From left, Commissioners Tim Kriebel and Lance Langraf, Mayor Beth Holtzman and Citizens Advisory Board member Peter Kleiner
VENTNOR – More than 80 people showed up early Saturday morning to hear members of the Board of Commissioners give updates on city programs and projects under their auspices.
The meeting was arranged by the city’s Citizens Advisory Board, a group formed last year to give commissioners a citizen’s viewpoint on city matters. CAB board member Peter Kleiner conducted the meeting by first introducing each commissioner and giving them an opportunity to discuss all the things happening in their departments.
Kleiner said the Saturday morning meeting gave those residents who cannot attend the commission meetings during the week an opportunity to meet in a more informal setting. Because the meeting was well-attended, the commissioners agreed to hold additional town hall meetings in the future.
In the non-partisan three-member commission form of government, known as the Walsh Act of 1911, elected officials head up various city departments. Mayor Beth Holtzman, elected by her peers to serve as mayor at the start of their four-year term in 2016, heads up Revenue and Finance. Commissioner Lance Landgraf is director of Public Works, Parks and Public Property, and Commissioner Tim Kriebel is in charge of Public Safety and Community Affairs.
Holtzman provided an overview of recent city budgets and taxation, which this year carried a 4.9 cent tax rate decrease, she said.
Labor contracts, which were “aggressively negotiated with the taxpayers in mind” will provide savings long into the future, she said.
The city also has increased the revenue side of the budget. Parking meter and beach tag sales are up, which relieves taxpayers from the cost of maintaining the beaches.
“Without that revenue, there would be a 2-cent tax rate increase,” Holtzman said.
She also noted that after many years of decline and a revaluation that greatly reduced the number of tax appeals, property assessments are up for the first time in 12 years.
The city recently found out it would be required to repay half of the $5 million Sandy disaster funds it received following the hurricane. Normally, repaying that debt would add 2 cents to the tax rate, but the Finance Department and city auditor received permission from the Department of Community Affairs to roll the debt into existing bond authorizations, so there will not be an increase in the tax rate, Holtzman said. The debt will be repaid over the next four years.
“It’s nothing less than a miracle that the state let us do that,” she said.
Landgraf praised residents for attending the meeting stating, “We like to interact with the public.” He encouraged residents to call the city and commissioners when they notice issues that need addressing.
“We are available all the time,” he said.
Although the department tries to be conservative in its spending, the aging city infrastructure demands updating.
“We have to spend money to keep (the city) living and breathing,” he said.
Landgraf said the city has worked to protect its environment by passing the plastic bag fee law and purchasing new trash receptacles, which after some controversy over the size of the containers, is now being accepted by residents.
He outlined several planned road projects, and touched on the Atlantic Avenue streetscape project in the North Beach area, which will be completed in fall.
He said the Ventnor theater project is “online for the Christmas viewing season,” which, if achieved, could be called, “The Miracle on Ventnor Avenue.” The project, which was supposed to open in spring was delayedwhen the new owners discovered the building needed extensive structural repairs.
Landgraf said four of the city’s playgrounds are scheduled to be replaced, new windows will be installed in the city-owned building that houses the community center, Atlantic County Library and Ventnor City Cultural Arts Center. HVAC repairs for the building have been ongoing.
He said the city is striving to provide economic development opportunities that provide diversity in housing for “people of every walk in life.” The city’s diversity is reflected in the city’s schools, which educate children of a variety of ethnic origins, he said.
New home construction in the city is on the rise, he said. There were about $12 million in new building projects in 2017, $22.5 million in 2018, and the city is projected to have $35 million in new construction at the end of 2019, he said.
Redevelopment areas around the new theater and at the Ventnor Plaza shopping center will generate new projects that will upgrade neighborhoods and provide tax revenue for the city, he said. In all, 30 new businesses have opened in Ventnor this year.
Water and sewer infrastructure will be upgraded as roads are paved and the purchase of a jet-vac truck, although expensive, will help clear storm drains, which should improve drainage during nuisance flooding events, he said.
Kriebel noted that residents will see the new firehouse on Wellington Avenue start to rise in October and provided some statistics on the Police and Fire departments.
The Police Department has 49 officers and staff and receives about 20,000 calls a year.
“Training is constant and we are accredited by the New Jersey Association of Chiefs of Police,” he said.
The purchase of body cameras, dash cams and vehicle monitored radar systems will help the department enforce the new 25-mile-per-hour reduced speed limit on Atlantic Avenue and reduce the number of “contradicting accounts” during police stops.
The city will be installing seven new speed radar signs in strategic locations, he said. The solar powered signs will alert drivers of their speed. The first two will be installed in the next week and will be spread out in different locations, including along Winchester Avenue, where residents have complained about speeding through-traffic.
Several Class II officers have been hired to help enforce the speed limit on Atlantic Avenue.
Upgraded radios have put all public safety personnel on the same wavelength, including the Beach Patrol, he said.
From left, Police Chief Doug Biagi, Mayor’s Secretary Patricia Kedziora and Citizens Advisory Board member Peter Kleiner.
Information technology has been upgraded, he said. Although the city only has one information technology employee to service and maintain more than 300 computers used by city personnel, the IT Department’s biggest accomplishment this year is an upgrade to the city’s website, which provides videos of commission meetings, an overview of finances, and an app where the residents can alert city officials about issues in their community.
The “See, Click, Fix” app is “a great tool to communicate,” he said.
The Fire Department has 45 firefighters and gets about 3,500 calls for service each year. Accomplishments include codifying mutual aid agreements among all Absecon Island fire departments, and a shared services agreement that has provided the latest technology in protective air packs for firefighters. The air packs contain communication devices that allow firefighters from different municipalities to communicate with each other when fighting a fire.
The Fire Department also upgraded all first aid kits used in public buildings and by police, firefighters, lifeguards and key personnel, he said.
IT improvements also allow the Police Department to have access to Code Enforcement records. The department conducts 338 fire inspections and 700 re-inspections every year, he said.
Public safety improvements helped to reduce the Fire Department’s ISO rating, which could result in savings for homeowners on the cost of fire insurance, he said, recommending residents check with their insurer on the ISO rating used to issue their policy.
The Beach Patrol has 82 lifeguards protecting bathers during the summer months. All are CPR certified. He credited the department for educating the city’s youth about water safety during the Junior Lifeguard Program, which had more than 200 participants this year.
Kriebel also said all the programs run by the Recreation Department have sold out this year, even after adding additional programs, such as the Surf Camp and the addition of four new pickleball courts.
He encouraged residents to volunteer for various community groups, such as the Ventnor Beautification Committee and Ventnor Business Association. Volunteers are needed to help out with the Ventnor Green Team’s Go Green Boat Parade being held on Saturday, Aug. 3, he said.
The public was able to ask questions, many of which reiterated topics previously discussed.
Resident obtained feedback from the commissioners about topics such as speeding, bicycle and pedestrian safety, nuisance flooding, street sweeping, group homes, zoning and shared services.
Kleiner encouraged residents to attend Board of Commissioner meetings held starting at 5:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of the month at Ventnor City Hall.
