Wildwood Crest Siren

Siren irks neighbors in Wildwood Crest

By TRUDI GILFILLIANStaff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Published: Thursday, February 9, 2006
Updated: Thursday, February 9, 2006

— Nothing like an ear-splitting siren to start your morning.

Morning Glory Road resident Phyllis Bethel didn't just tell borough commissioners about the fire siren on her street that seems to run on forever. She let them hear it.

Just before Wednesday's
9 a.m. commission meeting came to a close, Bethel hit play on her tape recorder and brought the siren into the second-floor of Borough Hall.

“We have a problem, a big problem,” Bethel said.

Bethel and neighbor Richard Spina said they have no problem with the sirens when they work properly.

The trouble is when they go on incessantly at varying hours of the day.

“This one goes off and it doesn't stop,” she said, adding, “I'm ready to take a sledgehammer to it.”

Spina said they have complained before about the blaring sirens that can last several minutes. “It hurts us,” he said.

Mayor Carl Groon said he would look into the problem and get an answer to Coriono and Spina as quickly and efficiently as possible.

"We will resolve this," he said.

In other business Wednesday, the commissioners approved an emergency appropriation of $320,000 to pay for a revaluation ordered by the Cape May County Board of Taxation.

In December, the county told the borough to perform the revaluation, but the borough asked the county for an extension given the late notice.

Borough Solicitor Doreen Corino told the commissioners Wednesday that, while she did not receive a written response, the verbal indication from the county was that the answer for an extension was going to be no.

Instead, the borough should set aside the money and move forward by going out to bid for the revaluation in good faith, Corino said.

Then, if the time constraints place a hardship on the borough, there is a chance it would receive an extension at that time, she said.

Corino said the borough was told to conduct a revaluation in 2006, but only received notice from the county in late December 2005.

A contract would have to been awarded by Feb. 1 to a revaluation company to meet the county's goal of having the values on the tax rolls by 2007, she said.

"It's almost impossible now," she said.