Council VP Madden & City Solicitor McCrosson try to sneak rehabilitation re-vote for the Wonderland pier
Dear Friends,
At last night’s City Council meeting, highly unethical and potentially illegal actions taken by Council VP Pete Madden and City Solicitor Dottie McCrosson threatened to undermine the trust that Ocean City has been working so hard to rebuild after a truly difficult and contentious summer. Their breach of public trust requires a strong and immediate community response.
On August 21, City Council overwhelmingly voted NOT to pursue designating Wonderland as a “rehabilitation area” and instead chose the open, transparent path of updating the Master Plan. That decision was fair, honest, and widely supported.
In the weeks that followed, progress continued. Public debate has become less rancorous.
City Council members moved forward with informal discussions around forming a subcommittee to drive the Master Plan review. With this known process taking place, our Boardwalk regained commercial certainty and began generating investment interest. The public was engaged in a positive way. The successful completion of a Master Plan review would have generated public trust, and created investment certainty for the entire Boardwalk.
But last night, without public notice, Council VP Madden—working behind the Last night, without public notice, Council VP Madden—working behind the scenes with City Solicitor McCrosson—tried to bring the resolution back for a surprise vote. No advance warning. scenes with City Solicitor McCrosson—tried to bring the resolution back for a surprise vote. No advance warning. No agenda listing. And done strategically with one prior “no” vote—Council Member Jody Levchuk—absent.
This move stopped the progress, erased community trust, and plunged the entire process back into uncertainty. With little public attendance, the few residents attending the meeting shared their outrage and dismay at this blindsiding, sneak attack.
Here’s what happened:
● Council Member Winslow flipped his prior opposition and shamefully supported VP Madden’s motion to revote.
● Council Members Barnes and Hartzell rightly stood firm, questioning why such a vote was even happening.
● Council Member Polcini indicated initial support, but ultimately stopped the nonsense, moving to table the resolution…for now.
● This kind of backroom maneuver is a HUGE BREACH OF TRUST and it begs the question—who are Councilmember Madden and City Solicitor McCrosson actually working for? The people of Ocean City? Or deep-pocketed developers pulling strings behind the scenes? No matter the answer—Ocean City deserves better.
It was because of the community’s involvement over the summer—your many calls, emails, and letters to Council—that we achieved a 6-1 vote against considering rehabilitation for the Wonderland site in August. It’s clear that we need to bring back this public pressure and insist Council stays the course on a
Master Planning process—not cave to backroom deals.
WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO—TODAY
1. Contact Your Council Members and the City Solicitor (contact info at the bottom of this email):
● Tell Council Member Madden and Solicitor McCrosson you will not forget this attempt to orchestrate a surprise re-vote. This issue was settled. They knew how important this issue was to the citizens, but they did not care.
● Tell Council Member Winslow you are deeply disappointed by his flip and demand accountability. The reasons he gave were unconvincing. He said the city needed to move forward. But it already had…in the right way, with a master plan review that would have answered all of his questions in a fair and equitable way. His response made no sense - and poorly represented his constituents.
● Thank Council Members Barnes, Hartzell, and (ultimately) Polcini for showing strength and integrity in shutting this down. They stood up to strong arm tactics and saw through thinly-veiled manipulation. Their steadfastness should be appreciated.
● Tell Council President Crowley that, as leader of the Council, it is his responsibility to ensure that all Council Members act in a way that protects the community’s trust in Council. That means acting transparently and openly, and not in a way that divides our community, but instead allows us to heal and move forward.
2. Show Your Support Publicly:
● Please put your Big Mistake signs back up. We are back at war. If you need a replacement sign, let us know—we have them available.
We’ve proven before that OC citizens will not stand for being blindsided or poorly represented, and we will not allow Ocean City’s future to be decided behind closed doors, for the benefit of a few at the expense of many.
WE CAN DO IT AGAIN. LET’S KEEP STANDING STRONG.
With appreciation,
Bill Merritt & Jim Kelly
Ocean City 2050
CITY SOLICITOR, FIND YOUR WARD & COUNCIL MEMBER
CONTACT INFORMATION
City Solicitor, Dottie McCrosson
609-399-6111
Email: DMcCrosson@OCNJ.US
Council members at large representing all wards:
Pete Madden
609-513-4781
Email: pmadden@ocnj.us
Sean Barnes
609-412-4080
Email: sbarnes@ocnj.us
Tony Polcini
609-432-1270
Email: jpolcini@ocnj.us
First Ward: Extends from the Ocean City-Longport Bridge to the north side of 4th Street.
Terry Crowley Jr.
Cell: 609-374-4232
Email: tcrowley@ocnj.us
Second Ward: Encompasses the area from the south side of 4th Street to the north side of 12th Street.
Keith Hartzell
609-289-1484
Email: khartzell@ocnj.us
Third Ward: Covers the region from the south side of 12th Street to the north side of 26th Street.
Jody Levchuk
609-385-2187
Email: jlevchuk@ocnj.us
Fourth Ward: Includes the area from the south side of 26th Street to 59th Street
Dave Winslow
954-401-2889
Email: dwinslow@ocnj.us
