Wildwood Crest to Withdraw from COWCO

WILDWOOD CREST — The borough’s Commissioners unanimously approved the withdrawal from the Construction Office of the Wildwoods on Aug. 27, commonly known as COWCO, and notified them that they will be looking to drop the shared service by the end of the this year.
North Wildwood made a similar decision at this month’s council meeting.
As part of the interlocal service agreement, any party that wishes to withdraw has to provide a notice of intent on or before Aug. 31, 2009. The agreement would then be dissolved at the end of the year.
“The governing body is very supportive of efforts to consolidate or share services island-wide, but at the same time our commissioner feel the best interest of the residents, taxpayers, developers and contractors and the Wildwood Crest community as a whole will be best served by having a construction office situated within our own administrative operations,” said Borough Administrator Kevin Yecco in a press release.
“Our governing body believes a self-contained construction code office in the borough will assist with better coordination of planning and zoning issues, can provide a greater presence outside of normal business hours and can be more responsive to established policies, procedures and time lines necessary to meet uniquely singular developmental goals and objectives of the Wildwood Crest community,” he said.
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.