As a courtesy to our SHPOA Members, we’re bringing you a summary of each Stone Harbor Work Session and Council Meeting. Intended as summaries, these intentionally don’t have a lot of details and are not a substitute for the official Borough minutes.
Work Session

Budget Summary

CFO James Craft gave a brief budget summary and noted the budget could be adopted on April 18, 2023.

The $21.3 million budget is up $1.5 million from 2022. Taxes are $15 million which is $575,000 over 2022. The tax rate is projected to go from 29.4 cents in 2022 to 30.2 cents in 2023.

Drivers include salaries and debt service.

Community Rating System

Councilwoman Jennifer Gensemer reported that the Community Rating System (CRS) Task Force is working to improve our rating to reduce the costs of flood insurance for owners.  

Task force leader Ray Poudrier said the group is developing a flood prevention ordinance and will hold a public information session at 6 p.m. on March 14. Those interested should sign up online on the Borough website at http://stoneharbornj.org/flood-insurance-seminar-scheduled-for-march-14th-open-to-the-public/.
 
Interim Borough Administrator – Manny Parada

Council appointed Public Works Director Manny Parada interim administrator replacing former Administrator Bob Smith. Parada will continue to lead the Public Works Department.

Council and Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour praised Parada for his strong work ethic, efficiency, and management skills.  

During the Regular Council Meeting, Council voted unanimously to appoint Parada.

Public Access Plan

Parada noted that the state Department of Environmental Protection approved the Borough’s public access plan, which shows how the Borough grants access to our beaches and is essential in getting approvals from the department for beach projects. 

Pedestrian Scramble

Councilman Frank Dallahan announced that after studying several options to improve safety at the intersection of 3rd Avenue and 96th Street, the Borough would employ the “pedestrian scramble” technique.

This option provides an exclusive pedestrian crossing interval while car traffic is stopped in all directions. The pedestrians do not cross when the cars move. Statistically, pedestrian collisions are reduced by 35-50 percent under this option. Cars are delayed an average of 60 seconds and pedestrians also wait longer to cross. The scramble prioritizes pedestrian safety over moving cars efficiently through the intersection.

3rd Avenue Sewer

Borough Engineer Marc DeBlasio discussed work on the 3rd Avenue sewer line running between 94th and 99th Streets. For now, the work is under study to determine the least disruptive way to improve the line. Solutions could range from slipping a tube inside the pipe or digging up the avenue, causing the avenue to be closed during work.

Council Meeting

Council voted on several ordinances and resolutions including the introduction of an ordinance that would ban invasive plants.
 
To view documents discussed at the meeting, please click this link: http://stoneharbornj.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Regualr-Meeting-Agenda-March-7-2023-Web.pdf

To view a recording, please click: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKZ2POKyzw8
To read past Stone Harbor Council Meeting summaries, please click here: https://dev.stoneharborpoa.org/category/borough-meeting-summaries/

To watch recordings of past meetings, please click here: https://stoneharbornj.org/agendameetings/watch-mayor-and-council-meetings-online/