Wildwood Approves $500K Landfill Study

WILDWOOD — The Wildwood Board of Commissioners adopted an ordinance on its second reading that allows for the initial costs of an environmental study to be done at the old landfill located on the west side of the city.
The ordinance, numbered 860-11, calls for “certain preliminary expenses in connection with the redevelopment of the bayside area in and for the city of Wildwood and appropriating $500,000 therefore and providing for the issuance of bonds or notes of the city of Wildwood to finance the same.”
The ordinance was originally set for its second and final reading at the Commissioners’ July 13 meeting. The ordinance was tabled at that meeting pending additional investigation of grants and other methods of funding.
According to UEZ Director Lou Ferrara, the city has exhausted all other avenues of paying for the study. He spoke of one grant that was contingent upon the site being used for businesses that charge sales tax. “There is a grant that relies on sales tax,” he told the Commissioners. “You receive a refund related to the sales tax collected on that site. We’re not going to have a Home Depot or a Lowe’s there that will collect sales tax.”
The site must be approved by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) before it can be sold. “Unless we approve this funding, we cannot go to the DEP,” said City Solicitor Mark Karavan.