Randy’s Rentals beach gear stand sits on the beach between 57th and 59th streets earlier this summer. The stand operator, Frank “Randy” Dougherty, was behind on his monthly payments to the city and failed to make them up, resulting in a loss of the franchise and debarment.

Randy’s Rentals beach gear stand sits on the beach between 57th and 59th streets earlier this summer. The stand operator, Frank “Randy” Dougherty, was behind on his monthly payments to the city and failed to make them up, resulting in a loss of the franchise and debarment.

A midtown beach stand parcel will join 14 south-end spots for auction this year after the franchisee failed to come through with overdue payments.

Frank “Randy” Dougherty, the owner and proprietor of Randy’s Rentals beach gear stand, came to a council meeting in August asking for more time to pay the fees on his franchise at 57th, 58th and 59th streets. He was already behind and asked for retroactive 30-day extensions for missing payments in July and August.

Dougherty cited a combination of bad weather, high gas prices and overall inflation for the inability to pay only $6,000 of the total $10,000 payment for the summer.

Council members graciously granted the extensions with no penalties and allowed Dougherty to continue operating the stand.

But a little more than a month later, Dougherty emailed City Clerk Diana Chavis and said he had to leave Ocean City a few days after the August council meeting to attend to a family emergency. He said in the email that he hired someone to run his stand, but failed to make enough money to pay what he owed. He also said he tried to sell his beach equipment, to no avail.

The situation led to council voting on Tuesday to terminate the franchise, debar Dougherty, and to refer collection of the money he owes to the city solicitor.

“I recall specifically Mr. Dougherty coming in and the council having a rather interesting discussion about this and I truly, truly, really hoped that he would have been able to come through on his end of the deal,” Councilman Mark Paddack said Tuesday. “… As the town, we want to help out as much as we can but when you renege on a contract, it’s time to move on.”

Dougherty bid the three-year contract in late 2020 for $10,000. He said in August that he made $200 to $300 on an average day in 2021. But at the beginning of this summer, he fell short, which pushed him behind on his monthly payments.

Chavis said the city is out $14,000 — $4,000 for this year and $10,000 for next year’s contract — with Dougherty’s non-payment.

Council members also voted Tuesday to add the last year of the franchise agreement for 57th to 59th streets to the 14 parcels from the inlet to 27th Street that will be auctioned off in December. Altogether, 34 parcels make up the southern section, 20 of which are first-year contracts set for renewal for a second year.

Ocean City has a total of 70 beach franchise agreements spanning the length of the resort from the inlet to 146th Street for a total more than $1.324 million. The agreements give the companies that hold them autonomy to sell beach umbrellas, chairs and cabanas in the specified areas, and are granted through a competitive bid process. The beach is divided into three franchise sections, south end, midtown and north end. The contracts are staggered and bid out for three years each.

Each franchise has a unique cost, with the lowest agreements at $500, and the highest at $60,000.

Chavis has said the contract for the 57th to 59th Street franchise typically goes for $10,000 or more. While Dougherty’s agreement for this year was $10,000, his neighbor from 60th to 62nd streets paid almost half at $5,500. And while the neighbor to the south from 54th to 56th pays $11,000, others nearby pay in the low- to mid-thousands.

A combination of bad weather, high gas prices and overall inflation have taken a major toll on beach gear rentals between 57th and 59th streets this summer.

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