Mayor's Update: October 20

Dear Friends, We received some great news this week. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will extend the season when bay dredging is permitted. A requirement for work to stop in the fall is being changed to March 1, allowing for an additional three to five months each year for residents and the city to clear shallow channels, lagoons and boat slips. I want to thank the NJDEP Office of Dredging and Sediment Technology for their work with our consultants, ACT Engineers, to bring relief to residents, property owners, boaters and everybody who uses the bay for recreation. The extension of the dredge season benefits not only Ocean City but all shore communities dealing with the same issue. Ocean City has invested a lot of time, energy and resources in an effort to find long-term solutions for maintaining waterways on the bay. Our work is starting to pay off. The short window between July 1 and November when dredging had previously been permitted was a challenge for bayside dredging operations throughout the state. See news release. At a neighborhood meeting last night at the Ocean City Tabernacle, the city administration outlined the process for residents to conduct private boat slip dredging in Carnival Bayou, Sunny Harbor and South Harbor this fall and winter. If you were unable to attend the meeting, you can see video of the meeting at www.ocnj.us/Capital-Projects-Bay. Owners in these areas interested in making arrangements for dredging of private slips should contact the dredging contractors directly. See contact information . With a citywide permit application pending, with additional capacity in our disposal facility at Site 83 and with news that the dredging season has been extended, Ocean City looks forward to a substantial 2018 dredging program starting July 1. Anybody who is not part of this year’s program can look forward to a spring meeting on next year's program. I’m happy to report good progress on capital improvement projects throughout Ocean City. A pipeline is in place on the beach near Morningside Road, and work to renourish beaches between Seaspray Road and 12^th Street is expected to begin on Monday. Construction crews started work on Monday to rebuild the boardwalk between 10^th Street and 12^th Street and already are making great progress. Hydraulic dredging at Carnival Bayou and mechanical dredging at Sunny Harbor are both underway. A pipeline that will carry dredged material from Carnival Bayou (between W. 16^th Street and W. 17^th Street) now runs to Site 83 (near Roosevelt Boulevard). The line is marked at intervals, but I urge all mariners to use caution in this area. .Finally, a number of drainage, road improvement and utility upgrade projects are in progress. I thank you for your patience during this work. Outlines and updates on ongoing projects are always available at www.ocnj.us/Capital-Projects-Roads-and-Drainage. Warm regards, Jay A. Gillian Mayor