VENTNOR – A small group of volunteers from the Ventnor Beautification Committee met with city commissioners and Public Works employees Friday afternoon to dedicate the new trash enclosures on the beach.
A Case 721 wheel loader carried an enclosure and set it on the beach at Oakland Avenue directly in line with the others that were placed from one end of the city to the other last week.
“It’s Margate’s design, but we redesigned it to make it better,” public works laborer Gary Rothman said.
Public works employees started making 54 of the enclosures last October, one for each block of Ventnor’s beach.
The enclosures, which hold trash and recycling, are made of pressure treated lumber, marine grade plywood and plastic lattice, laborer Kollin Eisenberis said.
“The bolts and hardware alone cost more than $1,000,” he said.
The material to make the enclosures was paid for with a donation from the Ventnor Beautification Committee, which raises money to fund community projects.
The entire cost of the project, including the little plaques on each one was $13,600.
Past projects completed with the support of the Ventnor Beautification Committee included several “Welcome to Ventnor” signs, trash receptacles on the boardwalk and throughout the city, banners on boardwalk and American flags along Ventnor Avenue and more.
All projects are coordinated through the city, Chairwoman Shelley D’Orazio said.
“We always work with the city to decide what projects we do,” she said.
D’Orazio said this year’s Chef’s Night Out event, which was held May 20, raised $11,000 from the $40 tickets 275 people bought to enjoy the dine-around at all of the city’s restaurants and ice cream parlors.
“Our total expenses was zero,” she said. “All the restaurants donated their food and our volunteers did a great job as hosts.”
The organization is planning its Ventnor City Garden Tour Sunday, July 8 to help with next year’s project – upgrades at Ski Beach.
Committee member Cindy Weinraub said rusted old barrels presented a poor image for the city.
“This will make a big impact on the beauty of the beach,” she said.
Each of the enclosures has two brand new rubber containers to hold trash, cans and bottles.
“There’s no excuse for trash blowing across the beach,” Commissioner of Public Works Lance Landgraf said.
The trash is emptied every morning, but if someone reports one as being full, it will be emptied right away.
“All they have to do is call the Public Works Department,” Landgraf said.
In the event of a storm, the enclosures will be moved closer to the boardwalk, Rothman said.
“The water rarely comes up that high,” he said.
They will be removed at the end of the summer season and stored at the Public Works yard, he said.
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