31 Oct **** Borough Meeting Highlights 10-04-24
Dear West Wildwood Neighbors,
The tenth monthly borough meeting of 2024 was held on Friday, October 4th at 7:00 pm in the borough hall. Approximately 35 people were in attendance. Mayor Ksiazek, Commissioners Banning and Segrest, Municipal Clerk Donna Frederick, Deputy Clerk Carl O’Hala, Solicitor Lyons and an engineering firm representative were present.
ORDINANCES:
- ORDINANCE #632(2024) – First Reading/Introduction – Replaces Ordinance #556 (2017) and allows for the borough to increase kayak and paddle board storage fees from $75 to $150. (2nd reading 11/01/24)
- ORDINANCE #633(2024) – First Reading/Introduction – – Establishes procedures and standards regarding deployment of small wireless facilities in public right of ways. This ordinance will guide phone carriers on where and how to place 5G poles/towers on the island. The planning board will review prior to the public hearing. (2nd reading 12/04/24)
- ORDINANCE #634(2024) – First Reading/Introduction – Authorizing the waiving of the claimant certification under certain circumstances. (2nd reading 11/01/24)
RESOLUTIONS #2024-083 through #2024-092 relate to the following:
- Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day on Sunday, October 6, 2024.
- Declaring Trick or Treat will be held on Thursday, October 31, 2024.
- Authorizing the appointment of three full time police officers.
- Refund of overpayment of property tax.
- Request a six-month extension of time to award the fiscal year 2023 NJ DOT construction award for the north end of J Avenue.
- Authorizing the submission of an application (fiscal year end 6/30/25) for the NJ Enterprise Assistance Fund.
- Authorizing change order #1 for the fiscal year 2022 USDA reconstruction of Maple Avenue sanitary sewer project. The contract will be extended by 42 days.
- Public hearing and investigation of Atlantic City Electric for unexpected rate increases and calling for a moratorium on shut offs and rate increases until the investigation has been completed.
The commissioner’s reports were presented and are available in their entirety on the Borough website. If you would like a copy of any report, please request it via our email address below or OPRA it directly from Borough Hall.
PUBLIC WORKS (SEPTEMBER 2024, not all inclusive):
- Check Police Department daily due to roof leak.
- Borough Hall and Public Works housekeeping and replace lighting.
- Borough Hall set up for the monthly borough meeting and relocation of furniture.
- Pick up debris around the island.
- Track gate valve operations on the day of flood water.
- Line stop acquisition, one 10” stop and one 24” stop.
- Stormwater and sanitary sewer mark outs.
- Stake out North Drive.
- Pick up trash, recyclables, yard, and dog waste around island.
- Cut grass and weed whack.
- Store receptacles for winter.
- Display flags at half-staff on September 11, 2024.
- Two resident assists.
- Locate borough property lines.
- Set base lines for basketball court resurfacing.
- Elevate benchmark recovery for transfer to roadway and flood management.
- Public Works and Police Department vehicle checks and routine maintenance checks.
- Bulk trash collections.
- Checks of existing bulkheads and current bulkhead construction.
- Dyke maintenance at bulkhead construction site.
- Four sets of plans imaged: FY2022 Lake Avenue, FY2021 Pine Avenue, 2015 Roads and Venice Avenue bulkhead.
- Twenty-five actions of pump station checks and manual operation of pump station during flooding.
- Contractor maintenance of pump station.
- Video of sanitary manhole inspections for I & I and inspection of sanitary lateral lines (two found which were tidally influenced – flow appears with high tide).
CAPITAL PROJECTS / ENGINEERING:
- The borough received a $67,000 recreation improvement grant. Plans include resurfacing the basketball courts, new hoops, and the possibility of adding pickle ball courts.
- Borough Hall Roof – The contractor to begin next week in the police department area. The existing roof will be completely torn off and replaced.
PROJECTS IN DESIGN PHASE:
- North end (Poplar Avenue to Glenwood Avenue) of J Avenue ($187,000 DOT grant). A six-month extension was requested with NJ DOT. Tentative bid schedule – advertise on October 16th, open the bids on October 29th and if all goes wells, it will be awarded on November 1st.
- Neptune Avenue bulkhead/storm water management project ($400,000 CMC funding). Soil borings were completed. Design phase review is scheduled for next week by the borough engineers.
PROJECTS IN CLOSEOUT PHASE:
- Lake Road – waiting for final reimbursement.
- Maple Avenue USDA project: punch list will be scheduled and completed once the USDA approves additional scope.
- The borough received several bids to videotape the entire sanitary sewer system. The commissioners will discuss.
- Requests to inspect three additional bulkheads were received by the borough. The borough engineers will inspect.
FINANCE:
- The General Fund account is 66% expended, but overall, borough accounts are 74% expended. Commissioner Segrest says we are right on target as of October 1st.
- Commissioner Segrest announced West Wildwood was awarded the 26th Flood Risk Performance Reduction Project via FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance Program. The total cost is estimated to be $2.58 million. FEMA’s share of the funding is approximately $1.94 million, while the borough will be
responsible for about $646,000. A kickoff meeting with FEMA will be held on Thursday to review the project. An ordinance will be introduced shortly to set up financing for the borough’s share of the project cost. A design update may be available in January and permitting may take up to a year.
PUBLIC SAFETY (241 calls for service 09/01-09/30/24), not all inclusive:
- Nineteen motor vehicle stops and seven parking complaints.
- Sixteen general complaints were addressed.
- There were 12 medical assists/well-being checks and 46 property checks.
- Six local ordinance violations and seven verbal disputes.
- Four suspicious persons/vehicle/activity, six thefts and five animal complaints.
- There were also 78 directed patrols, walking beats, community contacts and 12 assisting other agencies.,
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- Monday, October 21st is free bulk trash collection day.
- Saturday, November 2nd is Clean Community Day from 10 am to 12 pm. Refreshments will be served in the borough hall following the cleanup.
- Saturday, November 2nd is the borough free shredding day from 9 am to 12 pm in front of borough hall.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
- Several residents voiced their concerns about flooding and standing water in the streets, specifically, at Arion and Magnolia Avenues and along several blocks of Poplar Avenue. At times, residents are unable to get out of their homes and need to frequently move their vehicles to higher ground. Borough officials are aware of broken pipes and waiting for the county to repair the county owned lines. Northeast winds, and extremely high tides are contributing to the standing water issues. In the spring, the county responded and scheduled a contractor; however, there has been no movement or communication by the county to address the resolution of the problem. Mayor Ksiazek said he will follow up with the county commissioners and suggested the homeowners attend the county meetings to voice their frustrations.
- An application was submitted to the NJ DOT for improvements (resurfacing, new curbs, and sidewalks) to the south side of J Avenue. The borough should be notified in November.
- A resident is concerned if the equipment mobilized for the Living Shoreline Project will create tidepool erosion and a vortex. Commissioner Segrest believes equipment will be run to a point and then barged in. Mott MacDonald will finalize the design in January and more will be discussed and communicated.
- The borough engineers will inspect an additional three bulkheads.
- The existing borough hall roof will be removed, and a new roof installed. The total cost is more than $100,000 with a standard guarantee. Work will begin in the police department area.
- Commissioner Banning stated the goal is to have nine officers on staff year-round.
- The solicitor is not aware of any claims or lawsuits against the borough currently.
- A homeowner thanked the commissioners for their work on the Living Shoreline and other projects on the island.
- A resident asked if the borough would consider having a Public Works employee scheduled on weekends to help maintain a clean beach. The resident was concerned with overflowing trash receptacles and a buildup of bay muck on the beach. Mayor Ksiazek commented that residents are filling up the beach trash receptacles with personal and household trash, and wind and high tide conditions contribute to the buildup of sawgrass. The commissioners will investigate purchasing equipment in the new budget year to help with the beach cleanup process.
- Water running from Arion and Maple Avenues, down the 500 block of Maple could be the result of residue from the USDA Maple Avenue reconstruction project. The lines have not been cleaned just yet. A resident suggested jetting the lines. The commissioners have considered this in the past; however, it is very costly.
- A homeowner questioned the paving happening on Glenwood Avenue. The clerk stated the gas company is paving where they previously trenched the roadway. The borough is notified a day in advance.
- It was recommended to use the audio speaker at the meetings. Microphones are on, but it is difficult for the audience to hear the commissioners and staff.
- A homeowner thanked the commissioners for the three newly hired police officers. He also asked if the borough was looking to hire a new police chief since the current chief is talking about retiring in 2027. This was questioned since her contract expires at the end of 2025. The solicitor stated he would not discuss the terms and conditions of an employee’s contract in a public meeting without notifying the employee first.
We strongly encourage you to listen to the audio from this meeting to have a better understanding of actual public comments
Best regards,
The CTWWW Advisory Council
Trish Sinnott – President
Mary Anne Welsh – Secretary
Jim Bannan – Director
Susan Czwalina – Treasurer
Vacant – Vice President
Vacant – Director
Vacant – Director
Vacant – Director