Five Things to Know About City Council's Thursday Agenda

City Council has a full agenda its public meeting 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Ocean City Free Public Library, but here are five things that might be of special interest. (See attached PDF for supporting documentation for all agenda items.)

• Beach Replenishment Project Update: Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Environmental Protection will provide an update on ongoing work at the north end of Ocean City. Business Administrator Mike Dattilo told City Council recently that such updates are customary during project work and do not necessarily signal any sort of news or announcement. In a separate agenda item, City Council will consider an ordinance granting the state a perpetual easement to do beach replenishment work on city-owned lots on the beach (the portion of Waverly Blvd. that exists only on paper).
• Bayfront Rehabilitation at 10th Street and Palen Avenue: City Council will hear a presentation on a rehabilitation plan for the 900 block of Palen Avenue on the lots most recently occupied by Dan's Dockside Marina and Seafood. Dan's was the surviving commercial property on a strip that included the iconic Hogate's and Chris' restaurants, but it has been unoccupied and decaying for several years. A separate resolution asks Council to declare the lots an "area in need of rehabilitation," so the city can mitigate environmental risks (underground storage tanks), navigational risks (dilapidated docks) and public safety risks (failing bulkhead).
• Payments for Ocean City Beach Patrol legal costs: City Council will vote on two resolutions approving a combined $55,000 ($21,569 and $33,110) to pay for legal representation for Ocean City Beach Patrol Operations Director Tom Mullineaux. Ethics findings against Mullineaux were dismissed in August by the Ocean City Ethics Board
• $5.8 Million for Capital Improvements. City Council will vote on the second and potentially final reading of an ordinance that is part of an aggressive plan by Mayor Jay Gillian's administration to catch up on neglected infrastructure improvements. It includes $2.9 million to reconstruct various streets and drainage systems, $690,000 for storm repairs to public buildings, $550,000 for dredging bayside lagoons and $1 million to replace city vehicles. The ordinance represents about half of the administration's plan to spend $10 million per year. The ordinance includes $5.5 million in borrowing.
• Special Improvement District Budget: City Council will hold a public hearing before voting on an approximately $260,000 budget for 2013 for the Special Improvement District (the retail section of the Ocean City Boardwalk, the downtown section of Asbury Avenue and the gateway section of Ninth Street). This budget includes money for marketing businesses, beautification and promoting special events, but it does not include funding for a full-time executive director of Main Street Ocean City.