Rick M. Santoro
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – The city’s Public Works superintendent is retiring in December and the Board of Commissioners is getting ready for his replacement.
Superintendent Ed Stinson, who also serves as the city’s in-house engineer overseeing capital projects, will retire on Dec. 1. The board has hired an assistant superintendent who will replace him at that time.
Richard M. Santoro of Ventnor, who has served as director of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority’s Special Improvement District overseeing landscaping and environmental services in the Atlantic City Tourism District, was appointed assistant superintendent of Public Works Thursday, Oct. 26. His appointment is effective Nov. 15, pending contract negotiations. The annual salary stated in a resolution that was unanimously approved is $135,000.
Mayor Lance Landgraf, who also works as a planner for the CRDA, said he is excited to have recruited Santoro for the job.
“His expertise in managing public works is bar none,” Landgraf said. “He does a great job in Atlantic City. I took some grief for stealing him from Atlantic City, but I’m used to that because I stole Ed Stinson from Brigantine.”
Santoro, who attended the Board of Commissioners meeting via Zoom, said he was “excited and blessed and fortunate to work in the hometown I love.”
He said he is looking forward to being a hard working team member.
“You’re getting a guy-and-a-half because of my OCD,” he said.
Commissioner Maria Mento said it was “worrisome” knowing the city would lose Stinson.
Landgraf said Santoro would work alongside Stinson until he leaves on Dec. 1, at which time Santoro will be appointed to the head post.
Landgraf said the city has reached out to its pool of approved engineers to serve on a consulting basis until a new supervising engineer can be hired on a permanent basis.
The city also hired Duke Malfara to serve as a full-time pump operator in the Public Works Department. Malfara has worked for the city as a seasonal employee over the last few years and will replace another employee who retired.
Additionally, the board awarded a $2.18 million contract to low-bidder L. Ferriozzi Concrete Company of Atlantic City to replace two water mains and complete roadway reconstruction on Monmouth and Lafayette avenues. The projects include installation of ADA-compliant ramps on each corner of the intersections.
The city received 10 bids ranging from Ferriozzi’s low bid of $2,180,829 to a high bid of $3,497,060 offered by West Bay Construction of Absecon.
The project on Monmouth Avenue between Cornwall and Harvard avenues will impact traffic in the area for about three months, Stinson said.
“It will be a very difficult and extensive project,” he said. “We will replace one at a time so we can maintain service to all properties. It will be a logistical nightmare with traffic and will take time.”
Administrator Tom Ciccarone said the city met with residents of Ventnor on the Bay, which is preparing for a bulkhead replacement project, regarding the Monmouth Avenue traffic plan.
The other project will be completed on Lafayette Avenue near the Ventnor Educational Community Complex. The roadway there is wider and the work is being done on the easterly side of Lafayette Avenue, so traffic will not be as severely impacted, the mayor said.
Work on the projects is projected to start late winter or early spring, Landgraf said.
The board also awarded a $41,950 contract to Quad Construction Company of Lumberton to construct a permanent bypass at the main sewer pump station located at the Public Works yard.
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