Bandstand at Newport Avenue beach.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – The weekly free concerts at Newport Avenue beach will continue through summer but plans to build a new band shell have hit a snag. The Board of Commissioners Thursday, June 27 rejected the single bid it received from a contractor to build a new band shell because the number was way above what the city is prepared to pay.
The board approved a resolution rejecting the single bid received on June 13 and agreed to readvertise for new bids after the architect revises the design to lower costs.
Walters Marine Construction, Inc. of Ocean View submitted its bid at $747,000.
“I don’t think many contractors knew about it, but we received several inquiries after the close of bidding,” Mayor Tim Kriebel said. “Our estimates of what it would cost were nowhere near that amount.”
Kriebel said the city would revise building specifications to help lower costs. Instead of building a concrete ramp to access the band shell, the city is considering a boardwalk type ramp with fiberglass decking and pilings instead, he said.
The funding for the project will come from several ordinances approved in prior years. It also received a $50,000 state grant to help offset costs and the Ventnor Beautification Committee has pledged an additional $75,000 toward the cost.
Although the project revisions and re-bidding will delay the award of a contract, it is not expected to delay construction, he said.
“It will not affect the timeline,” Kriebel said, because the city planned to build the band shell during the off-season. The project should be completed in time for the first concert of summer 2025.
Following a public outcry from residents and visitors in March when they learned that the city was planning to move the beachfront concerts to Ski Beach for this year, the board agreed to erect a temporary stage so the free concerts could continue to be held on Newport Avenue.
Residents accused the city of “poor planning” in getting the deteriorating gazebo replaced with a properly equipped band shell.
Defending their two-year effort, the board informed residents that it took nearly a year to obtain a CAFRA permit from the state, which prevented the project from starting in September 2023 as originally planned.
The band shell was designed by William McLees Architecture of Somers Point at a cost of $39,250. McLees is the same architect that designed the new kiosk at the Ventnor Pier and the new Lifeguard Headquarters building, offering a uniform design element for public buildings in the city.
The new band shell will be three times the size of the old gazebo, which was torn down before Memorial Day weekend along with a lifeguard hut. It will be able to accommodate larger bands and have all the electricity needed to power band equipment. It will also be ADA compliant, offer cover for the entertainers, be low-maintenance and erected in the same location as the gazebo.
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