As reported earlier, the winners of the election of the three commissioner positions for Long Beach Township are Ralph H. Bayard, DiAnne C. Gove and Joseph H. Mancini. Under the commissioner form of government, the three elected commissioners decide among themselves who will be Mayor. At today's Organization Meeting of the new Board of Commissioners, Bonnie Leonetti, Municipal Clerk, administered the oath of office to the three commissioners. Through a motion to appoint the Mayor, the Board voted Joe Mancini as the new Mayor of Long Beach Township. Mayor Mancini will be responsible for Public Safety and Public Affairs. Former Mayor DiAnne Gove becomes the Commissioner of Finance and Commissioner Bayard will handle Public Works.
The Board of Officers and Trustees of the LPOA congratulated the new commissioners and offered our support over the next four years.
The storm that hit the NJ coast on Monday, May 12th, caused considerable dune erosion on LBI. According to the newspapers, Harvey Cedars, Brant Beach and Holgate were the most affected areas on the island. Due to high winds in excess of 60 mph the causeway bridge to LBI was closed Monday from around 11:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
This author visited the Loveladies beaches at Coast Avenue, the south parking lot/pumping station and the 86th street access Tuesday, May 13th, to see how we fared. While the erosion seemed to be worse as you go south along our beaches, for the most part we were lucky. There is dune fencing down and drifts of sand on the walkways. Let's hope we don't have another one of these storms soon. See more detail in the following article excerpted from an Asbury Park Press Article.
BEACH EROSION NOR'EASTER SURPRISE: Severe storms rare in May; coastal towns begin repairs with influx of summer visitors imminent.
The nor'easter Monday carved some hefty chunks out of New Jersey's protective dunes, leaving behind cliffs that drop 6 to 10-plus feet in several areas of Long Beach Island, according to officials.
"We lost a lot of sand . . . and a lot of dune fencing and (it's) just very late in the year to have that kind of a storm do that kind of damage," said Harvey Cedars Mayor Jonathan S. Oldham. "It's probably one of the worst ones we've had in a while."
The unusual May nor'easter generated winds exceeding 60 mph at times along the Ocean County coast, pounding surf and abnormally high tides. And it appeared only 11 days before the beach season kicks in on Memorial Day weekend.
Varying amounts of erosion also were reported in Ocean County, with the worst from Barnegat Light south, the DEP report says. The storm also damaged dune fencing in some areas.
The Atlantic cut into the dunes in Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Township and Beach Haven, according to the DEP report.
In Beach Haven, the dune system from Centre Street to 3rd Street sustained a cut that measured more than 10 feet wide and deep, the report says. Dune cuts of 6 to 10 feet high were also reported in Long Beach Township, according to the DEP report.
"We have two weeks until Memorial Day, so we're going to try to clean up the beaches the best we can before the holiday, the start of the summer," said Andy Baran, the township's assistant director of public works. "Some areas did well," he said. "Some of the areas didn't do so well." The Holgate section "got beat up pretty bad," as did about 17 blocks in the Brant Beach section, he said. No homes are in danger, Baran said.
Township workers were using a bulldozer Tuesday to push sand on the beaches, he said. "Let Mother Nature take its course," he said. "Those cliffs will eventually fall and then we'll build our dunes back." Harvey Cedars also will have to bulldoze sand, but the ocean has to move some of it back in before officials can do so, Mayor Oldham said.
"We'll be doing something but we won't have it" finished before Memorial Day weekend, he said. "I don't think it will make a huge difference for Memorial Day," he said.
At the membership meeting on May 20 and via e-News on May 25, LPOA reported we have learned that the LBI Foundation for the Arts & Sciences is in negotiations with Verizon to install a 95-135 foot cell tower on Foundation property in Loveladies. The LPOA Board opposes the installation of a cell tower for the following reasons.
There are only three commercial properties in Loveladies, the Loveladies Marina, Island Realty and Michael Ryan – Architect. The rest of Loveladies, including the Foundation, is zoned for non-commercial use and the Verizon cell tower is a commercial activity. A zoning variance to allow installation of a profit generating tower would set a precedent for other commercialization requests in Loveladies which we firmly oppose.
LPOA does not understand the need for a cell tower at the Foundation considering Verizon already has equipment on the Barnegat Light water tower less than 2 miles north of the Foundation and the Harvey Cedars water tower less than 3 miles south of the Foundation (the 2 water towers are only 4.6 miles apart). This is in addition to several other towers that Verizon already has on LBI.
We are concerned that property values near the Foundation will be negatively impacted by the addition of a cell tower 95 to 135 feet high. Since the Foundation does not pay property taxes, it would mean a tax exempt property negatively impacting tax paying property owners.
Finally, we are concerned about safety issues and the aesthetic impact of such a tower on the entire community. These concerns would apply to any property in Loveladies that would propose a cell tower.
Representatives from LPOA and the Loveladies Harbor Organization met with representatives of the Foundation on May 26, 2007. The Foundation basically disagreed with everything in our letter. They do not feel there are safety issues or issues with property values. They think it will be a “modest” tower that you will hardly see from the road. The proposal places the tower in the parking lot in front of the Foundation hall with a two story building where there is currently a tent structure. They say the maximum height will be 110 feet, which is questionable since the printed proposal goes to 135 feet. The Foundation Board has a fiduciary responsibility to Foundation members to do everything they can to keep the place operating. They are currently open year-round, operating in the red and, therefore, need the income. They claim they will pay taxes on the rent which gets them off the hook as far as the property tax exempt status.
According to Long Beach Township, because of height restrictions, the Foundation (Verizon) will have to apply for a variance that requires contacting any property owners within 200 feet of the Foundation's property line. This should involve any property owner on Sandy Cove, the north side of Tidal and probably to the east on Long Beach Boulevard. The proposal would have to be presented to the Township Land Use Board at which time property owners can voice their concerns. We will keep you apprised of the situation.