Pat Haffert addresses City Council at the April 11 meeting about his proposal to screen construction contractors in Sea Isle.
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
The fatal balcony collapse at a high-rise condominium in Sea Isle City is prompting calls for closer scrutiny of construction contractors that do work in the beach resort.
Pat Haffert, a Sea Isle resident who works for a foundation and excavation company, wants the city to make sure contractors have the proper experience before they begin any construction projects in town.
Appearing at the April 11 meeting of City Council, Haffert urged Sea Isle officials to require contractors to fill out a simple, one-page form that would list at least three projects they have done previously that are similar to construction work they plan to do in the resort.
Haffert wants the same type of background vetting to apply to professionals in the construction industry, such as architects and engineers.
He maintains that if the contractors and construction professionals don’t have enough experience, the city should not allow them to work in Sea Isle.
“This is a lucrative market. It’s attractive to a lot of contractors,” he told the Council members in public remarks.
Haffert believes Sea Isle could serve as a model for construction safety in Cape May County and throughout New Jersey by scrutinizing the work experience of contractors ahead of time.
“I’m suggesting that Sea Isle City could lead the way,” he said.
Pat Haffert addresses City Council at the April 11 meeting about his proposal to screen construction contractors in Sea Isle.
Now semi-retired, Haffert said he has experience in the construction industry through his job with Danbro Distributors, a foundation and excavation company based in Philadelphia.
He told Council that the Feb. 24 fatal balcony collapse at the Spinnaker high-rise condominium complex in Sea Isle underscores the need for even closer scrutiny of construction contractors.
An employee of a private contractor that was working on the exterior of the Spinnaker’s South Tower was killed when the concrete balcony on the eighth floor collapsed and fell on top of him. He was standing on a balcony on the seventh floor.
Two other workers were on the balcony on the eighth floor when it collapsed, but they suffered only minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency that investigates workplace accidents, has not yet determined the cause of the balcony collapse. OSHA previously disclosed that concrete work was being done on the balconies when the accident occurred. The agency has up to six months to conduct its probe and release the findings.
The South Tower of the Spinnaker condominium complex is now open after an engineer's report concluded the building is safe.
The Spinnaker condominiums were built in the early 1970s and include twin north and south towers nine stories tall overlooking the ocean at 3500-3700 Boardwalk.
Each condo has a balcony facing the ocean, while most of the three-bedroom units also have a larger balcony on the side of the building, according to a chronology of the Spinnaker’s construction at History – Spinnaker (spinnakersic.com). It was one of the side balconies that collapsed on the eighth floor of the South Tower.
State Sen. Troy Singleton, who represents Burlington County, is calling on the Legislature to approve a bill he has proposed that would require more stringent inspections of multistory buildings in New Jersey.
The New Jersey legislation was proposed following a high-rise condominium collapse in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Fla., that killed 98 people in 2021.
Singleton has been quoted in media reports as saying that the Sea Isle balcony collapse gives even more urgency for approval of the New Jersey legislation.
During the April 11 City Council meeting, Mayor Leonard Desiderio told Haffert that Sea Isle wants to know more about Singleton’s bill before considering any new local requirements for construction contractors.
“We’re waiting to see what Senator Singleton’s legislation has to say. We also want to find out the cause of the accident,” Desiderio said in an interview after the meeting.
Asked about Haffert’s suggestion for more local scrutiny of construction contractors, Desiderio said, “Safety is our No. 1 concern. If it’s something we feel will provide better safety and will help to improve safety at high-rises, then we will definitely consider it.”
An aerial view shows the north and south towers of the Spinnaker condominiums.
Haffert said he has experience in the construction industry through his job with Danbro Distributors, a foundation and excavation company based in Philadelphia.
He believes his idea to require Sea Isle to allow only experienced construction companies and professionals would significantly improve safety overall.
“If you properly vet the contractors, it’s another way to have fly-by-night companies stay out of Sea Isle,” Haffert said in an interview after the Council meeting.
Following the balcony collapse, Sea Isle shut down virtually all access to the Spinnaker’s South Tower while an engineering company determined whether the high-rise building is structurally sound.
An engineering report completed in March concluded that the structural integrity of the South Tower “remains intact” despite the balcony collapse. Once the building was deemed safe, the city allowed residents and business owners to return to the South Tower in late March.
