By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
Those hoping to get around Downbeach towns without moving their vehicles will have to wait a little longer to safely secure their bicycles to one of those long promised bike racks.
Downbeach.com has learned there will be further delays in the most sought after amenity on Absecon Island, where parking spaces are at a premium. Aside from politics, the bike rack installation project is perhaps one of the most contentious issues discussed on Downbeach social media forums. The mere mention of bike racks elicits a roll of the eyes or snarky remarks from residents and visitors.
It’s been more than three years since Ventnor and Margate were awarded a $275,000 grant to install 208 bicycle racks in business districts and residential neighborhoods based on the needs of each community. Margate was supposed to get 131 customized bike racks, while Ventnor would get 77.
On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the Atlantic County Office of Budget and Purchasing advertised a re-bid after the previous contractor, Ocean Construction, LLC informed the county it would not proceed with the project.
Ocean was awarded a $154,714 contract on June 16 to complete installation of enough racks to park 416 bicycles in strategic locations in Ventnor and Margate. The oval, inverted “U,” and wave shaped bike racks were to have insignias unique to each community. The contract was good for a year, but Ocean, the low bidder, informed the county on July 24 that it would not complete the project. An attempt to obtain comment from the contractor, who recently completed the Atlantic Avenue streetscape project in the North Beach Ventnor business district, was unsuccessful.
According to Atlantic County Public Information Officer Linda Gilmore, “the contractor did not meet the materials criteria as specified in the contract. Ocean Contractors then decided to withdraw from further involvement in the project.”
Six other South Jersey contractors submitted bids for the project ranging from a high of $387,064 from Lasher Construction to Ocean’s low bid. The county is required to award to the lowest responsible bidder. The next lowest bidder was L. Feriozzi Construction at $188,932. Among the other bidders were Arthur Henry, R. Maxwell and Walters Marine.
The project has been delayed for years due to involvement of federal, state and county governments, local officials said.
“People think it’s our fault,” Margate Zoning Officer Roger McLarnon said. “The only thing we had a say in is where they go and the style.”
He believes federal requirements have bogged down the process and that the contractor withdrew because he became frustrated and got “cold feet” dealing with all the bureaucracy.
The cities of Ventnor and Margate partnered on the grant, which was funded through the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration’s $1.9 million allocation to the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization for fiscal year 2017.
Atlantic County was responsible for bidding and hiring a second engineer to review and certify Remington & Vernick’s original designs and that the purchasing process met with all the federal guidelines, McLarnon said.
“Finding that contractor also slowed things down,” he said.
The final plans for the project design were approved in June 2019. The finalized plans were advertised in February, with bids opened on March 11. Then came the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed the contract award, which he said was deemed “non-essential,” until June 16.
“No one wants these grants anymore. They take so much time,” McLarnon said.
New bids are due to the county by 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15.
“We’ll be lucky if we see the bike racks installed by next summer,” McLarnon said.
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