Tourism Development Commission Grows by Two

The Ocean City Tourist Development Commission grew by two members Thursday night, albeit two members who won’t have voting rights.

Ocean City Council voted, 6-1, to add two non-voting members to the commission at its meeting Thursday night in City Hall.

The lone dissenting vote came from Councilman Peter Guinosso, who insisted that if there are going to be two new members, they should be voting members and they should have to fill out the proper documentation.

His comments were echoed by citizen Roy Wagner during the public hearing on the ordinance.

“I don’t understand why you need to add two people,” Wagner said. “The five members who are up there are either doing the job or they’re not, and if they’re not, the two new people should just become part of the five.”

Councilman Michael DeVlieger feels the additions are a “step in the right direction.”

“I’ve wrestled with whether or not they should be voting members, but I think more minds can only make things better,” DeVlieger said.

Mayor Jay Gillian pointed to city statute that states there can be no more than five voting members on the commission.

“It has to be five people representing the whole town,” Gillian said. “If I could make them voting members, I would, but I’ve been looking at this a long time, and the statute’s strong on the Tourist Development Commission. I would love to do it, but the law’s the law.”

The rest of council agreed the addition of two people would help, including Council Vice President Michael Allegretto, who is a member of the commission.

“It’s two more people who can report back to the business district,” Allegretto said.

He added that when current members step down and need to be replaced, there would be two instant candidates with knowledge of how the commission works.

“They can apply to be on the commission and be able to make informed decisions,” Allegretto said.

“It’s like a bullpen in baseball,” Council President Anthony Wilson said. “ … The more opinions you get, the more well-rounded the commission is.”

“It’s difficult for five people to have a handle on everything that’s going on,” Councilman Keith Hartzell said. “Having two more people can’t hurt.”

The current commission is made up of Allegretto, Chairperson Chuck Bangle, Recording Secretary Sally Huff, Holly Buck and Roslyn Lifshin.

No names were recommended for the non-voting positions.

The commission next meets Aug. 14, 9 a.m.