WILDWOOD — Those Wildwood days may be starting out with something that has never before existed in this seaside city – a trip to the beach tag office.
At the July 13 meeting of the Wildwood Board of Commissioners’ meeting the idea of beach tags was mentioned as one method of helping to pay to maintain the city’s miles of beaches. Wildwood’s beach was voted New Jersey’s top beach by the NJ Marine Science Consortium. It also took the top honors for the best beach for a family vacation, day trip, and ecotourism.
In addressing the city’s need to “clean up” its act, mayor Ernie Troiano said, “Maybe Wildwood doesn’t need to be as ‘free’ as it is. It may be time for the three commissioners to look at what beach tags might do, or not do.”
According to Troiano, trash left on the beach has grown to an all-time high. “If you go down to the beach right now,” he said, “and walk that waterline, the trash is astounding.”
The idea of bringing back a beach police patrol was mentioned by the mayor. “If we bring back the beach police we may be able to control the problems down there.”
“If everyone just picked up their trash,” said Troiano, “I would need five or six less people.”
In an interview with the Herald Troiano said, “I think we have to look at them (beach tags). I’m not saying we’re going to do them, but we have to look at them.”
“Go to the beach at the end of the day,” the mayor said. “And see the thousands of bottles laying there.”
And to the naysayers who want to keep Wildwood’s beach free? “If you want to stop the talk of beach fees,” said Troiano, “Then stop littering.”
