The final construction of Beach Haven’s public dune walkovers, including street-end extensions at some entrances as well as rail fencing, should be completed in about two weeks now that an additional contract among the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state Department of Environmental Protection and Agate Construction, which is performing the job, has been successfully negotiated. The work was stalled for a bit until the contract was signed.
“Anybody who has a longer walk from the street to the dune will find there was an area where they (the Army Corps) stopped with the hard-pack and there was soft sand,” Borough Manager Richard Crane stated at the borough council’s monthly meeting on Monday, July 11. “The soft sand, particularly for those that may be challenged in their walking abilities, was a little difficult.”
Crane said the Army Corps somehow left that part out of the original contract.
“We had done some additional work for them to do this. Why it took so long to get that additional contract approved is anybody’s guess, but it is,” he said. “They have a couple of crews out there right now working on that.”
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| Photo by Ryan Morrill Construction of the handicap-accessible, public dune walkover at Fifth Street begins as replenishment ends. |
“This is, to me, just another added tax to people who are already paying a fair amount of taxes, to people who voluntarily gave up the easements to their property and to people whose dune fencing that was put in at a considerable cost after (Superstorm) Sandy was just taken out by the borough without any notice at all,” he said.
Mayor Nancy Taggart Davis said the town has to follow the Army Corps’ regulations.
“We had a more liberal dune walkover ordinance, but we were told that we couldn’t allow some of the things we had in it,” she stated.
The fees were implemented to off-set the cost of having to hire an inspector, the mayor said.
The borough’s dune planting committee will plant shrubbery on the west side of the dunes in the fall, and the Army Corps will plant dune grass sometime between November and April.
The entire replenishment project from Barnegat Inlet to Little Egg Inlet, which Councilman Don Kakstis noted totaled $138 million, is being covered 100 percent through the federal government. Taxpayers would normally be required to fund 10 percent of the borough’s replenishment. According to the contract, the execution of which council approved at the meeting, the town will be required to pay 25 percent of future maintenance work.
In other meeting news, Crane said this season’s beach badge sales have been “pretty much what we would expect.” As of July 7, sales totaled $343,545. Seasonal badge sales are about $2,000 ahead of last year. The overall total, however, is a bit lower than last year, which included $17,200 in 125th anniversary badge sales.
The lifeguards “have been quite busy this season,” Crane added. As of July 10, the beach patrol had responded to 42 rescues, five EMS activation on-beach incidents and 23 EMS first responder incidents as well as an additional 116 first aid calls.
“We have a very good group of young ladies and gentlemen. We’re happy to have them performing that service for us,” said Crane.
On another topic, he announced that the town will be accepting re-bids for the construction of the new municipal building, on Aug. 9, at 1 p.m. All interested bidders are invited to a pre-bid meeting at the emergency operations center on July 29, at 10 a.m.
Local resident Bill Green said he is concerned about the appearance of the EOC, the old Coast Guard station on the bay that is being utilized as the temporary municipal building. He said the building is an eyesore due to rotting wood and a poor paint job. He noted the property has gotten worse since people have been parking on the lawn, which is wearing away the grass.
Council members agreed the building is “ugly,” but said they don’t want to put additional money into the property until a long-term plan is secured. As of now, the building can be used only for emergency management. Town officials are looking into acquiring full ownership of the property so it can be used for other purposes. Taggart Davis said the council is expected to speak with representatives from Congressman Frank LoBiondo’s office later this month about possible plans.
Green’s wife, Susan, approached council about implementing signage on Bay Avenue to alert drivers and pedestrians about the laws governing street crossing, since there’s a lot of dangerous confusion. Council members liked the idea and agreed to execute safety measures.
According to state law, pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks where there are no traffic lights, but they must obey the traffic signals at the lights. The law requires bicyclists to follow all traffic rules. Pedestrians should walk against traffic, and bikes should ride with traffic.
The borough will be hosting a 10-day, online auction for old borough streets signs on July 28.
“I just think it’s kind of exciting. Somebody might really want the street sign of their house that they can actually hang up in a room,” the mayor said, adding that residents should sign up for email blasts for more borough news.
Potty issues were a concern for a couple of residents at the meeting who have had problems with people relieving themselves outside in public places, including at a vacant property on Dock Road as well as in front of the borough’s restroom trailer on Amber Street, which is normally locked during the evenings. Council members encouraged people to contact the police when incidents occur so the issues can be documented and addressed.
“That gives it more of a status as a nuisance, and it gives us more teeth to do something,” Taggart Davis said. “If they don’t have a record that somebody called, then it’s like it never happened.”
Resident Ed Sythe inquired about having his water meter moved from the sidewalk to his front lawn because people have been tripping on it when it pops up during high tides. Taggart Davis said “it was a mistake” to have the meters placed in the sidewalk since there have been other, related incidents. She said officials would look into having the matter rectified.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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