Trending
JERSEY SHORE -- In an emergency meeting held Thursday at 7 p.m., Jersey Shore Borough Council unanimously agreed to cancel the popular annual Town Meeting celebration due to the new order issued by Gov. Tom Wolf that went into effect earlier that day, according to Joseph Hamm, borough manager.
The governor's order prohibits any outdoor events or gatherings of more than 250 people, including all staff for that event.
"Council realized the Town Meeting was just not able to meet the requirements," Hamm said. "We started losing resources that were assisting with the Town Meeting due to the order."
He added there would be no way of being able to keep track of citizens and staff that were on the grounds at any particular time.
"It was not a decision that they wanted to make," Jeremy Frantz, town meeting president, said. "They felt it was best for all of the parties involved."
Frantz said that, on Wednesday, when the order was first announced, he and Hamm had inspected the carnival grounds to ensure that it was prepared for the celebration when the two had a conversation about the order.
"Come Thursday, they were flooded with concerns from the borough citizens," Frantz added. "It is very upsetting for the group. It stresses us out to put it together, but there's sadness there because of not being able to put it on."
Frantz also said that though he did not take part in helping the borough make the decision, he had speculated that it might come to a cancellation.
"I think for this safety issue and everything going on it was a good thing," Mayor Dennis Thompson said.
"We hope it (next year's Town Meeting) is bigger and better than ever and we will be there to support it," Hamm said. "It was not an easy decision. The health, safety and welfare of our resident's is the most important."
As of now, Frantz said that the town meeting organization will be using the donated funds to focus on Christmas events, including the lighting, Santa's hut and Christmas parade and eventually, next year's Town Meeting.
"We are turning our focus and taking a step back and a deep breath and hoping for the best," Frantz said.
Many saddened citizens took to Facebook to see if they could have many of the widely popular vendors that would normally participate in the Town Meeting, to gather for a spread out borough-wide yard sale event with the vendors.
Frantz added that he had been contacted about that event but nothing has been confirmed and scheduled yet by the borough. Hamm said that he was not aware of this.
As many of the vendors have already put in a lot of travel costs and money for supplies needed for the typically busy weekend, Frantz added that he would help the vendors in any way that he can regarding the costs and if this yard sale were to happen.
"It's human nature," he said. "I am doing what I can to help them get in contact and recoup some of the costs."