By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
The chairman of the Ocean City Housing Authority says he has no doubts that the housing sites managed by the public agency are safe in the aftermath of a murder last month allegedly committed by one of the tenants.
Bob Barr, who heads the housing authority’s board of commissioners, said the agency is awaiting the results of an investigation of the murder by the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office before it considers making any changes with its operations.
In the meantime, Barr emphasized that he strongly believes that all of the authority’s housing sites are a safe place for their residents, along with the entire Ocean City community.
“This is a safe place and as long as they take precautions, they’ll be fine,” Barr said of the residents in an interview following the authority’s monthly board meeting Tuesday.
Barr, 42, a former Ocean City councilman, said he has lived in the resort for virtually his entire life and during that time he knows of only two murders that were committed, including the one at the housing authority’s Speitel Commons complex in December.
Barr, who currently serves as a Cape May County commissioner, praised the Ocean City Police Department, the county Prosecutor’s Office and the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office for helping to keep Ocean City safe.
“Ocean City generally is a very safe place. This is a safe community,” he said.
The Prosecutor’s Office and police are investigating the murder that occurred Dec. 8 at Speitel Commons, an affordable housing complex located at Sixth Street and West Avenue in downtown Ocean City.
Jeffrey Surgent, 46, a resident of Speitel Commons, has been charged with killing his 74-year-old mother, Alexandria Surgent, in a grisly murder that included beheading her, authorities said. Surgent is currently in custody awaiting a mental health evaluation and his next court appearance.
Alexandria Surgent, who lived in Ocean City, was killed when she went to visit her son at Speitel Commons, authorities said.
Crisis counselors were brought in by the housing authority after the murder to help residents at Speitel Commons. The authority has pledged to continue with counseling services for as long as the residents need it.
Residents have door locks with a guard chain and a peephole in their units. The authority is urging them to keep their doors closed and locked at all times.
Barr noted that prior to the murder, some residents had been keeping their doors unlocked and even wide open.
During the Dec. 13 board meeting, the housing authority’s executive director, Jacqueline Jones, told the commissioners that there are plans to speak with the Ocean City Police Department about the possibility of conducting “community patrol checks” at the housing sites, according to the meeting minutes.
Barr pointed out that any further security steps that the authority may take will depend on the recommendations of the investigation being conducted by the county Prosecutor’s Office.
He added that in the meantime, the authority is urging residents to report any suspicious activity.
“Basically, if you see something, say something,” Barr said.
