Spotlight Put On ‘Silent Giants’ At OC Open House

OCEAN CITY -- Residents and visitors are invited to start off the New Year with a visit to the Ocean City Mayor and City Council's 17th Annual Open House, scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. on New Year's Day at City Hall, located at 3rd St. and Baltimore Avenue.

The Mayor and City Council’s Open House, which has been a community tradition since 1997, offers a different theme each year. This year's theme focuses on the "The Silent Giants: The men and women of the Public Works Department.”

Mayors and City Council members, both past and present, are invited to attend and will be on hand to greet visitors to the Open House. Once inside, visitors can view the pictorial history of Ocean City displayed throughout the halls of City Hall. Outside the festively decorated City Hall, the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Department will have equipment on display and also back by popular community demand will be the mounted police and canine units of the Ocean City Police Department.

"The Open House offers the perfect opportunity for our citizens to visit City Hall and meet with the elected officials that have served over the years," commented Mayor Rick Meehan. “It is also a great opportunity for us to highlight one of our outstanding departments. This year, who better to feature than our Public Works Department, who demonstrated their hard work and dedication to the Town of Ocean City during Hurricane Sandy.”

The Public Works Department covers the areas of administration, aviation, construction, maintenance, service center, solid waste, transportation, wastewater and water. Consisting of 200 full-time staff members, the Public Works Department expands seasonally with the hiring of over 300 additional seasonal staff members.

“The hard work of the Public Works employees is critical in the ability of the Town of Ocean City to provide residents and visitors with the highest level of service, cleanliness, and responsiveness possible,” said Meehan. “This year’s Open House is a great opportunity for us to showcase their commitment and thank them for their service.”

The Open House also offers storytelling sessions and this year will feature many of the Public Works employees, including Director of Public Works Hal Adkins, Deputy Directors Jim Parsons and Dick Malone, Superintendent of Transportation George Thornes and Airport Manager Jamie Giandomenico. A complete schedule of storytellers will be available the day of the event. Entertainment by Bryan Russo and light refreshments will also be provided for visitors.