County gets progress report on parks, piers and beach crossover projects

The Board received a construction update on July 21 covering parks, piers and beach amenity projects across the county. Jake Mericle led the presentation and listed active sites including Harborview Park (Cape May), David Douglass Sr. Memorial Park (Lower Township), Sea Isle City beach crossovers, the Clarence and Georgiana Davies Sports Complex (Middle Township), Sandcastle Park (Ocean City), Eco‑Park (Woodbine), Heather Road Fishing Pier (Wildwood Crest), Roberts and Lincoln Avenues beach street ends (Wildwood), Amanda’s Field (Upper Township), and historic preservation work at Historic Cold Spring Village (HCSV).

Board members pressed staff for details on funding, permits and timelines. On Eco‑Park slope stabilization, Kevin Quinn said "it did not appear that there was much work done to address that," and Hanson said Woodbine will add a stabilization blanket and is "looking to open the park in October." Chair Peter Lomax asked staff to confirm whether the Heather Road Fishing Pier is fully funded; Hanson said he would follow up with Wildwood Crest and report at the next meeting. Hanson also said Upper Township is resurfacing Amanda’s Field and redesigning the seating area to accommodate a skate‑park element while retaining the hockey rink.