SNOW HILL Hoping to eventu-
ally break even, the Recreation and
Parks Department will be reducing
financial aid offered and adding new
non-program fees.
Although never a profitable de-
partment for Worcester, Director
Paige Hurley is optimistic that it
might be able to switch from red to
black ink in the near future.
To facilitate that, the department
will be establishing a firm 60-per-
cent maximum financial aid policy.
Currently, the amount of aid offered
varies but can be high. While it's
great for residents, Hurley pointed
out that it is bleeding his depart-
ment.
"However, after completing a
cost analysis on our financial aid
pricing that is given to those youth
participants who show a demon-
strated need, we would like to
increase the percentage that the
participant must cover to 40-percent
of the initial program cost," Hurley
said. "Last year alone, the depart-
ment lost $14,700 in revenue due to
the financial aid pricing. Also, after
speaking with the other Recreation
Departments in Maryland, no one
provides a discount lower than 50-
percent off the original program
price. Even with this increase, our
programs will still be offered at a
reasonable price for all citizens."
In addition to that change, Hurley
proposed several non-program fees
for things like field set-up and tour-
naments.
Cost to host a private tournament
will increase by $25, meaning a total
cost of $125 for residents and $150
for non-residents.
For municipal tournaments, a
new fee of $200 per field rental per
day will be put in place.
Hurley noted there has not been
a separate fee for municipal tourna-
ments in the past, instead using the
private fee rate, but the department
has lost money hosting large
events.
"Through our partnership with
Wicomico County to help host the
USSSA World Series, we have de-
termined that the fee is not covering
all of our expenses for this multiple
day, labor intensive tournament," "
he wrote in a memo to the County
Commission.
Finally, a set-up fee will be imple-
mented for softball/baseball fields
and multi-purpose fields, $5 and
$25, respectively.
Commissioner Judy Boggs ask-
ed if the changes will "bring us to
equal" or if money will still be lost.
"There will still be a loss because
we don't want to go really significant
on the burden to the people," said
Hurley.
However, the new fees plus fu-
ture fundraising efforts could bring
the department closer to a zero bal-
ance.
County Rec Proposes Fee Changes
WEST OCEAN CITY A chal-
lenge to a variance for a 190-foot
pier over private and state-owned
wetlands in West Ocean City was
allowed to continue this week when
a Worcester County Circuit Court
judge denied a motion to dismiss
the petition.
In November, the Assateague
Coastal Trust (ACT) filed a petition
for judicial review in Worcester
County Circuit Court to appeal a
BZA decision to grant a variance for
the construction of a 190-foot ele-
vated walkway over private and
state-owned wetlands adjacent to
Old Bridge Road in West Ocean
City.In October, the BZA granted an
Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area
variance for the project prompting
ACT to challenge the ruling citing a
dangerous precedent it could set.
The property owner, through his
attorney, promptly filed a motion to
dismiss the petition for judicial re-
view for lack of standing.
However, on Tuesday, a Wor-
cester County Circuit Court judge
denied the motion to dismiss, es-
sentially ruling the challenge has
merit and allowing it to proceed to
judicial review.
A hearing has been set for April
16 in Circuit Court to review the
challenge.
ACT challenged the BZA ruling
allowing the variance of the con-
struction of the pier and walkway
over the wetlands. Essentially, ACT
is asserting the BZA overstepped its
bounds in terms of the Critical Area
variance.
"The BZA, in its written opinion,
has failed to meet the criteria man-
dated by law in the granting of a
Critical Area variance," said ACT
Executive Director and Assateague
Coastkeeper Kathy Phillips. "This
variance sets a dangerous prece-
dent not only for further impacts to
this beautiful and still vibrant marsh
that is now surrounded on three
sides by development, but the lan-
guage in the BZA Findings of Fact
on this particular case could threat-
en the remaining wetlands and
marshes within the Critical Area
throughout Worcester County with
greater development."
The BZA has the authority to
grant variances from state and
county critical areas laws if certain
criteria are met. However, attorney
Robin Cockey, who is representing
ACT in the case, said the county
board did not meet the standard
when it granted the variance, es-
sentially taking the teeth out of state
and local critical areas laws.
"This case just doesn't meet the
standards for a variance," he said.
"If the rationale in this case were
applied generally, everybody'd get a
variance, everybody'd build a long
pier, and the law would become
meaningless."
Pier Variance Challenge Advances
Page 20
January 24, 2014
The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
By TRAVIS BROWN
STAFF WRITER
By SHAWN J. SOPER
NEWS EDITOR