Month: December 2021

by

November Update

HTA November 2021 Newsletter

As we leave Thanksgiving and enter the holiday season, the HTA is very grateful for all of your support in 2021.  With a record number of members, we have become even more visible and active within the community and Long Beach Township.

That said, we are in serious need of 3 new trustees who can help us help our community.  For those of you who are interested in learning more, please contact me for a short phone or Zoom call to discuss.  You do not have to be retired or a full-time resident (most of us aren’t) and it is not an overwhelming time commitment required to do a lot of good for Holgate.  Plus, you get to pick the causes/projects about which you are most passionate.  Please let me know by responding to this email and I’ll contact you to set up a short call.

Rand

November Highlights

  1. 2022 Water/Sewer Rates
  2. Bond’s Park
  3. Bulkhead Ordinance
  4. Flooding and Resilient LBI
  5. Offshore Wind Development
  6. HTA Officer Elections
  7. Gator Program
  8. Holiday Lights Are Back!

Updates

  1. 2022 Water/Sewer Rates:  It is heartening to know the Township responded to the concerns of the LBT taxpayer associations and the community that attended the last Commissioners meeting.  The ordinance has been revised and the new rates (subject to formal approval) can be seen here:  https://bit.ly/LBTProposedWaterSewerFees

 

  1. Bond’s Park:  Based on recent HTA discussions with Town Hall regarding Bond’s Park:
  • Despite the efforts of the community, the HTA and the neighboring property owners, the Township asserted its legal right to use an easement to create a driveway to connect the residential property to Bay Terrace/Joan Road.  The work has been completed.
  • While a significant amount of mature vegetation was destroyed (the HTA looked at it in advance and determined it could not be transplanted), the HTA will follow up with the Township to see if new vegetation can be planted around the driveway and walkway in the Spring.

 

  1. New Bulkhead Ordinance:  An ordinance passed in October (see at the bottom of this newsletter) which calls for raising bulkheads due to water coming over the existing bulkheads.  LBT continues to add one-way caps to storm drains and pumps but this may not be enough – or happen soon enough – to halt flooding.  The ordinance allowed for a phasing in of the new height requirements (LBT noted other towns are mandating 100% compliance within 2 years).  But this means there is no deadline for those who are not in construction.  If you are concerned or have questions about this ordinance, you may want to join other people from throughout LBT in attending the Commissioners meeting on Monday, December 6 for further discussion:

 

  • This applies just to Long Beach Township but would probably be much more effective as an Island-wide initiative
  • If your neighbor rebuilds and installs the higher bulkhead, your property may see a great deal more water.
  • Homes sold after Feb 1, 2022 must have a raised bulkhead to get a CO after the sale.  An estimate must be part of the deal and 110% of the estimate will have to be posted for 12 months
  • This ordinance will apply to new construction, new sale, substantial property improvement (+50%)
  • Boat ramps will probably need to be gated but this was unclear as of the last meeting

 

  1. Flooding and Resilient LBI:  Surf City recently held an informative forum on flooding.  Rick Bushnell of ReClam the Bay was the featured speaker.  You can view the presentation here:  https://bit.ly/LBIFloodingMtg2021

 

  1. Offshore Wind:  Atlantic Shores has received approval to begin construction of a field south of LBI, off Atlantic City.  This provides an advance look at how the project east of LBI might proceed.  The link below is to the visibility report for the Atlantic City field.  It is a large document, more than 300 pages, but information about the views from Beach Haven and the Forsythe Refuge are particularly interesting.  Be sure to read the comments in addition to looking at the pictures (which were not all that helpful on my computer):   https://bit.ly/BOEMACVisibility

 

  1. HTA Officer Election:  The Board re-elected Bill Cannon as Treasurer and Yanni Kaloudis as Corresponding Secretary at its November meeting.
  • The trustee terms of the current President, Vice President and Recording Secretary are up in 2022 and the officers will be voted on by the Board following the trustee election in August/September.

 

  1. Gator Program:  Commissioner Lattanzi reports there will be no change in the gator program for 2022.  There had been consideration of implementing a fee but that will not happen next year.

 

  1. Holiday Business List:  Shop local and attend great winter events in December:  https://bit.ly/LBIHolidayBusinessList

 

  1. Support Your Local First Responders:  Holgate’s closest first aid and fire responders are based in Beach Haven.  Large-scale emergencies often may involve first responders from further north.  To preserve and strengthen this important volunteer service, we ask you to consider an end-of-year donation to these vital organizations.  And please also consider volunteering some of your time to support them (there are roles for people who do not/cannot be on the front line).

 

 

  1. Holiday Lights Are Back!:  Thanks again to Dan Macone for the return of Holgate’s Holiday Lights, plus two new additions, to brighten the December holidays.  Our appreciation also goes to Long Beach Township for getting them installed in November!