Four Council Members Miss Meeting; Girls’ Basketball Team Recognized

WOODBINE – Woodbine Borough Council canceled its Aug. 21 regular meeting due to the absence of four council members. Instead, Mayor William Pikolycky and Council members Eduardo Ortiz and Michael Benson held an informational session and honored a local girls’ basketball team. In the absence of a quorum, no formal action could be taken.
Woodbine Recreation Commission’s South Jersey Rams girls’ basketball team won the 2014 Ocean City Summer Basketball 7th-9th Grade Championship.
They finished the season with a record of 7-1. The team is comprised of girls from Dennis Township, Woodbine, and Upper Township.
Pikolycky presented Coach Bob Lasko and each of the team members with a certificate of achievement. Pikolycky told the girls “I’m really proud of all of you for such a great job this season.” Lasko thanked the girls for all of their hard work and said “We really had a lot of fun this summer.”
Ordinance Draft on Vacant Properties
Pikolycky issued a draft of a proposed ordinance targeting vacant and abandoned properties throughout the borough. The ordinance would require owners of vacant properties to register them with the borough within 30 days of vacating the premises. The registration would require names and contact information of a designated agent to receive correspondence from the borough such as code violation notices, as well as the contact information of the company or individual responsible for maintaining the property.
The ordinance would also create a fee schedule for registration as follows: $500 for the initial registration, $1,500 for the first renewal, $3,000 for the second renewal and $5,000 for each subsequent renewal. Borough Solicitor Richard Tonetta explained that in the likely event of non-payment by the homeowners, the fees would be assessed as a municipal lien against the property. “This will act as an incentive for banks and other creditors to do something with the properties rather than just sit on them, as municipal liens supersede private mortgages,” Tonetta said.
Newark, Woodbury and several other New Jersey municipalities have adopted similar ordinances in an attempt to clean up abandoned properties and hold owners and creditors accountable for their maintenance. Vacant homes have become an overwhelming problem for many towns in the wake of the 2008 mortgage foreclosure crisis. In accordance with state statute, the ordinance will only apply to residential properties. The mayor hopes to introduce the ordinance before council next month.
Drainage Project and Water Tower
Borough Engineer Bruce Graham reported that work has begun on the Adams Avenue drainage project, and is expected to last 10 weeks.
Work has also begun to renovate the water tower. A temporary monopole has been erected near the water tower to transfer existing cell phone antennas during construction. Sprint and AT&T will move their antennas to the temporary pole. Cricket Wireless and Metro PCS have opted not to transfer, and thus their antennas will be out of service during the project.
Graham also announced that he has been in contact with Verizon Wireless about joining the other carriers on the water tower when construction is complete.
Verizon has no antenna on the tower. Ortiz said that he has received complaints from residents about poor reception from Verizon Wireless customers in Woodbine, and hopes that the company will decide to install an antenna to improve reception.
To contact Don Tozer, email dtozer@cmcherald.com.