Council kills Ocean Ice Palace ordinance

Brick Township Council members have reluctantly rescinded a $9.9 million ordinance that would have led to the eventual purchase of the Ocean Ice Palace property.

The move came in the wake of owner Joan Dwulet's decision to sever negotiations with the township after over a year of discussions about the Brick landmark ice rink and the 13.34-acre property.

"I think we should talk about it now," Councilman Michael Thulen said at the beginning of the June 10 Township Council meeting. "We got a full house. I hate to say I told you so. But there you go. I told you so. It was an opportunity to do something for the township. I said over and over it was a no-brainer. Apparently it just turned into a headache."

Council members voted 6 to 0 to rescind the ordinance they introduced just weeks ago in early May to purchase the ice rink and the 13.34-acre property. Councilwoman Kathy Russell recused herself from the vote on the advice of Township Attorney Jean Cipriani.

The ordinance included the original $5.25 million purchase price for the site, which also included a separate building used by visiting hockey teams and a 25-yard outdoor pool. The other $4.7 million would have paid for a senior center, repairs to the interior of the ice rink, rink roof repairs, streetscaping and landscaping.

Russell, the only Democrat on the council, had joined forces with the group Stop OverSpending (SOS), which gathered enough signatures to put the purchase on the November ballot.

Cipriani said in a May 29 memorandum to Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis that Russell's involvement with the SOS group created an indirect personal interest and that she should recuse herself from voting on the bond ordinance.

The BrickDemocrats.com Web site had a link to the SOS Web site and urged residents to volunteer to circulate petitions to "stop the purchase" of the Ocean Ice Palace.

"If that is not the smoking gun, that this was a political vendetta, I don't know what is," Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis said at the June 10 council meeting.