Mayoral candidate Keith Hartzell, in white jacket, goes door to door in Merion Park.
Keith Hartzell, candidate for Ocean City mayor, sets the record straight after investigating an issue brought to his attention by many residents of the Merion Park/Roosevelt Boulevard neighborhoods in Ocean City – a plan to import sewage.
Residents in those areas had been hearing rumors they found most troublesome: Upper Township’s intent for Ocean City to provide a shared sewer line to them and treat wastewater from Upper Township at the Ocean City plant. Mr. Hartzell and many Council members, like the residents, are opposed to this plan.
After investigation into the matter, they uncovered facts showing that this was under serious consideration. On January 14 this year, the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority (CMCMUA) issued a Request for Proposal #06-22, titled:
Professional Engineering Services Ocean City Region – Report: Impact of Increased Wastewater Flow from Upper Twp. to the Ocean City Wastewater Treatment Facility. In fact, the date the RFP was due and proposals were opened was February 17, 2022.
Multiple residents reached out to Keith once the MUA’s existing agreement was uncovered. The residents stated that they were informed by the mayor himself that, “No matter what the MUA said, they didn’t need the MUA’s approval for the sewer to happen. Ocean City and Upper Township could do it themselves.”
It seemed clear to residents, and Mr. Hartzell, that this was the mayor’s plan all along. Fact speaks the truth.
Mr. Hartzell says that this plan is part of a larger pattern he started to see, where things in Ocean City were moving “in a glaringly wrong direction.”
Keith states, “Not only importing a neighboring community’s sewage into our facilities, but also more no-bid contracts, an unregistered lobbyist, rampant nepotism, a proposed overpriced and poorly placed public safety building, and a clear pathway for our family-friendly boardwalk landscape to be changed forever.”
He felt he could no longer just sit on Council and watch this happen; it fueled him to run for mayor.
“As mayor, my mission will be to preserve our town and secure our future. Ocean City deserves someone who is a passionate, transparent, and trustworthy advocate for the people. I am that person,” he said.
Your vote is your voice. And a vote for Keith Hartzell as mayor is a vote to preserve our town and secure our future.
Paid for by “Hartzell for Mayor”
