years, telling oc we have a significant problem. many of us have written state and local officials. sooner or later, we all have to stand up and say enough. the south end is treated like the "poor step sister". it would be great to see 100's of "southenders" at the next council meeting.

No there are not only a couple of south end locals - the bike path people were not even from the very south end - they wanted to take the wetlands in the south end and turn them into a tourist attraction. The south end needs the wetlands as much as the dunes. The south end needs all the protection the wetlands and dunes can provide because it is so narrow and low. I agree that 100s of southenders should go to the council meetings, but then you have coucilmen like Keith Hartzell who publicly disparage those who speak at council if he doesn't agree. No wonder more people do not speak up at council with guys like Harzell there to insult and publicly disparage those who dare to speak up. Too bad the town is run by people like him who base all their decisions on how many votes they will get in the next election, not what is best for the town. Too bad council is made up of such lightweights - empty suits for the most part who snuggle up with the little insiders club and count their votes in the next election. These guys best wake up - the environment needs protection but it mainly needs protection from THEM!

Janice, don't worry about Hartzell. He's nothing short of a blow hard that likes to talk just to hear himself talk. If, and when, Hartzell choses to be rude to an individual, may I suggest you just gve it right back to him. The only important to him is getting his picture in the paper and partying. Seriously, the majority of locals don't even know who the people "really" are that they are voting for. Players, partyers, etc. As far as all of our tax dollars go, well, it looks like it goes to support their obnoxious salaries, benefits (even to those already employed). I'm afraid it's politics as usual. You can't get around it. Second home owners make up the majority of the tax base. Yet, they have absolutely no vote and definitely no rights. Screw the politicians by simply not shopping at any store where they own the building, using their services, buying products from shop keepers on council. That's how you get even. Personally, when I go to OC, I literally ship everything including shampoo. PS Remember, Janice, Hartzell is a toilet paper salesman. So, obviously he's in the right field. Full of crap and selling the right product suited to her personality. He's just a bully so give it back to him.

Southend Residents- Go to southendbeach.com. Once there send an email for more info.

Also Jan Thomas oprah the cb and cb1 and look who signed off on it! Mayor Perillo refused to sign it! The signatures are Keith Hartzell and Scott Ping!! Now they are running backwards in there shoes!!