CAPE MAY – The seemingly intractable problem in the city is parking. Too many cars and too few spaces make for problems at City Hall where the adjacent municipal lot must juggle the needs of city employees, public safety requirements when emergency personnel are called in, residents who wish to enter City Hall to conduct municipal business, and tourists who see empty spaces in the lot after hours or on weekends when employees are not present.

City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 6, tried to address some of the issues with an ordinance on the agenda for introduction. The ordinance would establish three-hour-limit meter parking in the lot from April 1 to Dec. 31 from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The ordinance also tried to define a “one half hour” period during which the parking “shall be deemed to be official business” in City Hall and thus free from metered expense.

The ordinance was tabled by unanimous vote of the council. An extended council discussion period preceding the vote to table presented a number of conflicting issues that council members did not feel the ordinance satisfactorily addressed.

Councilman Shane Meier pointed to the fact that any ordinance introduced now could not possibly be adopted and be in effect until the summer season was over. “Why are we rushing to do this now?” Meier asked.

Mayor Zack Mullock asked for two council members to volunteer to review and redraft the ordinance. Deputy Mayor Lorraine Baldwin and Councilwoman Maureen McDade took on the task.

Contact the reporter, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.