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

Administration and Finance Report
Farmers’ Market at the Tower
Will Boyer, manager of the Farmers Market, gave a market overview stating: Most vendors experienced flat to increased business this summer despite a general trend of reduced business in other retail locations. The market continues to be a strong success according to both vendor and customer feedback. The two trial Wednesday pop-ups in August were successful and he recommended next summer they continue on an every other week schedule from mid-June to Labor Day. There are some safety concerns when pedestrian and vehicular traffic conflict during market setup but several changes are being considered to address those concerns. During the public comment segment of the meeting, some expressed opposition to expanding the farmers market to Wednesdays. They included participating vendors, the Chamber of Commerce, and one business owner. They cited concerns over parking, dilution of demand, and impact on existing businesses. The mayor suggested all parties sit down and consider a compromise proposal for next year.

2026 Budget
Budget planning has started early this year and challenges are expected to continue regarding the tax levy cap. The borough is considering new revenue sources, including suggestions from a SHPOA study. Contractual salary increases, high debt payments, and rising health care benefit costs will continue to stress the operational budget and the borough will be looking into alternatives to state-provided health insurance.

Real Estate Assessments
The borough, along with all other Cape May County shore communities, is well below assessed to actual market values (about 50%), triggering state mandated reassessments. Plans are being developed to determine the next reassessment timing. The last reassessment was seven years ago. The borough plans to conduct the reassessment using borough employees, possibly with Avalon.

97th Street Rec Center
Demolition is scheduled to begin on the old rec building. An updated building, along with public bathrooms, could be completed before the 2026 summer season.

Affordable Housing at 102nd Street
Work has begun to raise the property to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency flood standards. Concern was expressed that there is no fencing to deter people from going underneath the raised property during construction.

Playground at 82nd Street
The playground is the design stage, contract bidding is expected in one to two months, with completion expected prior to the 2026 summer season.

Tentative Labor Agreement with Fraternal Order of Police
The five-year contract is awaiting ratification by police and approval by council, both of which are anticipated in the next few weeks. Negotiations on fire, Emergency Medical Services, and public works contracts will shortly follow.

Public Works Report
The 96th Street Bridge replacement plans and timeline will be presented at the next meeting.

Utilities Report
There was a brief discussion regarding new water costs and how bills will be determined. Infrastructure, including reserves, water use, and Municipal Utility Authority sewer charges make up the bills components. High water volume users should expect to see increased costs while low volume users should see decreased costs. Water and sewer infrastructure costs will be equal across all households.

Regular Meeting
Ordinances and Resolutions
1694 regarding the reorganization of public works unanimously passed on second reading.
1695 regarding minor salary amendments unanimously passed on second reading.
1696 regarding enforcement of solid waste, recycling, and dumping rules unanimously passed on first reading.
There were two items of note in the consent agenda resolutions which passed. They are a settlement agreement regarding the Megan Brown lawsuit at a payment not to exceed $150,000, and the hiring of a special Human Resources investigator in response to certain employment complaints and allegations raised, at a cost not to exceed $17,500.

During public comment, a request was made for the borough to consider an ordinance to prohibit gas-powered leaf blowers due to environmental, health, and noise concerns.

To read legislation from this meeting, please click: https://stoneharbornj.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Regular-Mtg-9-2-2025-and-Backup-for-Website.pdf

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