OCEAN CITY — The city took over operations at the Howard S. Stainton Senior Center at the beginning of February, hiring former city council vice president Karen Bergman to oversee it, and now is adding more free transportation to the center.
On Feb. 22, City Council extended the contract of the Atlantic City Jitney Association, the sole bidder, and added a route to the senior center in the Ocean City Community Center as 1735 Simpson Ave.
“The ACJA was the city’s provider for this service for the past two years and their performance was beyond satisfactory,” Community Services Director Dan Kelchner wrote in a letter of support. “The ACJA is reliable, consistent and the ridership feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.”
He said the service will run on a continuous loop among the Senior Center and several senior housing facilities, noting it will be free to members of the center.
The loop will operate from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays all year, a total of 104 days, at a cost of $72,800. Two 13-seat jitneys will make stops at Wesley by the Bay, 2401 Bay Ave.; Bayview Manor and Speitel Commons, 635 West Ave.; and Peck’s Beach Village, 500 Bay Ave.
At the same time, the city eliminated the morning business district loop, cutting 60 days for a reduction of $12,000.
“This route was not implemented in 2023 and saw minimal usage during its pilot year of 2022,” Kelchner wrote.
The senior center loop combined with the evening business district loop (60 days/$55,825) amounts to a total contract of $128,625.
The contract began March 5 and continues through Jan. 1, 2025. The contract may be extended for an additional year.
Kelchner added that in addition to being very flexible, allowing the city to alter routes, number of jitneys on a given day or specific times, the “ACJA’s commitment to sustainability nicely aligns with ongoing city initiatives and may provide additional benefits with various grantors and incentivized programs moving forward.”
Drainage work in Merion Park
Another resolution approved a contract with L. Feriozzi Concrete Co. for Merion Park drainage improvements.
According to the resolution, the city distributed job specifications to 20 prospective bidders and received four bid proposals. Feriozzi was the lowest responsible bidder and was awarded a contract for $10,772,400.
According to a letter from engineer Michael Baker International, which reviewed and analyzed the bids, Feriozzi’s bid was nearly 10 percent less than the engineer’s estimate of $11.9 million and nearly 4 percent less than the second-lowest bidder.
The letter states there were 10 pay items with a deviation of more than $100,000 compared to the engineer’s estimate amounting to $585,076 in excess of the estimate.
“We recommend that the resident engineer monitor the use of these pay items carefully to assure the contractor restricts his work to the limits specified on the contract plans and specification for these pay items, unless field conditions dictate otherwise,” the letter states.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff