Walters Details State of Stone Harbor at Reorganization

STONE HARBOR — A new year of small town politics dawned when Mayor Suzanne Walters and newly elected council members Joanne Vaul and Thomas Cope took the oath of office at council’s reorganization meeting here Jan. 6.
Walters was sworn-in by her son, Harrison, for a fourth four-year term.
Borough Clerk Suzanne Stanford led the oath of office as Vaul’s husband Frank, daughter Lyndsy and son Adam stood nearby. Cope was joined by his wife Nancy for the ceremony. Cope and Vaul will each serve three-year terms.
“We ran a successful primary campaign focusing on shared visions and goals. I look forward to listening to (constituents) concerns and doing my best to address them. We are united by a common set of values,” Cope said.
Cope said occasionally competing interest from various residents, merchants and visitors cause disagreement but he encouraged respect and open-mindedness.
Stanford announced that Walters had received 486 votes, Vaul 461 and Cope 435. Councilman H. Brian Levinson contested for mayor during the June primary election with G. Wayne Harris and Karen Lane vying for council seats held by Julian Miraglia and Anne Wannen, who didn’t run for a second term.
Councilman Karl Giulian was unanimously elected 2009 council president with Councilman Barry Mastrangelo’s nomination. Vaul seconded the motion as her first official act.
Vaul, a former Planning Board member, was elected as council representative to the board.
Walters presented a “State of the Borough” speech in which she mentioned accomplishments of 2008 and goals and projects for 2009.
She began by noting the borough’s accomplishment in passing a Business District ordinance after several failed attempts. The borough hired Professional Planner Linda Weber, who is now working with the Planning Board on design guidelines, parking studies and the borough’s master plan.
Walters mentioned the streetscape project for 96th Street that was funded by the Cape May County Board of Chosen Freeholders Municipal Joint Venture Program.
She mentioned the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) denial of a Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) permit for the beachfront county library at 95th Street.
“We believe the access to the beach that the library would provide is a very strong argument against the denial,” she said about the Cape May County Library Commission’s plan to appeal the decision.
Walters said the borough’s efforts to gain an Acceptable Use Determination from the DEP for Site 103 has reached a “Catch 22 situation,” in which the DEP has not provided a determination yet wants to know where the materials are going, while the borough won’t know where the materials are going until the DEP provides the determination.
She said the borough has hired a consultant to work on this in conjunction with Middle Township.
She noted progress made at the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary in 2008 and attention the borough received in several national magazines.
Borough Council authorized a three-year contract with Telvue of Mount Laurel for a public access channel shared with Avalon and Sea Isle City for a shared cost of $2,000 initially and $200 per month thereafter. Each municipality would have two ten-minute segments per hour and the channel will be accessible from the boroughs’ Web sites.
Walters said she received informal notification from the DEP that it will fund 75 percent of the beach replenishment between 98th and 111th streets. She said work would begin in early June.
Former deputy tax assessor Margaret Slavin was promoted to tax assessor for a four-year term as Harry Supple, Jr. has retired.
West Cape May Boy Scout Troop 73 presented the colors and offered a prayer.
Also present were County Sheriff Gary Shaffer, Freeholder Len Desiderio, County Clerk Rita Fulginiti, Chairman of the Cape May County Regular Republican Organization David Von Savage and Linda Pagliughi, first lady of Avalon.