Maggie Day and Tim Tice presented preliminary plans for an aqua park at the Oct. 18 Margate Board of Commissioners meeting.
MARGATE – The principals involved in bringing an aqua park to the bay off Amherst Avenue made an informal presentation to the Board of Commissioners Thursday, Oct. 18 to dispel rumors about the proposed project.
According to their land use attorney Christopher Baylinson, owners Maggie Day and Tom Tice were presenting their plans at the public meeting to quiet the “rumor mill” about the park.
“Lately, the rumor mill has gone crazy,” he said.
Day is president of the Stone Harbor Chamber of Commerce and vice-president of the Stone Harbor Board of Education. Tice has operated the Island Water Sports Park in Stone Harbor for nine years. Together, they have six children.
“Island Aqua Park Margate” would include several inflatable rafts that float in the water and provide entertainment and exercise for children jump, bounce and play on from June to September. The inflatables would be deflated, removed and stored at the end of the season.
“We are not proposing building any structures at all. No buildings, no Marriotts,” Day said. “No overdeveloping of our and your beautiful waterfront properties.”
The park would be eco-friendly, because it requires no fuel to operate and does not pollute, she said. It will generate customers for other businesses and would not compete with other existing marine businesses. Operating hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“The town needs attractions that are family friendly to market to families with children as a premier vacation destination,” Day said.
The park would help the city attract tourists and visitors from other towns, and provide public access to the bay, which she said is currently a “members only club” because only those who live in bayfront properties or have boats docked at the marinas are able to access the bay for recreation.
“Everyone can visit the beach, not everyone can visit the bay,” she said.
The park would provide visitors with an up-close view of marine life, including osprey, blue heron and otters. Parents could drop off their children and shop or go to lunch, but parents of younger children may stay and watch and the whole family go to dinner afterward, she said.
“We know what it’s like to live in a town that doesn’t have a lot to do. It will be one more place they can go to have good, clean, safe outdoor fun,” she said.
Day said she is committed to keeping bayfront views intact and they have the experience to “do it right,” she said.
“We are committed to making Margate even better than it already is for residents and tourists alike,” she said. “We are confident we can accomplish this goal with great respect for the community and its laws, the environment and the neighboring businesses and homes.”
Commissioner John Amodeo questioned the partners about safety features at the park.
The couple recently purchased a second lot in the Riparian district that has a fixed pier, which sent the plan back to the early design stage.
“What we had originally proposed scale-wise is changing,” she said, but the park will have at least 12 lifeguards on duty.
“No one is allowed on without a life jacket,” Tice said.
A small pump would inflate the fixtures, but the pump will not disturb neighbors because it will only be used to occasionally re-inflate the floats, he said.
In the event of high winds or storms, the fixtures would be deflated.
“Our pumps will work the other way. Once you deflate them, they become heavy and stay down,” Tice said. “But if we had to, we could remove them in a couple of days.”
Maggie Day and Tim Tice talk with Margate Administrator Richard Deaney and Solicitor John Scott Abbott.
Day said the second property they purchased has a fixed pier, which will remain. Ramps will lead children from the pier to the apparatus and a ticket counter will be located on the fixed pier, she said.
Most of the boat slips along the pier will be removed, but several along the bulkhead will remain.
If permits and planning board approvals are granted, the partners hope to open by spring 2019, she said.
Commissioner Maury Blumberg said he believes the park will be a “hit,” and asked if patrons would congregate on the pier waiting for the place to open.
Day said families will likely “trickle-in” during the morning hours. Peak hours are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., she said.
The partners are asking the state to issue a permit to dredge the area, but they were non-committal about replacing the city-owned bulkhead that spans their properties.
Solicitor John Scott Abbott invited them to attend a meeting with other waterfront property owners to discuss the city’s plans to replace the bulkhead, which is in the design phase, he said. The city wants them replaced by spring.
Mayor Michael Becker thanked them for their informal presentation and assured residents they would have ample opportunity to ask questions when they present the project to the Planning Board.
“They have to go to the DEP, then they will come to the Planning Board,” Becker said.
Resident David Gelman said he objected to the park.
“I don’t want to see Margate become Wildwood,” he said. “That is what’s happening between the (miniature) golf course and now the water park. Parking is a major concern.”
Baylinson said the partners would address parking and access issues during the design phase and present them to the Planning Board.
Resident Nick Palmisano said the aqua park is just what Margate needs.
It would be “another amenity for the town,” he said.
