Council Agenda: Dredging Master Plan, Skate Park Rules, Pickleball Redo

A lagoon without water: Snug Harbor (between Eighth and Ninth street in Ocean City, NJ) at low tide on Friday, June 26. City Council meets 7 p.m. Thursday (July 9) at City Hall in Ocean City, and the council will consider agenda items related to bayside dredging, the new skateboard park under construction and the quest to build permanent Pickleball courts in Ocean City. DREDGING: Council will vote on a 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. Council will consider a separate resolution to hire an engineering firm (ACT Engineering Inc. of Robbinsville) 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. Short-term strategies could involve separate bidding for work at Snug Harbor and near the Ninth Street Bridge (using a small disposal site under the bridge). Read more: Mayor Assures O.C. Boaters of Commitment to Dredging The bowl of a skateboard park under construction near the Ocean City Fire Department is taking shape and on target to be complete sometime in August. SKATE PARK: City Council will vote to establish rules for the skateboard park under construction on the 500 block of Asbury Avenue and to designate it as an "unsupervised facility." Proposed rules are:

1. Skate Park will be open daily from 9:00 am to dusk (weather permitting).

2. Skate Park will be closed during inclement weather and/or when equipment is damaged or wet or for routine maintenance.

3. The following protective equipment is required to be used while skating: helmet, elbow pads, knee pads.

4. Use of personally owned ramps, boxes, rails or other similar items is prohibited.

5. Use of alcohol and tobacco products is prohibited.

6. Skate Park is for skating. Bikes and scooters are prohibited.

7. No amplified sound is permitted except by permit.

8. Parental supervision for inexperienced skaters and those less than 12 years of age 1s strongly recommended.

9. No food or glass containers are permitted in the skate park.

10. Unsafe conditions should be reported to the City of Ocean City, Department of Community Services.

11. Skating is prohibited on the adjacent parking lots, sidewalks and streets.

12. Proper behavior is required at all times. Abusive, profane language or aggressive behavior will not be tolerated.

13. Rules violations will result in suspension of skating privileges.

In a memo to council, Mayor's Assistant Mike Dattilo said "guidelines for skate parks require the governing body to determine by resolution if the facility will be supervised or unsupervised." "In this regard, 'supervised' means there is an attendant during all open hours actively monitoring the use of the park. 'Unsupervised' does not mean that the park will be completely unmonitored," Dattilo said. "To the contrary, the park and its users will be checked frequently by members of the Police Department, Community Services Department and others." Read more: Skate Park Progresses With Spray of Concrete PICKLEBALL: Council will vote 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 likely will include an update on a new to plan to build the Pickleball courts. Read more: Pickleball players Rally for Permanent Home in Ocean City See complete Agenda Packet for the July 9 City Council meeting.