To the Editor:
I appreciate the Cape May County Herald’s front-page opinion piece that cast light on Diamond Beach.
The imbalance between taxes paid by Diamond Beach residents and the services provided by the Township has been the cause of contention between Diamond Beach residents and Lower Township officials for years.
All citizens have an expectation that their municipality will provide essential safety services and maintain municipal infrastructure. Lower Township has failed to adequately provide either for Diamond Beach.
I have worked in Diamond Beach since 1996 and I’ve been witness to this failure firsthand. In over 25 years, there have been no successful efforts by local governing bodies to improve police and ambulance response times for emergencies in Diamond Beach.
The slow response times by police and ambulance to emergency situations have been and continue to be unacceptable. It’s easy to understand that with only 200 permanent residents, the area is quiet in the offseason, but the slow response times because Diamond Beach is far removed from mainland Lower Township reinforce the perception that the Township gives lower priority to Diamond Beach.
I am hopeful the change from Township ambulance to Inspira Health ambulance service improves first response time for medical emergencies. Let’s hope Wildwood Crest and Diamond Beach officials can work something out so Inspira is able to station an ambulance close by to serve Diamond Beach.
Several years ago, Lower Township contracted with Wildwood Crest to provide fire response. Thanks to the dedicated Wildwood Crest Fire Department (and certainly not intended to slight Erma Fire Department), this has been a major improvement for Diamond Beach.
Drainage problems and flooding are expected at low-lying areas, but they create the impression that the Township doesn’t have a proactive multi-year maintenance program to address these issues.
These problems have existed for years. This isn’t a condemnation of the current Township Council, manager or public works. Elected officials and township managers come and go. The constant turnover results in an absence of cohesive planning, a lack of long-term vision, and the subsequent failure to deliver essential services for the residents of Diamond Beach.
Long-term Diamond Beach residents see the lack of incremental improvements to essential safety and infrastructure while their taxes subsidize the more populous mainland resident tax base. It’s reasonable to draw the conclusion that the municipal priority for Diamond Beach is to maximize density and increase the municipal tax base. Essential life safety and quality of life for residents is perceived as a secondary priority.
The Herald editorial correctly summarizes that ongoing and continuous effort to show genuine concern will increase costs. It will cost more to provide the police and ambulance first response services that Diamond Beach residents deserve. Maybe it’s false hope to expect that all involved parties develop a comprehensive first response program for Diamond Beach, at the very least whereby Wildwood Crest provides the services and Lower Township compensates Wildwood Crest. Fire response was the first step. How about working toward an arrangement where Inspira Ambulance can use the Wildwood Crest ambulance building closest to Diamond Beach? Is that too much to ask?
The Herald editorial comes up short in suggesting de-annexation as an alternative. In the past few decades, other coastal municipalities have failed in their pursuit of a similar course of action. We already know joining Wildwood Crest is not a viable option for Diamond Beach. Lower Township must do better for the residents of Diamond Beach.
