Mediocre Summer? No Way, Mayor Says

By Donald Wittkowski Mayor Leonard Desiderio is taking issue with the Sea Isle City Chamber of Commerce and Revitalization’s assessment that the 2018 summer tourism season was only “mediocre.” From his standpoint both as mayor and a business owner, he believes the summer was strong in all sectors of the local economy. “We don’t want to put out the perception that Sea Isle didn’t have a good summer. People are coming to Sea Isle and spending more than they have in many, many years,” Desiderio said. He was responding to comments made by Chamber of Commerce President Christopher Glancey that the summer season was “mediocre” or “medium.” During the Chamber’s monthly board meeting on Oct. 2, Glancey offered a lukewarm assessment of how the business community did over the summer, calling it a “mixed bag.” “Nobody was in tears, but no one was overjoyed,” he told the board members. Desiderio, however, disagreed with Glancey. “It was far, far from being a mediocre summer,” the mayor said in an interview. Mayor Leonard Desiderio says Sea Isle enjoyed a strong summer season. Based on the conversations he had with local business owners, summer was strong across-the-board, Desiderio pointed out. “I think they all did good,” he said. “I didn’t hear one person complain in terms of how well they did over the summer.” Desiderio singled out the restaurant industry, saying that the local eateries were “knocking it out of the park” over the summer. At times, it was hard even getting a table at the restaurants, particularly during the weekends, according to the city’s public relations director, Katherine Custer. “If you didn’t make a dinner reservation by Friday night for Saturday, you weren’t getting in on Saturday,” Custer said. She added, “Sea Isle is more popular than ever.” Mike Monichetti, owner of Mike’s Seafood & Dock Restaurant on Park Road, characterized the summer season as “terrific.” “What a great, great summer it has been,” Monichetti said in public comments to members of City Council during their Oct. 9 meeting. Monichetti also thanked the city for working closely with the business community to promote Sea Isle’s tourism. On a personal level, Desiderio reported doing strong business at his Kix-McNutley’s bar and nightclub complex at 63rd Street and Landis Avenue, even on Sunday nights. “I’m not crying,” he said. “My Sundays were better than in 2017.” Sea Isle recovered from rain in the early part of summer to post beach tag sales nearly in line with the 2017 figure. Gloomy weather was to blame for scaring away tourists through parts of the summer. Bouts of rain in June, just as the summer season was unfolding, put a damper on business and it wasn’t until July and August that the city began to catch up, Glancey said during the Chamber meeting. In one key indicator, Sea Isle had $1,364,320 in beach tag revenue this summer, just $645 short of the figure for 2017. City officials said beach tag sales recovered from some dreary weather during the early part of summer to end strong. Year after year, beach tag sales are used as a barometer of the strength of the summer season. In Sea Isle’s case, the all-time record was set in 2015 with $1,471,321 in beach tag revenue. Despite the rain, Chamber officials said tourism was robust during the weekends. However, the traditionally slow days of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday proved challenging again for the business community this summer, they noted. The city staged a series of free concerts, dance parties, movie nights and other family-friendly entertainment throughout summer to attract visitors. Hoping to keep visitors coming back after Labor Day, both the city and the Chamber of Commerce sponsor festivals and other special events through the fall and the holiday season, concluding with a New Year’s Eve celebration The business community hopes those visitors will spend their money at the local shops, bars and restaurants while they are in town for the entertainment. A shift in the housing market is seeing second-homeowners keep their places for themselves instead of renting them out to summer vacationers. Meanwhile, the Chamber is expressing concern about a growing trend in Sea Isle’s housing market that it believes is hurting the business community. More and more second-homeowners are now using their houses exclusively for themselves instead of renting them out to summer vacationers. That, in turn, has reduced the number of visitors coming to Sea Isle and has cut into the business of local restaurants and retail shops, Glancey said. “The economic impact of second-homeowners versus transient visitors is mind-boggling,” he said. Underscoring the shift in the market, the number of housing units in Sea Isle has climbed from 5,000 to 7,000, but rental permits have plummeted from 2,500 to 1,300, according to the Chamber. Desiderio, though, believes the housing trend reflects a strong market for homeownership in Sea Isle. “We want people to buy here,” he said. “We’re happy they’re living here.” City Councilman J.B. Feeley said second-homeowners, as a group, have more discretionary income than renters and are helping to boost Sea Isle’s economy by dining out and shopping at local retail stores. “If you spend more money on a rental, then you probably don’t go out as much. It’s the reverse of what the homeowners do,” Feeley said in an interview. City Councilman William Kehner suggested during the Chamber’s Oct. 2 board meeting that perhaps second-homeowners could be encouraged to offer rental discounts during the slower weekdays to attract short-term vacationers. Kehner said that would allow homeowners to expand the rental market during the weekdays, but preserve their houses for themselves on weekends.