Names falling state aid, Beesleys Point project and Strathmere erosion
PETERSBURG — Mayor Curtis T. Corson grabbed the gavel and welcomed three new members to Township Committee on Jan. 3 having already set his sights on the future.
While Corson has a long history of serving on the committee, it was what lies ahead that he spoke of to a standing-room-only crowd during the reorganization meeting, when he and Committeeman Victor Nappen welcomed Zach Palombo, Sam Palombo and Tyler Casaccio to the dais.
Corson, 60, is a farmer and business owner who was sworn in to his latest term in January 2024. At the reorganization meeting, he was chosen by his peers for the top position, which he held in 2022.
While Corson has been a member of Township Committee for more than a quarter-century, former mayor Rich Palombo held the top spot for more than two decades of that time and Jay Newman was chosen in 2023 and 2024.
The lifelong resident has deep roots in the township as a 13th-generation resident. In the crowd were his children, who are the 14th generation of Corsons to live locally, and his grandchildren, who are the 15th generation.
His middle initial “T” stands for Townsend, his grandmother’s maiden name, which means he is related to two of the founding families of Cape May County, among the earliest people of European descent to live in the northern region, with two local inlets carrying those names.
Corson served on Township Committee from 1996 to 2014 before losing re-election on a ticket with Newman.
He then he was appointed in 2016 to fill the unexpired term of former committeeman Jeffrey Pierson after Pierson was elected to the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders (now Board of County Commissioners). Corson ran and won a full term in 2017, 2020 and 2023.
“I care about our township, I care about our community, I care about the future of Upper Township,” he told those gathered, which included multiple representatives of the Cape GOP organization — including Assemblymen Antwan McClellan and Erik Simonsen who took part in the swearing in ceremony.
The county party had contributed $20,000 to the Palombos’ campaign to unseat Newman and former deputy mayor Kim Hayes in the Republican Primary.
“In the coming years, we do face many challenges,” Corson said, listing the continued loss of state aid, the Beesleys Point redevelopment project and Strathmere erosion among the top issues.
Loss of state aid
“We’ve had a lot of loss of state aid — that’s all through south Jersey; our state tax dollars go elsewhere, they don’t stay in south Jersey — Our school systems feel it, our township feels it and it’s hurt us,” Corson said.
“Hopefully the assemblymen are listening,” he added.
Corson, who has long been a member of the budget committee, said both municipal and school aid has dropped.
“We’re losing state aid across the board,” he said.
CFO Barbara Ludy said the township would not be getting municipal relief aid for 2025, after having gotten nearly $1 million total in the past two years.
The school system has suffered much worse. Since 2016-17, the district lost $5,986,469 in state aid, down from $10,131,084 to $4,144,615.
Gov. Phil Murphy returned some of the aid cut in 2024, also allowing certain districts to surpass the 2 percent tax levy and tax rate caps. The Upper Township Board of Education ultimately voted to increase the tax levy to 8 percent and the tax rate 10.9 cents to $1.559 per $100 of assessed value.
“When you lose income, you have got to come up with it somewhere,” he said. “Any loss of income, no matter how little or how big, affects what you can spend to run the township.”
Corson said something must be done to offset the loss, and is looking to the second issue for potential assistance.
Beesleys Point
redevelopment
The Beesley’s Point Development Group has been working on a redevelopment project with the township since 2021, when the partners purchased the 350-acre piece of waterfront real estate on which sat the B.L. England Generating Station for nearly 60 years.
The BPDG bought the property in November 2021 and began an environmental cleanup to make way for a commercial and residential complex featuring a hotel, marina, retail shops and an extensive public environmental installation.
Located along Great Egg Harbor Bay, the site includes sections of wetlands, lowlands, uplands and maritime forest that are home to numerous species of plants and animals. There’s also a former nine-hole golf course.
Corson said the project is “very important” to the future of the township, noting it will generate residential and commercial tax ratables as well as help fulfill the township’s affordable housing requirements.
“I’m looking forward to it being done and done properly,” he said.
Asked if he anticipated any downsides, he was circumspect.
“Every time you do something, there is always a potential of a downside,” he said. “I think the positives are going to far outweigh any negatives.”
The BPDG, which consists of four partners (three of whom now live locally), has been remediating the site and is expected to soon release its vision to the public.
The plant was a major factor in the township for nearly six decades as a source of jobs, electricity and funding, providing the township with millions of dollars in energy tax receipts for hosting the plant.
The state once provided as much as $30 million annually to the township when the plant was at peak operations. That number ultimately was reduced to $6.1 million and has held steady ever since. The site still is home to an Atlantic City Electric substation.
The project represents the first opportunity to recoup some of that lost funding, which is difficult through the traditional property tax structure given the 3 percent annual cap on the tax levy and tax rate increases.
Remediation so far has involved implosion and removal of the cooling tower in September 2022, removal of the boiler units in April 2023 and implosion of the iconic smokestack in October that same year. Environmental cleanup also included the removal of invasive phragmites reeds.
“It’s been talked about for many years, and now the site is totally cleaned up, remediated,” Corson said. “We have a lot of work to do and hopefully that will come to fruition real soon. We will see the plans and be very diligent.”
Corson said he feels the project will be positive for the township, noting it will have to be vetted by Township Committee and the public before moving ahead.
“We’ll definitely have more input than a normal application because of the redevelopment zone,” he said.
Beach erosion
The township’s beach community of Strathmere continues to be battered by waves and the flow of water through Corson’s Inlet, resulting in major erosion on the island’s northern tip despite a replenishment project last year.
The Stockton University Coastal Research Center surveyed the beaches Sept. 27 and 30 and delivered its third-quarter report in late fall.
“We have lost 25 percent of the sand that was placed on the beach,” engineer Ryan MacNeill said of the first three quarters of the year.
Corson said the number likely is closer to 40 percent now.
The study found that the northern portion of the beaches, concentrated heavily at Tecumseh, Williams and Seaview avenues, benefited greatly from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers nourishment project but by September erosion had begun to take a toll.
The project, completed in January 2024, was a joint effort of the Army Corps Philadelphia District, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Ocean City, Sea Isle City and Upper Township.
“The upgraded dune system still provides much-needed storm protection but this feature at the northern profiles (Williams Avenue and Seaview Avenue) remains more vulnerable with the degraded recreational beach and nearshore decreasing the resilience function,” the report states.
Corson said replenishment has not worked and is looking for a long-term solution.
“We’re looking forward to working with our legislators and the federal government and hopefully we can come up with something that would be rock solid,” Corson said.
The mayor said he would like to find an alternative solution, noting the problem persists despite the efforts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Department of Environmental Protection.
“I would love to see some sort of jetty but have been told in the past they couldn’t do that,” he said. “Maybe they are willing to look at other options.”
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
