By KRISTEN KELLEHER/Sentinel staff
SOMERS POINT — Somers Point City Council passed a resolution Thursday, Feb. 27, encouraging the U.S. Air Force to base F-35 fighter jets at the New Jersey Air National Guard facility in Egg Harbor Township.
According to the resolution, on Thursday, Jan. 9, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a resolution to urge the Air Force to base the jets at the 177th Fighter Wing base at Atlantic City International Airport. This resolution also supports landing the F-35 in New Jersey.
According to the resolution, the fighter wing meets the USAF basing requirements, including “mission requirements such as weather, airspace and training range availability; capacity such as sufficient hangar and ramp space, and facility considerations; environmental requirements and cost factors.”
Mayor Jack Glasser, who said he was a retired member of the 177th Fighter Wing, said he thought it was “one the most important things we can support.”
“The F-16s are getting close to the end of their lifespan. Obviously, we can keep them around, but I think this F-35 fighter jet is the top of the line, the most advanced technology, and this unit, in particular, is enforcing and protecting the air space,” he said.
Glasser said with a location between New York and Washington, D.C. “I can’t think of any place better in the United States than here.”
Members of City Council also discussed the schedule for approving the 2020 municipal budget.
Council President Sean McGuigan said the budget committee “is working feverishly” on the spending plan.
City Administrator Wes Swain said the budget is supposed to be introduced by the end of March and the vote to adopt the budget should be held at the end of April.
Swain said they could introduce the budget at the first meeting in April.
Improvements are continuing on a newly opened transient marina in Somers Point.
According to Councilwoman Janice Johnston, Wi-Fi is in the process of being installed at the marina and racks for kayaks and paddleboards are being installed.
A representative from the Somers Point Economic Development Advisory Commission (EDAC) will appear before the Somers Point Planning Board in March to discuss an outdoor seating ordinance, parking ordinances and a bike rack ordinance.
“We’d like to encourage, especially new businesses, to make a bike rack part of their upgrades,” Johnston said.