Ventnor-Margate senior beach tag 2020.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
MARGATE – The city got an early jump on awarding its 2021 beach vending license and selected an independent company for online beach tag sales.
The Board of Commissioners Dec. 3 agreed to renew its contract with Oil Depot NJ, LLC of Haddonfield, providing the company with the exclusive right to sell ice cream on the beach next summer. Oil Depot, which bid $50,000 per year for the two-year license last May.
The city advertised for bids in March but received no bids. The city’s previous vendor, Jack and Jill Ice Cream failed to submit a bid. A second round of advertising produced Oil Depot’s bid on April 30.
Oil Depot subsequently received a contract to sell ice cream on Longport’s beach as well.
Commissioner John Amodeo said the company did an “outstanding” job without any problems.
“They provided enough vendors on our beach to satisfy the needs of all our beachgoers,” Amodeo said. “I didn’t receive one complaint last summer, as we all heard in previous years.”
Chief Financial Officer Lisa McLaughlin announced that on the recommendation of Director of Community Education and Recreation Andrew Miles, the city would sell beach tags online through the Viply app. Both Ventnor and Longport have been using the Viply app to sell tags for several years without problems.
“We were contacted every year, but we were never in favor of it. We wanted it to get up and running in other towns to work out the kinks before we implemented it,” McLaughlin said.
Purchasers can log onto the Viply app and purchase tags with a credit card that they can pick up later at the Bloom Pavilion on Huntington Avenue and the beach.
Purchasers will be charged 2.9% per tag fee but there is no cost to the city. Funds are directly deposited into the city’s account.
Margate has regular season badges available for purchase starting Tuesday, Dec. 1. Tags can be purchased at the Martin Bloom Pavilion, Granville Avenue at the beach, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Pre-season rates, before May 31, 2021, are $10 (over age 12), and $3.50 for seniors. Starting June 1, 2021, all tags will be $20.
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