Dear Friends,
I want to invite you all to a town hall meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 26, at the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center to hear plans for our third major neighborhood drainage project. Representatives of Michael Baker International Company will be on hand to discuss a design proposal for road and drainage improvements in the area from First Street to Eighth Street between West Avenue and the bay.
Everybody is encouraged to attend to learn more about the project and the anticipated schedule. Like the completed project in Merion Park and the ongoing project in the Fourth Ward, this north end project will involve replacing and increasing the capacity of an antiquated storm drain system and using pumping stations to improve the rate of drainage. The work will take advantage of a $5 million FEMA grant, the largest in the city’s history. I look forward to seeing you all there and hearing your questions about the work, and I anticipate a vastly improved quality of life for the residents of this neighborhood once the project is complete. The Senior Center is located within the Ocean City Community Center at 18th Street and Simpson Avenue.
You’re all invited to Ocean City Fire Department Station No. 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 16. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will celebrate the completion of the rebuilt station at 29th Street and West Avenue. The event will include children’s activities, food and refreshments, and an opportunity to tour the station and meet your local firefighters.
I also want to let you know about the annual meeting sponsored by Bike OCNJ. The group advocates for safe bicycle routes in Ocean City, and each year they invite the public to learn more about existing amenities and planned improvements and to share ideas about how to make Ocean City more bicycle-friendly. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 23, at the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center.
The Ocean City Tourism Development Commission in conjunction with the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce recently introduced a new smartphone app that includes all the latest information on weather, events, shopping, eating and enjoying everything in Ocean City. The app is a great tool to keep up on all the latest information. Search “Ocean City Vacation” for the free app and look for the dark-blue OCNJ icon.
I want to congratulate Nicholas Theis of Boy Scout Troop No. 32 for his Eagle Scout project. Last weekend, I helped him celebrate the launch of a new program that provides life jackets on loan to boaters. It’s a program for those who forgot their life jackets or whose children have outgrown their old ones. Theis worked with Flotilla 81 of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary to make the loaner jackets available seasonally at 10th Street and the bay. For further information, please contact Robert Babezki at 609-384-6225 or send him an e-mail at rbabezki@uscgaux-ocnj.org.
The Auxiliary’s final boating safety class of the season starts tomorrow morning at St. Peter’s United Methodist Church. Call 609-399-4299 for more information.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Warm regards,
Jay A. Gillian
Mayor
