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Cape May County approves $2.44 million change order for Ocean Drive upgrades, clears package of grants and contracts
Summary
The Board of County Commissioners approved a $2,435,043.35 change order to expand geotechnical work on Ocean Drive bridge and upgrades and approved a consent package including multiple grant acceptances, contract awards and releases of performance guarantees; Commissioner Bulakowski recused on two regular-agenda items.
The Cape May County Board of County Commissioners on May 26 approved Change Order No. 1 worth $2,435,043.35 to the county’s professional engineering contract with Michael Baker International for Ocean Drive upgrades and bridge improvements in Lower Township.
Mr. Church, the county engineer, told commissioners the consultant’s original, NJDOT-format proposal had included only cursory borings suitable for preliminary evaluation but "was inadequate for full project design." He said the county authorized comprehensive geotechnical work now to reduce the likelihood of later design revisions, to determine foundation requirements or whether piezometer work will be needed, and to produce the data required for accurate budgeting and public construction notices. Mr. Church said the county received a credit for the earlier cursory work that was applied to the change order and that he expects an overall savings on project engineering costs as a result.
The change order was approved as part of the consent agenda. The presentation originally planned for the caucus meeting on the Ocean Drive project was rescheduled to June 9 pending the consultant’s availability.
In other business, the Board approved a package of routine resolutions on consent, including: acceptance of a State Health Insurance Program grant for $41,000; a $75,000 Overdose Fatality Review Teams grant; an $87,596.22 Clean Communities award from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; a federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant award totaling $38,316 (plus a $5,000 in-kind county match); and a $61,200 Next Generation 9-1-1 subgrant to support emergency telecommunication upgrades.
The Board also approved a number of contract- and project-related items on consent: release of performance guarantee funds (for example, $10,236.60 to Seahorse Farms Winery for Seashore Road improvements), closing and acceptance of a 2025 barrier island maintenance striping contract, and permissions for temporary road closures tied to local events. Two items that had been pulled from the consent calendar were later taken up on the regular agenda after Vice Director Bulakowski recused and left the dais: Resolution 316-26, authorizing release of $67,533.40 to R.E. Pierson for improvements to Woodbine-Oceanview Road (CR 550) in Dennis Township, and Resolution 327-26, awarding Contract C6-70 to Jersey Architectural Door & Supply, Inc. for commercial door services; both were approved without Bulakowski’s participation.
The meeting included routine procedural actions — approval of minutes, roll call, and the director’s reading of the Open Public Meetings Act notice — and brief commissioner reports, including Vice Director Bulakowski’s remarks about Memorial Day events and staff logistics. The Board opened and closed public comment periods for the consent and regular agendas; the minutes record the public comment periods but do not include substantive remarks.
The Board moved to adjourn shortly after 3:15 p.m. The county will hold the rescheduled Ocean Drive presentation on June 9 if the consultant is available.
