OCEAN CITY, Md. - Seven mayors from Delmarva met Thursday in Ocean City to discuss challenges and opportunities for their respective communities.
They spoke on such issues as crime, COVID-19, and major projects that will alter their city or town. But, there was one big challenge that all municipalities shared.
Mayors on the panel included: Mayor Rick Meehan of Ocean City, Md., Mayor Robin Christiansen of Dover, Del., Mayor Stephen Rideout of Cambridge, Md., Commission President Joseph Gardner of Princess Anne, Md., Mayor Jake Day of Salisbury, Md., Mayor Darlene Taylor of Crisfield, Md., and Mayor Stan Mills of Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Amongst the sharing, organizers of Thursday's mayor luncheon say affordable housing is a challenge all communities are facing.
Bill Chambers, president of the Salisbury area Chamber of Commerce said, "All of the mayors expressed their concern for affordable housing. As these communities grow and as their economies grow, we need to try and keep up with basic amenities for our new citizens."
But, Salisbury's Mayor Jake Day says each characteristic to that challenge is a little different.
"Every day the streets are jammed with people trying to get in and out of Salisbury. So, one of the things we've tried to do is respond to that," Day said. "For humanitarian reasons, we're looking at people without a roof over their head, we're looking at homelessness, we're looking at affordability, and we're looking at all these challenges."
Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen echoes the same concern.
"We have an affordable housing shortage in the city," Christiansen said. "One of the things that drives the shortage of housing in our community and high prices of housing in the City of Dover is, the fact that we have the Dover Air Force Base."
According to Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan, Thursday's meeting was something to bring home.
"I think talking about some of the problems that we all face is, we all face some of the same problems," Meehan said. "Listening to and understanding how we are all individually addressing them, is important and something we can all take back to our councils and our communities."
Building a common bond to tackle a growing issue.
