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Bond to Fund Capital Projects Introduced in Ocean City

Ocean City Council members Robert Barr

By Bill Barlow

OCEAN CITY – City Council introduced an ordinance to bond $10.25 million for extensive capital projects June 28.
The ordinance requires a second vote after a public hearing, planned at the July 12 City Council meeting 7 p.m. at City Hall, 861 Asbury Ave.
According to Ocean City Finance Director Frank Donato, the bond is consistent with the five-year capital plan council approved over the winter, which calls for more than $100 million in projects over the next five years, including $38.7 million this year.
The bond ordinance allows the city to borrow money over a long term at favorable interest due to the city’s good bond rating.
The ordinance includes $4.1 million for road work, as well as an additional $1.65 million for drainage projects. For the most part, those projects will be undertaken together, but are listed separately in the ordinance.
Under Mayor Jay Gillian, sworn to a third term July 1, the city has undertaken extensive infrastructure work, which Gillian has said is long overdue.
Donato said the bond is the second for the year, but it is not expected to be the last.
The $5.75 million for road work will fund several projects.
“The largest of which is in the south end, roughly a $3.8 million project from around 47th to 59th street, but there are other projects, smaller projects in the other wards as well,” Donato told council June 28.
Neighborhoods have been clamoring for improvements to the drainage system for years. Recently, several major projects have been planned or undertaken, including installing pump stations to speed the removal of water from the city’s lowest-lying areas.
That, too, can lead to complaints. Recently, neighbors in one project area went to city council seeking relief from the disruptions of the extensive work (see related story).
Similar disruptions, including closed streets and detours, have taken place throughout town.
Donato told council that the projects included in the bond are all outlined in the city’s capital plan, which can be found at www.ocnj.us/projects or reviewed at City Hall.
The bond also includes $4 million for dredging projects along the lagoons and back bays, where silting has presented problems for boaters. The money will go toward permitting, engineering and dredging, but there’s a good chance the city could get a significant portion of that back.
“There are a lot of moving parts in lagoon and back-bay dredging projects. We are still working off some money from last year,” Donato said.
The city has its own capital fund, as well as grant money from the state Department of Transportation to help fund the projects.
State funding helped clear Carnival Bayou last year, and another round of grants could help cover the cost of a larger project, costing around $3.4 million, Donato said.
He pointed out that council had authorized going out to bid for those projects at its last meeting, as well as for a “living shoreline” project aimed at restoring a marshy back bay island known as Shooting Island to its historic size using dredged material.
“It’s a mix of grant and capital money, but with the grants, you have to spend your money locally, you have to award the projects, and later get reimbursed,” he said.
Although we’re putting $4 million in place, there’s a likelihood that we’re going to get a lot of this back from the state,” he continued.
An additional $500,000 included in the bond ordinance is earmarked for work on public buildings, including work on public bathrooms and repairs to the roof of the historic Music Pier on the boardwalk. 
Council approved the bond with almost no comment.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.

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