OCEAN CITY — After asking for respectful debate on issues facing the city instead of factions spreading misinformation and rumors, Mayor Jay Gillian said the city would not be going forward with purchasing the former Crown Bank building. Instead, the city will tear down the current police department building and construct a new facility in its place.
A resolution was on City Council’s agenda Thursday evening for the $12.6 million purchase of the building at 801 Asbury Ave. with the proposal to use it for a new home for the Ocean City Police Department. It had been approved on first reading Sept. 25, but council was told they were awaiting due diligence reports before last week’s second reading and a public hearing.
Fairness In Taxes President David Breeden has said various reports were available prior to Sept. 25.
However, Gillian and City Council President Terry Crowley Jr. circumvented the second reading by announcing Sept. 30 that the city would not go forward with the plan.
Council did let the purchase resolution die later in the meeting.
Before that, Gillian said doing the right thing takes courage and leadership, “but most importantly, we need to work together. As leaders, elected officials, citizens, we all must approach each issue with openness, transparency and trust.
“At the end of the day, there will be disagreements and fair, open and respectful debate with hearing all views,” he continued. That, he said, “will be the path to success,” rather than “dividing ourselves into factions, hiding behind keyboards and social media to spread misinformation and rumors.”
He said that serves nobody and does a disservice to the community.
“And that’s not the Ocean City I know, I grew up in. We have responsibility as elected officials and as a community to work together for future generations,” Gillian said.
The mayor has made similar public comments before when various issues have divided the community, including the future of the former Wonderland Pier amusement park property.
Questions about
801 Asbury
Breeden questioned a number of aspects regarding the proposed purchase of 801 Asbury Ave., both in public comment at council meetings and in information sent to the Sentinel.
City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson told council at the Sept. 25 meeting that the reason there was a rush to get a purchase resolution on the agenda for the building was to avoid spending an extra $400,000 because of the state’s so-called “mansion tax” that went into effect in July.
Breeden said the city is exempt from that tax and verified that with the state Division of Taxation. That, he said, meant there was no need to hurry a purchase, which would have allowed more time for due diligence on the building.
Breeden said a contract for the mayor executed a sales agreement for the building July 9 without consent of City Council. He also said administration officials were aware of some negative conditions of the building, including the potential of falling debris from its facade. He pointed to a Facade Assessment report the city received in May that alerted them to those conditions.
The FIT president also pointed to multiple assessment reports the city had in hand before the Sept. 25 meeting, including environmental, geotechnical, structural and regarding the roof, so those would have been available to council.
A new police station
Gillian said he still believes the city missed an opportunity to build a new combined police department and fire station at Fifth Street and Asbury Avenue, where the current fire department headquarters is located. Council shot that down a few years ago, questioning the $42 million price tag and the location.
However, he said, “I do believe everything happens for a reason.”
The new police substation at Eighth Street and Boardwalk will be opened around the Christmas holidays, he said. His administration determined that 801 Asbury was not the best path, even though it was considered after finding issues inside the current facility, which also houses municipal court at 835 Central Ave.
“When we started tearing apart the old police department, and I was in there with the engineer, we saw that costs were just rising and rising,” Gillian said. He conferred with the police chief to consider 801 Asbury, where the city is temporarily renting two floors for the police and court.
One aspect they learned about the former Crown Bank building was that the city would need to make the century-old building earthquake proof. That and other factors convinced them it would not be suitable for the new police department.
By not going forward with the new resolution, funding still remains in place for a new police station. There was some $30 million for that in the city’s capital plan.
Initially the city was going to renovate and expand the building at 835 Central, but now, he said, the city will tear the whole thing down and build new.
Gillian said the $30 million probably wasn’t going to be adequate for rehabilitating the old building, but with some functions being handled at the new substation, the city can build “a first-class facility” there within the city’s budget.
– By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
