COURT HOUSE – All towns in Cape May County are not the same, but their mayors often face similar challenges daily, including budgets, public safety, affordable housing and the state’s Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJPACT) program.

Speaking at a Cape May County Chamber of Commerce breakfast on July 18, Middle Township Mayor Christopher Leusner, Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock, Lower Township Mayor Frank Sippel and North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello highlighted their towns’ progress, problems and opportunities.

One of their common concerns is the NJPACT program created by the state Department of Environmental Protection. The program is using a prediction of a 5-foot sea level rise by 2100 to adjust construction standards, including requiring the first habitable floor to be 14 feet above sea level.

“This will negatively impact Middle Township,” Leusner said. “Middle Township was sued for not creating workforce housing, and now the DEP steps in and is making it difficult.”

“I understand why there is an NJPACT, but there needs to be a balance.”

Leusner said every new construction project in Middle Township must have a 20% set-aside for workforce, or income-based, housing. He addressed the fear some people have expressed at such housing, saying there were about 200 people at township meetings speaking in opposition to the Meadowlark Run complex, yet he views it as a success.

“They are hard-working people living at that complex,” he said.

Sippel said Lower Township recently held an informational workshop about NJPACT, at which he said the township government would oppose it.

Rosenello criticized NJPACT as “an attempt to make radical changes 75 to 100 years down the road.”

He spent nearly all his time speaking about the need for balance and understanding on the part of the DEP with regard to municipal governments and local issues, detailing his town’s struggles with the agency over beach protection measures.

Rosenello claimed the DEP commissioner does not want to be in the beach replenishment business and would like to abandon the coastal communities, despite the beaches being the economic engine in a $45 billion per year tourism industry.

But he acknowledged that Gov. Phil Murphy stepped in and ordered the state Department of Transportation to oversee a beach replenishment project for North Wildwood.

“In 49 days, they started pumping sand on the beaches. That tells you what can be done,” he said.

Rosenello said the project resulted in 2.2 billion pounds of sand being pumped onto the beaches in 21 days; it took 70 days for the total project to be completed.

Leusner said 2024 began as a challenging year from a budgeting standpoint; however, he said the township attempted to address the budget by attacking it “from both sides of the ledger.”

He said one of the ways the township addressed spending was to privatize emergency medical services. He said the township had a hard time attracting and retaining EMS personnel.

Leusner said Middle Township also joined the county 911 central dispatch, to which Cape May and Lower Township belong. He said rather than having cops at a desk he wanted to have them on patrol.

Likewise, Sippel later cited Lower Township’s switch to private emergency services.

Leusner said Middle Township, in an attempt to broaden the revenue base, created a short-term rental ordinance that applies to companies such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

Sippel referred to his town’s short-term rental ordinance, saying Lower Township now has over 1,000 such rentals, which are responsible for about $800,000 in revenue for the township. The transition to short-term rentals, however, has created a shortage of “valuable year-round rentals,” he said.

Leusner cited Middle Township’s issuing of a cannabis license, with a second license available, as a revenue source.

“Cannabis was coming into the township either way, so we said, OK, let’s ID a company, see where we will go,” he said.

Lower Township recently had its first cannabis distribution facility open in the township. Cape May has chosen not to permit cannabis sales within its borders, but it has other sources of revenue on a scale not available to the inland municipalities.

Mullock said Cape May is in its fifth year without a tax-rate increase, and the city experienced a 25% increase in parking meter revenue, which he said is a good indication of businesses doing well. He said revenue from the occupancy tax is up 8% through May, and that beach tag sales are up 15%.

The mayors mentioned other projects or features of their communities, including a redevelopment zone that includes much of Rio Grande, that officials hope will spur new development in the Route 9/Route 47 corridor.

Mullock spoke about the difficulty in recruiting Class I and Class II special law enforcement officers, but said Cape May had hired new full-time officers and firefighters.

Sippel spoke about Lower Township’s having some features such as the Cape May County Airport, the Naval Air Station-Wildwood Museum, the Cape May-Lewes ferry terminal and one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in New Jersey.

Lower Township, he said, is the site of the $35 million saltwater marsh restoration project at the Pond Creek Wildlife Management Area. He said township property taxes are less than half the state average.

Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.