Jewell Real Estate Agency Newsletter - Late Summer, 2010

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SUMMER DRIFTS AWAY

It seems like not too long ago we were planting flowers and vegetables in our gardens as we eagerly looked forward to the new growing year.  There’s nothing like Jersey tomatoes and Jersey corn!

But now the gardens are winding down.  Many vegetables have been harvested and their spot in the garden stands vacant.  Most of the flower blooms are history, and the only reminder of their colorful splendor is the resilient seed pods.Late summer does have its benefits, though.  The nights are cooler, the daylight hours shorter.  August, September and October are the best months at the shore, so enjoy them.  It’s your last chance to enjoy the great outdoors.

HOT, HOT, HOT

After May went in the books as the third hottest May ever locally, June took top honors, being 6.5 degrees above average.  July followed suit, running 4.5 degrees above the norm and setting the record as the hottest July ever in South Jersey at 1.1 degrees above the previous hottest, July 1983.

June and July each recorded 14 days above 90 degrees.  If you remember, July 2009 had just one day above 90 degrees.  This July 6^th, at 102 degrees, was the fourth hottest day in South Jersey history.  Four other days set records as the hottest on record on that particular date.

How did we ever survive without air conditioning?  Remember how we grew up with fans in the windows?  And there was no AC in cars.  Times have changed.  Either our memory is clouded or global warming is taking hold.  Either way, it’s sure hot and muggy at the South Jersey shore in the summertime.

And that’s why so many folks escape the heat by settling in for a day at the beach.

24-HOUR BARS IN WILDWOOD?

Wildwood City Commissioners tabled July 28^th a controversial proposal that would end mandatory bar closings at 3:00am, in effect allowing bars to determine their own hours.  The current restriction of bars being closed from 3:00am to 7:00am remains in effect.

Wildwood bars used to be permitted to be open until 5:00am, but 54% of voters changed that to 3:00am in 1997.  The city has 50 liquor licenses, with 44 actually active and six “pocketed”.

This time around, bars owners argued that all bars closing at 3:00am led to a flush of drinkers hitting the sidewalks at the same time.  This occasionally led to unruliness.  They also felt that Boardwalk and restaurant employees, who often don’t get out of work until 1:30am, didn’t have sufficient time to unwind at bars.  The 24-hour bar, in effect, would allow owners to determine exactly when they wanted to close.  It’s doubtful that any would actually be open 24 hours a day.

The opponents countered that Wildwood is projecting a family image and allowing bars to be open until the sun comes up would be counterproductive.  So what if Atlantic City and Brigantine allow 24-hour bars.  They also felt that the extended hours would put more pressure on police and ambulance personnel.

Here’s our take at JREA.  As you may know, we have owned a bar in West Wildwood and we’re currently building a restaurant/bar in West Virginia.  So we have some hands-on experience in liquor serving matters.  We always closed at 2:00am, despite being allowed to go until 3:00am.  That last hour is known as “the blood hour”.  It’s when fights happen.  We never had a fight in three years of operation.  Ever!  Also, drinkers at that late

hour just tend to talk and talk and they don’t actually purchase anything. So why be open just to let drunks talk incoherently until you send them home?

A Superior Court judge, in a July 27^th decision, has ruled that the recall vote of Mayor Herb Frederick and Commissioner Gerard McNamara will take place.

By state statute, the two officials, originally elected in May, 2008, must be given notice within five days of the ruling, and then the recall election must take place within 55-61 days of that notice being given, unless that date would fall within 28 days of a general election.  Did you get all that?

In a sidebar, one of recall petition organizers, Jim Perloff, found a surprise in front of his home just hours after the judge’s decision.  The driveway of his home at North Drive and Neptune Avenue was blocked by concrete barriers.  Perloff claimed retaliation, while McNamara, who oversees the Public Works Dept, countered that the street was to be raised to alleviate flooding and the timing was coincidence.  You decide.

CAPE MAY CONVENTION HALL

When Cape May voters approved a $10.5 million bond back in 2008 to build a new convention hall, everyone smiled and awaited the new building.  But all the bids came in over the amount budgeted.

The convention hall then morphed into a 30,240 square foot structure costing $13.65 million to build. The current convention hall is 12,240 square feet.

Naturally, battle lines were drawn.  One faction insisted the larger, more expensive structure was necessary to draw top-notch functions.  The other side, basically frustrated taxpayers, felt that the bigger builder was unnecessary and overkill.

City Commission voted on the issue in late July and the larger plan was defeated 3-2, with all three negative votes coming from the new commissioners who ran on a platform of denying and downsizing the $13 million plan.

The timeline on the new project has a successful bid awarded by April, 2011 and construction commencing a month later.  Construction is expected to consume one year or so.

The “Fix Route 47 Coalition” has recently formed to push the quicker and easier solution of adding the reversible third lane to the Route 47/347 corridor.  To go one better, the group did its own study and came up with a plan to ease the traffic flow from the terminus of Route 55 in Port Elizabeth 27 miles to the Garden State Parkway in Rio Grande.

JEWELL REAL ESTATE AGENCY

We love to talk about real estate and our island.  We’re always glad to share our insights, observations, and vision with you.

Stop by our office at 5602 New Jersey Avenue and chat.  Or give Joyce or Douglas a call at 609-729-8505. We answer phones 6am to 9pm EVERYDAY and you always get a real, live person.  That’s service!

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