As most people know, we try to get most of our infrastructure work done during the off-season, even though it’s not always the ideal weather conditions for doing such projects. This year is no different, and we have a couple of large road projects currently underway on Park Road and Central Avenue. The Central Avenue project is between 69th and 84th Street, and we’ve encountered a couple of unforeseen issues with underground sewers, which we’re in the process of addressing. Because of this, we may need to have a slight detour in our holiday parade route this Friday. As soon as we know the status, we’ll make sure to put out an e-alert and post any changes on our website and social media sites.

The parade is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. at 31st Street and Central Avenue; and immediately following will be our tree lighting ceremony along with other festivities at Excursion Park.

Another project scheduled to get completed this winter is our lagoon dredging. We expect the contractor to re-commence the project next month, and dredge all the areas left to complete in the city, including around the Yacht Club of Sea Isle City, at 38th Street, and at the City Marina.

This afternoon, the administration will present the 2022-2026 Capital Plan for review by the council. This is consistent with the same practice we’ve followed for many years, which is part of our overall capital improvement program to review citywide priorities, assess progress to date, and re-establish priorities for the coming years. Our objective is to come to agreement, in a process involving considerable public review and discussion, on the capital plan priorities. Two major priorities will be evident in the capital plan we’ll be presenting. One is flood mitigation, and the other is our Community Center project. We’re confident that we can accomplish both of these priorities, along with all of the other projects that are proposed, in a financially sound manner.

We’re also going to hold a public meeting on Saturday, December 4th, exclusively dedicated to discussing the proposed Community Center. We’ll review the facility plans in detail, we’ll show the need for the proposed spaces that are currently part of the plan, and we’ll show the cost projections related to construction of a Community Center as well as our other priorities, and how those costs will impact future tax rates for property owners. The December 4th meeting will be held at the Welcome Center Community Lodge at 10:00 a.m. We’ll also be live streaming the meeting, in order for anyone to participate virtually.

On another matter, I’m happy to report that Sea Isle was informed this week that we will continue to retain our Class 3 status in the Community Rating System of the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides all property owners with flood insurance with a 35-percent discount on their rates. I want to thank Neil Byrne for all of his efforts on this program, as he has led Sea Isle on a long path to being the first community in New Jersey to achieve Class 3 status and continuing to receive the best flood insurance rate discounts in New Jersey.

I wish everyone a healthy and happy Thanksgiving; and remember we are one Sea Isle City and together we’ll be stronger than ever.

Smile…You’re in Sea Isle!

Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio