Dear Friends, City Council last night approved the first reading of an ordinance that would authorize the city to negotiate to buy or to take by condemnation the entire city block from 16th Street to 17th Street between Simpson Avenue and Haven Avenue — the site of the former car dealership lot next to the Ocean City Community Center. The city has reached no agreement with the owners of the properties. This is just the start of a process that I hope results in our acquisition of this land for public use. My position has not wavered since we attempted to purchase the property at this time last year. I don’t want to see this property developed with more housing. It’s a truly rare opportunity to protect an entire city block on our densely developed island. With plans now approved for single-family housing there, this is a matter of some urgency. Protecting this land from development is our plan. It’s as simple as that. As with all major initiatives, I would seek public input on how best to utilize this block, if we were able to acquire it.
We are not currently considering this location as a potential site for a new public safety building. It will be reserved for open space, recreation or some other public use.I want to let everybody know in advance that Atlantic City Electric plans a load transfer that will lead to a service interruption up to 30 minutes long in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday, Aug. 13. The outage will occur sometime between 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m. This schedule could change based on weather or field conditions. It will affect homes and businesses in the downtown area between 8th Street and 11th Street, and at the very northern end of the island. (see maps of the affected areas).Summer is flying by quickly. It’s already August. I hope you all take the time to get out this weekend with family and friends to enjoy all that Ocean City has to offer.Warm regards,Mayor Jay Gillian
