OCEAN CITY — Resort officials this week approved an ordinance authorizing the sale of a $2.5 million revenue bond to finance the next phase of the Boardwalk access control project.
While a final decision on the contractor and successful bidder for the project has not yet been made, the ordinance approved on Tuesday allows for the sale of a bond at a low interest rate up to $2.5 million. It remains possible the project could come in under that estimate once the successful bidder is chosen and the final design is approved.
To address concerns about access points where an ill-intending vehicle could reach the Boardwalk and crowds, the Ocean City Mayor and Council two years ago began exploring a series of permanent and semi-permanent barrier systems from gated access points that would allow police, fire and emergency services to access the Boardwalk to heavy planters, bollards and other barriers. The first phase was completed before the start of last summer as a stopgap measure of sorts to ensure something was in place after several serious examples of terrorists and mentally ill individuals driving vehicles into congested areas.
The first phase was admittedly not aesthetically pleasing, but served its purpose until the larger, more permanent second phase is installed. With the approval of the bond sale on Tuesday, the funding is in place for that second phase to begin.
Councilman Mark Paddack said the second phase was originally approved at $1.9 million and questioned how the bond sale got to the $2.5 million mark. City Manager Doug Miller said the $2.5 million covers the engineering cost for the project, which was forward-funded by the town. Councilman Matt James asked if that engineering expense would be recouped.
“We had to forward-fund the engineering on this,” he said. “Will we be paying ourselves back?”
Miller explained that was a possibility still to be discussed. Paddack asked if other funding options had been discussed.
“Have we considered tapping our reserve funds to pay for this?” he said. “That could offset our debt for this project.”
Miller explained the favorable lending climate made the bond sale the best option, according to Finance Director Chuck Bireley.
“Chuck advised against that,” he said. “The interest rates are just so good right now.”
