By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Lest we forget, a powerful coastal storm on Jan. 3 blanketed Sea Isle City in a foot of snow during some unusually harsh winter weather at the shore.
But that storm proved to be a mere dress rehearsal for a two-day blizzard that buried the town in about 14 inches of snow on Jan. 29 and 30.
Snowplow operators from the city and Cape May County did their best to try to keep Sea Isle’s roads clear during both storms.
Now, the city and the county are entering into a shared services agreement that should result in an even better job for plowing the snow, Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.
“We’ll see how it works. I’m confident it’s going to work in a great way,” he predicted while announcing the agreement at a City Council meeting Tuesday.
This winter, Sea Isle’s municipal snowplows will take charge of clearing Landis Avenue and John F. Kennedy Boulevard, two key arteries that are county roads.
“Since we already have trucks in town, we’re in a better position to respond more quickly and effectively when a snowstorm occurs,” Desiderio said of Sea Isle’s plows.
The gazebo overlooking Sea Isle City's oceanfront Promenade is covered with snow during the Jan. 3 storm. (Photo courtesy of Sea Isle City)
In the past, the city operated on an informal basis to ensure county roads were salted and plowed by municipal equipment when the need arose, Desiderio said.
But the new shared services agreement will formalize the operation so that Sea Isle will be reimbursed at a rate of $150 per hour, per truck for any services it provides on county roads.
“So, what this means is that Sea Isle City will be plowing Landis Avenue and JFK Boulevard and we will be getting reimbursed by the county for doing this,” Desiderio said.
Previously, the county snowplows would clear Landis Avenue, the main corridor running north-south through town. Sea Isle’s plows would clear snow from the side streets. But there were conflicts, Desiderio pointed out.
“I feel it’s a better program because as you know, when the county plows go down Landis, they plow Landis. We would plow the side streets, so we would be pushing the snow back on each other. So now we’ll all be doing one job,” he said.
The shared services agreement for snow removal is considered a pilot program to start. If it proves successful, Sea Isle and the county will continue to do it in years to come, Desiderio explained.
