Times Talk
AHLOA HAS FOUR NEW TRUSTEES
The Avalon Home and Land Owners Association announced four new 2022-23 trustees after the organization’s annual elections in August.
Lynn Cruser, who was elected last year and will remain the president of AHLOA through the 2023 term, said she’s excited for the year ahead with a full board of 21 trustees.
“We work hard to be a community connection for everyone,” Cruser said. “We have great new members bringing lots of new talents, which I love, so I want to get my new board members very active.”
The new members are Laurie Vizzard, Mary Flannery, Jack Tarditi, and William Faulk.
Vizzard, a Villanova graduate, is a real estate broker at the Avalon office of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, Fox & Roach Realtors with her husband, Jack. They have owned property here since 2005, and their family now lives in Avalon full time. She is the president of the parent association and a member of the academic advisory board at Wildwood Catholic Academy, which her children attend.
Flannery is a longtime Avalon lover and resident — she’s been coming to Seven Mile Beach with her husband, Fran Connors, since 1977 to enjoy afternoons at the 9th Street beach. She graduated from Georgetown University and worked in Philadelphia as a journalist and public relations executive before her retirement.
Tarditi will serve as AHLOA’s head of programs. He is a managing director at Connor Strong & Buckelew. Tarditi and his wife Barbara are longtime residents of Haddonfield and he has served in many roles there: mayor, director of public safety, and borough commissioner.
Faulk is a retired attorney and a former Camden County prosecutor. Since he first visited here with his wife Suzanne in 1974, Avalon has been the place for his whole family to gather for vacations or special occasions. They have seen their grandchildren become part of the town from the house they’ve owned since 2008.
All Avalon home and land owners are encouraged to become members of AHLOA, and attend the organization’s monthly meetings that keep residents apprised on important island information. For membership information, announcements, Borough Council updates and more, go to ahloa.com.
HOLIDAY BEACH TAGS AT PRESEASON PRICES
‘Tis the season … to think of summer! Celebrate the holidays with warm thoughts of summer days spent with your toes in the sand. Holiday beach tags are here for the 2023 season.
Stone Harbor’s holiday beach tag takes on a nautical holiday theme featuring two blue dolphins sporting Santa hats jumping over a wave. The holiday tag, which is good for the full summer season, will be on sale at Stone Harbor’s Borough Hall (9508 Second Ave.) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend from 10am-4pm while supplies last. The tags will be on sale for the preseason price of $35.
Avalon’s holiday tag features a pink starfish toting Santa’s bag of gifts. It’s also good for the entire summer season and is on sale at jerseycapetags.com. It also will be available at Avalon’s Beach Tag Booth (3001 Avalon Ave.) on Friday and Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend from 10am-5pm while supplies last. The tags are offered at the preseason price of $30. If tags remain, they will be on sale at the Tax Collector’s Office at Avalon Borough Hall from 8:15am-4:15pm, Monday through Friday.
Avalon and Stone Harbor holiday tags are reciprocal, so they can be used for both towns.
Volunteers from The Home Depot Foundation completed renovations to Stone Harbor’s American Legion Post 331 headquarters.
HOME DEPOT SPRUCES UP LEGION POST 331
The American Legion Post 331 headquarters in Stone Harbor is now sporting a fresh coat of paint and a series of extensive renovations, thanks to a grant from The Home Depot Foundation.
In August, the foundation awarded Post 331 a grant of $13,200 — excluding the value of the labor to produce the renovations, Legion president Tom McCullough said. The project was completed in early October after just over a week of renovations assisted by dozens of volunteers from The Home Depot Foundation.
McCullough said the renovations included new ceilings, flooring and interior paint, as well as new paved walkways in the outdoor area and additional pavers in the parking lot.
“We are indebted to The Home Depot, local store and The Home Depot Foundation to the highest level,” he said. “What they’re doing for this, is our 10- or 15- or more year wish list that we would have been lucky to accomplish in a matter of a decade, in my mind, so it’s very mind-boggling to be the lucky recipient of such a generous and supportive grant.”
Christina Quigley, the manager of the Cape May Court House Home Depot through which the grant proposal was directly funded, said assisting veterans’ organizations is a priority for The Home Depot Foundation. She first interacted with members of the Legion at a ceremony for a project recently completed by the foundation at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Vineland.
When Quigley found out about the large donation the Legion had made to the Veterans Home in support of the project, she knew the foundation had to next turn their eyes toward renovations at Post 331.
“We knew that supporting the Legion and their facility would continue to give back to worthy causes in our area,” Quigley said. “Their facility and museum are how they raise money, so we wanted to make sure that they had a great place to continue their work.”
Avalon’s beach fill by the United States Army Corps of Engineers is anticipated to begin in the first quarter of 2023.
AVALON BEACH FILL GETS ADDED FUNDING
The Borough of Avalon has obtained an additional $8.5 million in funding for the beach fill project scheduled for next spring.
This addition, which brings the Borough’s total secured funding for the project to $27 million, came from a bipartisan infrastructure law that provided funding for projects to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Avalon has been scheduled for a beach replenishment in the 2023 federal fiscal-year cycle, and significant erosion from Hurricane Ian makes the project all the more necessary to continue to protect property and lives through next hurricane season.
The project will especially focus on replenishing sand in the north-end beaches because of current closures on the 12th through 22nd Street beaches due to erosion.
“Beach fill projects are becoming more expensive over time, and the news of an additional $8.5 million was very welcome for our community,” Mayor Martin Pagliughi said. “We are hopeful for competitive bidding and to have our beaches restored in advance of next year’s hurricane season which begins June 1.”
The beach nourishment is projected to begin in early to mid-spring and be completed before the tourism season comes to Seven Mile Beach.
ST. BRENDAN THE NAVIGATOR COOKBOOK FOR SALE
The St. Brendan the Navigator Parish community cookbook is available for purchase, just in time for the holidays.
Michelle Dooley, who coordinated the cookbook’s development, said that parishioners will likely find recipes from their family members and friends, or even their favorite dinner spots on the island. She and others spent months gathering recipes from parishioners, community members and local restaurants — including Bobby Dee’s Rock ’n Chair, Borghi’s By the Bay, and Luciano’s — to create the cookbook.
Dooley said it was created as a “Friendraiser,” as opposed to just a fundraiser. The main goal was to encourage the community to come together and bond over something we all love: a good meal.
“The cookbook is a great gift because it is full of delicious recipes,” she said. “It’s nostalgic of the island. It is a history of
St. Brendan the Navigator Parish. The cover shows the joy and beauty of Seven Mile Beach, and it stirs up shore-time memories and the fun of our parish community.”
St. Brendan’s is selling the cookbooks for $15. Stop by the parish office weekdays from 9am-4pm to purchase, or call 609-967-3746 to order over the phone and have it sent to you for a $5 shipping charge.
Avalon Borough Council President Sam Wierman presents a plaque to the final board of directors for APAC: Katie Seliger, Suzanne Dagit Sennhenn, Susan Sodaski, Ramona Sanabria, Loretta P. Finnegan, and Steve Malyszka Jr.
PLAQUE MEMORIALIZES AVALON PERFORMING ARTS COUNCIL
The Avalon Performing Arts Council was honored in September with a proclamation and a plaque from the mayor’s office for its 39 years of service to the community through the arts.
The organization disbanded at the end of 2021, mostly due to a decreasing full-time resident population and the effects of the pandemic.
Ramona Sanabria, who served as its president, said the organization was founded to celebrate all varieties of the arts by sponsoring performances, dances, musical concerts, art shows and more.
“As one of many nonprofit organizations in town, APAC involved and exposed full-time residents and seasonal visitors to cultural and artistic events,” Sanabria said.
Avalon Borough Council President Sam Wierman and Business Administrator Scott Wahl presented APAC with the proclamation and plaque at a ceremony in September.
The plaque, which names many of the key figures in APAC’s history from its creation in 1982, will be displayed at the Avalon Senior Center.
“Many of the early movers and shakers of the Avalon community served on the board or volunteered for years to assist and support the APAC board and mission,” Sanabria said. “So, getting this proclamation and plaque will honor those who served and will be memorialized for years to come.”
AVALON AWARDS CONTRACTS TO PINELANDS RECYCLING
The Avalon Borough Council has awarded contracts to Pinelands Recycling for solid waste, recycling and bulk trash collection. The three separate five-year contracts begin Jan. 1.
After the temporary suspension of side yard return for trash cans on individual properties due to contractor difficulties, the service will resume when the new contracts officially begin in the new year.
These difficulties were what prompted the public bidding process that has resulted in the current contracts with Pinelands Recycling.
“We look forward to a partnership with Pinelands Recycling to maintain the high level of solid waste and recycling services in our community,” Mayor Martin Pagliughi said. “We are pleased that we can bring back the side yard return of waste containers which is a very welcome service in Avalon.”
Also in 2023, the Borough will roll out its standardized trash can program. As a one-time expense in the 2023 Borough budget, Avalon will provide microchipped and warrantied roll-off trash and recycling containers to all residents.
Go to avalonboro.net for more information.
