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The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
November 1, 2013
Sides Continue Performing Arts Center Debate
By JOANNE SHRINER
STAFF WRITER
OCEAN CITY – Amid allegations petitioners are using scare tactics and untruths to gain signatures, city officials are warning the public to do their homework and ask questions of those opposing the new Performing Arts Center. Tony Christ, spokesperson for the Ocean City Taxpayers for Social Justice (OCTSJ), received approval last week for a petition singling out opposition against an $8.5 million bond to fund the new Performing Arts Center (PAC) at the Roland E. Powell Convention Center. The PAC is part of a $12.7 bond ordinance. The remaining $4.23 million of the ordinance is dedicated to a roof for the Public Safety Building, a roof for the Service Center Building, a new beach patrol headquarters and an effluent disinfection system at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. All the projects will amortize over a period of 10 years. The PAC project is under contract between the Town of Ocean City and the Maryland Stadium Authority (MSA), which is paying $5.7 million of the auditorium’s costs. The two-story, 1,200-seat auditorium is currently under construction under the auspices on Whiting Turner. Construction began prior to the bond sale because there was a window of opportunity to divide the second-floor ballroom from the project without interfering with convention center tenants and their scheduled events. The town is going to the bond market by the end of the year. In the meantime, Ocean City’s portion of the PAC is being paid for out of fund balance that will be reimbursed by the bond, which will ultimately be paid off by the food and beverage tax. The local sales tax of .5 percent on food and beverages is imposed for the purpose of paying the principal and interest on bonds issued to finance the construction, reconstruction, repair, renovation and equipment of the convention center. By charter, a petition for referendum has 40 days to circulate and must obtain at least 40 percent of the number of voters, who voted in the last election, or 1,226 signatures in this case. The petition’s deadline is Nov. 20. If the required signatures are verified, the bond ordinance pertaining to the PAC can be placed on the next ballot. On Tuesday, Mayor Rick Meehan acknowledged the petition is already making a mark as the town postponed going to the bond market from Nov. 21 to Dec. 5, due to the petition’s deadline. “If the petition is successful in gaining the appropriate amount of SEE PAGE 36
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