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City Council will vote on Thursday on a measure that could provide a new home for American Legion Post 524 on city property at the corner of 46th Street and West Avenue.
Proposed site for a new American Legion post at the corner of 46th Street and West Avenue in Ocean City, NJ.
Council will consider the first reading of an ordinance that would authorize leasing the land to the Legion for $1 a year.
The vacant lot is adjacent to an Ocean City Fire Department station and is used to store construction materials and vehicles.
The American Legion Morvay-Miley Post in Ocean City currently leases space at 3304 Bay Avenue from Cape May County. But with 355 American Legion members, 100 members of the Sons of the American Legion and another 100 members of the Auxiliary, the veterans organization needs more space, according to Post Commander Bob Marzulli.
If the ordinance were to pass, the group would be responsible for constructing a new post, Marzulli said.
"State law permits municipalities to lease land which is not needed for public use to a non-profit corporation for a public purpose," City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson writes in a memo to City Council.
The use of the leased 70-by-100-foot lot would be restricted to "the housing, recreation, education or health care of veterans of any war of the United States," she said.
"The lease will permit the post to build a structure on the property," she said. "The city will have input as to the design of the building, and will take the site plan to the Planning Board for its review."
The City Council meeting on Thursday is open to the public and starts at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall. Council is expected to go into a closed executive session to discuss commission appointments and resume the public portion of the meeting at approximately 7 p.m.
