CAPE MAY – City officials here plan to sign off on a formal partnership agreement with Richard Stockton College of New Jersey bringing a summer concert series to the new Convention Hall over the next two years.

The signing ceremony is set for Thursday at noon at a special city council meeting, where it is expected that music concert series and children’s playhouse schedule will be announced.

“This is going to be the first in more comprehensive relationship between the city and Richard Stockton College of New Jersey,” said Mayor Ed Mahaney. “This initial phase focuses on performing arts, but we expect that the relationship will continue to expand.”

The two-year deal is the result of “three months of intensive information gathering and exchange and extensive dialogue regarding both parties’ needs and desired outcomes,” said Mahaney in a press release.

“Building on this partnership between Stockton College and Cape May will create a long-term mutually beneficial relationship for the constituents of each party,” he said in an interview. “Students interested in gaining practical experience, faculty who want to put their ideas to work and city residents seeing a commitment to services and quality of life here, all gain from the partnership.”

Mahaney said he expects the college-city partnership will extend beyond the performing arts to training and educational opportunities for city employees and area residents.

“Sustainability and economic viability are all about the big picture,” he said.

The “Stockton Goes to the Beach” music lineup features Jay and the Americans on July 9; Dave Mason on July 16; The Lettermen on July 23; Gerry and the Pacemakers on July 30; and “Ricky Nelson Remembered”, featuring Matthew and Gunnar Nelson with The Stone Canyon Band on August 6.

Showtimes are slated for 8 p.m. Tickets for the music series are set at $30 each.

The 60’s hitmakers in the music series will be joined by the college’s Children’s Summer Playhouse and the Greater Ocean City Theatre Company in a five play series. The children’s musical theatre lineup features: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day on July 11; Red Riding Hood’s Woods on July 25; Charlotte’s Web on August 1; and The Fabulous Fable Factory on August 8.

The children’s shows will begin at 10:30 a.m., with ticket prices at $8.

“This kind of commitment to the arts is part of our larger plan for economic sustainability,” said Mahaney. “These kinds of events are a great match for our new Convention Hall, for our residents and for our visitors.”

The Stockton summer series is the first long-term commitment to Cape May’s $10.5 million Convention Hall project. According to the mayor, the series should “produce exposure and participation in a wide array of arts and cultural events which will continue to transform our community’s landscape while solidifying our economic vitality.”

The multi-purpose Convention Hall, located on the Promenade at the intersection of Stockton Place and Beach Avenue, is scheduled to open this spring in a grand opening ceremony on Saturday, May 26 at 10 a.m. The open house for city taxpayers is offered “to express gratitude for the taxpayers’ support for this economic development project that will surely benefit all of our residents, business people, and visitors for years to come,” said Mahaney.

Opening weekend festivities at the new hall are planned to include an event with the Philly Pops orchestra, led by conductor Peter Nero.

The mayor and council have kept close tabs on the construction project, which saw small cost overruns in October. Mahaney has maintained that the project remains “within budget and within timelines” all along.

“The Convention Hall is to be ‘substantially completed’ by April 13, 2012,” Mahaney said is his January 1 State of the City address.

The installation of the windows and total enclosure of the building is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Voters here approved the $10.5 million for the project by referendum in 2008. The construction budget is set at $7.5 million. Last October, the council approved two change orders to the work specifications, granting nearly $130,000 not anticipated in original expenses. At that time, Mahaney explained that an undisclosed percentage of the construction budget had been blocked out for such unforeseen costs.