Posted on August 5, 2024
A professional assessment of the capacity of a dredging disposal site in the marshes near Roosevelt Boulevard is the subject of a lawsuit filed by the City of Ocean City. An engineering firm paid the City of Ocean City $130,000 to end a city lawsuit alleging the company failed to do its job, according to a document released this week. Duffield Associates Inc. — a firm based in Wilmington, Del., with an office in Cape May Court House — received a $194,634 contract in June 2011 to get permits and make construction plans for a site where material dredged from the bottom of lagoons and boating channels on Ocean City’s bay side was to be dumped.
But a separate company claimed it could not complete a 2012 dredging project between 15th and 34th streets because plans for disposal were inaccurate and the site inadequate. With the settlement, Ocean City recovers two-thirds of the original contract cost for the design work. The settlement agreement, signed June 22 by a representative of Duffield Associates, includes “no admission of liability” from either party and covers neither party’s legal costs.
As part of the confidential settlement, “the parties agree not to disclose, discuss or reveal terms of agreement.” “If asked, the parties will state only that ‘the matter has been resolved satisfactorily and the terms of the resolution are confidential,’ ” according to the agreement. Such nondisclosure terms are common in lawsuit settlements, but New Jersey courts have consistently upheld the public’s right to know in cases that involve public entities. OCNJ Daily received the settlement agreement through an Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request.
The $194,634 contract for design work was just a small portion of the 2012 project cost. The city spent $1,829,655 for Hydro-Marine Construction Company of Hainesport, N.J., to remove 73,000 cubic yards of dredged material under a contract that called for the dredging of 106,000 cubic yards. The lawsuit and the settlement help illustrate the high stakes and high costs of Ocean City’s efforts to make its bayside waters navigable. Many areas are too shallow for boat traffic or even swimming through substantial portions of the tide cycle. It also shows that the city is willing to fight to hold contractors accountable for their work. THE ABORTED PROJECT
