Council has a very full agenda today, which includes introduction of the 2026 budget. The budget has been reviewed at a public workshop and includes a tax rate increase of three quarters of a cent. Our water and sewer utility has no proposed rate increase, and as I mentioned in my state of the city presentation last month, both budgets have an outstanding surplus position. The budget funds all of the services our citizens have come to expect; it represents an excellent financial position for Sea Isle, and the administration recommends its introduction.

Also on the agenda are ordinances and resolutions that ensure the city’s compliance with state-mandated affordable housing regulations. These are important actions for the council to take, as they not only ensure the city’s compliance with state laws, but protect us from potential builder lawsuits.

Over the past month and a half, we’ve all endured winter weather unlike any we’ve experienced in the past decade. Between snow, ice, and prolonged cold, we’ve gotten our share of Mother Nature’s fury. I want to thank the men and women of our Public Works Department for the outstanding work they did working round the clock to clear our streets and make travel passable and safe in the city during these events.

I also want to thank our police, fire, and EMT personnel for their service during these storm events. We should never take for granted the fact that we have highly trained, dedicated first responders and public employees who are ready and able to deal with any emergency situation 24/7/365, regardless of weather conditions.

Also on council’s agenda is a resolution authorizing the acceptance of a grant for up to $400,000 for the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging stations. The initial location for placement of these charging stations is at the Community Center parking lot, where we’ve already installed underground conduit in anticipation of the project. We’ve been planning on this project for some time, and I want to thank our city engineer’s office for their assistance in securing these grant funds.

Regarding our city engineer, Mr. Andrew Previti is with us today to make a presentation on potential shade structures for placement at the playground on JFK Boulevard. The placement of shade structures has been a topic of conversation for some time now, and funding for a project was incorporated into the capital plan adopted by city council this past December.

In order to move forward with a project, we need to finalize the conceptual plan prior to preparing construction documents needed to go out to bid. After council has had the opportunity to consider the various options that will be presented today, we’ll need to come to agreement on the concept with which we want to move forward.

Before Mr. Previti makes his presentation, I’d also like to comment on another project his office is working on – the storm drainage improvements to the area surrounding the new Community Center. That project has been delayed by the weather conditions we’ve experienced; however, we expect the project to be substantially completed this month. We want to assess the system following completion of that project, but I want to address the issue of a future pump station. As we’ve committed to the public, our engineer will make a presentation on his analysis of various options for the discharge of the pump station stormwater. This is in response to the significant public response and feedback the city received regarding discharge of stormwater from the proposed pump station into our lagoons. I expect we will be prepared to present the outfall analysis along with options within the next couple months.

Following that, upon concurrence by council, we can proceed with permitting and finalization of construction documents for a pump station. Our objective is to fairly and openly address everyone’s concerns prior to proceeding. We’ve already put funding into place for a pump station project, so there will not be any delay in that regard. We understand the concerns of folks in low lying areas on the need to advance the pump station project, and we will expedite the process.

Finally, I want to announce a couple events that will take place later this month on Saturday, March 28th. On that day, at 10:00 AM we’ll observe National Vietnam War Veterans Day at our Veterans Park at JFK and Landis. First observed in 2012, this is a fitting remembrance of all our veterans who served in Vietnam.

Also on Saturday, March 28th, at noon, we will have the grand opening of our new Community Center. Yes, we are ready to open, and I’m looking forward to welcoming everyone to the building and I’m especially looking forward to all the opportunities for recreation and leisure that the facility will offer to our citizens going forward from now on.

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