The season here in the Wildwoods is officially over, according to Morey’s Piers, which held its closing day on October 12. That is, unless you plan on parking by a meter in North Wildwood, or plan on attending the Fabulous 50’s Weekend in Wildwood on October 18.
Until this year, the parking meters in North Wildwood came out on September 10. The main reason for that was because nobody was stupid enough to park by a parking meter when there was no reason to park by one. It also made it more convenient for the year-rounders who wanted to stroll the beach or walk the boards. Now we have to walk an extra half block to avoid paying.
The inconvenience should be worth it though, because we should see a significant cut in property tax rates next year. Well, maybe not, because a lot of streets still need resurfacing. I’m not sure what part of a street can be paved with $4.50, but it’s a start. For what it’s worth, Wildwood removed its parking meters weeks ago.
We’re still way ahead of Wildwood in the street repair department. Streets don’t seem all that important to the elected officials in the big city, with the exception of Rio Grande Avenue. A smooth ride to the giant beach balls seems to be the priority there. The visitors rolling into town for the Fabulous 50’s Weekend will feel very much at home, because the streets haven’t gotten any better since that time. I thought they were bad back then, but figured that eventually they would figure out how to patch a street so the patch was fairly level with the actual street level. Pounding the patch with shovels is not considered an approved method. Note to Public Works: The subsoil must be compacted properly before patching. . .
In other news, North Wildwood solved the problem of Richardson’s Creek coming through the bulkhead at 1st Avenue. Now the bay waters have to go all the way up the block and come in through the storm drains. Only due diligence prevented me from losing another car during our latest storm. It’s really not that important to us to be able to fish in the streets.
According to news reports, recall petitions are being filed against Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr. and commissioner Bill Davenport. The mayor says, “We’re not supposed to repair the sewer lines. We’re not supposed to repair the streets. We’re not supposed to have a community center. All they say is stop spending money.”
Actually, they are supposed to repair the sewer lines and the streets, but they’re supposed to do it in a way that allows people without off-road vehicles to navigate the streets. They’ve redone Pacific Avenue three times and still don’t have it right. And it would sort of make sense to build the community center in a less ridiculous location. The new center is not in a very convenient location, behind the football field, which is what residents tried to explain before it was built.
I don’t live in Wildwood, and have no say in what goes on there, but my observation is that the mayor wants high rises and most residents don’t. He says they’ll have them, no matter what the people want. This is a high stakes game, so a lot of money is floating around out there. Condomania has already considerably changed the character of the island to the point that the Firemen’s Convention is leaving after next year due to the lack of motel rooms. If there’s one thing that firefighters don’t like all that much, it’s high rises, and that’s pretty easy to understand.
We happened to be in Atlantic City yesterday, only because we had to exchange some items bought at an outlet store. After parking for $5.00 on the sixth floor of a parking garage, I looked around and decided it wasn’t a place I’d like to spend much time in. There are city people, country people, and small town people, and we’re pretty much the latter. I always liked the summers here, and welcomed the people and the excitement, but if I want Atlantic City, I’ll go to Atlantic City. Sometimes I get the urge to gamble away some of my money, so I go down to the convenience store and buy a lotto ticket or two. That’s my definition of high rolling.
The monarch butterflies are on the move, heading to Mexico. I’ve noticed them for many years now. Often, I’ve had them fly over to me before continuing on their journeys. They’ve never been to Mexico before, but the ones that manage to avoid major highways and other obstacles find the place in the mountains anyway. In the spring, they’ll head back north, then die after laying eggs. The new ones will find their way to the roosting spots of their parents, where they’ll lay eggs before dying. The fourth generation of the butterflies that made the original fall migration start the next year’s migration. It’s a remarkable story that can’t easily be explained away as simply happening by chance, sort of like the story about North Wildwood’s parking meters.