Leader Newsnotes 10-14-09
Oct, 24-2009 11:32 am
Wildwood has a 2009 budget – finally
WILDWOOD – At a special meeting last Thursday, Oct. 8, commissioners finally approved the $26.1 million 2009 budget that they first introduced in May. Mayor Ernie Troiano and fellow Commissioner William Davenport both voted to introduce the budget in May, with Commissioner Gary DeMarzo abstaining.
Commissioners acted last week under a deadline imposed by the state, including the prospect of fines being imposed against each of them personally by the State Division of Local Government Services.
Last month, in light of the commission’s inaction in establishing this year’s tax rate, the Division stepped in and calculated the rate necessary to fund the spending set forth in the budget introduced in May. City business was conducted in accordance with the terms of that budget throughout the first nine months of the year, but the budget still was not formally adopted.
At last week’s meeting, Troiano voted against the budget he originally voted to introduce. Davenport and DeMarzo voted to adopt it, with DeMarzo voting after City Solicitor Marc Karavan ruled that he could do so under the legal doctrine of necessity in light of the position taken by the state. Ordinarily DeMarzo does not vote upon matters that directly involve police or unions, in light of his status on unpaid leave of absence from the city police force, and the budget has not been presented in a manner that would break out those items.
In recent weeks, Troiano asserted that a newly proposed sale of a city-owned former landfill in the backbay area might lower the amount of revenues that must be raised through taxes this year. Details of the proposed sale were sketchy, and City Auditor Glenn Ortmann advised commissioners at a recent meeting that they could rely only on “money already in the bank” in taking action on the municipal budget.
The amount needed to fund the 2009 budget requires a hike in the local purpose tax rate of 18.2 cents over last year’s rate.
Crest asks employees to contribute health care costs
WILDWOOD CREST – Borough Clerk/Administrator Kevin Yecco and Commissioner Joyce Gould met with borough employees last week to discuss changes that will be made in the borough’s health care plan effective Jan. 1, 2010.
Beginning next year, the borough’s non-union employees will contribute 5 percent of the cost of their health benefits.
Yecco told employees at last week’s meeting that the borough spends $1.8 million yearly on health care for employees.
The governing body’s determination to make that change was very difficult, Yecco said this week, but it was based upon negotiations with the UIU, which represents the borough’s sanitation workers. The UIU agreed to include the 5 percent contribution as part of their new contract.
Non-union employees now will proceed under the same terms.
Yecco said that if the change were not made, “negotiation with the unrepresented group would be difficult because of a potential tiering of benefits, which would be virtually impossible to administer.”
“The intent is to include all other represented groups as well, in the same fashion,” he added, “so ultimately there will be consistency from an overall perspective.”
Yecco said the revised term was directly attributable to current economic conditions, adding that the governing body took note that private employers “have been long demanding the same contributions by their employees.”
“It was a difficult decision, but fair and equitable given these difficult times that both employers and residents are experiencing,” Yecco said.
More properties headed for auction
WILDWOOD CREST -- Another set of condominium units, and a couple commercial properties, are about to go on the auction block in the Wildwoods.
Max Spann, the national auctioneer that ran an auction successfully selling off remaining units at the Point at Moore’s Inlet (located at the former site of Moore’s Inlet Restaurant and Bar in North Wildwood), now will try to auction off 25 condominiums at the other end of the island, at the former Carriage Stop Motel in Wildwood Crest, as well as two multi-unit properties in Wildwood.
The Carriage Stop condominiums, located on the beach block at 402 East St. Paul Ave. in the Crest, were converted from motel rooms and will be made available, furnished, for minimum bids of $35,000 for efficiency units and $55,000 for one-bedroom units. Units will be offered at “bidders choice,” meaning the successful bidder in each round will choose his or her property from among all remaining units.
The Hotel Gillmore, located at 134 E. Schellenger Ave. in Wildwood, will be auctioned beginning at a minimum bid of $200,000, and a structure at 145 E. Spicer Ave. in Wildwood, containing five apartments and six rentable rooms, will be auctioned beginning at a minimum bid of $150,000.
The auction will be held Oct. 31, 11 a.m., at the Clarion Hotel, 6821 Black Horse Pike, Egg Harbor Township. At the time of the auction of The Pointe units at the Borgata, Max Spann representatives explained that they chose a location outside the county because it was more accessible to potential buyers from the Philadelphia area, northern New Jersey, and New York.
Additional details, including preview times, may be found at www.maxspann.com.
Second sibling pleads not guilty in Moore slaying
COURT HOUSE – The two siblings accused in the March 20 stabbing death of Donnie Terrell Moore, then 38, at his residence at 137 Rio Grande Avenue in Wildwood, have pled not guilty to the charges filed against them.
Last month, Tyrone Harris, 33, pled not guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter in Moore’s death. He lived with Moore at the Rio Grande Avenue address at the time of the alleged slaying, according to a police report.
Last Friday, Oct. 9, Shantelle Harris, 29, of Whitesboro, pled not guilty to aggravated manslaughter. Harris was Moore’s girlfriend, parented a child with Moore, and is the sister of Tyrone Harris, according to police.
The Harris siblings are scheduled to be tried as co-defendants at the same trial. Shantelle Harris is represented by public defender H. Parker Smith, and Tyrone Harris by public defender Jeff Wilson.
Plea entered in parking meter case
WILDWOOD – Former employee Albert L. Peter, 72, of Rio Grande, pled guilty last week to charges that he pilfered cash from city parking meters while working as a meter repairman.
Peter entered a plea before Superior Court Judge Raymond Batten on Oct. 8, as a part of an agreement in which he will be on probation after serving 90 days in Cape May County Jail for third-degree theft, while the Prosecutor’s Office will drop the charge of official misconduct that was initially lodged against him. The latter is a second-degree crime that could result in a prison term of up to ten years if Peter were tried and found guilty.
In July, police retrieved bank bags containing quarters amounting to $980 from Peter’s personal vehicle.
Take the ‘Lighthouse Challenge’
NORTH WILDWOOD – This community’s historic Hereford Inlet Lighthouse is one of 11 lighthouses throughout the state participating in the 10th Annual New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17-18.
The “challenge” is to visit all 11 lighthouses and two Frensel lens sites during the course of the two-day weekend.
Hereford Inlet Lighthouse will celebrate the weekend both days from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Representatives from the New Jersey Lighthouse Society will be present to present token souvenirs to each visitor.
Special guests also will attend the festivities throughout the weekend. These include photojournalist Skip Willits, writer and journalist Bob Ingram, and artist Raymond Schorle.
Refreshments will be available throughout the weekend, and will include a hoagie sale to benefit the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse.
The lighthouse is located at 111 N. Central Ave. Other locations in the county, included in the challenge, are the Cape May Lighthouse and the Cape May County Historical Museum in Cape May Court House, which is home to a Frensel lens, an invention which, in the early 1800’s, enabled lighthouses to pass light waves more effectively and be visible over longer distances.
For more information, call 522-4520.
Chowder contest winners announced
WILDWOOD – Occasional drizzles couldn’t dampen last Saturday’s Seafood and Music Festival in Wildwood, as visitors took to the streets along Atlantic Avenue between Wildwood and Schellenger avenues, to dance, sample various types of seafood, and listen to some excellent music ranging from blues and boogie to rock ‘n roll.
Clam chowder connoisseurs slurped, er, ate their way through areas in which local restaurateurs vied for “best chowder” designation in the festival’s Clam Chowder Contest.
Festival-goers received free samples of the chowders, then voted for their favorites. A separate panel of expert judges also tasted samples.
The Greater Wildwood Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored the festival, has announced the results: the “Peoples’ Choice” award went to The Deck at Holly Beach, and the “Judges’ Choice” award went to Neil’s Steak and Chowder House.
Cabrera Realty sponsors cell phone drive
WILDWOOD CREST – Cabrera Realty recently became a sponsor of the Cell Phones for Soldiers program, which is kicking off a cell phone collection drive aimed at facilitating communications between some of America’s 150,000 troops overseas and their loved ones back home.
The public is asked to donate unused cell phones, which can be dropped off at Cabrera Realty, 6201 New Jersey Ave. here. The donated phones are sold to a company known as ReCellular, and the money raised by each telephone is enough for an hour of talk time between soldiers abroad and their families in the States.
For further information, call 609-729-8840.
North Wildwood plans ‘Trunk or Treat’
NORTH WILDWOOD – This community is sponsoring a family fun “Trunk or Treat” event Friday, Oct. 30, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., in the municipal parking lot located at Olde New Jersey Avenue between First and Second avenues.
Families are invited to attend in their family cars, decorated for Halloween. Children, who are encouraged to wear costumes, will be welcomed to visit each decorated car, and each family will provide treats from the trunk of its auto.
Prizes will be awarded to the vehicles with the best decorations. (Costumes will not be judged.)
Registration is required for all automobiles; the registration form is available online at www.northwildwood.com. Deadline for registration is Oct. 26, and the city warns: no exceptions!
‘Friends of West Wildwood’ break bread
WEST WILDWOOD – Organizers report that the Friends of West Wildwood, a taxpayer association, held a “very successful” spaghetti dinner last Friday at Borough Hall.
Net proceeds will be donated to the Vietnam Veterans’ Wall project, association member Jim Perloff said. The association also is sponsoring a t-shirt sale that will result in $5 being donated to the Wall project for every t-shirt sold, he said.
Perloff said that under the leadership of President Joe Smith, the association has signed up some 380 members, and it plans to hold community events “every three to four months.”
“People may find it hard to believe, but we’re trying to do things that are nonpolitical, just bringing members of the community together for a good time,” he said. “We always used to do things like this. It’s a really, really nice community of people here.”
Writing, anyone?
A 10-week mixed media writing workshop will start in late October, mentored by local writer and author Carole Mattessich. The workshop, limited to 10 members, will meet each Saturday for two hours in Cape May Court House for writing exercises, readings, and group discussion of writers’ works and selected reading materials. Each participant will submit two completed works during the 10-week session, for group discussion and individualized written critique. Tuition is $150 for the “semester,” which will conclude with an evening reading of selected group works. Call 465-5535 for further details.
