WEST CAPE MAY — Borough Commission has received approval from the Cape May Historic Preservation Commission and is ready to move forward with the pedestrian bridge project.
Borough engineer Anthony Chadwell met with Cape May officials Feb. 9 to discuss the West Cape May to Cape May Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. Designs were submitted to the HPC in December and resubmitted in January after amendments.
“We got a favorable letter of support from Cape May, and should be receiving a letter of recommendation to include with our DEP submission,” Chadwell said. “I will have the proposal to you guys by Friday for the final push for final design, permitting and bidding of that project.”
The proposed bridge will be 50 feet long and 10 feet across, connecting Cape May’s First Avenue to West Cape May’s Grant Street. Design and construction funding is coming from two grants received by West Cape May.
Roadwork ahead
Contracts for the Morrison Avenue reconstruction project were completed in December and the project is on target to begin in March. Chadwell and his team met for a pre-construction meeting and confirmed the project will begin next month.
Chadwell introduced the Stevens Street road construction project in January, saying it would be funded by the most recent municipal aid grant. Commissioners proposed adding speed humps to Stevens Street as part of the project.
The borough received $174,000 but the project will require more funding. They will either use capital funds or phase out the project.
Commissioners received confirmation from the Department of Community Affairs that the local recreation improvement grants for bicycle improvements is available. Chadwell plans to submit a grant application to add striping and signage on streets to establish safe routes to the upcoming pedestrian bridge.
The borough received $85,000 in 2025 from the same grant that will be used on the First Avenue project.
Hemp-infused beverages
In December, solicitor Frank Corrado brought the topic of liquor stores selling hemp-infused drinks to the commissioners’ attention.
Corrado said the municipality could impose a cannabis tax on these stores. However, according to the state legislation Gov. Phil Murphy signed on his last day of office, municipalities can no longer impose that tax.
The legislation also states that after March 2026, stores can sell hemp-infused drinks only with a reduced THC content until the middle of November.
The state can now impose an excise tax on the wholesale of these drinks, but the state collects the money.
Affordable housing
The borough is fully compliant with its affordable housing obligations. As of September 2024, the borough received an Amended Third Round Judgment of Compliance and repose.
Last week, construction began on the two-unit project on Willow Avenue that the borough is working on with Habitat for Humanity.
Commissioners are working with the Affordable Housing Committee to meet the next deadline of March 15 to submit an adopted and endorsed Amended Housing Element and Fair Share Plan with an updated overlay zone ordinance.
The borough can receive Fourth Round Compliance Certification once the documents are submitted.
Ordinances
Commissioners discussed four new ordinances.
One would approve an extension of the shared service agreement with the Cape May Police Department.
“This allows the police department to charge extra fees for extra services,” Mayor George Dick said. “So we’re going to work through this and come up with a fair agreement for the people.”
The extra fees will be charged when police presence is required at festivals and other events. Commissioners are reviewing the information and templates before finalizing the ordinance.
An ordinance authorizing roadway solicitations for the West Cape May Volunteer Fire Department will allow the sale of Cape May Combo Coins.
“The volunteer fire company does these donation collections on Broadway three times a year on the busiest weekends,” Deputy Mayor Susan Hoffman said, noting it is a county road and it was determined that the fire company needs county approval to continue collecting donations.
Another ordinance would set a specific standard for what constitutes a specimen tree or landmark tree. The borough already has a general tree ordinance in place, so this ordinance would provide a more detailed definition.
The Shade Tree Commission will look at Cape May’s approach and will get back to the borough before any ordinances are drafted.
The final ordinance would chance the municipal meeting times.
“We wanted to see if we could get all the meeting times of all the commissions and meetings that we have all to the same time,” Dick said. “We have had people walk into different meetings at the wrong times because we’re all over the place.”
Meetings currently are held at 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The ordinance would set a standard time of 6 pm for all municipal meetings.
By JULIA DIGERONIMO/For the Star and Wave
