Sea Isle Approves Funding for $9.5M. in Capital Projects

A new stormwater pumping station to help protect Sea Isle City from flooding tops the list of capital projects that will be funded by a $9.5 million bond ordinance.

The funding package, approved by City Council by a 5-0 vote at its Feb. 25 meeting, will finance an array of construction projects and infrastructure improvements proposed in the city’s capital plan.

“As we’ve discussed many times, one of the core missions of local government is the maintenance and improvement of our public assets and infrastructure,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said of the capital plan in remarks to Council.

Desiderio emphasized that Sea Isle “takes care to ensure our capital planning is done in a thorough and thoughtful manner” in collaboration with elected officials, members of the public, planning professionals and government agencies.

Among the projects, the bond ordinance includes $3 million for a new stormwater pumping station that will serve the flood-prone area between 43rd and 46th streets. It will also fund the continuation of the city's road paving program, another key component of the city’s flood-mitigation strategy.

Pumping stations intercept floodwater and channel it back into the bay much faster than it would normally take to drain off the streets after a coastal storm. They have proved effective in Ocean City, Avalon and other shore communities vulnerable to flooding.

    The city's first stormwater pumping station, largely hidden underground, helps to protect a flood-prone area at the bay end of 38th Street.
  

Sea Isle built its first pumping station in 2019 in the flood-prone area at the bay end of 38th Street and Sounds Avenue. It will next shift its focus on sections of Landis Avenue that are hit by stormwater.

For 2025, the city plans to build a pumping station to protect the Landis Avenue corridor between 43rd and 46th streets all the way to the bay.

The area for the new pumping station will include the site of the city’s new $21 million community recreation center, which is scheduled to open in the fall between Park Road and Central Avenue from 45th to 46th streets.

Another big-ticket project funded by the bond ordinance is a $2 million overhaul for the oceanfront Promenade, a popular gathering point for walkers, bikers and tourists during the summer season and venue for some of the city’s biggest special events.

Desiderio said the Promenade will undergo structural repairs and other improvements. Although the city is fronting the money, it will ultimately be reimbursed for the $2 million from the state’s Boardwalk Preservation Fund, he noted.

The Promenade will also be spruced up with $850,000 in new decorative lighting at the northern and southern ends of the walkway. The project will complete the city’s multiyear lighting program to make the entire 1.5-mile Promenade more inviting.

    Popular with summer crowds, the Promenade will be made even more inviting in 2025 with new decorative lighting, benches and other upgrades.
  

Other major projects that are part of the $9.5 million bond ordinance include:

• $875,000 for a new fire truck and equipment for the Sea Isle Fire Department.
• $800,000 for construction of handicap-accessible ramps to the beach in the north end of town near Fifth Street, along with a beach pavilion at that location. Ultimately, the city will be reimbursed for the project from the Cape May County Open Space program.
• $480,000 for a new trash truck and beach-cleaning equipment for the Public Works Department.
• $250,000 for lighting at Excursion Park.
• And $200,000 for replacement of the fuel depot at the Public Works garage.