By Donald Wittkowski
In its last meeting of the year, City Council approved agreements Wednesday that will result in more than $1 million in funding from Cape May County for two major projects that Sea Isle City plans to complete in 2019.
Using a $935,605 grant from the Cape May County Open Space program, Sea Isle plans to build a new fishing pier and handicap-accessible kayak launch site that will create access to the scenic bayfront in a prime location.
Sea Isle is also receiving $89,472 in county funding to help pay for a flood-warning system that is designed to protect homeowners and motorists from rising stormwater.
The fishing pier and kayak launch site will require a series of regulatory permits from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and possibly the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before the city can start construction. Sea Isle Business Administrator George Savastano estimated the project could be completed by late 2019.
“This is something that will be available not only to our residents, but to the visitors who come here. It will be open to the public,” Savastano said.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio said the project takes advantage of an ideal bayfront location and will blend in with the natural surroundings through careful environmental planning.
The boardwalk-style structure will combine a fishing pier, a launch site for kayaks and paddleboards and a “passive pier” featuring a covered pavilion allowing nature lovers to soak up picturesque views of the bays.
The city gave the public its first glimpse of what the project will look like when it unveiled an architectural rendering in the fall.
It will be built along the water’s edge behind the city’s Dealy Field athletic and recreation complex near 60th Street. Parking is already available at the site.
The kayak area will have two launch sites, including one that is compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Additionally, the new site will have kayak storage racks, which will be an extra convenience for those who are eager to paddle on the bay, the mayor said.
Crowded with upscale homes, Sea Isle’s bayfront offers few places where kayakers, paddleboarders and anglers have public access to the water. The new project will open up the back bays to the public.
About a year ago, Sea Isle officials and the city engineer settled on Dealy Field as the best location for a kayak launch site and fishing pier. Dealy Field is the hub of the city’s recreation facilities.
Meanwhile, the city’s new flood-warning system that will receive county funding is expected to be ready by March, according to Police Chief Tom McQuillen, who is overseeing the project. It will include a series of flashing LED-lighted signs scattered across town to warn motorists of flooding.
Sea Isle will also be able to issue flood alerts to the public through texts, email and social media, McQuillen said.
City officials explained that the flashing signs would be turned on before flooding actually strikes to give residents and visitors as much advanced warning as possible based on storm conditions and the weather forecast. Electronic sensors known as “smart poles” would detect rising stormwater.
One major advantage of the system would be to warn people to move their cars to higher ground before it’s too late to get out. It would also help them avoid driving into areas inundated by stormwater, McQuillen explained.
The early warning system is the latest addition to the city’s flood-control strategy. It is billed as the largest system of its type for any municipality in New Jersey.
“This will be the most robust system we know of in the state,” McQuillen said. “We have gotten marching orders from the mayor to do all we can for flood mitigation and flood prevention, and this effort is another step in that direction.”
Originally, the project was to include 56 flashing road signs to warn motorists of flooding. But the program has been expanded and will now feature about 70 signs strategically located in the city’s most flood-prone neighborhoods.
The county’s $89,472 in funding will pay for part of the project. The city’s share will be about $130,000, McQuillen noted.
Sea Isle struggles with flooding even during moderate coastal storms. A powerful nor’easter that lashed the Jersey Shore on Oct. 27 left some of Sea Isle’s main streets underwater for hours.
At the Nov. 13 Council meeting, the city’s engineer released the findings of a new flood-mitigation study that recommends the construction of pumping stations, drainage upgrades and levees to protect the low-lying island from stormwater.
In its never-ending fight against flooding, Sea Isle has replenished its beaches, fortified its dunes, upgraded its drainage systems and rebuilt its roads over the years.
The new flood-warning and notification system is one more “weapon” the city will use to protect residents and visitors from dangerous stormwater, McQuillen said.
“It gives us an additional means to notify the public that flooding is taking place or about to take place,” he said.
