By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City weathered the tumultuous first year of the coronavirus pandemic with its strong finances intact and will move ahead with an ambitious construction program in 2021, Mayor Leonard Desiderio said Tuesday in his annual State of the City address.
“In spite of the pandemic, the state of the city is very strong,” Desiderio said in remarks delivered during a City Council meeting held by teleconference amid the pandemic.
Desiderio also presented his 2021 budget proposal to Council. More details of the spending plan will be released Thursday during a Council budget workshop. It will include an increase in the city tax rate of about half a penny and is supported by a nearly $7 million surplus.
“We’ve been able to go several years without any increase in the tax rate; and the fact is that this year, with all of the obligations we have, a slight increase is appropriate. The budget we are presenting starts with a surplus position that is the strongest it’s ever been – nearly $7 million,” Desiderio said.
Separate from the city’s operating budget, the municipal water and sewer rates in 2021 will remain the same for the eighth consecutive year, the mayor announced.
Desiderio noted that Sea Isle’s solid finances will allow the city to advance a series of capital projects in 2021. At the top of the list is a proposed community recreation center expected to cost around $15 million.
The former Sea Isle public school at 4501 Park Road will be demolished to make room for the community center. The school, which closed in 2012 due to Sea Isle’s declining student population, occupies the entire block bordered by Park Road, Central Avenue, 45th Street and 46th Street.
Construction of the recreation center is expected to begin this year, with completion in spring 2023. Sea Isle’s architect is designing the facility and will make a public presentation in March.
One of the centerpieces of the project would be a large gymnasium featuring a regulation-size basketball court, pickleball courts, retractable bleachers and partitions to divide the space for other recreation activities.
Far more than a recreation facility, the building would also include a proposed cafeteria, catering kitchen, meeting space and a 140-seat auditorium for plays and other cultural events as part of its dual role as a community center.
“I’m confident from the meetings we’ve had to date and from the feedback I’ve gotten that this is a facility that the public wants and that the city needs in order to deliver the best community services for our residents; and I look forward to next month’s public presentation,” Desiderio said.
Other projects that are part of the city’s construction program for 2021 include a kayak launch site and fishing pier that will open this spring on the bayfront near 60th Street and seven new pickleball courts planned for this summer on 42nd Place next to the municipal marina.
The city will continue with its flood-control strategy by seeking a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a new stormwater pumping station that would serve the drainage area between 44th and 47th streets, Desiderio said.
In addition, the city will build a storm sewer pipeline for the flood-prone area on 40th Street from Central Avenue to Kneass Street. Desiderio said the new pipeline will tie in with the city’s existing pumping station on 38th Street to help reduce flooding in the area surrounding 40th and Central.
The budget will also include funding for the city to bolster its fire safety by having volunteer firefighters stationed overnight at the fire station during the peak summer tourism season, saving valuable time in responding to fires when the town is crowded with vacationers.
City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday creating a payment program for volunteer firefighters who are part of the overnight shift. Overall, the cost of the program will be capped at $30,000 per month, according to the ordinance.
Desiderio said the plan includes having firefighters on duty during nights and weekends in the summer and “at other selected times.”
Plans for an overnight crew continue the department’s restructuring following four separate fires in 2017, 2018 and 2019 that destroyed a total of nine single-family homes or duplexes. One of the fires killed an elderly woman on 54th Street in November 2018.
Some residents have called for Sea Isle to consider switching to a paid fire department instead of relying on volunteers or to improve fire protection and response times in other ways. City officials have repeatedly praised the volunteer firefighters and their response times.
While a large part of his State of the City address underscored the capital construction program, the mayor also focused on Sea Isle’s ongoing efforts to protect the public from COVID-19 since the global pandemic was declared in March 2020.
Managing the impacts of the pandemic “has been a daunting task for everyone,” he explained while recounting the myriad health and economic challenges caused by the coronavirus crisis.
“Sickness or worse has touched so many; jobs and businesses have suffered greatly, and the corresponding impacts on mental health have taken a staggering toll on all of us,” Desiderio said.
“Despite this, we’ve persevered,” he continued. “We’ve seen countless examples of selfless acts as ordinary people try to help each other out; and most notably, as our healthcare workers rose to the occasion to deal with this pandemic, and as essential workers provided basic services to maintain food supplies and other things that we take for granted on a daily basis.”
Early on, Sea Isle took steps to prevent the virus from spreading. It closed municipal buildings to the public and began holding city meetings online or by teleconference – and continues to do so.
“With the city workforce, we have been very fortunate – while we have had cases of COVID-19, and there has been time off, the number of incidents have been relatively small. I want to thank our city workers for their dedication; and for doing their part to keep each other safe,” Desiderio said.
Sea Isle received “many requests” from the public to enforce social distancing and mask wearing early on during the pandemic, he pointed out. For the most part, the city’s beachgoers and others practiced social distancing and wore a protective mask when needed, he said.
“Very frankly, this is an extremely difficult issue to enforce consistently. We have tried to educate and inform folks to a large extent, because this is something that must be a matter of personal responsibility. I believe we’ve been very successful in Sea Isle City in this regard,” Desiderio said.
“Certainly there are those who don’t believe in mask wearing or social distance protocols, but that’s the exception. I have seen much respect and consideration for each other shown in our community, and it makes me proud,” he added.
