Today is Community Day in Sea Isle City, taking place at our new Community Center on Central Avenue.  This annual event is a favorite tradition where our city departments and local organizations gather to share information about the many programs we offer.  It is an excellent opportunity for families to meet local officials and see firsthand the vitality of our town.  A cornerstone of today’s celebration is our awards ceremony, where we recognize the winners of the Beach Tag Art Contest and honor several of our neighbors with the “Do the Right Thing” awards for their selfless service to our community.  In addition, First Bank of Sea Isle City will present the 2026 Community Partnership Award, and the Chamber of Commerce will present their 2026 Scholarship awards. We also have a city-wide yard sale taking place today, with about 60 properties participating.

At the last city council meeting, city engineer Andy Previti gave a detailed presentation on the proposed 46^th street pump station and possible locations for the discharge of that stormwater. 

We heard many concerns regarding this matter, with many folks recommending that we pipe the discharge to the intracoastal waterway. I want to assure everyone that the city is actively exploring options to do just that. 

This pump station is an important improvement that will offer needed flood mitigation for the neighborhood surrounding our new community center, and we are working closely with our engineers to finalize a redesign that effectively channels stormwater while respecting the concerns of nearby property owners. I am confident we will have a solution soon that addresses everyone’s concerns and provides the long-term flood protection our residents deserve.

As we move closer to Memorial Day, our teams are working hard to ensure everything is in top shape for our visitors. Our construction projects on the promenade and our roads around town are wrapping up, with most remaining work to be deferred until the fall. One notable exception is the upcoming beach replenishment project.  As most of you know, the timing of these projects is beyond our control. With only a few companies in the country able to accomplish projects of this magnitude, we must take the projects when they become available. 

This past week, the pre-construction meeting for the beach replenishment project was held in the Community Center. 

The Army Corps of Engineers is managing the project, with oversight by the DEP’s office of coastal engineering. The contractor is Norfolk Dredging out of Chesapeake, Virginia.  

We can expect to see survey work on our beaches next week, with mobilization of some equipment prior to Memorial Day weekend.   Beach replenishment will be placed between 29^th and 55^th Streets.  

The replenishment work is scheduled to start around the first of June and is expected to be completed by the end of June.  Work of this nature is very dependent on sea conditions, so we need to be aware of that when it comes to the schedule.

During the project, no more than a thousand feet of beach will be closed at any point in time, and the area of closure will move as the project progresses. This isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with beach replenishment in the summer, and I’m confident that the work will be able to be accomplished with as little inconvenience as possible.  As we have in the past, the city will issue updates on the project on our website, email and social media accounts.

As always, please remember that we are one Sea Isle City, and together we’ll be stronger than ever.

Smile…You’re in Sea Isle!

Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio

“I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crises. --Abraham Lincoln