Desiderio addresses beach replenishment, unruly teens, new community center
SEA ISLE CITY – During Sea Isle City’s reorganizational meeting July 1, Mayor Leonard C. Desiderio gave this inaugural address:
“I want to start by thanking the people of Sea Isle City for the opportunity to serve you. That is what our government is for – to serve you. Of course, there’s a lot of details, planning, discussion, debate, and plain old-fashioned hard work and labor that goes into public service; but at its most fundamental, government exists to serve the people.
“It is a great honor to serve as your mayor; and I will never take the support of this community for granted.
“In Sea Isle, we have so much to be thankful for; and our challenge is to never rest on our laurels; to always ask ourselves, “what needs to be done; and what is right for the city?”
“Throughout history, mankind has been drawn to the ocean; and just beyond the promenade lies our greatest natural asset and number one draw – our beautiful beach.
“Speaking of what needs to be done and what is right for the city, this coming fall, Sea Isle will receive the second cycle of beach replenishment since becoming part of the Army Corps of Engineers 50-year shore protection program. We’ve forged a strong partnership with the federal and state governments to ensure the continuation of this commitment, which is so critical for the city.
“Another critical need for the city is flood mitigation. As those who live on a barrier island know very well, with the beauty and grandeur of our oceans and bays come the constant threat of flooding.
“We’ve worked for many years to address this issue through capital improvements; and over the next several years we’ll embark on multiple initiatives to continue to improve our flood mitigation efforts.
“Much of this work will be in collaboration with the county and I can confidently say that, just as we have proven our leadership with flood damage prevention through our involvement with the National Flood Insurance Program, where we’ve collectively saved property owners hundreds of thousands of dollars on their insurance premiums, we will also be leaders in the advancement of flood mitigation strategies and ultimately capital improvements that will serve our community well into the future.
“Another thing that’s critical for the city is financial stability. Without hesitation, I can assure everyone that Sea Isle is in outstanding financial shape. During my past 4-year term as mayor, we had no tax rate increase in three of those budget years. We did experience a slight increase in 2021 due to the impact of the pandemic, but we were able to keep that increase to under one half of a penny.
“In regard to our water and sewer utility rates – we haven’t increased them for over 10 years.
“Know this – fiscal responsibility and conservatism will always be a major component of my administration.
“What will also be a major part of my administration – and quite frankly, will always be our highest priority – is public safety.
“We’ve spent the past couple summers dealing with the aftermath of poor decisions made by our state legislators – specifically, the passage of ill-conceived laws that limit law enforcement to an unreasonable degree, especially as it relates to juveniles and the use of alcohol and drugs.
“My administration and I, along with City Council, have done as much as humanly possible to implore our state government to make the needed amendments to those unsound laws; and there has been promising talk from Trenton, but to date not enough action has been taken.
“As many know, we – the Council and I – took matters into our own hands and did what we could with our own legislation and our own administrative authority to ensure law and order. I’m pleased to report that our actions have made a difference.
“I will repeat what I’ve said a number of times recently: We welcome everyone to Sea Isle. We know this is the place where everyone wants to be. All we ask is that you behave … and if you don’t want to behave, this is not the place for you.
“Our residents, our visitors, and everyone here deserve peace; they deserve to feel safe; and I tell you this – whether you live in Sea Isle or visit Sea Isle, or are just passing through – that’s what you’ll have.
“Finally, I want to mention a project that has been a long time coming and has followed a very good public process of planning, discussion, debate, review, and design; and is now ready to move to construction. I’m speaking of our planned community center to be built on the site of our former public school.
“This project will provide a place that can be used and enjoyed by all – young, old, in-between, resident, and visitor. Among our public facilities, this is the only missing piece.
“As many folks know, we’ve already demolished the former school building and prepared the site for the new facility. Later this month we’ll advertise the project for public bidding, with the goal to start construction in the fall. This is another example of something that needs to be done and is right for the city.
“Sea Isle has a bright future; and we all should be proud to be part of that … and, as always, please remember that we are one Sea Isle City and together we’ll be stronger than ever!
“Thank you, God bless you, and God bless Sea Isle City.”
