Poles vs. Flooding; Stone Harbor Weighs Priorities

STONE HARBOR – In a relatively short period, issues thought absolutely central in the eyes of many citizens can and do change, leaving a concern that had the power to inflame many voters to recede into relative quiet while new problems emerged to absorb attention and resources.
In the little over two years since the annual reorganization meeting in 2017, the Borough of Stone Harbor has experienced that shift in focus. 
The Poles
In June 2016, Suzanne Walters lost her bid for another term as the Republican candidate for mayor in Stone Harbor. Walters, who had held the position for 20 years, was defeated in the Republican primary by then Council member Judith Davies-Dunhour. Council President Barry Mastrangelo also was defeated in the same primary.
A major issue in that campaign was a project by Atlantic City Electric (ACE) to build what the utility said was a more robust and resilient infrastructure for electric power on Seven Mile Island.
The project included construction of a substation at 60th Street in Avalon, an increase in power transmission to the island from 23Kv to 60Kv lines and use of a new standard steel galvanized utility pole that dwarfed the existing poles, coming in at 80 feet in height rather than the standard 45 feet for older wooden poles.  
The project caused an uproar in the borough with the public comment period at borough council meetings filled with denunciations of the utility and of select borough officials who, many believed, knew about the plans ahead of time and failed to take steps to prevent them or to inform the public.
The poles became symbols of an argument for greater transparency in local government and the wave of discontent impacted the elections. Newly-elected Council members Charles Krafczek and Mantura Gallagher made removing the poles a part of their campaigns. Gallagher served a brief portion of the unexpired term of deceased Council member Albert Carusi, but that campaign had been her first in the borough.
Ridding the borough of the poles remained a goal of many property owners.  In October 2017, the borough’s Planning Board, working on the community’s master plan, authorized using some of the funds associated with the master plan study to retain the services of Mott Associates to conduct an independent analysis of the feasibility and associated costs of removing the poles and transferring the transmission system to an underground route across the borough.
An earlier estimate provided by ACE for the same work projected the expense to be $25 million and that estimate did not include the cost of relocating other utilities that piggyback on the same poles to provide voice and data services to residents.
While the issue of the poles never died, it did recede some and new competition of capital investment also emerged. 
Flooding and Rising Seas
Island communities like Stone Harbor are facing potentially significant investments to protect themselves from rising sea levels, increasingly frequent and severe storms, and a growing number of intense rain events. Stone Harbor is facing high required investments in drainage systems and pump stations.
A protective beach and dune system whose replenishment has been made more expensive by restrictive regulations involving offshore sand borrow areas may also require investment on a more frequent basis. Already in 2019, availability of federal dollars for the nourishment of the beaches is forcing change in the cycle of beach maintenance. The borough was notified recently that it will not be part of the federally-funded project this fall.
Tidal flooding from the back bay has already led the borough to increase the required height of bulkheads. Home construction must obey new height restrictions leading to changes in zoning regulations.
On March 1, the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Protection released a report on Coastal Storm Risk Management for the back bays. The report highlighted structural responses under consideration that include floodwalls, levees and tide gates. It also called for nature-based initiatives like living shorelines and marsh restoration.
The federal study and the actions already being taken by the borough are all in recognition of the vulnerability of the coastline and back bays to extreme weather and what the report terms as “the compounding impact of sea level change.” 
Municipal Priorities
In an interview in her office, Davies-Dunhour said that dealing with the issues related to flooding is among the most important of the challenges facing the borough. The mayor indicated that infrastructure requirements for combating flooding and the dangers of sea-level rise should be priorities for the borough.
Davies-Dunhour never directly compared spending for flood mitigation to capital investments for redirecting the utility transmission system underground. What she discussed were new claims on the borough’s funds, claims arising from a need to better prepare for a future that will include new challenges and a need to deal with new vulnerabilities.
In a January Planning Board meeting, Davies-Dunhour asked the individuals working on the master plan to revisit the cost estimates for removing the poles and redirecting the wires underground because of news reports of a Long Island utility doing just that in order to quell the uproar in the town of Eastport, an uproar caused by the introduction of the same type of steel poles over a seven-mile stretch of the community. The Long Island case is one in which the utility is investing an estimated $13.5 million to do what many property owners want done in Stone Harbor.
The January discussion at the planning board showed that the issue of the poles has not been shelved and forgotten.
Yet, the competition for taxpayer funds has intensified. Undergrounding the poles at taxpayer expense requires a different discussion than it did just a few years ago. 
Governance
The governing body has seen a great deal of change. Since Davies-Dunhour earned her seat on the council, the membership of that body has experienced complete turnover. In the short time since ACE’s resiliency project roiled municipal politics prior to the 2016 primaries, a majority of the members of council have changed.
Davies-Dunhour said that the underlying issue in 2016 wasn’t the poles, it was transparency in government. Issues can and will change, new priorities will push out old ones, new threats will emerge. She said the key to balancing potentially conflicting priorities is openness on the part of municipal government.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.