Bayside Gazette

Casino funds will aid small business

Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 -0400

The recent announcement that the Maryland Board of Public Works has designated Worcester County one of three fund managers to oversee distribution of casino monies set aside to provide loans to small, minority and woman-owned businesses, is great news for small businesses locally that have had trouble getting traditional loans to expand or modernize in recent years.
Approximately $430,000 in annual loan funding will be available for companies with fewer than 500 employees and revenues averaging less than $35 million over three years. Fifty percent of the funding must be lent to businesses located within a 10-mile radius of Ocean Downs. These monies will be available for up to five years, with a total estimate of more than $2 million to be allocated over that period.
Regardless of which side of the casino fence you sit, this is a real boon to our local economy, as small businesses make up the largest segment of the marketplace, and more importantly provide area residents with the majority of job opportunities.
The influx of new retail and other commercial space in the West Ocean City, Ocean Pines and Berlin areas the past few years has been encouraging, providing more of a year-round job and economic base for the areas outside the resort.
These funds will go a long way in ensuring this progression. Whether it’s helping a business maintain employees through leaner winter months or used to expand product lines and services, the money will be well spent.

EDITORIAL: Wait until MIEMMS reports its findings

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The story on Page 1 this week concerning who did or did not do what at the scene of a Dec. 26 accident at routes 818 and 50 comes after a week of sorting through rumors, speculation and conjecture in search of facts.
Although what was written was documented and double-checked, facts are at a premium at this point, which is why the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems has been asked to look into the situation.
Its panel of reviewers will determine the facts of the case and respond accordingly. That’s as it should be, since any dispute between two community institutions — in this case, town government and the volunteer fire company — is bound to be fraught with emotion and driven by personal opinion.
As is the case in just about any disagreement, people will pick sides and support positions based on who they know and what they want to believe.
That’s much different than waiting to see the hard evidence as collected by dispassionate and impartial investigators. That’s what MIEMSS does and it takes its role of protecting the public very seriously.
There is no need, in other words, to rush to judgment before a judgment has been rendered. MIEMSS will complete its tasks and a report will be issued. Then the public conversation can continue with the facts in hand.

With Main St. filling up with businesses, is Flower St. next?

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:00:00 -0400

The innumerable amount of people walking through the streets of downtown Berlin this season gives a hint at how profitable the area has become for businesses. As Berlin grows, so does the area around it, and thus the search for the next center of prosperity in town begins.

When talks began to institute a major renovation project for Dr. William Henry Park on Flower Street, the community got excited thinking about invigorating what is now not a prosperous area for businesses.

The park will likely feature improvements such as a new basketball court, an additional pavilion and additional landscaping, but people around the community also hope the new park project will bring a special interest to the area surrounding it.

For at least 20 years, community organizers have staged basketball tournaments that routinely brought large crowds to Henry Park. About five years ago, the tournaments stopped because of the community’s waning interest in the event.

When the project is complete, a soccer field could accompany the basketball court and would allow more frequent and larger sports tournaments to be held at the park. Movie nights, in which a large screen would be erected in the park, could be held as well.

When the Henry Park sub-committee met with the Berlin Parks Commission last Wednesday, the discussion briefly turned to the potential for growth there.

If Henry Park turns out to be everything residents using the park were looking for, it could mean this isn’t the last we hear about prosperity on Flower Street.