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| Photo via The SandPaper The current population of beach-goers is 47,000. |
As of July 8, Surf City had accumulated $451,721 in beach revenue, which means the town reached its target 10 days ahead of last year. Revenue from the beaches was projected in the budget at the beginning of the year at $450,000. As of July 12, the total revenue was $462,680, which is $13,974 ahead of 2015. So far, the town has exceeded its anticipated revenue by $12,680. A total of 21,777 badges has been sold this year, which is already 609 more than last year.
“This is all good because we’ve had additional expenses we’ve had to cover on the beach this year to make the beaches accessible after (Winter Storm) Jonas,” Councilman Peter Hartney stated at the borough council’s monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 13.
The town is still waiting to hear back from the Federal Emergency Management Agency about recouping some of those costs.
The borough has received calls from people asking for extensions to the beach entrances at the north end of town, which Mayor Francis Hodgson said the borough will not be implementing since beach replenishment in that area should begin in about two weeks.
“We would be throwing good money away,” Hartney said. “It hasn’t changed from previous years; there was never any hard-pack at those entrances at the north end. For us to put hard-pack down now for two weeks and the (U.S.) Army Corps (of Engineers) to come bury it, that’s not a good idea.”
Surf City has been voted one of the best beaches in Ocean County as part of New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium’s 2016 New Jersey’s Favorite Beach Poll. Hartney thanked public works Superintendent Tom Hudson and his crew as well as the beach patrol for keeping the beaches clean and safe “so people want to come back.”
According to a Surf City Beach Patrol report, the population of beach-goers in town is at 47,000. So far, the lifeguards have made 59 saves due to recent rip currents.
“This is extremely high,” said Councilman James Russell, who noted he would normally expect two or three saves this time of year.
There have also been three first aid responses on the beach.
Due to ongoing concerns from multiple municipalities in the state regarding the need to resolve “nuisance flooding” that has become more frequent and with higher levels of water since Superstorm Sandy, the Army Corps has agreed to take the issue into consideration during an upcoming three-year study, said Councilwoman Jackie Siciliano, who attended a meeting last month with USACE and representatives from other municipalities to discuss ways to improve the communities for category four storms.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection engineers are expected to survey Surf City to find “some workable solution” regarding the area’s consistent back-bay flooding, though Siciliano noted FEMA is dealing with a money-flow issue.
“We’re in the middle of the pack, so it means that we’re not at the tail end of any dredging projects, but we’re still a year to a year-and-a-half away before seeing that happen,” she said, noting all of the state’s dredging projects have also been affected by the state Department of Transportation’s work stoppage.
In other meeting news, police responded last month to an unresponsive male whom officers revived with the administration of Narcan.
“It’s a sad commentary on where we are these days, but fortunately we have something in the police car to save people,” said Councilman William Hodgson. “Hopefully they’ll save themselves eventually.”
Repairs to cracks on the tennis courts have been completed. Russell said he hopes the people who advocated for the repairs are using the courts.
“I go by them every day, and very seldom do I see anybody down there,” he noted.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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