Council Puts Funding In Place As Questions Linger About Purchase Of Tennessee Avenue Property

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Despite the objections of two councilmen who said they didn’t feel comfortable moving forward and a suggestion from the administration to table the proposal, Ocean City Council gave final approval to a proposed bond ordinance for the purchase of the property in the Ocean Reef Club Condominiums during Thursday night’s meeting.

Ocean City Council passed a proposed ordinance to set aside $700,000 and borrow $665,000 in bonds or notes for the acquisition of 50 Tennessee Avenue with a 5-2 vote. Councilmen Bob Barr and Keith Hartzell cast the dissenting votes.

Those who voted in favor of the proposal noted that this just put the funding in place, and that council will decide at future meetings whether it wants to approve the purchase of the bonds and the actual purchase of the building.

But Barr and Hartzell expressed concern that the city didn’t have a plan for the building once it was purchased, with Barr saying he felt extremely uncomfortable moving forward.

“This is not what we normally do,” Barr said. “ … This is a dangerous precedent, and it’s not like this administration and it’s not like this council.”

The two-story structure was built in 1962. It is currently owned by Kathleen Hendrickson, of Vero Beach, Florida.

Her parents owned the property, but her father died in 2008 and her mother died in 2012, according to McCrosson.

Ocean City is currently in its due diligence period, in which it examines the property for structural integrity and other factors.

Before the discussion began, City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson told city council it was still in the due diligence portion of the process. Approving the proposal means that once the due diligence period is over the city can move forward with the purchase, as long as the results are satisfactory.

If it isn’t satisfactory, the city won’t move forward with the purchase of the property, which is on the market for $950,000, according to McCrosson. It was last sold in 1985.

If the proposal was tabled, the due diligence process would continue, and if the results were satisfactory, city council could take the issue up once more.

However, there is a perception that if city council approved the bond ordinance, the city would be moving forward with the purchase of the property, and the administration recommended tabling the proposal until the due diligence period was over.

City council decided to take the issue up, but even that vote was splintered 5-2, with Barr and Hartzell objecting.

The property is located next to city property and the bay, in a location described by city officials as “strategic” and a “unique opportunity.” There is a boat ramp that would give the public access to the bay in that area if the city decides to purchase it. However, it remained unclear what the city would use the building itself for.

“We don’t know what the intended use of the building is, and I don’t feel comfortable with that,” Hartzell said. “I prefer to have those facts.”

Barr questioned other members of council who said they were excited about the project when they didn’t even know what it was going to be.

Former mayoral candidate and Ocean Reef resident Ed Price spoke during the public hearing on the proposal. He said he was told by Ocean Reef Condo Association President Jack Gallagher told him the previous night he expected the proposal to be tabled. Price said the residents were unaware that this proposal was being heard Thursday night.

When the proposal was introduced at the Sept. 28 meeting, Barr and Hartzell said they would hold a public meeting on the proposal with the residents of Ocean Reef to discuss the plan.

“We don’t have that information, and the manager asked me to hold off on the meeting because he thought this would be tabled,” Barr said.

"The residents deserve a presentation on the project, but I don't think bonding this interferes with that," Councilman Michael DeVlieger said. "This is a unique opportunity. It's the only building adjacent to the only public boat ramp in the city. This has extraordinary potential. ... It's worth the funding."

Barr also voiced concerns about the building not being ADA compliant. To install an elevator, and making the bathrooms and outside curbing compliant would ensure that the city would spend more than $700,000 on the project, Barr said.

Other residents questioned if the city would be paying the association fees. If the city didn’t pay those fees, those fees would be increased for the current residents, of which there are about 182.

The property has been available since April. Barr said there were no other bidders, and wondered why the city was in a rush to pass the ordinance.

Mayor Jay Gillian said when the property first became available, he spoke with the condo association president, who said Ocean Reef wouldn’t buy it. Gillian said they’d like to put something together that will benefit the city and Ocean Reef, and he didn’t want to see it deteriorate the way the gas stations on Ninth Street did.

“The reason we’re coming forward with this now is we don’t want to see it go to a developer,” Gillian said. “It’s such an asset to that area. We want it to be there for everybody.”

He also said he didn’t want to say what the city would use the building for until things were finalized, and that the city wouldn’t “buy it just to buy it.” Ocean Reef would ask its residents what they want to go there, he said.

“I don’t want to say we’re going to use it for one thing and then end up not using it for that and making people upset,” Gillian said. “I want to get the right info out there. … Whatever we do — it might work, it might not work — but whatever we do, we’ll do it with you guys.”

Patch file photo