Ordinance for Construction of New Public Safety Building Passes

STONE HARBOR – In a short, routine meeting of the Stone Harbor Borough Council March 3, one ordinance was moved to the end of the agenda. This ordinance authorized slightly more than $8 million in bonds to pay for “various improvements” in the borough. Included in this bond ordinance is $6 million for back-bay dredging. The planned use of the funds also includes almost $2 million for construction of a new Public Safety building.
Following a long period of study, the borough appears ready to move ahead with the project to construct a new Public Safety building, but there is at least some resistance on the proposed location from a property owner in the area. The resident, Laura Jean Wilson, wrote Council calling the plan for the new building an “ill-conceived proposal.” No opposition to the ordinance surfaced at the council meeting, however, and it passed its final reading.
Council voted to raise the sewer collection system rates by $15 a quarter, beginning in May. The water rates and fees also were increased by $15 per quarter for all meter sizes. An increase in the amount billed to the borough from the county MUA was the principle driver of the rate increase. The borough also had to cover an increase in related debt service.
Stone Harbor joined other county municipalities in expressing opposition to the proposed inclusion of a portion of the southern Atlantic Ocean in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s program that would allow offshore drilling.
Mayor Suzanne Walters expressed the same concern heard at governing body meetings throughout the county when she spoke of avoiding “what happened in the Gulf.” The obvious reference in Walters’ remark is the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that had such a devastating impact on the coastal communities in 2010.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.