Funding Approved for Nearly $11M. in Ocean City Projects

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI City Council unanimously approved a $10.9 million funding package Thursday night for a series of major projects throughout Ocean City, including a new police substation on the Boardwalk and renovations to the swimming pool at the Aquatic & Fitness Center. The most expensive project financed by the new bond ordinance is a police substation planned at Eighth Street and the Boardwalk. The project is currently under design and will cost an estimated $6.5 million when built in 2024, Chief Financial Officer Frank Donato said. “Obviously we want to have the proper public safety,” City Business Administrator George Savastano said of the importance of the project. The substation is part of the city’s broader plan to upgrade the facilities for the police department. Mayor Jay Gillian announced plans earlier in the year to modernize the antiquated Public Safety Building at Eighth Street and Central Avenue. The city has not yet revealed the cost or construction timetable for renovations to the Public Safety Building, which dates to 1890. The new bond ordinance does not include funding for the Public Safety Building. Funding for that project would come at a later date. A $2.5 million renovation project will overhaul the 1970s-era swimming pool at the Aquatic & Fitness Center. The city will also use the new bond ordinance to finance a $2.5 million renovation of the pool at the Aquatic & Fitness Center. The pool dates to the 1970s and is in need of repairs to a leaky drainage system. “The pool needs a substantial renovation to bring it up to modern standards,” Savastano said in an interview after the Council meeting. The pool work is expected to be done in the summer of 2024, after designs are completed for the project and the construction contract is awarded, city officials said. One new feature that will be part of the project is a handicap-accessible ramp for the pool. It will replace a chair lift that is used now for handicap access. Also included in the bond ordinance is $1 million to continue Ocean City’s multiyear dredging program for the back bays and lagoons. The city has been systematically clearing out the sediment-choked lagoons along the bayfront to make them deeper for boating traffic, the marinas and swimming. “The lagoons are something we want to take care of. Obviously, we want to keep the lagoons in good shape,” Savastano said. The city continues to dredge the lagoons to clear out the muddy sediment. Dredging work is expected to begin this fall and will be finished by next March. Local waterways that are scheduled to be dredged include Waterview lagoon, the mouths of Carnival Bayou and Sunny Harbor and the interior of South Harbor, Savastano said. Ocean City’s fire department and beach patrol will also benefit from the new bond ordinance. It includes $200,000 for mobile data computers for fire department vehicles and new radios for the beach patrol lifeguards. Finally, the bond ordinance also includes $700,000 to design a new terminal building and golf pro shop that will be part of the city’s plans to make the airport more inviting to pilots and the public. The city tentatively plans to start construction on the estimated $8 million terminal in late 2024. Among the amenities, the new terminal will include better facilities for pilots, airport offices, a pro shop serving Ocean City’s public golf course next door and a new restaurant on the third floor with expansive views of the runway and back bay. The proposed terminal will be partly funded by a previously announced $3 million donation from Ocean City’s Berger Realty owner Leon Grisbaum, an aviation enthusiast now in his 90s who was a private pilot for nearly 75 years. A small and antiquated building that currently serves as the airport's operations center will be replaced by a new terminal. The city has included $5 million in funding in its capital plan for its share of the terminal construction. However, Ocean City will apply for a $2 million to $3 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration to partly offset the city’s cost, Donato said. Built in 1935, the airport’s claim to fame is that it is the only one in New Jersey located on a barrier island. Its location on Bay Avenue at 26th Street is just a few blocks from the beach. It is not uncommon in summer to see people get out of their planes holding beach chairs and umbrellas. The airport has roughly 3,450 takeoffs/landings annually, which is consistent with years past. Recreational pilots, commercial charter flights and military aircraft use the facility.