OCEAN CITY — Based on a recommendation from the Police Commission, the Mayor and Council this week approved the painting of a “thin, blue line” along 65th Street in support of the resort’s police officers.
Mayor Rick Meehan said he conceived of the idea after reading an article about a similar effort to support and appreciate police officers in Ocean City, N.J. In that resort town, city officials painted a thin, blue line between double yellow lines in the street in front of the police station.
Meehan first contacted Public Works Director Hal Adkins about the possibility of painting a thin, blue line somewhere in Ocean City in support of police officers. Next, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officials explored potential locations for the thin, blue line and determined from the State Highway Administration (SHA) the line could not be painted on any street or highway owned and maintained by the state.
After considerable debate, it was determined the best location for the line was on 65th Street between Coastal Highway and the Public Safety Building, which houses OCPD headquarters. As a result, the blue line will be painted between the existing double-yellow lines on 65th Street after the Mayor and Council unanimously approved the proposal during Monday night’s meeting.
Councilman Dennis Dare, who now serves as chairman of the Police Commission, said the location was perfect because most OCPD officers and personnel would see it daily along with visitors to the Public Safety Building, the District Court facility and the vast Public Works complex.
“It’s something he [Mayor Rick Meehan] saw in Ocean City, N.J.,” he said. “The Police Commission discussed it and thought it would be beneficial to show our police officers a reminder every day when they come and go to work that the town supports them and appreciates them.”
Councilman Wayne Hartman said on Monday it would be beneficial for the OCPD officers to see the symbolic measure of support each day as they prepare for their shifts and come and go from the Public Safety Building. Hartman said there could be other ways for the town to show its support for its police officers.
“I hope the officers understand we do support them,” he said. “If there is something else we can do to show our support for our police officers, I think we need to do that, especially with the way things are in this country right now.”
