**** Borough Meeting Highlights 5-06-2022

23 May **** Borough Meeting Highlights 5-06-2022

Dear West Wildwood Neighbors.

The fifth monthly borough meeting of 2022 was held on Friday, May 6th at 7:00 pm in Borough Hall.  Approximately 20 people were in attendance.   Mayor Ksiazek, Commissioners Segrest and Banning, Municipal Clerk Donna Frederick, Deputy Clerk Carl O’Hala and Solicitor Lyons were present.

A closed (executive) session meeting (Res. #2022-056) was held at the beginning of the regular meeting.

A few notices were received by the Borough, including:

• Cape May County approval to hold the 4^th of July parade on Glenwood Avenue.
• City of North Wildwood for two ordinances amending their portion of their zoning Ordinance #117.
• West Side Saloon’s request for a place-to-place transfer and an expansion of licensed premises. This application will be discussed at the Workshop meeting on May 18^th.

Ordinances:

• Ordinance #602 (2022) – first reading – Repeals Ordinance #455 (2006), amending stormwater control management and tidal stormwater requirements.
• Ordinance #603 (2022) – first reading – Repeals Ordinance #566 (2018), establishes uniform regulations for the construction and repair of bulkheads. The minimum height for newly constructed bulkheads is 8.5 feet.

Resolutions #2022-054 through #2022-056 relate to the following:

• Insertion of a grant for body armor valued at approximately $718.
• Authorizing the Borough engineer to design, prepare and advertise for bid specifications related to the reconstruction of Pine Avenue, from Q Avenue to Lake Road.
• Authorizing a closed (executive) session meeting related to a pending legal matter involving the Borough’s trash vendor. The session was approximately 30 minutes.  The Borough is under a valid contract with the trash hauler who is required to continue to provide services.  The trash hauler has raised issues and the Borough is in discussions with them.

The commissioner reports were presented, and they will be 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 (84 work orders):

• There is a compressor issue with the flood pump at the south end of Neptune Avenue and the Borough is waiting on pricing.
• During the manhole repairs project, a manhole cover was damaged and has a steel plate covering it for now.
• Work order for a flood pump that would not prime.
• Kayak racks are now set up by the beach.
• Flood gate at E Avenue has a temporary plug in it because it has malfunctioned. There may be slow drainage because of this during the storm this weekend.  It will be repaired after the storm.  A stainless-steel bolt is needed for the repair.
• Taggart Park bulkhead has had some washout. A truckload of fill is scheduled to be delivered and the park should be opened in about a week or so.
• Street sweeping is on schedule and is posted on the Borough website.

ENGINEERING NEWS:

A cost estimate has been completed regarding the Police Department ADA ramp.  Will try to go out for bid by mid-month.  There is an extension from the Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) to go until the end of September.  We will ask for another extension until the end of 2022.

• The Neptune Park pavilion is scheduled to arrive after Memorial Day (supply chain issues) and should be installed in one day. The concrete pad for the pavilion has been poured.
• An update on the Living Shoreline: all previous permit applications and reporting from the previous engineer have been submitted to Scott Douglas (DOT) for review. After the DOT reviews, a meeting will be scheduled with the DOT to discuss the dredge materials.
• We have a DOT grant for Pine Avenue in the amount of $160,000. The cost proposal is approximately $439,000.  Additional bonded funds will be used for repairs.
• The USDA gave the Borough more funding for the project on Maple Avenue. The project is scheduled for 2023.  The funding for the project is approximately $2.8 million.  The commissioners will make decisions to move forward with the project by the end of 2022.

POLICE (286 calls for service):

• Flooding is expected this weekend (5/7/22) with the upcoming storm. The siren needs repairs; however, it can be used manually.  The original contractor is having difficulty getting the needed parts.  A secondary contractor has been contacted and will be inspecting the siren Monday, May 9^th and hopefully they can have it up and running shortly.
• There were 37 property checks in April. Residents are welcome to sign up for property checks on the Borough website.

FINANCE:

• As of the end of April we are at the 33% point of the year for the operating budget. The overall Borough expenditures are at 25% through April 30^th.  Commissioner Segrest indicated that we are in decent shape!

SEWER:

• Phase #1 (full rehab) of the manhole repair project has been completed. It is too early to see any results from the repairs.
• Phase #2 (repairs) of 15 manholes project has been awarded and the work should be started next week (5/11/22). The plan is to work their way down Maple doing repairs and then switch over to Pine doing specific manholes.
• The idea of consumption-based sewer billing was discussed at the last workshop meeting and will be tabled for now until after some of the repairs have been completed and we start getting the excess charge reduced.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:

• Future funding for J avenue has not been discussed. The condominiums have installed a curb and additional work needs to be completed by the condominiums.  The area will be monitored during the weekend storm.
• The new bulkhead height is set at 8.5 feet. If you are at 6 foot or below, there is a mandate that you must upgrade to that height by 2030.
• The special emergency meeting called on April 29^th was relative to the trash collection.
• The police department is fully staffed. Two officers will be completing their training at the academy by June and will be joining the force then.
• Commissioner Banning indicated the police department’s policy is to perform staff evaluations twice a year. Commissioner Segrest developed a review format for his department and reviews were conducted and validated by signatures of each staff member and himself.  Mayor Ksiazek (Public Works) shared his department will have written reviews annually.
• The new parking ordinance is now in effect. All new plan reviews will have to follow the new ordinance.  If you have 3 or more bedrooms, you are required to have 2 off-street parking spaces.  The garage is a bonus and is no longer included as part of the 2 spaces.  In the event of illegal parking, such as parking in front of someone’s driveway, please call the police department.
• The springtime community clean-up day is May 20^th. Please see the borough website for details.

We encourage you to listen to the audio from the meeting to have a better understanding of actual comments.

See you soon,
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