Projects include Promenade, beach patrol HQ, sewer work
CAPE MAY — City Council passed a $17.2 million bond ordinance March 31 to fund water-sewer utility improvements.
The ordinance proposes the bond with short-term financing and annual payment estimates. The appropriations include improvements to the water treatment plant, including the construction of a desalination treatment facility, and sanitary sewer improvements, including the replacement of various mains and connections, along with any related road improvements.
During the meeting, resident Jules Rauch asked the council if there were an estimated rate for the bond. City Manager Paul Dietrich said it was not going out for permanent financing and would be short-term bond financing.
“It probably won’t be for another year before they actually get rolled into actual debt once it comes online,” Dietrich said. “It’s not long-term debt, at this point.”
Rauch said it would be good for the community to know the amount, term and annual payment for the loan every time a bond issue is approved.
Council also introduced a resolution authorizing an application to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank to fund improvements to the city’s sanitary sewer system and water main improvements for a drinking water application.
“From a cost standpoint, that [resolution] is to make an application for the ordinance for the $17,222,000 project to be submitted to the [infrastructure] bank,” Dietrich said.
The city’s Fiscal Year 2025 sanitary sewer and water system improvement project is ongoing, with road rehabilitation on Illinois Ave starting the last week of March.
Ongoing projects
Residents can check the city’s website for updates on the city’s current and future construction projects.
“I will be endeavoring to update this weekly or biweekly as we get closer to the full start of the summer season,” Dietrich said. “I really want to say a shout-out to the residents on Illinois, Idaho and Ohio Avenues. It’s been a really long winter for them, and we’ve got some road construction coming in.”
The city received $7 million in loan forgiveness from the NJ Water Infrastructure Bank for this project, which includes reconstruction of roads, drainage/curb/sidewalk repairs, and water main/sewer main replacements on streets including Stockton Place, Washington Street, Illinois, Ohio and Idaho avenues.
“It was a very large water sewer project that we took on,” Dietrich said, adding that severe winter weather delayed timely rehabilitation construction.
Desalination plant
As part of the bond ordinance introduced, $14 million was appropriated for water improvements to the water treatment plant, including the construction of a desalination treatment facility.
The city has been moving forward in process to replace the desalination plant, a project with a price tag in the range of $36 million to $40 million. The plant was built to address saltwater intrusion into the city’s aquifers.
In January 2026, the city secured its Coastal Area Facility Review Act permit. The city had already received a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection permit in November.
Both the desalination treatment and iron removal treatment facilities will be located in a single building at the city’s Public Works Yard, adjacent to the existing water treatment plant.
Dietrich previously said that the city has received several grants for the project, including principal forgiveness from the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank in the amount of $8 million, $2 million from the Department of the Interior, and a $500,000 Army Corps of Engineers Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) award. Another WRDA is anticipated in the amount of $9.5 million.
Promenade preservation
Dietrich also updated the council on significant projects ongoing in the city.
He said the contractor paved a good section of the Promenade surface, from Howard to Madison avenues. Despite the snowy winter, the rehabilitation project is on track to be mostly complete before tourists arrive for the summer.
“You’re going to see the paving flip, and we’ll be working from essentially Jackson down to the Cove,” Dietrich said. “They’re going to be building some earthen ramps to get up onto the Promenade, because you can’t back all the way down from the Cove to get there.”
He added that residents will be able to see unique construction activities as the season progresses.
The city received a $6.7 million grant from the state to fund the project. The city awarded the contract to Fred Shiavone Construction.
The initial phase of the project, which began after Labor Day last year, includes concrete repairs, widening and shoring up of the walkway, applying a new surface and the addition of 10 new ADA-compliant ramps.
A noticeable change is the new color coating, which will run the full length of the waterfront walkway. Dietrich said it will make the Promenade surface cooler, especially for barefoot beachgoers.
“You go around town and you see a lot of work going on,” Mayor Zach Mullock said. “The paving on the Promenade looks really nice and I know we’ll get questions about getting the sealer down on that before it gets too hot.”
Dietrich said the sealer needs to cure for 30 to 45 days.
“The section they just paved will probably get a coating before summer, but the other portion might not get the coating before summer because of the timing,” Dietrich said. “We can’t do it too late because if the temperatures are too hot, we can’t put the coating on. We’ll play that by ear.”
Lifeguard headquarters
The city is hoping to have a ribbon-cutting for the newly renovated lifeguard headquarters May 1. Dietrich said the only delay might be a couple of pieces of furniture and lockers.
The existing lifeguard headquarters was built in 1988, when the Cape May Beach Patrol was made up of almost entirely men. The staff is currently divided nearly evenly. The renovation will greatly expand the facilities for women and refresh the entire interior of the building.
The contract was awarded to Marino General Construction for $1,168,645.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
