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UNFINISHED PROJECTS
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
BY LEADING, NOT MISLEADING.
3-2 VOTE
Council has five members. In order for an action to move forward, there needs to be a simple
majority vote, or 3-2. The goal from the council is to find common ground and reach an
agreement on what will be the best fit for Cape May. There has been disunity involving
specific council members since they received a seat. The disunity is intentional and the delays
in reaching an agreement are intentional.
There is a long list of accomplishments that have come from a 3-2 vote. For example, the Free
Jitney Service and Performance Parking. These additions to our community benefited not only
residents, but also visitors during our busier months. The performance parking even resulted in
almost $600,000 in additional revenue to the city. These were initially voted down by our
opponent.
2020 BUDGET
Earlier in the year, the city manager presented the council with a budget. Not long after, the
COVID-19 pandemic hit. Council was then left with the decision on how to proceed with the
introduced budget. Based on information from our city auditor and our CFO, we had two
choices - leave the budget as is, or make cuts to the budget with the understanding these
cuts would affect the city in future years. We decided to leave it as is. We decided to trust our
city manager to be mindful of the revenues and expenditures and give a lot of leeway in order
to control spending. We stand by this decision.
BETTER TOGETHER. THE BEST FOR CAPE MAY.
VOTELEARHENDRICKS.COM LEAR & HENDRICKS FOR CAPE MAY
Paid For By The Committee to Re-Elect Lear & Hendricks.
The entire world has been seeing delays in projects, construction, and even basic business
development since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Permanent and temporary closures,
product shortages and lack of employment all play factors in how a community continues to
function. Cape May is no different than any of these communities. We are equally as
frustrated about the delays with specific projects, but in no way does it mean there is a lack
of leadership, as our opponent suggests.
The Soldiers and Sailors Park Project was one of the recent delays, but it was worth the wait.
We now have a custom granite element that came from North Carolina and are ready to
continue with the project. Another example is Lafayette Park. We are dealing with a
contamination issue which can't just be covered with a bandaid. It needs to be remedied
correctly or else we will see new issues in the future.
We also have to consider grant money. If there is a potential to receive hundreds of thousands
of dollars, if not millions of state funding, why would we inhibit the city from the opportunity?
Receiving these grants takes time. In particular, we have received 6 million dollars for the
Franklin Street School Project from the county, the County Library Commission and the City of
Cape May, with the potential to receive an additional 3 million from the state. That is worth
waiting for.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
In the City of Cape May, we pride ourselves on our Citizens Advisory Committees, which
engage more than 100 citizens in helping the city, lending their expertise to topics that are
important to the city, giving their time and ultimately saving the city money on spending for
these types of services. In addition to these, we have strong partnerships with larger entities
such as the county and the state who provide opportunities for funding, grants and recently
have helped minimize the impact of COVID-19. We have said this multiple times, but this job is
a 24/7 job. We are committed to growing our relationships with community members and
government entities to better our city, to create valuable connections, and to bring the best
resources to the place we call home.
YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT! VOTE TODAY!
VOTELEARHENDRICKS.COM LEAR & HENDRICKS FOR CAPE MAY
Paid For By The Committee to Re-Elect Lear & Hendricks.
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