AVALON – It made sense that Avalon Mayor Martin “Marty” Pagliughi would pick some point to step down from over three decades as the borough’s mayor, but the announcement still came as a surprise.
Avalon without Pagliughi as mayor almost doesn’t compute. A quick overview of the borough tells why.
Avalon has the lowest property tax rate in the county and one of the lowest among all state municipalities. In just 5 square miles of borough territory, Avalon has close to $10 billion in assessed value of real estate.
Property owners in Avalon enjoy a 35% discount on their flood insurance premiums because the borough has achieved a level 3 Community Rating System (CRS) score, one of only 13 such designations in the nation.
One could consider the ongoing innovative attempt to secure a boroughwide dredging permit or borough involvement in tests to see if dredge spoils can be effectively used to build up wetlands. One might wish to discuss the improbable rise of pickleball as the fastest growing sport in the nation and the fact that little Avalon has managed to become a stop on the professional players’ tour.
For those less inclined to sports, the discussion could turn to the ongoing effort to add a 12th stormwater pump station at the borough’s border with neighboring Stone Harbor. One could discuss the new Surfside Park or the planned enhancements to the Bay Park Marina.
For all of it and so much more, one guiding hand that was consistently present was that of Pagliughi. For those who are among the many who treasure this borough or even among the some who are its detractors, there is no debate that Pagliughi has played a major role in shaping the community.
Pagliughi moved to Avalon in 1976. As he tells it in a recent interview, Pagliughi and his wife, Lynda, moved into a rental property on 7th Street and never left the neighborhood, as they upgraded to a condominium and then to their current home there. Pagliughi had already completed an 18-year career with a private sector engineering firm.
In short order, Pagliughi demonstrated that energy and drive that led him to get involved in his community. He was a 20-year volunteer fireman, with four years on the county Park Commission and six years on the borough’s Zoning Board followed by two more years on the Planning Board. Pagliughi’s level of involvement was already impressive when, in 1987, he first ran for elected office for a seat on the Borough Council, where he would spend the next four years.
With Mayor Richard Light retiring, Pagliughi ran for the mayor’s chair in May 1991. Winning election and taking office that July, it is doubtful that even Pagliughi envisioned his spending the next 32 consecutive years in office.
From the start, Pagliughi’s vision, and his simple strategy for achieving it, were evident. As he explained it in that recent interview, control costs, seek shared services, keep the tax rate steady, pay attention to aesthetics, as well as an ongoing management of infrastructure, and make reasonable use of private sector firms. Primacy in that strategy was care for the borough’s greatest asset, its beaches.
Pagliughi took office in an era long before state and federal beach nourishment. It was a time when he saw the need to annually budget for the borough’s own cycle of dredging and beach fills. It was also a time to forcefully advocate for support for beach maintenance.
Almost as soon as Pagliughi took office, an October Halloween storm did almost $3 million in damage to borough beaches. Teaming with Sea Isle City on a major dredge and fill project, Pagliughi continued to press for federal and state support.
When President George H. W. Bush initially rejected Avalon’s damage claims through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the struggle continued, and support followed.
Pagliughi was there for the first U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s New Jersey Shore Protection Study to support a Townsend’s Inlet to Cape May Inlet proposed project for beach and dune creation and work on the inlet sea wall.
He was mayor when the proposal was funded, and when the beach and dune construction by the Army Corps was completed in 2002. The promise of a three-year cycle of federal replenishments was later augmented with an innovative back passing routine in off years.
Pagliughi said the strategy for increasing property values included zoning changes that made lots bigger and able to accommodate larger homes. As the summer cottages gave way to more elaborate structures, property values soared, ratables increased, and the tax rate could be maintained at a low level.
Through it all, Pagliughi saw the value of close cooperation with the council where individuals like Nancy Hudanich, Richard Dean and Charles Covington partnered in the effort and served for much of Pagliughi’s time as mayor.
Strong financial management, privatization of municipal services and attention to debt level were key. Today, Dean, Covington and Hudanich have all retired, and Pagliughi will soon follow.
The borough sits with no long-term general obligation debt, with almost $8 million in a general fund surplus and with $9 million allotted in the 2023 budget for capital projects that will either be paid for directly from the budget or rely on only short-term debt instruments with larger than required down payments.
Way back in 1993, the borough initiated a business district revitalization plan. Today, the borough is hiring a consultant to help lay out a plan for a new era.
Times change, but a commitment to planning does not. Pagliughi said the borough has been guided by a 10-year financial plan rather than the shorter plan required by the state.
In 2012, Pagliughi took the position of Cape May County Emergency Management Coordinator, a job from which he is not yet ready to step away, at least until he sees the transition to a countywide emergency dispatch system completed.
Today, Avalon is, in significant measure, a product of Pagliughi’s efforts. Whatever the future holds for the borough, Pagliughi leaves it in a strong position to confront its next set of challenges.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
