CAPE MAY – When the new Cape May City administration came into office in January 2021, immediate action was taken on the construction of a new facility for the city’s fire department.
Promises were made that similar action on a new police station would follow. City Council introduced a $5 million bond ordinance for a new police station March 15. The vote was 4-to-1, with Deputy Mayor Stacy Sheehan opposed.
The most likely location for a police station is the corner of Lafayette and St. Johns Lane streets. The city hopes to gain ownership of the land through a land swap with the state Department of Environmental Protection.
Although the location is not yet announced, the move to initiate the bond ordinance was prompted by current low-interest rates and the concern that rates will rise in the near term.
That argument was not sufficient for Sheehan, who argued that there has been no feasibility study done on the proposed site and that the details of the land swap are not clear. She said she was arguing for full public disclosure of the details before a bond ordinance is done.
Her four colleagues on the council, including Mayor Zack Mullock, urged support for the ordinance, arguing that the site plan issues will be worked out after the city moves to secure a low-interest rate.
A bond ordinance requires a supermajority of the governing body, which is four votes in Cape May. The ordinance is expected to come up for a public hearing and a vote on adoption at the April 19 council meeting.
