Atlantic City Boardwalk Committee Meeting Notes from Wednesday, April 11, 2018.
Class II Officers, maintenance and other positions are now fully staffed for seasonal full-time duty. Spring cleaning of the City is underway and ongoing. Atlantic and Pacific Aves. are being vacuumed to remove salt and other debris from winter (and spring) snow removal. Other side streets will be vacuumed as soon as possible.
New chairs, benches, etc., are currently being built, including a number of the traditional Adirondack chairs, some of which will be turned over to 48 Blocks and other organizations for artistic painting, decoration and distribution. The Kennedy Plaza area (including the “Pinky” Stage) is being prepared for summer use. A great deal of graffiti has been removed or painted over.
A City ordinance has been introduced to remove the needle exchange program from the Tennessee Ave. district. It was not mentioned if the program was to be relocated or eliminated.
Open Fires on Atlantic City Beaches
Fire Chief Evans was on hand to discuss a proposed ordinance to allow open fires on the beach, where beach goers could have bonfires. The ordinance was introduced by Councilman Jesse Kurtz. The City currently allows people to barbecue on the beach as long as they have a permit. The ordinance has already passed a “first reading”. It would call for the city to construct designated fire pits along the beach.
Concerns for public safety were raised about security, maintenance, supervision, and staffing for the fires. Current state law does not permit open flames in New Jersey without permits, and it is not clear if this ordinance would supersede the state law. Bonfires are permitted in the City for special events, and this kind of permit has a standard fee of approximately $75 plus additional costs based on event specifics. The ordinance is modeled after several California municipalities, including Newport CA, which has over 60 fire pits on its beaches. They use a security company to patrol the beach fires, which the city maintains and cleans up.
The Atlantic City ordinance would have bonfire pits at designated locations. There was a question as to whether the ordinance has a co-sponsor in council, but it was not known at the meeting. There are apparently no specifics about maintenance, security, or event regulation in the proposed ordinance. A “Second Reading” of the ordinance will take place at the next City Council meeting, April 18 at 5 p.m.
Abandoned Houses in Atlantic City
Indiana Avenue House Fire: The recent fire was in a building is owned by an absentee landlord who resides in Florida, and owes several years back taxes. The problem with fires in abandoned properties like this and others throughout the city is that the Fire Department can’t just let them burn because often, homeless people are in them and many times are responsible – inadvertently or otherwise – for starting the fires. Or, adjacent houses need to be protected from spreading fire.
When buildings are deemed to be an imminent hazard, the City can tear them down. However, the cost of demolishing an unsafe or damaged building can be high ($30,000 or more depending on specifics). There are emergency funds available for this through the City, but several buildings can quickly use up this funding.
It was pointed out that the City does go after landlords and property owners for back taxes and demolition costs when their buildings are taken down. Liens are placed and other court filings are considered.
Noise Levels in Atlantic City
Follow-Up on Noise Issues: In response to a question about the training and certification of ACPD Officers on noise measuring equipment, Tom reminded the group that Chief White indicated this would occur by Memorial Day. An informal phone app measurement of the Boardwalk TV system by one of the group indicated decibel levels ranging from a high of 105db to a low of 93db, with an average of 95db. This was measured from the Boardwalk walking level during the day. It was noted that the legal limit for decibels in New Jersey (and AC) is 65.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:42 a.m.
Next meeting is Wednesday, May 9, 9:30 a.m., at Boardwalk Hall.
Notes submitted by Ron Hill of Ripley’s Believe It or Not.