By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
SOMERS POINT — City Council has decided not to take part in the centralized court system proposed by Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson.
The county contends the system would save municipalities money, provide substance-abuse and mental health treatment, create a uniformity of justice and help bridge the digital divide.
A presentation by Atlantic County Counsel Jim Ferguson and retired state Superior Court Judge Mark Sandson included an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent savings for each member, with costs dropping with increased involvement.
However, City Council President Janice Johnston said, there are too many uncertainties, including whether enough municipalities will join to make it feasible and whether the proposal will actually come to fruition by Dec. 31.
Reporting on the decision of the Countywide Court Subcommittee, Johnston said “We recommend at this time to not join the court consolidation.”
“We feel that at this time we didn’t get enough clear and concise answers,” she said, adding that the proposal was not as financially feasible for Somers Point as it is for other towns.
City solicitor Tom Smith said Ferguson and Sandson provided a chart breaking down the anticipated cost savings but that it was based on unsecured participation.
“What they were including was everyone that passed a resolution committing to look at it,” Smith said. “What they were giving us for numbers, they don’t really know.”
He said the county needs at least eight municipalities to join to make the proposal feasible and that just three had committed to doing so.
When asked his thought, City Administrator Jason Frost agreed there is too much uncertainty.
“If they can show us empirically that other municipalities have saved, I would be for this. Otherwise I would not be in favor of jumping into something like this,” he said.
Smith also found fault with the five-year commitment, saying it’s too long.
“That’s a little Draconian for us not knowing the financial implications,” Smith said.
Councilman Howard Dill added that after five years, some municipalities could drop out, leaving the rest with the bill.
“I’m for consolidation where consolidation works,” Dill said, adding the city has a good court system . “Once you give up control you can really have problems.”
Council also again extended the allowance for restaurants to provide outdoor seating on their properties and in the city’s rights of way.
During a meeting Thursday, May 13,
The city first granted the right June 11, 2020, just eight days after Gov. Phil Murphy signed the executive order permitting the practice statewide.
The permission was set to expire July 24 but the city granted an extension through Sept. 14.
As last summer was winding down, it became clear that the pandemic was not going to be over anytime soon, so the city granted an extension Sept. 10 through Oct. 23. The last extension was set to end May 17 but the extension now allows the practice through Sept. 27.
“It is recognized by this governing body that the COVID-19 outbreak, and the restrictions arising therefrom, continue to cause substantial economic suffering and financial hardship for many of the businesses,” the resolution states.
Also during the meeting, Council approved applying to the state Department of Community Affairs for a Local Recreation Improvement Grant.
The grant supports improvement and repair of public recreation facilities including local parks, municipal recreation centers.
Johnston said the city has plans to install new playground equipment at the municipal beach and John F. Kennedy Memorial Park.
“Access to outdoor recreation and community resources is critical for mental and physical health, particularly for those residents with limited or no other access to quality outdoor space or private recreational opportunities,” the resolution states. “Assisting local units in achieving unmet recreational obligations addresses these equity considerations, meeting the needs of communities that have been placed under substantial stress due to the lack of quality recreational facilities and spaces.”
Finally, City Council approved an investigation into the “beneficial reuse of dredge material” at the Department of Public Works site on Defeo Lane.
Frost said the city is taking this initial step to determine what would be involved with depositing the materials as the city-owned lot and to discuss dredging needs with property owners along Bay Avenue.
Frost said there may even be a way for the city to gain by accepting materials from outside entities.
Mayor Jack Glasser announced plans for a special commemoration this year on Richard Somers Day, Sept. 15. He said sailors from the USS Somers — there have been at least two in the U.S. Navy, including a destroyer that served during World War II — will be in town that week for a reunion.
He said he is in contact with the president of the reunion committee and would like to make a big deal of it.
“They served on our favorite son’s ship, so I think we go all out for them,” Glasser said.
