Crest Looks to Hire Municipal Administrator

WILDWOOD CREST – Board of Commissioners meeting May 25 featured ordinances that would create a Municipal Administrator position with a salary range of at least $7,500 up to $131,000. The second reading of the enabling ordinance would authorize hiring an administrator as either a full-time or part-time employee at the discretion of commissioners. The ordinance further described some of the administrator’s duties to include coordinating the administrative affairs of all departments, bidding and vendor contract administration, negotiation of labor contracts, and assisting the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with budgeting.
According to Mayor Carl Groon, the position had existed in the past, but had been eliminated. Groon added that Mr. Edward Grant, a consultant to the borough, has filled this role in recent times. Groon stopped short of stating that they intend to fill this new position right now, but they are looking to fill the position sometime in the future. The second and final reading was approved by all three commissioners after a public hearing yielded two questions to the board.
Ongoing discussion issues included the death knell of the proposed dog park at the soccer field, according to Commissioner Don Cabrera. “The residents were not too happy with the plan,” he stated and promised that he would not support a plan to locate the park there when the residents object. Some discussion then turned towards using the designated area as a “human” park that would also be environmentally-friendly to the wetland and indigenous animals and birds. Cabrera and Groon both suggested that they slow down before rushing into an alternative use of the lots in question in order to be sure that a new plan makes sense for the residents. Cabrera suggested that residents who have a plan for a park at that location attend the next Recreation Commission meeting so that others can learn about any proposal to create a park with other uses.
Groon reviewed other items such as the Army Corps of Engineers Dune plan that is just beginning the design phase, although according to Groon, little information has been forthcoming from the Army Corps. Groon had little else to report regarding Sunset Lake damage estimates or emergency generators for the school.
Groon announced that everyone should know that the summer schedule of Board of Commissioners meetings will be changing to a 5:30 p.m. start to replace the current 7 p.m. start, beginning in June.
To contact Jim McCarty, email jmccarty@cmcherald.com.