How do you spell relief?

Wildwood beachgoers to get relief
By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Thursday, June 22, 2006
Updated: Thursday, June 22, 2006

WILDWOOD — Boardwalk visitors in need of a bathroom break may soon get a break.

The city's public restrooms located beneath the Schellenger Avenue information center have been closed since at least last summer, forcing vacationers to trek to one of the piers or to city bathrooms at Glenwood and Leaming avenues.

On Wednesday, Public Works Superintendent Matt Christopher said the Schellenger Avenue bathrooms should finally be open by the Fourth of July holiday.

Christopher said the bathrooms have been undergoing a major renovation with work being done by Public Works department employees as they are available.

“We work around other schedules, and that's part of the delay. Now we're on track,” Christopher said, explaining that having the work done in-house was designed to save money.

Commissioner Fred Wager said the opening of the bathrooms cannot come soon enough.

“People are calling every day about the bathrooms and why they're not open. Believe me, it's a nightmare,” Wager said.

Last year, the city rented portable toilets for the Schellenger Avenue location, but Wager said the city chose not to do so this year because the bathrooms were expected to open for the season.

The renovation includes the addition of new toilets, flooring, baby changing stations and more and is being paid for with a $150,000 federal grant, said purchasing agent Gordon Ball.

The city had hoped to have all of the work done by an outside contractor, but the cost proved to be too high, Ball said.

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