On today’s City Council agenda is the introduction of an ordinance to raise beach tag fees for the first time in 12 years. What Council will be considering is a $5 increase to each of the tags that are sold. This will result in a daily beach fee of $10; a weekly fee of $15; a seasonal tag fee for purchases through May 15 of $25; and $30 for seasonal tags purchased after May 15.

The fees for beach tags have not been changed since 2011, and we believe this is a reasonable cost for the summer usage of the beaches, given the magnitude of services that are provided during the season; as well as for the services required to maintain our beaches throughout the year.

In regard to our beaches, as we all know, we just experienced some rough weather over the weekend, which took a toll on our beaches, with a fair amount of erosion – particularly to the downtown and south-end beaches. The good news is that a beach replenishment project is scheduled to be awarded soon by the Army Corps of Engineers. The federal government took bids on the project less than two weeks ago, and we’re hopeful that work on the project will begin later this fall. Related to this, we expect to bring a funding ordinance to Council at the next meeting in order to provide for the City’s cost share of this project. Sea Isle is responsible for 12.5% of the overall project costs, and based on a review of the bids, we expect our share to be in the neighborhood of $3 million.

Also on today’s agenda is a resolution authorizing a grant application to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs to seek funding from the state’s boardwalk preservation fund. I previously reported that the city would be pursuing funding from this program, and today’s resolution will formally approve our application. We’re working with our city engineer on preparation of the required documents, and our intent is to submit requests to fund the installation of decorative lighting on the north and south areas of the promenade, where we don’t already have such lighting; additional handicapped accesses to the promenade; and complete resurfacing of the promenade. Applications are due by the end of October, and we expect to hear about grant offers in early January.

I want to remind everyone that we’re not through with the difficult weather conditions, as we’re under a coastal flood watch through tomorrow. Winds are expected to come out of the northeast through the rest of this week, so we can expect additional beach erosion. Please remember to keep an eye on weather forecasts, move your vehicles if you’re in a flood prone area; and don’t drive through flooded streets.

As always, please 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