CAPE MAY — “The Franklin Street reconstruction [and] restoration project is about 85% complete,” city engineer Vince Orlando told City Council on April 1.
“We’re looking at installing the trees and gas lamps,” Orlando said. “We did have some suggestions from the Shade Tree Commission and we’re going to change the trees to some of the recommendations they had, and we’re looking into availability.”
The city developed the project to improve the streetscape along Franklin Street from Washington to Lafayette. It was done through some funding from a Neighborhood Preservation Grant and the county grant for the rehabilitation of Allen AME Church. The $580,145 contract was awarded to Charles Marandino LLC.
Orlando said the project may be extended to provide for some additional contractors.
“We were worried that there was going to be a shortage of material, but we’ve been able to locate the bricks, and it looks like we should get that done in April or May,” he said.
Seawall project
Council discussed an ordinance authorizing the grant of a conservation restriction/easement to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in connection with the Cape May Seawall Madison to Wilmington Avenue project.
The project includes extending the seawall and promenade to Wilmington Avenue.
“In connection with this project, we are required to provide mitigation,” Gillin-Schwartz said. “A portion of that is payment in lieu of mitigation, and then a substantial portion of that is by way of a conservation easement and restriction.”
Gillin-Schwartz explained that it includes installing and preserving landscaping, which will be a perpetual obligation that the city maintains. The ordinance includes a flat payment of $41,230.
“It’s not lost on the city that we just went through a disposal effort for the police station, and offering a substantial amount of land over on the Sewell Track,” Gillin-Schwartz said. “As part of this, before we finalize it, we wanted to confirm the substantial contribution the city was making for the Sewell Track lots, but the indication back was that there is not going to be double credit for that.”
Mullock added that getting DEP permitting for the seawall expansion has been 10 years in the making, adding that he appreciated everyone’s work.
Dumpster ordinance
Council discussed an additional modification to the ordinance requiring dumpsters be covered while in transit prior to the public hearing. The change includes requiring covers to ve affixed at each side midpoint in addition to the four corners.
“After some discussions with the other towns, their administrators and public works personnel, we felt that it was incumbent that you really needed a specific number of attachments, not just at the four corners,” Dietrich said.
Deputy Mayor Maureen McDade noted that dumpsters at properties and construction sites are not covered and wind can blow debris out of them.
“I know this is covered in another section of the code, but I just implore that when a storm is coming in that we could have code enforcement doing a sweep to make sure that those are [covered],” McDade said. “I’d also ask that this is added to the contractor checklist for anyone getting a permit for construction.”
Gillin-Schwartz noted that this modification is not normally done during the second reading unless it’s being republished. He felt it fell into the insubstantial category, but giving direction was a good thing.
Camera system
Mullock said Cape May Police Chief Dekon Fashaw will be giving a presentation on the surveillance camera system in several weeks. Fashaw was in the audience during the meeting, and Mullock asked if he could provide a brief update.
“We’ve been working for over a year now on cameras we decided to put in, with council’s help, last year,” Fashaw said. “The boardwalk phase is one of the last ones we’re working on, but [with] repaving the boardwalk that’s on the back burner right now.”
According to Fashaw, security cameras are up and running at beach patrol headquarters, and several on the boardwalk, the Washington Street Mall and Kiwanis Park. Cameras will also be installed on both bridges into town.
“The cameras are 4K high-quality and are very decent to look at,” Fashaw said. “It’s one camera head and they have four lenses in it, so it gives you a 360-degree view.”
McDade asked if cameras would be added to the Lafayette Street Park nature trails. Fashaw said it would have to be budgeted for next year.
“One of the nice things about the system is it is expandable as far as you want,” Mullock said. “I think people are going to be blown away with the quality and put it out there — if you shoplift, especially on the mall, you’re going to be caught.”
The cameras feature AI technology, which allows the police to search with specifications.
“There is a lot of shoplifting on the mall and that’s the real goal of it,” Fashaw said. “Cape May Point has the same system, so if they go there, we can load that into our system.”
Retail shops can also provide images from their surveillance systems, which police officers can upload to the police department camera system. Fashaw said the expansion to the back of the Washington Street Mall would also help catch license plate tags.
Other projects
Orlando said the water transmission line, which is a backup line connecting the two wells to provide water in the case of one well going down, is working.
He said the project was 100% funded by a state grant, and the transmission line is complete. The only item remaining is electrical controls, which need to be coordinated with the city.
“That project turned out nice and I think it will be a good attribute for the city,” Orlando said.
Another project in the works is adding spots in the city parking lot.
“It is being completed and has caused a lot of inconvenience to the city employees,” Orlando said. “Paul and Justin [Riggs] have been fabulous in coordinating with the contractor. No time is a good time to disrupt that parking lot.”
Orlando added the milling and paving should start in the next 10 days, along with the access area between the fire station and the facility.
“Just to brag a little, you’re gaining eight to 10 parking spots, which is a lot in Cape May,” Mullock added.
Orlando last updated council on Harborview Park reconstruction and rehabilitation. A Cape May County grant was approved for $1,933,172. The project is currently under design, and key points include several local art aspects, tables and chairs, other seating areas and parking expansion.
“We have a spot for local art [that] we want to provide an opportunity for some other artisan to get involved with the park,” Orlando said. “We don’t get to do this too often, but this park will have a lot of character.”
Orlando said the goal is to send the project out to bid in July, with construction starting in early fall and opening in spring 2026.
“It’s taken about a year to get some of these projects under way, but I think at the end the projects will have a tremendous benefit to the city,” he said.
By RACHEL SHUBIN/Special to the Star and Wave
