As a courtesy to our SHPOA Members, we’re bringing you a summary of each Stone Harbor Work Session and Council Meeting. Intended as summaries, these intentionally don’t have a lot of details and are not a substitute for the official Borough minutes.
Work Session
Deck and House Collapse. Keep your eyes on the road
Public Safety:
Fire Chief Roger Stanford reported that there were 43 fire calls and 67 EMS calls. A deck on a Stone Harbor home collapsed and the Fire Department assisted with a building collapse on Stone Harbor Boulevard. He noted that the department is trained in water rescues.
Police Chief Thomas Schutta said there were 138 motor vehicle stops including 21 moving violations, eight accidents, and four suspicious vehicles.
Food, Music, and Fun
Recreation and Tourism:
Tuesdays at the Tower resume July 5 and the Recreation Department has finished working on the bocce court. It is almost done with racket sports facilities.
To bring more children into programs, the department no longer requires a full summer season reservation but will allow children to sign up on a weekly basis.
The Farmers Market, held Sundays between 8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., has additional vendors including a local food bank.
Beach erosion and flooding
Natural Resources:
Coastal engineer Doug Gaffney reported that beaches are slowly returning following the Mother’s Day storm. Water is pushing sand onto the beaches and smoothing out offshore troughs.
Council had a prolonged discussion on getting started on the 93rd Street wastewater pumping station which would remediate increased flooding. The project has been in the works since at least 2017, according to Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour. Council President Reese Moore reported that the cost has escalated from $11.5 million to about $19 million and the mayor said it shouldn’t be postponed any further. Some of the funds would come from a $5.5 million grant from Cape May County and a $2.7 million grant from the federal government. Borough Taxpayers would cover the rest.
Council Meeting
Council passed several ordinances and resolutions including:
ORDINANCES
Under Ordinance 1608, by May 1, 2023, homeowners are required to use ANSI Z245.60 -2008 Type B plastic trash receptacles with suitable handles and wheels, a metal bar, and a tight-fitting lid. The trash receptacle must be at least 32 gallons, with a maximum of 96 gallons.
Funds have been approved to purchase 16 tipper truck attachments, at a total cost of $123,000, to streamline trash collections and improve safety. Tippers have been ordered.
A Borough committee may suspend individuals from recreational areas for improper behavior as outlined in Ordinance 1609.
Also adopted was a lot grading ordinance which also requires bulkheads to be backfilled.
RESOLUTIONS
Council appointed Deputy Clerk Kim Stevenson to be Borough Clerk to replace the retiring Suzanne Stanford. It resolved to request a tax cap exemption for Covid and other costs; agreed to study oceanfront erosion and remediation so it would be ready to quickly apply for permits and begin remediation work. Council agreed to have four lifeguards work between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to monitor and rescue swimmers after guards leave beaches at 5 p.m. And, it agreed to let St. Mary’s Episcopal Church hold services at 101st St Pavilion at 5:30 p.m. on Saturdays between July 9 and August 27.
For documents discussed at the meeting, please follow this link: https://stoneharbornj.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/DOC061722-06172022161617.pdf
To view a video of the meeting, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7JQH35QdYg
To read past Stone Harbor Council Meeting summaries, please click here: https://www.stoneharborpoa.org/news/.
To watch recordings of past meetings, please click here: watch-mayor-and-council-meetings-online.