City Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a contract with an outside expert to design a master plan to dredge Ocean City’s shallow lagoons and channels “from north to south.”
“In our opinion, they are the best,” Mayor Jay Gillian said of ACT Engineering Inc. of Robbinsville, the company that will be charged with prioritizing project areas and digging through red tape.
“We’re very optimistic they’ll be able to navigate regulatory waters,” Gillian said.
The company said it plans to “re-establish navigable waters as soon as possible and to develop a long-term strategy to fund, plan, permit and manage a city dredging program.”
The firm will bill $16,500 to review historic dredge records, surveys and permits. It will provide estimates for developing a short-term 2015-16 plan and long-term master plan by the end of July. The same company was involved in the regulatory process for the Route 52 causeway project.
Read more: Mayor Assures O.C. Boaters of Commitment to Dredging
Council approved a separate resolution to reject all bids from contractors for work dredging Snug Harbor and Carnival Bayou.
The city already is spending $3.6 million to clear space at a disposal site near Roosevelt Boulevard, and the lowest bid for the new dredging came in at another $2.6 million. Work at Snug Harbor and Carnival Bayou could be bid separately under any new plan.
In separate business:
- Street Flooding Between 26th and 34th streets: Business Administrator Jim Mallon reported that city officials met with representatives of Michael Baker International Company last week to discuss recommendations for remediating drainage problems in the low-elevation area bounded by 26th and 34th streets, West Avenue and Bay Avenue. A meeting with property owners in the neighborhood will be scheduled for some time in early August.
- Pickleball Courts: Council voted to reject a bid of more than $600,000 to construct five new Pickleball courts on city property at Shelter Road, to resurface artificial turf tennis courts at the Ocean City Intermediate School and to resurface makeshift Pickleball courts at the school. The bid was more than double what the city had budgeted. The meeting on Thursday included no update on new plans to make good on promises to accommodate both Pickleball and tennis players.
- Third Ward meeting: Third Ward Councilman Tony Wilson (awilson@ocnj.us) asked constituents to email or call with suggested issues to discuss at a Third Ward meeting to be scheduled in the near future.
