Three New Councilpersons Seated in Cape May

CAPE MAY — Superior Court Judge Raymond A. Batten administered the oath of office to three new councilpersons here Thur., July 1: Deanna Fiocca, Jack Wichterman and Bill Murray.
It was a second term for Wichterman who was appointed deputy mayor. Fiocca and Murray are beginning their first terms serving on a governing body of a city.
Each councilperson had a loved one hold the Bible on which they placed a hand while receiving their oath of office.
Accompanied by her mother Sandy, Deanna Fiocca thanked her family after receiving her oath. She thanked those who voted for her.
“Your faith in me, honestly, astonishes me,” said Fiocca.
She promised to work hard over the next four years.
Murray received his oath with his fiancé Mary Scott holding the Bible. He promised to carry out his duties “with fidelity and do my very best.”
“I represent the people, I am not here for my own well being,” said Murray.
Wichterman thanked voters.
“I got to make two, very good new friends,” he said, referring to Murray and Fiocca.
He said he was looking forward to “ a very harmonious and productive four years.”
Wichterman said he met with a representative of Lower Cape Regional High School to gather information to televise Cape May Council meetings on Comcast’s public access channel.
He said council would be working on the Convention Hall project “right away.” Council will determine which way the city is going to go with the project.
Currently, the city needs to pass an additional bond ordinance for $3.1 million to build the proposed Convention Hall in addition to a $10.5 million bond approved by voters.
“Our emails are full right now with both pro and con,” said Wichterman. “It’s my interpretation that no matter which way we go, half the town is going to be happy with it and the other half’s going to be mad.”
In his annual State of the City Address, Mayor Edward J. Mahaney Jr. said he had pledged an open and transparent process in conducting City Council business and decision making. The mayor noted the city had held 11 town meeting in the past two years.
Mahaney said the number one project on the city’s agenda is Convention Hall. He said council will sit as a group of five knowing what the public desires and what is best for Cape May and decide how to proceed with the project.
Mahaney thanked Washington Street Mall Merchants for establishing a Business Improvement District.
With the aid of city engineer, Mott and Associates, the city has completed 15 projects in one year including installing solar panels at the public works yard and on lifeguard headquarters.
Mahaney said a partnership with the Temple University School of Environmental Design resulted in four town meetings with construction drawings prepared for Rotary and Harborview parks, a final design for a city pedestrian trail and five conceptual designs of a Lafayette Street open space park.
The mayor said the city was pursuing grant money to fund the projects. He said the city would like to acquire additional property on Lafayette and St. John’s streets including the former Vance’s Bar property.
Mahaney said Temple University School of Tourism and Hospitality Management developed a business plan for a new Convention Hall. He said Temple was also preparing a management plan for the hall to discover how much staffing a new Convention Hall would require with an emphasis on part time staffing.
Temple is also developing and implementing a long-range plan for promoting and marketing tourism, said Mahaney.
If Gov. Chris Christie and the state legislature implements a 2.5 percent cap of property tax increases, Cape May will be able to increase its expenses by only $180,000 with a $15 million budget, said Mahaney.
“That’s not nearly enough to maintain the programs and services which we currently have operating and that you all have come to expect,” he said.
He said the city must seek additional shared services, both public and private.
On the topic of the closed Beach Theatre, Mahaney said the city was sympathetic to the need to save the building and to have it restored and serviceable. He while said the city’s priority was a new Convention Hall, it needed to reach out and continue to work with the Beach Theatre Foundation and the private sector to get a public/private partnership established “so the two projects compliment each other.”