I’d like to welcome everyone back to City Hall. I think we’ve finally reached that light at the end of the tunnel; and I want to thank this entire community for everything you’ve done to keep yourself, your family and others safe, for all of your sacrifices, and for everything you’ve endured over the past 15 months. I often say together we’ll be stronger than ever; and I have to say now – it is so good to be together.
Over the next two weeks, a South Jersey Gas contractor will be repaving many of the street openings that they’ve made over the past several months, with the first priority being Central Avenue from 57th to 63rd Street. They needed to open our streets to do a considerable amount of service improvements and replacements. We know it’s been frustrating dealing with detours and rutted streets, but we’re close to being done with road construction for the next few months, and I want to thank everybody for their patience.
As some of you are aware, we’ve suffered a fair amount of erosion at the far southern end of the island, on the inlet beach on the west side of the T.I. Bridge. This area has suffered from erosion in the past, and we’ve seen sand come and go at that location over the years; however, the erosion that has occurred from this past winter until now is more serious than in the past.
We are considering our options and coordinating with our partners at the Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers to determine the causes of this erosion as well as potential long term solutions. The fact is that our options are very limited.
As we move forward, we’ll keep City Council and the public apprised of what we’re planning. At this point, we’ve closed off the access points to this portion of the beach from T.I. Park; and frankly, there is little available beach at high tide. The good news is that, apart from this small area at the southern tip of the island, the rest of our beaches are in great shape; and if the crowds we’ve seen so far are any indication, this is going to be a banner year.
Once again – welcome back – and once again, please remember that we’re one Sea Isle City and together we will be stronger than ever.
Sincerely,
Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio
