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
Gabriella Sharpe Wins Beach Tag Design Contest
To the applause of the Stone Harbor Council, Gabriella Sharpe, a fourth grader at Stone Harbor’s Elementary School, was acknowledged as the winner of the Borough’s 2025 Seasonal Beach Tag Design Contest. Sharpe was awarded four 2025 Seasonal Beach Tags and will have the opportunity to serve as Junior Beach Patrol Captain for a day during the 2025 season. Further details regarding the competition and photographs of Miss Sharpe with her design can be viewed here.

Members of the Council and Borough Administrators provided an update on a number of ongoing projects and events:

Police Recruitment and Lifeguards Needed
The Police Department is recruiting additional Class One and Two officers to serve during the 2025 Summer season. The Beach Patrol is also urging interested people to apply for positions as lifeguards. Many guards who previously served the Borough are graduating from college this year, so there are numerous openings.

Emergency Management
The Borough is working with Cape May County to update plans associated with emergency operations. A draft of the emergency operations plan is expected to be reviewed by the Borough’s various departments and finalized by February 2025. The Borough is also working with the County on updating the flood mitigation plan. A preliminary meeting to discuss hazard mitigation will take place on December 3. The plan must be finalized by February 2026.

Holiday Festivities
Plans for a fun and festive holiday weekend were reviewed, including the November 29th Paw Prints Pet Parade and the November 30th Christmas Parade. A complete list of events and activities can be viewed here. The parade staging includes a quiet zone for those bothered by noise and light.

Natural Resources: Predators at the Point
The access road to Stone Harbor Point remains closed. Sand buildup in the area is expected to allow Public Works to rebuild the access road in the near future.

Nesting birds, including Piping Plover and Oyster Catchers, continue to be challenged by predators on the Point. In what was termed “a disappointing year,” an estimated 80-90 nests were lost. The Borough is currently using non-lethal traps to remove foxes.

The Scotch Bonnet marsh restoration project and the channel dredging around Nummy Island is making progress as sediment is being pumped into the marsh areas. These Wetlands Institute projects are intended to preserve the wetlands, which were being overcome by the rising tides and frequent flooding resulting from climate change.

Public Comment
Representing SHPOA, Geoff Woolery requested that the Council adopt proactive planning to maintain Stone Harbor beaches as they consider the 2025 Budget. He suggested that the planning should go beyond the current work on flood mitigation and include resources to combat “hot spots” as they arise. Woolery stated that the beach currently is in very good condition, but concluded that several beach fills every decade is not a sufficient plan. He identified Stone Harbor Point as a current hot spot that had received little attention in the last 20 years. He advised that planning and proper evaluation of existing data could be used to formulate a plan for rehabilitation, similar to the successful restoration of the bird sanctuary. Woolery suggested that Council might authorize beach scraping, which had been anticipated in 2024, but was not performed in the spring or fall. He also suggested that funding for beach engineering should be included in the 2025 budget. Woolery urged Council to make the beach the top priority and properly identify and fund proactive solutions to protect Stone Harbor’s greatest asset.

Regular Meeting
Council voted to approve a series of resolutions that authorized the ongoing business of the Borough, including transfers of funds in the 2024 Budget, authorizing payment of payroll and bills, and adopting a proposal for engineering and construction services for reconstruction of Second Avenue from 85th to 87th Street.

To read legislation discussed at the meeting, please click: https://stoneharbornj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/11.18.2024-Regular-Meeting-Agenda-and-Documents.pdf

To view a video of the meeting, please click:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0JqbzTp4mg
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 onTo 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/