Due to last winter’s extremely cold weather, a number of seasonal homeowners in Beach Haven received excessively high water bills when their pipes burst or began to leak. While some residents asked for reprieve from the charges, the local government could not provide forgiveness since the ordinance did not include such a provision, according to Borough Clerk Sherry Mason.
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| Photo via Google Many homeowners received unusually high water bills when pipes burst due to the extreme cold. |
Now, property owners who accrue an uncommonly high quarterly water bill “due to unusually high water use attributable to a leak, mishap, or accident, in or outside the billed premises” may obtain a one-time billing adjustment. The ordinance amendment, which includes a special provision for those who received abnormally high water bills issued in 2014 and 2015, was approved by council members on Monday.
According to the ordinance, an abnormally high charge is classified as “a quarterly water bill in which the usage exceeds the total amount of usage billed to that residence or property for the prior 12 months of usage.”
Only property owners listed on the account for each respective property within the town are eligible to make a claim under the policy. Just one claim for redress during the time the owner owns the residential or business property will be acknowledged. Customers seeking a billing modification must formally apply within the grace period of the bill. A $50 non-refundable application processing fee will also be charged.
For those seeking relief from a bill issued in 2014 and 2015, applications must be submitted no later than April 1, 2016, and must comply with all other provisions of the ordinance.
Property owners who intentionally use a significantly large amount of water such as while filling a pool, power washing, or during construction, will not be considered.
Officials noted property owners will soon be able to monitor their water usage and receive customizable alerts through AquaHawk, a water leak and detection system the borough is expecting to utilize. More information should be included in the next water bill.
“Because of the variation in use of the properties here, we never really know who is at a given property, if folks are coming down for the weekend or they’ve wrapped it up for the season,” said Borough Manager Richard Crane, who encouraged everybody to participate.
In other news, the town purchased a second beach tractor from Cherry Valley Tractor Sales for $92,191 to more effectively sweep the beach after replenishment is completed by the 2016 summer season.
“Hopefully we’ll have a much wider, flatter beach to rake,” said Crane.
During the recent demolition of the town’s Superstorm Sandy-damaged borough hall, remains of some previous structures, including a portion of the original water tower and a power-generating plant, were found underneath the building. According to Beach Haven Historian Jeanette Lloyd, Crane said, it was common practice in earlier days to construct buildings on top of buildings and relocate structures to other parts of town.
“In Beach Haven, nothing goes to waste,” Crane said, quoting Lloyd.
Council members are also working on amending the town’s abandoned property ordinance based on the state’s Abandoned Properties Rehabilitation Act.
“We have a number of properties in town that are really unsightly and that we would like the owners to rehab, particularly in the center of town next to businesses,” Mayor Nancy Taggart Davis stated. “A lot of people we’ve contacted individually and asked them to try to improve the looks of their property, and they haven’t done anything. So by passing this ordinance it’ll be able to give us more teeth to demand that they do something. We can actually take the property away from them,” she explained.
A number of residents have expressed outrage regarding a plan presented to the land use board last week by developer William Burris that, Taggart Davis explained, would require the closure of Dock Road between The Ketch and The Boathouse. The plan is expected to be presented before the council Friday, Nov. 20.
“Because we’re elected officials, we have no right to give up any streets of this town for anybody for any reason. This is not our town to give away,” stated Councilman Jim White, who asked people to attend the meeting.
“These are just plans,” Taggart Davis added. “The street belongs to the town, and the town has no obligation or fear of a lawsuit in this regard. There’s no reason we would have to give him that street.”
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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