Page 4 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch August 23, 2013 Council Accused Of Slowing City’s Petition Process By JOANNE SHRINER STAFF WRITER DECK PARTY MONDAY, AUGUST 26 KEVIN POOLE & THE GANG ON DECK 5:30 P.M. DJ ROB CEE ON DECK 9:30 P.M. MAYDAY MAYDAY INSIDE 10 P.M. # $3.50 CORONA LIGHTS $3 LEINENKUGEL’S SUMMER SHANDYS $2.75 NATURAL LIGHT CANS $6.75 DECK PARTY PLATTERS BEST PARTY ON A MONDAY ANYWHERE 60th St. In The Bay 410-524-5500 # www.fagers.com OCEAN CITY – Petition organizers opposed to the expansion of paid parking are becoming frustrated with the lengthy verification, accusing the Mayor and City Council this week of foul play and muddying the process. In the spring, the majority of the City Council voted to approve an ordinance that enacted new areas of paid parking to bring in additional revenue and help close a budget gap. New areas chosen included the east side of the Public Safety Parking Lot between 65th and 66th streets, City Hall parking lot, the west side of Philadelphia Avenue between North Division and South 1st streets, 49th Street ocean block, 131st Street from Coastal Highway to Sinepuxent Avenue, and 146th Street ocean block. For months, the ordinance met opposition from Ocean Place Condominium owners on 146th Street, a former councilman and a business owner on 131st Street. Those in opposition came together with the recently organized group of Ocean City Taxpayers for Social Justice (OCTSJ) and began petition efforts to place a referendum on a ballet to question the registered voters if they support the new areas of paid parking. The petition for an ordinance referendum met its deadline on July 31. The petition had to gather 40 percent of the number of voters who voted in the last election in last November, or 1,226 signatures. The OCTSJ announced it had received the sufficient number of signatures and actually turned in excess of 1,700. Upon deadline, the petition was turned into City Clerk Kelly Allmond who reviewed the petition and submitted it to the Board of Elections. The board met on Wednesday to review the petition and verify the signatures. The signatures will only count if the person is a registered Ocean City voter and signatures cannot be duplicated, among several other clerical requirements. The Board of Elections will present the results to the Mayor and City Council next month most likely. If 1,226 signatures are verified, the new areas of paid parking will be put on hold until a special election or the next scheduled municipal election is held at which point voters will weigh in on the issue. If the voters reject the ordinance allowing the new areas of paid parking, they will come to a permanent stop. All will continue as is if voters express support for the new paid parking areas. It is the Mayor and City Council’s discretion to hold a special election prior to the next scheduled municiSEE PAGE 31