Condo Problems

Condo problems in Wildwoods being ignored, critics complain
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Saturday, April 29, 2006
Updated: Saturday, April 29, 2006

NORTH WILDWOOD — Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. said Friday that he was offended by the notion that the Joint Construction Office of the Wildwoods, or JCOW, is ignoring code violations that have affected the owners of several hundred condominium units on the island.

During the agency's regular monthly meeting, resident Maryetta Delahanty, who lives at the Schooner Bay Condominiums on Hand Avenue in Wildwood, said her building and others have serious code violations, and she asked JCOW to stop “brushing off” the seriousness of the problem.

“Our Schooner Bay Condominiums are a fire trap,” Delahanty said.

The state Department of Community Affairs identified about 500 units in 79 buildings on the island that were improperly inspected or constructed based on the construction code for the units.

“We have not brushed off anything,” Troiano said.

Troiano said he was a battalion chief with the Holly Beach Volunteer Fire Department and he would never take an issue of fire safety lightly.

Resident Eugene Sanguinetti, a longtime code official, also spoke and asked the JCOW board to better manage the agency to avoid similar problems and to accept responsibility.

Following the meeting, board member Kevin Yecco, representing Wildwood Crest, said the board delayed adoption of its $1.6 million budget while it awaits a final report from consultant Fred Coldren.

Coldren was brought in at a maximum fee of $5,000 to assess the agency's managements and operations.

As for the code violations, Yecco said attorney Glenn P. Callahan, hired by JCOW, was working to come up with solutions with the people involved.

Callahan said Friday he expects the island's municipalities to come to some resolution within the next few days on how owners of those affected condominiums can rent out their properties. The issuance of mercantile licenses has been suspended for those units.

Meanwhile, he continues to meet with developers, builders, architects and condominium associations to whittle down the list of troubled buildings.

So far, six buildings, with a total of 46 units, are off the list and another seven buildings, with 53 units, are likely to be removed from the list once it is confirmed they were actually built according to code, he said.

Work is being done on at least one building to fix its violations, and the goal is to get as many done before he submits an amended complaint to Judge Steven Perskie, who is handling the management of any legal proceedings in the matter.

Callahan said the problems — related to fire safety and fire suppression — are by their nature serious, but while the initial thinking was that some of the buildings may have to come down, that is not the case.

The remedies will cost at the most somewhere in the tens of thousands of dollars, and in many cases a lot less, Callahan said.

To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press:TGilfillian@pressofac.com