Dear Friends,
At Thursday’s City Council meeting on Jan. 12, I plan to ask Council to delay a vote on a proposed boardwalk performers ordinance. I’m still not confident that we have a working proposal that is right for Ocean City. I don’t want, in any way, to discourage young performers from sharing their talents.
My intent is to address some legitimate concerns raised by boardwalk merchants, and the proposed ordinance was modeled after something that was successful in Atlantic City. But that doesn’t mean it will work here, and the city team and I have taken the time to listen to many performers and merchants. I have asked our team to go back to the drawing board and take the time necessary to draft something that works for everybody. They will continue to work with all stakeholders for input. Thank you in advance for your patience as we work to get this right.
The city last week submitted a Comprehensive Dredge Application to the Department of Environmental Protection and Army Corps of Engineers. The application requests authorization to dredge the island ‘tip-to-tip” and partner with state and federal agencies to address all dredge areas in the back bay of Ocean City to within five feet of the existing bulkheads. The application is one of the first to include areas of public and private responsibility and seeks to provide Ocean City and its property owners a framework to maintain their waterways for the next ten years and beyond. The application also includes a request to extend the use of the haul road, which is currently in use along Roosevelt Boulevard for emptying CDF 83, to assure the city can conduct routine maintenance dredging and recover from future storm events as necessary. The application review process is expected to take 3 to 6 months.
I’d also like to report that the city went out to bid last week for the major road and drainage project in the low-lying area roughly between 26th Street and 34th Street. Work is expected to begin in February or early March. The project will include replacing, reconfiguring and expanding the capacity of a failing storm drain system in that part of town. It also will include the addition of four pumping stations to power a vastly increased drainage rate. The bulk of the drainage and pumping station work will be done by Memorial Day. The city usually stops all road work for the summer, but final paving work is now expected to be complete in July.
I’m excited to know that shovels will be in the ground early in the year for this long-awaited project, and I’m confident that even neighbors beyond the immediate project area will see the benefits. I look forward to seeing the project through and continuing to provide relief to all parts of Ocean City.
Warm regards,
Jay A. Gillian
Mayor
