OCEAN CITY — City Council is continuing its fight against offshore wind farms, despite recent news that Ørsted has withdrawn from its plan to develop two facilities off Atlantic and Cape May counties.
On Nov. 22, City Council awarded a professional services contract to Cooper Levenson to represent the city in its appeal of a Board of Public Utilities ruling that granted rights of way on the island to the Danish wind power company. The contract is expected to cost between $30,000 and $40,000.
It is the second contract the city has awarded in the past month to combat the use of Green Acres land on the island to install power cables. City Council authorized a contract Oct. 26 with Princeton-based attorney Bruce Afran for consultation and representation regarding a constitutional challenge to N.J.S.A. 48:3-87.1, which gives the state Board of Public Utilities control over rights of way in municipalities where wind farm firms plan to build.
Ocean Wind would have included as many as 99 electricity-generating wind turbines 15 miles off the coast.
Council members decried legislation that whizzed through the state Legislature in June 2021, eliminating what they said was their “home rule” over Ørsted’s Ocean Wind project.
Bill S3926 was approved in the Senate on June 24 and the Assembly approved its companion legislation, A5894, the same day. The bills were proposed and made it out of committee in less than two weeks and Gov. Phil Murphy signed it into law.
The legislation took away Ocean City’s ability to deny Ørsted under-the-street and under-the-beach rights of way for its transmission cables from a wind farm off the coast to connect to the southern New Jersey power grid at the former B.L. England Generating Station in Beesleys Point.
In other business, City Council awarded a $242,940 contract to ACT Engineers for management and inspection of back bay dredging.
According to documents, the dredging project will remove sediment from outfalls at 11th, 15th and 16th streets, the mouth of Carnival Bayou and Sunny Harbor, South Harbor and Waterview, as well as a sediment trap at Snug Harbor.
ACT will be in daily communication with the contractor.
The city reached agreement on several labor contracts.
City Council and Communications Workers of America AFL-CIO local 1078 have signed a deal through Dec. 31, 2028, and local 1032 through Dec. 31, 2027.
In addition, the city has reached agreement with the Ocean City Lifeguard Association and with the Ocean City Beach Patrol Administrative Association through Dec. 31, 2026.
Regulation of electric bikes may see a return to the agenda after Councilman Tony Polcini’s son was injured last week in an accident.
He said electric bikes are not pedal-powered but motorized.
“It was definitely an eye-opener,” Polcini said, noting his son had damaged his liver and was briefly hospitalized. “I really think that we need to look at this again, especially about helmets and making sure that kids are wearing helmets. I am going to do whatever I can in this position to help enforce that.”
Councilman David Winslow was sworn in to represent the Fourth Ward after winning election unopposed Nov. 7. He was appointed Aug. 16 to replace Bob Barr, who resigned his position after being named to the Cape May County Board of Commissioners.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff