WILDWOOD — The City of North Wildwood sent a letter to the Construction Office of the Wildwoods, commonly known as COWCO, and notified them that they will be looking to drop the shared service by the end of this year.
Wildwood Crest is expected to make a similar decision at its Aug. 26 commission meeting.
As part of the interlocal service agreement, any party that wishes to withdraw has to provide notice of intent on or before Aug. 31, 2009. The agreement would then be dissolved at the end of the year.
“By sending the letter, the city has the option to look forward and investigate other avenues that would get the job done,” Mayor Bill Henfey told the Herald.
“We want to see what is financially best for the city and maintain the level of service that residents here are accustomed to,” he added.
COWCO replaced the former Joint Construction Office (JCOW) of the Wildwoods and has been in operation for over two years. JCOW had been under fire since February of 2006, when some 500-condominium units, located in both Wildwood and North Wildwood, were identified as having been constructed in violation of building codes after an audit by the Department of Community Affairs. JCOW was responsible for inspecting, and issuing Certificates of Occupancy for, the structures.
When the old office was disbanded, Wildwood took over the new shared service as lead agency and currently handles personnel, budgeting and overall responsibility. Funding for the new office is split based on percentages that reflect financial obligations. Wildwood and North Wildwood each pay 34 percent, Wildwood Crest pays 24 percent and West Wildwood pays 8 percent.
Despite staying in the same location on Pacific Avenue location and the familiar sounding acronym, the new agency is largely started from scratch, including those in charge:
• Commissioner Bill Davenport, who oversees the Department of Public Safety, which includes COWCO.
• Chris Wood, city clerk for the City of Wildwood. Who took over administrative duties during the office’s start-up phase and continues to oversee the office.
• Lisa Hare, a confidential assistant to Davenport. Her duties will be to oversee the city’s construction office and rectify operational problems.
• Glenn Franzoi, the office’s construction official.
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