CAPE MAY – It’s like the first scratch on your new car or the first spill on you new carpet.
Cape May’s newly reconstructed brick walking surface on the Washington Street Mall is getting hit with its share of dripping ice cream, gum and odd items such as Silly String.
Engineer Ray Roberts, of Remington and Veronica, the city’s contracted engineering firm, told City Council July 22, ice cream and food has been found on pavers which have been sealed, but “not with Teflon.”
He said the brick would always require maintenance. Roberts said the contractor is checking with the brick manufacturer to see if the surface can be power washed or scrubbed.
In five years, the bricks will have to be cleaned and resealed, he said.
Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. said the refurbished mall requires more maintenance than the old mall, making more work for public works and shop owners.
Public Works Superintendent Robert Smith said the city was looking at a walk behind scrubber for the bricks.
Interim City Manager Bruce MacLeod said mall merchants have voluntarily discontinued selling silly string.
Roberts said the mall was essentially complete with a few punch list item for the contractor to complete before the city makes final payment. He said the mall has a two-year maintenance guaranty.
Roberts said four young trees on the mall have died and will be cut down to root level and replaced in September.
Smith said some planters contained too much mulch.
Roberts said some wood used for benches around planter boxes and on pergolas is “checking” which are small separations along the wood grain.
“What is not acceptable will be replaced,” said Roberts.
Trash and recycling receptacles for the mall will be shipped next week.
The mall’s irrigation system was designed to bring water to root balls of newly planted trees. Annuals require about half the water the trees require, he said.
Roberts recommended watering annuals with a hose while leaving the irrigation system strictly for trees. He recommended the city hire an irrigation contractor next year to remove the drip line under the dirt and replace with a surface soaker line.
Trees will need half the water they require this year by next summer, said Roberts.
Street light poles throughout the mall have an electrical outlet at their base. Roberts said the outlets should be covered with a plate or latch for safety reasons.
Mahaney noted white trim around planter seating areas was scuffed with shoe marks and would need to be painted once a year.
Roberts said the Garden Club of Cape May had expressed an interest in planting wisteria vines on pergolas that hide electrical transformer on the mall.
