Mayor's Update: September 1

Dear Friends, Seeing the images of the flooding in Texas this week took me back to October 2012 when Sandy struck Ocean City. Our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected by the recent storm. So many people were so generous in donating their time, money, energy and expertise as Ocean City recovered and rebuilt in the aftermath of Sandy. Now it’s our turn to help. Here are some ways:

• Donate to American Red Cross relief to families impacted by Hurricane Harvey .
• Donate to the Greater Houston Community Foundation .
• Donate toiletries, packaged socks, undershirts and underwear, diapers and cleaning supplies to a donation drive organized by Broadley’s. The local HVAC company will send a second tractor-trailer to Texas on Wednesday (Sept. 6). Drop-off points include: Broadley’s (115 Roosevelt Blvd., Marmora) 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today and Tuesday; Johnson’s Popcorn (on the boardwalk at 14th Street) 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day through Tuesday; JASM Consulting (701 West Ave, Suite 102) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Tuesday. Each location will accept donations through 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

These are just a few of the avenues to provide assistance. I also ask you to remember our experience -- the residents of the flooded areas will continue to need help long after the dramatic images of the storm have faded from the media and our memories. Please keep an eye out for more opportunities to assist with the relief and rebuilding in the coming months and years. Two major drainage projects continue to take shape. The contractor for the Fourth Ward project that began this spring will be back at work on Tuesday. Residents can expect significant disruptions in the coming weeks as crews begin to dig the mid-road trenches that will hold a set of stronger, straighter and bigger drainage pipes. As with all road work, I thank everybody for their patience during these important construction periods. Weekly updates on the work will be available at www.ocnj.us/projectupdate. I held a town hall meeting last weekend to share information about another drainage project at the north end. The tentative timeline for this work is as follows:

• Complete design, permitting and go out to bid in fall 2017.
• Start work at beginning of 2018 and have new drainage pipes installed by summer 2018.
• Stop road work for the summer. Work to install pumping stations may continue.
• Finish with paving in fall 2018 or spring 2019 at latest.

With good weather and good luck in the permitting process, the project could be started and completed earlier. For anybody who was unable to attend, complete video of the meeting is now posted at http://www.ocnj.us/Capital-Projects-Roads-and-Drainage/ along with a copy of the presentation. Ocean City and a group of regional weather experts are sponsoring a weather conference on Thursday (Sept. 7) at the Ocean City Music Pier. The event is free and invites anybody in the public to bring their weather-related questions to the panel of experts. This is the second year for the conference, and last year’s event had great attendance and a lot of good information. Dan Skeldon, Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz, Jim Eberwine, Joe Miketta and Tom Lamaine are among the panelists. A presentation on the use of drones in emergency management begins at 6 p.m. and the panel discussion and Q&A starts at 7 p.m. Finally, I’d like to remind everybody that the once-a-week trash and recycling pickup schedule resumes on Monday, Sept. 11. More information on the schedule and locations is here. I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend and enjoy all that Ocean City has to offer. Warm regards, Jay A. Gillian Mayor