In recent months, the concept of constructing an indoor municipal swimming pool at 4501 Park Road (the former public school facility) has been a popular topic of discussion for the people of Sea Isle City.
From the start, it was very clear that many individuals have strong opinions about the construction of a swimming pool – both for and against the idea.
In order to help City officials determine whether or not to build a swimming pool, a decision was made to add a non-binding referendum to the November 5 election ballot and also to create an online survey – both of which would ask the simple question: “Do you want a pool or not?”
The survey, which was intended specifically for property owners, was available online for two weeks up until 8 p.m. on November 5 (Election Day). Additionally, paper versions of the survey were also available for those without access to the internet. Both the online survey and the paper version of the survey required respondents to input their property-specific Water-Sewer Utility Account ID Numbers.
During the survey, 2,552 property owners voiced their opinions (including 33 who submitted paper surveys). 79.3 percent of survey-takers stated that they use their Sea Isle City properties seasonally or rent out their properties and 20.7 percent stated that they are year-round residents of Sea Isle City.
Of the 2,552 surveys submitted, 76.2 percent said “No” (do not build a pool) and 23.8 percent said “Yes” (build a pool).
With regards to the non-binding referendum, initial tallies from the voting machines along with the initial mail-in ballot count from the Cape May County Election Board indicated that 489 voters said “No” (do not build a swimming pool) and 386 voters said “Yes” (build a swimming pool).
These election figures reflect the unofficial General Election Results for November 5, which is still pending the final vote by mail and provisional vote count.
Our next City Council meeting will take place on Tuesday, November 12, at 10 a.m., at which time the discussion about the future of the 4501 Park Road property will continue.
Best Regards from the Members of City Council,
Council President J.B. Feeley (jbfeeley@seaislecitynj.us)
Frank Edwardi (fedwardijr@seaislecitynj.us)
Jack Gibson (jgibson@seaislecitynj.us)
Bill Kehner (wkehner@seaislecitynj.us)
Mary Tighe (mtighe@seaislecitynj.us)
