AVALON – The Avalon Home and Land Owners Association (AHLOA) hosted Mayor Martin Pagliughi as he delivered his annual State of the Borough address August 13. Amid swirling controversy over the approval of a recent amendment to the Planning and Zoning Board Master Plan, Pagliughi spoke on the concerns, as well as a series of borough issues.
The mayor began by calling attention to the persistent inflation at levels not seen in 40 years. He said the borough enacted its 2022 budget with full awareness of the added costs inflation imposes on the borough and with a commitment to minimizing the inflationary environment’s impact on residents.
Pagliughi identified five priority items in the formation of the borough budget. Highest on the list was maintaining the tax rate without an increase to provide some relief from the inflationary pressures. This was done without using long-term debt to finance capital projects, a practice maintained by the borough. Pagliughi also pointed to a $14 million payment toward short-term debt over two budget cycles, adding that the borough has established a $600,000 budget line for emergency dredging and beach projects.
He touted the borough’s low local purpose tax rate at 19.9 cents and its AAA bond rating. He spoke of a general fund surplus of $8.76 million. Pagliughi also underscored an ongoing commitment to public safety spending to ensure the recruitment of police, beach patrol and rescue personnel.
Moving past the budget, Pagliughi noted the borough’s new 10-year contract with Middlesex Water Company for the continued management of Avalon’s water, sewer and stormwater systems. The mayor argued that the borough saved money by continuing to privatize these functions.
Pagliughi next turned to what he termed solid waste challenges. Across the county this year, the major contract solid waste hauler, Gold Medal Environmental, sought added compensation due to inflationary pressures on fuel and labor. Municipalities attempted to resolve impasses over service and costs in a variety of ways. North Wildwood even terminated its contract with Gold Medal. In Avalon, service was maintained at the expense of ending the practice of returning empty containers to the side of the house.
Now the borough is engaged in a new bid process for solid waste removal, recycling and bulk pickup as potentially separate contracts. The goal is to insulate the borough as much as possible from rising costs in the solid waste industry. Included in the strategy is the standardization of Rehrig’s product line for waste and recycling containers. The borough is also using the new bid process to isolate the cost of returning containers to the side of the house in an attempt to reestablish that service.
Police Chief Jeffrey Christopher participated with the mayor as the discussion moved to rowdy juvenile behavior that has disrupted some areas of the borough for the past two summers, leading to closing hours for beaches and the boardwalk. Christopher noted that the police have 230 instances of dispersing groups of juveniles who were violating borough ordinances. The police have created a juvenile unit specifically aimed at addressing these issues. Christopher spoke of limitations that have been placed on how police can address issues of youth misbehavior, pointing to juvenile justice reform from Trenton. Directives that constrain how police can deal with juveniles, even those engaged in illegal marijuana or liquor use, have become a point of controversy across the state’s shore towns.
On a more positive note, Christopher pointed to the fact that the Avalon Police Department received its fourth consecutive accreditation in June, placing it in an elite group with just 5% of state police departments.
Beach, bay and flood mitigation efforts came next, with discussions of the upcoming federal beach replenishment project, the history of Avalon’s replenishments and back passing efforts, and the borough’s unique application for a town-wide dredging permit.
The mayor called attention to Avalon’s level 3 CRS rating and the ongoing efforts to maintain and improve on the rating that provides flood insurance discounts for property owners.
The discussion, at last, turned to the boutique hotel overlay in the business district. Earlier in the same week, the Avalon Planning and Zoning Board formally approved an amendment to the Master Plan that would permit a boutique hotel in the business district, over 2 miles from the borough’s formal hotel district. This issue has animated a number of the borough’s residents who used the public comment period at the recent planning board meeting to argue against the amendment.
Pagliughi assured the public that many steps remained on the path to constructing a hotel in the business district. He said the amendment must now receive review and approval by the council, followed by the development of an ordinance to allow or not allow a hotel. The hotel controversy is likely to continue. With some of the necessary actions for any effective hotel overlay moving to the council venue, remote access to meetings may even increase public participation on the issue.
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