Dear Friends,
A citizen asked about Ocean City’s use of porous pavement at a recent City Council meeting, and I’d like to provide an update. Our road improvement program encourages the use of porous pavement whenever and wherever possible. This material allows water to drain through the pavement surface and into the soils below. Porous pavement has proven to be an effective way to reduce storm water on many streets in town.
Because a porous surface also allows groundwater to travel up through the pavement and flood the surface of a street, use is restricted to certain areas. The material is most effective in areas with elevation and sandy soil. See porous pavement locations in Ocean City . Porous pavement is currently being used for 2017 road projects on St. Charles Place, Park Place and Fourth Street. Reducing runoff in any single area helps reduce flooding in all other areas of town.
Members of my administration team and ACT Engineers will meet tomorrow with members of the Nor’easter Condominium Association to discuss the responsibilities and options for owners to dredge their private boat slips. We’re continuing to work on a simple fact sheet explaining the responsibilities of individual owners, the city and the state when it comes to completing this type of work, and it should be complete next week.
We’re heading into the heart and the heat of summer, and I want to remind you all to pay heed to the local ordinances that are designed to maintain quality of life as more and more summer guests arrive. Our noise ordinance prohibits playing loud music and making other disturbances between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. Dogs are not permitted on the beach at any time. Feeding gulls and other wildlife is illegal. Drinking alcohol on the beach is strictly prohibited. These are rules that have been increasingly ignored over the years, and they will be enforced more rigorously this summer.
Work crews will finish work on the Fourth Ward drainage project on Thursday, June 22, and that should represent the last of the major road work for the summer. We allowed many projects to extend past our usual Memorial Day deadline this year and this disrupted the activities of businesses, residents and guests. I want to thank you again for your patience and understanding as we try to balance getting long-awaited projects done without interrupting our important summer season.
Finally, I want to congratulate the Ocean City High School Class of 2017. They graduated Thursday night in a wonderful ceremony at Carey Stadium. I made the same walk almost 35 years ago and have always been proud to be an OCHS alum and member of the Class of 1983.
Warm regards,
Jay A. Gillian
Mayor
