CAPE MAY POINT — Commissioner Suzanne Yunghans said there have been several unanticipated problems this year at Pavilion Circle.
During the June 9 meeting, she said the issues include irrigation, high levels of iron in the well water, the persistent drought conditions and cottony scale insects on the trees in Pavilion Circle, all of which are compounding.
“The previous three smaller wells that we had there for irrigation were wearing out last year, so the borough spent $21,000 to have a new 6-inch, 104-foot-deep well drilled at the end of last year,” she said. “Unfortunately, and unexpectedly, a high level of iron was discovered in the well water.”
In September 2025, Yunghans said, one of the three wells in the Circle Pavilion was worn out and needed to be replaced.
She added that Public Works had hoped to get through the summer with the other two wells compensating and replace the bad well this year, but the remaining wells were struggling.
Unspent capital funds were utilized to enable the wells to be replaced at the end of last year.
In February, Borough Commission introduced an ordinance to appropriate $80,000 from the capital reserve to purchase a Public Works vehicle and a water softener.
The water softener is intended to help with the excess iron in the water at the new well in Pavilion Circle. At the time, Yunghans added that they will be getting a quote for mitigation.
She said that a micron filter was added to the wells but could not mitigate the iron fast enough at a flow rate of 80 gallons per minute for the vast irrigation system in the circle.
Yunghans said Public Works Superintendent Bill Gibson has been seeking a water softener solution.
“But that’s really difficult to source a system that can remove the iron at that faster rate,” she said.
In the meantime, the irrigation system is off because the iron is affecting the leaves and vegetation and browning the sidewalks, Yunghans said.
“As a reminder, we must use the well water for our irrigation needs as public city water would be astronomically expensive for the volume of water it takes to irrigate the entire circle,” she said.
Yunghans said the borough is in a catch-22 situation: leave the water on and the iron harms the vegetation, turn the water off and the plants and grass the borough has cared for over the years dry up without sufficient rainfall.
“As a reminder to all of us, [we] need to think more carefully about growing drought-tolerant native plants, shrubs and trees to mitigate these tough coastal conditions, especially as our climate changes,” she said.
Another issue is cottony scale insects on two of the crepe myrtles and most of the holly trees in Pavilion Circle.
“Cottony scale is a common sap-sucking insect,” Yunghans said, adding that Arbor Care, a local licensed tree expert, recommends spraying an insecticide at the end of June or early July when the eggs are hatching.
There are several precautions with the insecticide, which Yunghans said include: no rain is forecast; it cannot be sprayed anywhere near storm drains; and no people or animals can be in the vicinity until the insecticide dries, which usually takes an hour.
“I’ve asked the Borough Tree Committee to weigh on this, and I will ask the Environmental Commission to do the same thing at their meeting,” she said. “I’ll bring those recommendations back at our next meeting for a decision, since we have a window of time till the spray would actually happen.”
Yunghans added that she wanted everyone to recognize that Pavilion Circle is a key public space that involves an enormous investment, and that the borough works hard to beautify the grounds for everyone to enjoy.
“As we know, life is not perfect, and challenges persist despite our best efforts,” she said. “Public Works does their utmost to make good, balanced decisions with the resources we have, and every effort is being made to resolve these issues as soon as possible.”
NJ PACT/REAL delay
In other business, Mayor Anita Van Heeswyk noted that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has delayed implementation of the Protecting Against Climate Threats/Resilient Environments and Landscape (PACT/REAL) rules to July 20, 2027.
They significantly change various rules and regulations in response to climate change, including drastically increasing the size of the Flood Hazard Area through the creation of a new Climate Adjusted Flood Elevation standard, in addition to changes to state stormwater management, wetlands conservation and coastal area protection.
Additionally, the regulations from the DEP raise base flood elevation for new construction and extensive reconstruction to 4 feet in coastal areas, expand flood hazard zones and include numerous other changes.
“I would like for us to send a letter to the governor and the head of the DEP, thanking them for revisiting the data and taking the time to make better choices for us,” Van Heeswyk said. “I think it’s important that we acknowledge [that] this was something big to move forward with.”
Deputy Mayor Elise Geiger and Yunghans said they agreed with Van Heeswyk.
“I think sometimes acknowledging a positive is more important, if not as important, as yelling when we don’t like something,” Van Heeswyk said.
She added that the “Status of the Municipal Beaches” annual 2026 report for Cape May Point, prepared by the Coastal Research Center at Stockton University, is now on the borough’s website.
“We’re doing really well with this sand; it moves around, but it’s really not going away,” she said. “Which is the point of all the work that the DEP and Army Corps of Engineers has done for us.”
