Five Things to Know About City Council's Thursday Agenda

City Council has a full agenda (see attached PDF) it will consider at its regular public meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 14, in Council Chambers on the third floor of . But here are five things that might be of special interest:

• The City Council meeting is scheduled an hour and a half earlier than usual, and the first thing on the agenda is a vote to go into closed session to discuss: 1) appointments to the Ethics Board, Shade Tree Committee and Utility Advisory Board, and 2) a collective bargaining agreement with the firefighters' union (FMBA, Local 27).
• City Council will vote on the first reading of a revised ordinance that acknowledges the new traffic lights at the intersections of 10th Street and Central Avenue, 14th Street and Central Avenue and Fifth Street and West Avenue — and the removal of "city vehicle parking only" on part of the 800 block of Central Avenue.
• City Council will vote on the first reading of an ordinance that removes businesses on the Ninth Street Gateway (between the Ninth Street Bridge and Asbury Avenue) from the Special Improvement District. The businesses are assessed fees but have complained they reap little benefit from Special Improvement District programs that are often geared toward the downtown shopping district on Asbury Avenue.
• City Council will vote on the first reading of an ordinance that adds 12 parking meters that will be in effect 5 p.m. to midnight (for 25 cents every 15 minutes) near the U.S. Post Office on Ocean Avenue.
• City Council will hear a presentation from the Ocean City Tourism Commission and later consider a "routine" resolution authorizing a contract with the law office of Douglas K. Walker for services as public defender for the City of Ocean City. Walker was the subject of debate when his contract was renewed last spring. He made a contribution to former Mayor Sal Perillo's 2006 election campaign and was later hired as public defender in apparent violation of a local pay-to-play law. At the time, council members said Walker is very good at his job and is extremely accessible to the defendants he serves.