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July 18-24:
Maternity Services
This week, Cape Regional Medical Center confirmed that the county’s only hospital will stop providing maternity services, as of Sept. 15. Patients who present at the emergency room for maternity services will be transferred to Shore Medical Center or AtlantiCare. A hospital spokesperson said the move was necessitated when one of Cape Regional’s two OB-GYN doctors left to join a larger practice at Shore Medical Center. Efforts to recruit an OB-GYN replacement have not been successful.
The annual number of births at Cape Regional has been declining since at least 2016. In 2021, Cape Regional saw 259 births compared to 995 at Shore. The hospital said it would continue efforts to attract an OB-GYN physician with the hopes that it could restart maternity services in the future.
The image of an acute care hospital in the county unable to provide so basic a set of health services for delivery is a blow to the county efforts to retain young families. Local officials, many caught off guard by the news, have been trying to evaluate any possible actions they might take.
School Testing
The results of assessment testing for the graduating class of 2023 will not be a requirement of student graduations. Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill July 5 that removed the “exit exam” taken by high school juniors as a requirement for completion of the high school diploma. Murphy cited the challenges students faced from the pandemic and the heavy reliance on remote learning as reasons why the prospective graduates did not need “another high stakes test.” New Jersey has required a high school graduation test since 1979.
The state’s Start Strong program will require that fourth to 12th graders start the school year with an assessment test as a way of understanding individual student needs at the beginning of the school year. The tests are based on the previous year’s academic standards. One function of the testing is to track learning loss from the pandemic period.
Public Trust Doctrine
Stone Harbor has begun more enforcement of municipal rules governing access to and use of Stone Harbor Point. The borough states that the Point is designated as a conservation area with very limited uses. The municipal website states that the Point is “not a beach for swimming, landing your boat for a picnic or walking your dog.” Many disagree with the nature of the borough’s enforcement of municipal access rules for the Point.
At a council meeting, borough police reported that as many as 40 or 50 boats at a time are accessing the Point. The access to the Point by boat increased when vehicle access was temporarily blocked by storm damage, severely limiting police patrols, as well.
Those seeking to enjoy the Point via boat access are claiming that the borough is violating New Jersey’s Public Trust Doctrine. Under the Public Trust Doctrine, the state holds all tidily flowed lands in trust for the use and enjoyment of the public. A briefing paper by Monmouth University explains the doctrine.
Borough attorneys do not believe the Public Trust Doctrine prevents them from the enforcement of access limitations in a designated conservation area. Many members of the public disagree.
Happenings
Faced with the expiration of certain Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS) points in October, Stone Harbor officials have promised a full report on the borough’s efforts to maintain its CRS level 5 rating. The report will be provided at the Aug. 2 Borough Council meeting.
A Sea Isle City resident is urging the municipality to provide jitney service just as Wildwood announced that jitneys there will end weekday service.
In separate meetings with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Avalon and Stone Harbor were assured that the federally sponsored beach replenishment for 2022-2023 is on schedule and proceeding toward the bid process. Due to the continued federal ban on the use of Hereford Inlet sand, the Seven Mile Island replenishment effort will rely on sand from Townsend’s Inlet.
Sea Isle City’s Mayor Leonard Desiderio said that the city, plus Strathmere and the south ends of Ocean City, would benefit from a federal replenishment in 2023.
Avalon Planning Board is planning to reopen the borough’s Master Plan as a means of determining whether to add a boutique hotel overlay to its B-1 business district. The business district is 2 miles north of the borough’s designated hotel zone.
Middle Township police were dealing with an apparent murder-suicide while Lower Township law enforcement charged two men with vandalism at a Villas church. In Sea Isle City, police claim that three men assaulted officers responding to a domestic violence situation.
Wildwood Crest Commissioners dealt with two separate groups of citizens demanding action by the borough. In one case, a citizen group presented evidence for what they claim is a dangerous intersection in need of solutions before a “tragedy occurs.” In the other, a neighborhood group is urging the municipality to address what they say is a flagrant abuse of borough zoning regulations.
Escalating costs associated with the design of Stone Harbor’s proposed 93rd Street pump station may lead the borough to cancel its agreement with its second engineering firm on the project.
U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May held a change of command ceremony in which Capt. Warren Judge assumed responsibility for the facility. Judge is a 1986 graduate of the training center.
Middle Township adopted a short-term rental ordinance establishing license requirements and fees for the burgeoning marketplace in online facilitated transitory rentals.
A 1900-era house in Cape May Point appears headed for demolition. A survey of property owners last year did not produce sufficient community support for either a historic preservation ordinance or commission.
Spout Off of the Week
Sea Isle City - So I was on the beach today and a child was lost, thank goodness only temporarily. I was struck by the immediate reaction of the surrounding people to join together and help the poor parents find the child. Strangers from different towns, Republicans and Democrats, various levels of education and income, different backgrounds, Phillies fans, Yankees fans, etc all coming together immediately and voluntary to help. These are the American people. These are people who can come together and work for a common goal. We simply need a leader who can bring out the best in ourselves.
Read more spouts at spoutoff.capemaycountyherald.com
