Roundtable discussion focuses on federal support for Ocean City business community

OCEAN CITY, Md. – “It is very important that we continue to have those conversations so that when they are interacting on legislative agenda in Washington they are aware of what effects us significantly,” Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lachelle Scarlato.

Friday, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin and members of the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce hosted a roundtable discussion on ways the federal government can help address challenges the local business community is facing.

“It is team Maryland. We work together with the state, with the county, and the municipal governments. Mayor Meehan has been a strong advocate for Ocean City,” Senator Cardin said.

Scarlato says the resort town is a destination spot for J1 workers but the challenge for them has been the growing competition. “There is a dedicated allocation nationally, that number has not increased in quite sometime,” Scarlato said.

“We have to be competitive to get the J1 visas that allow us to have these workers that can come in and do the seasonal work but for that you need to have workforce housing,” Senator Cardin said.

We’re told the focus now is on developing more workforce housing and securing the federal funding to support it. “People have gotten rid of the J1 student housing in favor of doing Airbnb and Vrbo vacation rentals and that’s why we’ve lost some of the housing we had previously,” OC Chamber Of Commerce Joe Wilson said.

Despite those concerns, officials praised efforts to secure funding for beach replenishment and other maintenance that is vital for thriving tourism in the resort town. “If we let the beaches completely wash away, we lose that protective barrier and the infrastructure that’s here, the real estate that’s here,” Worcester County Chief Administrative Officer Weston Young said.

“While we may be small in population of scale compared to some of the larger urban centers, we’re certainly not of less value in what we bring in some of our specific industries to the total picture and equation,” Scarlato said.

The Ocean City Chamber of Commerce says it’s important to work with their federal partners to find viable, long-term solutions to the local housing crisis.

Senator Cardin says efforts to address the national housing crisis will hopefully be apart of the next federal reconciliation bill.