Just before the start of the Beach Haven borough council meeting, held Monday, Feb. 10, the local government honored the Beach Haven Volunteer Fire Co. for its superior work during Superstorm Sandy. The fire department is just one of the many local groups the town has formally thanked for their efforts throughout the storm.
“We’re trying to express our gratitude to everybody that worked hard for us, especially the first responders,” said Councilman James White. “I know firsthand about what everybody did from the fire department. As I said in the past, no words can ever express the gratitude that this town owes all of the fire department. We are totally grateful to you; we are in your debt. We feel you did a job above and beyond the call of duty, as they say.
 |
| Photo via Redding Beach Haven takes a hit in revenue after Superstorm Sandy. |
Firefighters Matthew MacCrea, James Bradshaw, Jeff Bernard and James Malandro as well as Third Lt. Pat O’Donnell were there to accept their award. The other members, who were unable to attend the event, will receive their certificates at a later date, said White.
In other Sandy news, Richard Crane, borough manager, said he was pleasantly surprised by the town’s revenue figures carrying over from 2013.
“We really didn’t know going into 2013 quite what to expect, considering the destruction had taken place,” he said. “When we put together the budget back in the early part of the winter, we had no idea how many people would be coming back to spend the summer with us, what the condition would be of many of the homes in Beach Haven, or how many of them would be available for occupancy and/or rental.”
Although revenue was down, Crane said the figures were not nearly as low as anticipated. The town’s top six revenue producers were down a little more than $86,000, about 14 percent, when compared to calendar year 2012. The town was not expecting any worse than 30 and 40 percent, he added. Beach badges took the biggest hit, which topped $400,000, this past year, which was about $53,000 short from the previous year.
However, construction fees were at an all-time high, with an additional $121,600 in revenue compared to 2012. This is an indication that property owners in town have been ”busily at work rebuilding their structures,” said Crane.
During calendar year 2013, the town took in $745,000 in FEMA proceeds — $155,000 short of what was anticipated. Progress getting reimbursement from FEMA has been “a rather slow, tedious process,” said Crane.
“It’s been suggested that it may take up to five years to complete this process. We’ve completed a little over one year right now. To think we’ve got another four years of this is a little daunting, but we just keep plugging away because there is a great deal of money that we still hope to receive,” he added.
On a positive note, the town recovered an additional $205,000 from its flood insurance policies, which was not anticipated in the budget.
“More or less, things do sometimes balance out,” said Crane.
In other news, the council introduced and passed on first reading an amended ordinance that proscribes disorderly conduct. The borough ordinance is superceded by a state statute and must be removed from the books.
“We can’t write municipal codes that have a 2C statute. It’s really just some cleanup work,” said Sherry Mason, borough clerk.
The amendment will be considered for final passage and adoption at next month’s meeting, on Monday, March 10.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment