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
Fire Inspection Fees
There was considerable discussion during the Fire Department report as to the fact that the department continues to run a deficit over budget allocations, on the order of $100,000. Administration and Finance Committee Chair Jen Gensemer recommended that, to help close the budget gap for future years, increases in fees for fire inspection (from $75 to $100) and rental licenses (from $100 to $300) be adopted.
96th Street Burglaries
Police Chief Tom Schutta reported that the recently publicized burglaries on 96th Street are being aggressively investigated and, although he could not give specifics, he felt optimistic that there would be a resolution. Police agencies outside of the county are involved and the recently installed video cameras around town were extremely valuable to the investigation.
Beach Tags
Beach Patrol Captain Sandy Bosacco reported that weekend sales of Beach Tags will begin on March 30 at the beach tag office at 95th Street and the beach.
Playgrounds
Recreation and Tourism Recreation Director Shannon MacPherson gave an overview of the proposed revamp of the 97th Street playground, administration building, and basketball court. The presentation may be viewed on the Borough Website at http://stoneharbornj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/3.19.24-Playground-Presentation-.pdf
The Borough is seeking input from all residents regarding the project scope, design, and cost. The current project has a $1.9M price tag with anticipated offsets from grants of $1.1M, lowering the Borough cost to $0.8M. The revamp objectives were focused on diversity, inclusion, and sustainability. Depending on when the project is approved, completion could occur mid-summer.
The 82nd Street playground revamp, which is much larger in size, is still in the planning stages. The old equipment has been removed and sand has been added to the lot to allow for a variety of games and activities this summer while plans are being finalized.
Harbor Hop
The Borough-sponsored Harbor Hop (5K/1M run and walk) is Saturday 3/30 at 9 am.
Beach Cleaning: Volunteers Needed
The spring beach sweep sponsored by Clean Ocean Action will be on Saturday 4/13 starting at 9am at 96th Street/1st Avenue. (register at https://cleanoceanaction.org/index.php?id=153).
Dunes and Plants
An update was provided on two dune vegetation projects, 1 between 80-83 streets and another at 119th street – in both cases invasive species are being removed and replaced with native vegetation.
In collaboration with the Garden Club, a proposed SHPOA Project of the Year proposal for planting the 103rd Street median with sustainable plantings was presented and details are being progressed to bring this to Council for approval in the coming month.
2024 Proposed Budget
If approved, the 2024 proposed budget of $22.3M, presented by CFO James Craft, will increase the local purpose tax rate by 1 cent per $100 of assessed value, a 3.3% increase. Additionally, the proposed Water & Sewer Utility budget of $5.7M will include increased fees for water/sewer use in excess of the standard quarterly allowance of 10,000 gallons. The complete budget proposal may be viewed at http://stoneharbornj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Stone-Harbor-INTRODUCED-Budget-2024.pdf.
A more detailed budget discussion is set for the April 2 Council meeting and public comment is scheduled for April 19.
General Discussion
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour raised several topics for general discussion, specifically around formalizing protocols for: 1) virtual participation by members of Council in meetings, 2) going into private session, 3) agenda meetings and 4) consent agendas for Council meetings.
The Borough solicitor will draft a proposal for council consideration. In an effort to streamline Council meetings, there was discussion on voting on resolutions collectively rather than individually, other than by exception – voting on ordinances would remain individual.
Regular Meeting
Ordinances and Resolutions
Resolution 2024 S-66 passed unanimously retaining the location of the Sunday Farmer’s Market at the water tower – a previous resolution has moved it to 94th Street but after considerable public push back that decision was reversed, for now.
Ordinance 1660 was adopted amending the zoning code for bulkhead and habitable story.
Ordinance 1661 was adopted creating a residential D zoning for Linden Lane which would allow for limited second stories for properties otherwise in compliance with existing zoning laws.
Private Session
For the fourth consecutive meeting Council went into private session on matters closed to the public.
To view legislation from this meeting, please click this link: http://stoneharbornj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/03.19.2024-Regular-Meeting-Agenda-and-Documents-1.pdf
To view a video of this meeting, please click: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwhCV4Ux-7E
NOTE: The Cape May County Herald recently had articles related to topics covered at this Council Meeting. These articles can be found along with others as part of their coverage of Stone Harbor.
As you may know, our friends at the Cape May County Herald are offering SHPOA members only an exclusive discount for Herald subscriptions — 25% OFF with code “SHPOA” — and they are also providing your association advertising space in print and online for us to promote the association and the initiatives important to our members.
To subscribe and use the discount, please click on https://capemaycountyherald.com/subscribe/ and use promo code “SHPOA” at checkout to claim your 25% discount. Only valid for new subscribers.
To read past Stone Harbor Council Meeting summaries, please click here: https://www.stoneharborpoa.org/category/borough-meeting-summaries/
To watch recordings of past meetings, please click here: https://stoneharbornj.org/agendameetings/watch-mayor-and-council-meetings-online/
