Engineering plans and the funding effort for a new, $30-million-plus desalination plant for Cape May City are moving ahead, the City Council has been told.The engineering and funding work are on parallel paths, consultants for the project told the council at its Dec. 3 meeting. The city hopes to begin the permit process, using preliminary designs, by the end of the year.One of the consultants also said he has gotten positive responses from potential funding sources.