Police Unity Tour (Courtesy of Ocean City)
Dear Friends,
City Council gave final approval last night to the municipal budget for 2024. I want to thank all members for their hard work and support during the extensive budgeting process.
It wasn’t an easy year, but I’m confident that our budget will maintain infrastructure and services, protect public safety and preserve the exceptional quality of life that Ocean City residents have come to expect. The job of maintaining fiscal responsibility never really ends, and I look forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting to work on next year’s budget.
New Jersey American Water will continue the final phase of its emergency sewer repair between 14th Street and 16th Street next week. This major project remains on schedule to be complete before Memorial Day, weather permitting.
NJAW recently completed upgrades to its utility lines under Central Avenue from 28th Street to 34th Street. Their contractor will temporarily repave the travel lanes of the roadway before Memorial Day. Final concrete work and final paving from curb to curb will take place in the fall as part of a city project that includes many other nearby streets.
Atlantic City Electric will be repairing two street lights at the corner of Sixth Street and Asbury Avenue beginning on Monday. The work will require concrete work to the curb and sidewalk, but we do not anticipate a street closing.
Two groups of law enforcement officers passed through Ocean City this morning as part of bicycle tours made in honor of officers killed in the line of duty. The Police Unity Tour is traveling from Mercer County in New Jersey to Washington, D.C., and Law Enforcement Unity is traveling from Ground Zero in New York City to D.C.
I was proud to see Ocean City give the riders such a warm welcome on a cold morning. Our police and fire departments and airport personnel were on hand to greet the riders during a stop at the Ocean City Municipal Airport. Ocean City Intermediate School students cheered the riders on, and the On the Way Café food truck provided free coffee.
The Friends and Volunteers of the Ocean City Free Public Library held a ceremony on Thursday to dedicate a children’s lending library constructed by Ocean City’s Alex Costello at Lake Memorial Park on the 400 block of Wesley Avenue. Alex is working to achieve Eagle Scout, and I hope you’ll all join me in wishing him luck in his pursuit of Scouting’s highest honor. We should all be proud that we have such great representatives of Ocean City among our younger generations.
A Coastal Flood Warning will be in effect for tonight. The water level is not expected to peak until about 11 p.m., so please make sure your vehicles are in safe places well before then. More information is available at ocnj.us/oem
