HTA May 2022 Newsletter

As you’ve probably seen in the news or online, NJ beaches including Holgate were hit hard by the last nor’easter. The Township is doing its best to plow sand back up at low tide and has been meeting with Congressional Representative Van Drew to push for replenishment funding. Fingers crossed for Memorial Day Weekend access.

Please mark your calendars for our rescheduled May 21 clean-up. Weekend weather looks good for a change and there seems to be a fair amount of garbage out there waiting for us.

May Highlights

1. Spring Clean-up
2. Spring Membership Meeting
3. New Member Meet and Greet
4. Resilient LBI
5. Bond’s Park Basketball Court
6. Dogs on the Beach
7. Relevant Ordinance Moved on First Reading
8. Speed Limits, Traffic Lights and Increased Police Enforcement
9. Plastic Bag Ban In Effect
10. App for Water Usage – Update
11. Special Offer from Friends of the Island Library
12. Ocean County Fire Marshall Inspection
13. Other Save-the-Dates

Updates

1. Spring Clean-up

• On Saturday, May 21th from 9-11am, we will kick off an Island-wide clean-up, sponsored by the Joint Council of Taxpayers Associations in partnership with Alliance for a Living Ocean. Holgate will be going first as each association is juggling reschedule dates. We would like to have a great volunteer turnout; you can collect a lot of trash in a short time. We’ll meet at 9am at the Tebco Terrace beach entrance (roughly the halfway point for north/south). The HTA will provide water, a snack, safety vests, and some handy pickers for items you don’t want to touch or for the kids to use. Please bring your own gloves, sunscreen, and a bucket (if possible, to avoid using plastic bags).

2. Spring Membership Meeting

• All members are invited and encouraged to attend this annual meeting. We are looking forward to an in-person meeting on Saturday, June 11 at 10am at the new Marine Field Station on Osborn Avenue on the north end of Holgate. For those who would normally walk to the meeting, we are trying to arrange an extra shuttle bus that morning for people on the south end. There is some seating but you may want to bring a folding chair too. Coffee and crumbcake will be served and if the weather turns bad, we can simply move the meeting indoors.

3. New Member Meet and Greet

• Members who are new to the HTA in 2022 are invited to join the HTA trustees for a sunset reception at the new Marine Field Station on Osborn on June 18 from 5-7pm. All are welcome but please be sure to RSVP to the coming Evite (separate email) so we have an accurate count to plan for refreshments.

4. Resilient LBI

• Resilient LBI is a State-funded group to study and recommend solutions to preserve the Island in the face of tremendous climate challenges. They have been working for a few years on this project and have offered several opportunities for public involvement. Like most projects of this type, people tend to only participate after the final recommendations are in. We strongly urge everyone to become more familiar with what they are trying to accomplish.
  You can watch the on-demand version of the recent workshop by clicking here. You can also find the slide presentation to follow along here.
  You can also follow the project and find the latest updates by clicking here.

5. Bond’s Park Basketball Court

• We’ve seen a number of questions about the status of the court. The contract for the reconstruction was approved and it includes repair work on other Township tennis courts (not Holgate) and new pickleball court construction at the old M&M Steam Bar site. The work is expected to be completed “by Summer” so we will seek an update at the next Commissioners Meeting in June.

6. Dogs on the Beach

• A reminder: No dogs on the beach from May 15 – October 1.

7. Relevant Ordinance Moved on First Reading

• Speed limits on Ocean Blvd, Beach Ave and Atlantic Ave will be reduced to 15mph between May 15 and October 15.

8. Speed Limits, Traffic Lights and Increased Police Enforcement

• Speed limits have already been reduced and traffic lights should be back on or around May 23. School is still in session so please be patient if you are behind a school bus in the morning or afternoon. The Township Police will begin to issue summonses without warning for dogs that are on the beach, illegal parking, and drivers not allowing safe distance when passing bicyclists per the recently passed NJ law. The HTA has also asked that this enforcement also apply to bicyclists who don’t obey the traffic laws and create dangerous situations for everyone on the road.

9. Plastic Bag Ban In Effect

• As of May 4. Please bring your own shopping bags as NJ is also not allowing paper bags to be used in grocery stores. Also, remember to tell your tenants if you rent.

10. App for Water Usage – Update

• The Township will offer a free app available to allow you to track your water usage in real time. Due date has been pushed back to June.

11. Special Offer from Friends of the Island Library

• The Friends of the Island Library is sponsoring a bus trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show at FDR Park on Tuesday June 14. The bus departs from the Long Beach Island Library on Central Avenue in Surf City at 9 am and leaves Philadelphia at 4 pm to come back to the library. The cost is $89 per person, which includes round trip bus transportation and one ticket to the show, which is regularly $50 at the door. Sign up by coming to the library or email questions or your request for tickets to lbif@theoceancountylibrary.org. Tickets are available for sale through May 26.

12. Ocean County Fire Marshall Inspection

• For those who rent your homes, please remember to schedule your Ocean County Fire Marshall Inspection. Schedule Inspection

13. Other Save the Dates

• Town-wide Yard Sale: Saturday, May 28 (rain date Sunday, May 29); Township permit required