OC Seeks $100M in Upgrades Over 5 Years

OCEAN CITY – Mayor Jay Gillian’s administration wants to spend a little over $100 million on capital improvement projects over the next five years. 
In a detailed presentation to City Council Jan. 25, city Finance Director Frank Donato and Vincent Bekier, aide to the mayor, went through the plan in detail.
According to Donato, the administration will ask city council to vote on the capital plan at its next meeting, 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at City Hall, and have a budget proposal for 2018 before council at its Feb. 22 meeting.
As presented, the five-year capital plan calls for $38.7 million in spending on projects in 2018, including $7.75 million for road and drainage work, part of a multi-year project to bring the city’s roads up to standard after what administration officials describe as years of neglect under previous administrations.
The plan also calls for more than $6 million in city spending on beach improvements and back bay dredging and sets aside $1 million in each of the five years of the plan for land acquisition, so that the city will be able to move on properties that become available.
The largest number for 2018 may be little more than a guess.
The plan includes $17.5 million for the public safety building, which officials say needs either extensive improvements or to be replaced. But for now, the city has not settled on what to do about that building, which houses the municipal court, the police department and social service at 835 Central Ave.
Donato has described the figure of $17.5 million as a place holder. Gillian said at the meeting he has not yet been convinced on any specific proposal for the building, which was built as Ocean City’s first high school near the turn of the last century. It has served as the public safety building for about 60 years.
Gillian cited another reason for holding off: He may not be mayor by the end of the year, and a potential new mayor may have completely different ideas about a project.
This is Gillian’s eighth year as mayor, and he plans to seek another term in the May municipal election.
As mayor, Gillian has made capital improvements a priority, spending millions on roads, drainage, and the boardwalk.
This year’s five-year plan represents a drop compared to previous years, in part because the final phase of a multimillion-dollar boardwalk reconstruction will be completed this winter, and expensive improvements to a dredge spoils site have been completed.
The site near the 34th Street Bridge is where material dredged from the city’s silted back bay lagoons is taken to allow water to drain. A road across the marsh has been completed, allowing heavy trucks to reach the site, and other work will allow it to accept more material.
The proposed plan includes $4 million for back-bay dredging, and another $2 million for beach replenishment, which represents the city’s match for expected federal beach building projects this year.
The plan also includes $40,000 for beach mats.
The city has been adding long, sturdy plastic mats to the beach access paths through the dunes in recent years, which officials said have proven very popular. The mats make it easier to walk through the soft sand.
Other major projects the report lists as completed in 2017 include beach replenishment work in the 1st and 2nd wards, a new firehouse at 29th Street, improvements to the historic Lifesaving Station at Fourth Street and the 46th Street Firehouse, which also includes a welcome center, and several other projects. 
Among the plans for 2018 are more road and drainage projects, including a large-scale pump station aimed at reducing flooding for the north end. Late last year, council approved a $7.8 million contract for that project.
As proposed, the plan includes almost $2.4 million for improvements to recreation facilities and landscaping, and $1.5 million for trucks and large equipment, including $450,000 for two new ambulances.
With the boardwalk reconstruction completed and other major projects out of the way, the administration calls for a decrease in spending in coming years. The plan projects a drop of $20.5 million in spending between 2018 and 2019. As presented, the long-term plan calls for $18.24 million in capital spending in 2019, $16.6 million in 2020, $14.7 million in 2021 and 11.7 million in 2022. Because a new plan is approved each year, those numbers could change as the years pass.
The capital plan does not appropriate any money, nor does it approve any projects. Those still need a separate vote from council, as does the city’s annual budget. But the plan helps set the priorities for city spending and establish a long-term framework for the city’s finances.
Although the spending is set to take place this year, the city will be paying for the work for far longer, as the city bonds for the projects. Donato’s projections show the city’s debt increasing in the coming years, expected to top out at a little over $18 million. He told the council that the city is in good shape with its debt, with a plan to increase the overall cost of debt service by about a penny on the tax rate each year.
Ocean City’s ratable base is among the highest in the state. One cent on the municipal tax rate per $100 is equal to about $1.1 million in spending. For the taxpayer, that cent is the equivalent of $50 a year on a house assessed at $500,000, Donato said.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.