On council’s agenda today is a resolution authorizing a shared service agreement with the Cape May County Municipal Utilities authority for solid waste disposal and recycling services. We’ve entered into this agreement periodically for many decades, as this is the most effective manner in which to dispose of our solid waste and manage recycling. It’s an arrangement that is probably taken for granted by many people, but it’s a critical part of our operation. The ability to dispose of trash at a reasonable cost and have our recycling materials accepted at no cost is a vital part of managing solid waste.
Also on council’s agenda is a resolution extending the third quarter tax due grace period to August 25th. The city had to wait for the certified 2026 tax rate from the county, and once we received it last week we were able to start the billing process.
This past spring, our city engineer presented options for the discharge of the 46th Street pumping station. Those options included the area behind the Library in the 4800 block of Central - discharging into the marsh creek; and the western end of 47th Place.
As with prior options, many residents expressed concerns about the impacts of these outfall locations on the quality of water immediately adjacent to their properties. Since that time, the city engineer has developed an option to take the discharge to a point directly into the intracoastal waterway, north of the city’s boat ramp. This discharge will not impact any property owner’s waterway. With council’s concurrence, we will direct the city engineer to proceed with this option. We will need to obtain DEP and Army Corps permits as well as finalize the engineering design, after which we can proceed with bidding and construction of the project.
At the last council meeting I reported that our beach replenishment project had been completed, and I’m happy to report today that the contractor has removed all of their pipe and equipment from the beach as well. This was a great project for the city and I want to again thank everyone for their patience as we worked to get this critical work done to ensure vital shore protection for our community.
As always, please remember we are one Sea Isle City and together we’ll be stronger than ever.
Smile…You’re in Sea Isle!
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
Council’s last meeting was held on July 14, and at that meeting, Police Chief Tony Garreffi gave a presentation on the activity of the police department during the summer season. The chief explained the hiring of summer seasonal officers and how they are deployed in conjunction with full time police officers to perform the various patrols throughout the city. The chief discussed various areas of enforcement on quality-of-life issues such as noise, curfew violations, and public disturbances; and explained the assignment of officers around bar locations. The chief also provided statistics on various violation summons that have been issued, including traffic stops, parking violations, city ordinance violations, and juvenile interactions. Information on police activity is posted on the Sea Isle Police Department’s Facebook page, on the city website, and typically with the first newsletter of each month.
Each of the resolutions on the consent agenda were approved, including…
• Resolution 100, which authorized the approval of vouchers.
• Resolution 101, which authorized the approval of a raffle application (St. Joseph’s Catholic Church).
• Resolution 102, which authorized the refund of certain Tourism Fall Family Festival Weekend Vendor Registration Fees.
• Resolution 103, which authorized the adjustment of charges for the installation of curbs and sidewalks under Project SIC 0258 – Various Streets.
• Resolution 104, which authorized the purchase of a roll off truck for the Department of Public Works.
• Resolution 105, which authorized the purchase of a Ford F-250 maintenance vehicle for the Department of Public Works.
• Resolution 106, which authorized the release of a performance guarantee for a project at 28 89th Street.
During the “Citizen Comment” portion of the meeting, several citizens stepped to the microphone to comment on various topics, including the following:
-Navigability of Townsends Inlet (the administration will review this with the Army Corps of Engineers).
-When tax bills will be mailed (note- the city just received the certified tax rate from the county, so bills should be mailed out within a few days).
-Status of the former LaCosta property.
-Thanking the city for enforcement of trash violations.
-E-bike laws (in response, Chief Garreffi indicated that the laws will be posted on the website; and that they will not take effect until one year from now).
-Jitney potential for the north end of the island (in response, mayor and council indicated that the jitney operator will not provide service to the north end of the island, as it is not economically sustainable).
-Handicap accessibility to the beach and marina (the administration will review this with the city engineer).
-Noise concerns.
-Opportunities for seniors.
-Issues regarding bulkhead construction.
Our next City Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, July 28, at 10:00 AM on the third floor of City Hall – and we hope to see you there!
Best regards from the members of City Council,
Council President Michael Jargowski
Ian Ciseck
Frank Edwardi
William Kehner
Mary Tighe
