Boardwalk Committee Meeting Notes – April 12, 2017 

Each month, the Boardwalk Committee meets inside Boardwalk Hall. It’s open to the public. Here are notes from the April 12, 2017 meeting.

Boardwalk Hall: Committee chairman Tom Lamaine welcomed Boardwalk Hall’s new General Manager Jim Wynkoop.

  • Ribbon-cutting for new Miss America Organization office space, inside Boardwalk Hall, scheduled for May 10
  • Tentative opening ceremonies for new Starbucks at Boardwalk Hall, May 11
  • Stockton University graduation at Boardwalk Hall, May 12.
  • The Historical Society is working on placing an exhibit in the Lobby. Artifacts etc. to be determined.
  • There are new digital marquees, funded by CRDA, in front of Boardwalk Hall, for visibility and promotion.

Beach at Southeast Inlet (Boraie): Progress being made and construction has begun. The project will feature a six-story complex with approximately 250 units, plus retail stores at the street level. This is an 18-24 month project.

The Air Show will be on August 23 featuring the Thunderbirds. A question was asked about the Armed Services Parade, which may not be held this year due to funding uncertainties. Possible grassroots funding sources were discussed.

Dedication of “Pinky’s Place” at the Kennedy Plaza amphitheatre will take place on May 15 at 3 p.m., followed by a rebroadcast of Pinky’s final radio show.

Public hearing on the release of the Atlantic City budget on will be Wednesday, May 17.

The Annual AC Host Awards will be on Wednesday, May 3 in Adrian Phillips Theater in Boardwalk Hall. Awards to be presented in 27 categories to non-managerial hospitality employees and the public sector.

The Spirit of Hospitality Award will be given to Commander Tom Gilbert of the AC Tourism District. Gala reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner and awards ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $65 per person or $650 for tables of 10. Call 609-449-7156. The choice of Tom for the award was well-deserved and the group agreed.

Miss America Pageant: The Miss American Organization’ national headquarters is now permanently based in Atlantic City and will be housed in Boardwalk Hall. CEO Josh Randle and Marc Angeli announced that they are very happy to be in their new home in Boardwalk Hall and that the pageant will continue to showcase Atlantic City.

This year will be the pageant’s 97th anniversary, and plans are already underway for the 100th Miss America Pageant. Josh said that Atlantic City and Boardwalk Hall are a huge part of the pageant’s history, and that more Miss Americas have been crowned here than any other place.

ACPD (Chris Kammerman/ Rudy Lashina): In the last 10 months, Tourism District officers, commanded by Lt.. Lashina, made over 1300 dispatch calls and 8800 self-initiated calls (where officers observed an incident and responded). There were 132 arrests, 1800 complaints and citations issued, 2600 community contacts, and 3000 property checks. They are working to enforce the Rolling Chair operation, particularly targeting unethical practices by the operators.

There is now 7-day coverage with 2 shifts per day. Operating hours include 12 officers on duty 7 days per week from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., and 9 officers from 3 p.m.-1 a.m. on Fridays through Mondays. Depending on CRDA approval, it is hoped to increase the force by another 15 officers, who will be deployed along Pacific Avenue

Teams of 7-8 officers are on duty from 3 p.m.-1 a.m. in the areas of the Tropicana, Boardwalk Hall, Caesars & Bally’s, and the Hard Rock/Showboat. These officers are helping to address “quality of life” issues. A question was raised about aggressive panhandling problems. Permits for this have been discontinued; only a few remain active, and when they expire there will be no more issued.

Tom Gilbert:  Many of the issues in the City continue to be people issues: crime, addiction, etc. Many volunteer organizations have helped address some of these issues, but there is still much work to be done. Nearly 10% of the 3300 arrests made in 2015 were people who had a Rescue Mission address in the City.

Public Works (Paul Jerkins): Public Works is working with various organizations in the city to help non-violent offenders perform community service. The City is reinstating the seasonal employees program, with approximately 20 hires for 2017. These staff members will do trash pickups, general cleaning maintenance, etc.

Trash and recycling may be sub-contracted, but the City employees who do this work will be retained and relocated to other positions. There will still be separate collections for trash and recycling.

Preparations for summer are well underway, with Boardwalk repair ongoing. Painting and general clean-ups have been done, along with lighting improvements. The sections of Boardwalk being repaired will be open by summer. LED lighting conversions are also ongoing, which is expected to help save money.

There was a discussion of motor vehicles on the Boardwalk. The opinion was expressed that the repetitive nature of trams and other vehicles running up and down the Boardwalk may be bad for the overall health of the Boardwalk.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 10, at 9:30.

Meeting notes courtesy of Ron Hill.


 

News & Info from Atlantic City