Posted on January 24, 2017
By Anthony Bellano, Patch
Ocean City won’t pursue a proposed program to transfer dredged material to the Shelter Road Recycling Center, Mayor Jay Gillian announced Friday afternoon after meeting with representatives of the Ocean Reef Condominium Association.
“Throughout my administration, I have always sought public feedback in the very early stages of any major project or new initiative,” Gillian said in his weekly address. “This information is extremely valuable to the success of any endeavor. In this case, there was an overwhelming amount of support both for and against the idea of using Shelter Road to help add capacity to our 2017 dredging program. While all of this input was considered, the primary factor in the decision was practical. It is just not feasible or financially viable to relocate all of the Public Works operations at Shelter Road to other parts of Ocean City.”
The city had been considering use of the site as a temporary solution as litigation continues over the use of a site near 34th Street to store the spoils as part of the $20 million plan to dredge lagoons and bayfront areas too shallow for boating in the city.
Ongoing litigation is due to the bidding process. ACT Engineering President Carol Beske explained to residents that gathered at a recent town hall meeting that the low bidder on the dredging project didn’t meet certain qualifications, so the bid was awarded to the second lowest bidder.
A lawsuit ensued, which the city won. It is now in the appeals process, and there is no way to tell how long that will last. In the interim, the project can’t move forward.
In the southern portion of the island, ACT has proposed a process for bringing spoils to the recycling yard through a mechanical de-watering process via a temporary pipeline. The material would then be taken by truck to a permanent site outside the city.
This idea was initially suggested at a town hall meeting on Dec. 10, and was met with pushback from residents in that area. They were concerned about the noise created by the trucks.
“ACT Engineers continues to pursue an array of options for de-watering and transferring dredged material, and the emptying of Site 83 (near Roosevelt Boulevard) by truck continues to make good progress,” Gillian said. “The permitted season for dredging starts on July 1, and I anticipate holding another town hall meeting to share details about our 2017 dredging program well in advance of that date. As you all know by now, the dredging of our lagoons and back bays is not a simple problem to solve. But I remain committed to getting it done as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
Source: Patch
