This is Stockton University’s Coastal Research Center Presentation by Dr. Stewart Farrell, PhD regarding the United States Army Corps of Engineer’s Study concerning Back Bay Flooding and the Construction of the new Terminal Groin in Holgate (Replacement of the Wooden Jetty). It was presented to Holgate residents on Thursday, September 6th at the Long Beach Township Marine Education Field Station at 127 Osborn Avenue. Click on the link below to view the presentation

LBI Taxpayer Association Talk

As you may know, despite multiple replenishments and truckloads of sand, the erosion of the beaches at the south end of Holgate is becoming critical. Beach entrances are closed; some beaches were not open for swimming this summer; the dunes are being carved away; homes will be endangered.

The Township and Mayor Mancini have been fighting for a new terminal groin to replace the wooden jetty. This groin is intended to greatly slow the erosion of sand and to stabilize the beach.

The Holgate Taxpayers Association is calling on all stakeholders (Homeowners, Businesses, Visitors, etc.) to immediately contact the Army Corps of Engineers District Engineer, James Boyer, at the following address and support Mayor Mancini’s request to have our groin permit moved up to an “A#1 Priority”:

Failure to act now means Holgate may not get the groin built this year and the south end will be at greater risk to the winter storms. If the situation worsens, we can expect a negative impact on property values and rental prospects for next year.

Rentals, motel reservations and home values have already suffered this year. If homes are damaged this winter, the economic impact will not be limited to Holgate and would likely start to affect the entire island.

Please send your letter today; all letters must be received by September 12 to have a chance to influence this important decision. We have included a sample letter below that you are free to use or edit as needed. If you have factual information such as cancellations letters from your renters due to the lack of a beach or loss of business statistics relative to prior seasons etc. , you should include this information. In addition, an aerial view of the beaches taken this summer by Bucks County Drones on July 9, 2018, is attached which dramatically depicts the present and deteriorating situation. If you have any questions, you can contact me or attend the Coastal Research Center presentation on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the Long Beach Township Marine Field Station at 127 Osborn Avenue in Holgate.

Thank you!

Dan Macone
President, Holgate Taxpayers Association

Sample Letter – Letter to USACE September 1, 2018

If you are concerned about, have been affected by or are just interested in the increasingly frequent and destructive damage caused by back bay flooding on LBI, you are invited to join other Holgate homeowners for a timely and informative presentation sponsored by the Holgate Taxpayers Association (HTA). The Speaker will be Dr. Stewart Farrell, PHD, Director, and Founder of Stockton University’s Coastal Research Center (CRC).

The meeting will be convened at the Long Beach Township temporary Marine Field Station on Osborn Avenue on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 7:00 pm. This same presentation was delivered on August 1, 2018 at the Town Hall and is featured in an August 8th article in the SandPaper entitled “LBI Homeowners, Stockton Scientists Talk Back Bay Flooding”.

The CRC also completed an environmental assessment and conceptual redesign of the Holgate terminal groin which had become ineffective in trapping sand and maintaining the position of the shoreline. The preferred design that was chosen by the project team is an impermeable groin that protects the beach/dune while allowing sand to bypass to the Refuge. All stakeholders recognize the urgency for the new groin construction and the Township has taken on emergency efforts to restore the beach until the goin project can be constructed. You will be able to learn more about the status of this critical project for our community.

If you plan on attending, I want to remind you that there is limited parking around the Field Station as there is no parking at the location or on Osborn Avenue. You will have to park on West Avenue or consider walking, bicycling or carpooling to the meeting.

Just a reminder, if you have not remitted your 2018 dues, please take this opportunity to add your name to our 2018 membership list. Attached is a membership form for your convenience. We thank you for your support. There is strength in numbers and the HTA is working with the Township to effect a solution to the beach erosion problem soon.

We attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners on Monday, July 2nd. The following items were on the agenda:

• Resolution 18-0702.09, awarding the contract per bid to B&H Contracting for the construction of the Holgate Sanitary Sewer Pump Station (Janet Road) in the amount of $1,901,785.00, was unanimously approved.
• Mayor Mancini stated that the beaches in the Holgate section of the Township are eroded even more than prior to the replenishment conducted in the spring. A lifeguard is on duty just north of the wooden jetty on a day-by-day basis, based on the size of the beach. Swimming, he added, is allowed north of the wooden jetty, but not to the south. “We don’t want people swimming south of the jetty; it’s unsafe” the Mayor noted. Surfers, though, are permitted south of the terminal groin (wooden jetty). Regardless, Mancini stated, anyone that heads to the beach there – to sit, swim or surf – needs to have a township beach badge as the area is municipal property and a lifeguard is stationed when the beach width allows. The Township decided a police officer was necessary to keep the peace after adult beachgoers yelled at young beach checkers. This information is in this week’s edition of the Sandpaper in an article entitled “Township Emphasizes: Beach Badges Required”.
• An application for permit was submitted to the State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection on June 28, 2018 for the replacement of the existing terminal groin (wooden jetty) with a new larger terminal groin consisting of steel sheathing, stone core and 8-12 ton armor stone. The Mayor stated it would take 3 to 4 months to obtain approval. Attached are two draft drawings of the proposed structure.

Other Items:

• At our request, the Township Police Department has located one of its mobile electronic signs in Holgate. The effort is to try to get visitors and other walkers and joggers to abide by the rules of the road when utilizing the very narrow shoulders in Holgate. In addition, for their safety and the safety of everyone enjoying our community, the Holgate Taxpayers Association has purchased some additional signage to help everyone go in the right direction. We should be seeing these new signs shortly. These signs were designed by the Trustees of the Association and we especially appreciate the efforts of Frank Benintendo and Denise Tierney.
• We completed the landscaping of the Tebco Terrace beach entrance in June. It looks great! Thanks to Andrea Daniels and Brian and Denise Tierney, the plants are being watered daily (maybe not today – Mother Nature did a lot of watering today).
• We are finalizing the agenda for our next Trustees meeting to be held on Wednesday, August 1st in the temporary trailers of the Long Beach Township Marine Field Station on Osborn Avenue. We have several items to discuss including the preparations and assignments for the September 8th BBQ. We are also trying to arrange for a presentation from ReClam the Bay. We have budgeted funds to have that organization locate a giant clam in Holgate. The permanent Marine Field Station is expected to be completed before next summer. There will be some on-site parking once the permanent building is finished.
• Lastly, there is strength in numbers and we want to continue to grow our membership. If you have neighbors or friends in Holgate who are new to the area and are not members, please let them know about the Association. Membership forms are on our web page at www.holgatetaxpayers.org. To make it easy, dues ($25.00) can be remitted using Pay Pal. Be sure to include an e-mail address so regular communications can be received. Thanks to member Marc Slovak, you can now go to the Association’s web page and have access to the traffic cameras at 38th Street, northbound and southbound, 28th Street southbound, the south parking lot ocean view and an ocean view in Beach Haven. Before travelling, take a look at the cameras and see what traffic conditions you will be facing or view the waves before going out to the beach.

We engaged Kline Brothers to pretty up the beach entrances at Tebco Terrace

Several Holgate Taxpayers Association trustees attended the caucus and public meetings at the Township on Monday, June 4th. The following items were on the docket:

• The second reading of Ordinance 18-16C, regarding the issue of outdoor fire pits, was postponed until July 2, 2018. Essentially this ordinance revises the set backs from property lines and states that no fire device shall be located in any side yard or any area or lot fronting on a public street. Portable AND permanent devices must be a minimum of 5 feet from any structure and 10 feet from any property line. They both may not be under any part of a structure such as a deck or roof; the 5 foot minimum applies.
• Resolution 18-0604.13 was approved. The resolution approved free beach buggy permits and beach badges for active military and their families and for all veterans.
• Two additional buses have been purchased. This brings the total number to eight. Revenues received so far are $18,679 and the Township is looking for revenues of $200,000 to break even.
• The Gators start on June 16th.
• The County’s paper shredding day is on June 16th at the Stafford Township, Southern Ocean County Recycling Center Lot, 379 Haywood Road, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Water restrictions are in effect from June 1st through September 30th. Details can be found on the Long Beach Township website under the Water and Sewer Department.
• Mayor Mancini stated that 200 truckloads of sand will be brought in next week in an effort to repair the beaches at the south end of Holgate.

We have a number of great initiatives underway including upgrading the “Welcome to Holgate” sign and are working to bring them to fruition in 2018. In addition, below are the notes taken by HTA Trustee, Marianne Hurley, at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Commissioners on April 9th. Please note that the spring membership meeting will be at the Township Hall on Saturday, June 2nd at 10:00 am. The Mayor and the other Commissioners will be available to answer your questions. As you know there is strength in numbers and currently our membership is at an all time high. If you have not paid your membership dues for 2018, please consider making your payment at this time. Further, we encourage you to talk with your neighbors and friends who may be new to the area or who are not members but may be interested in becoming members of the Holgate Taxpayers Association.

April 9, 2018 Commissioners Meeting Notes:

The budget is finished and our taxes thankfully, are only going to be raised quite moderately. Sewer and water taxes will remain the same. We are having a property assessment which has been ordered by the County since we have not had one since the 80’s. The contract with the appraisal company has been signed at a total cost of $500,000, and now it is just a matter of clearing up some of the questions that the County has and the final paperwork has to be completed by June. Some property owners have already been saying that they will not let anyone in to their homes to complete the requirements. They have been told that they can deny access 3x’s but on the 4th time the appraisers will just do what they have to do from the outside without gaining access and then it will be up to the property owner to fight with them if they are not happy with the outcome. The buses will be back but there will be a fee this year. A one way pass will be $2.00 and an all day pass will be $5.00. Bus drivers will not be making change so riders must have exact change or if they presented a $5.00 bill for example for a $2.00 ride, then they will not be refunded any money. Next year they hope to be offering seasonal passes, but there are many questions and kinks to iron out before we get there. They are looking into other shore towns which have been very successful and using their good points. They are also having very late night buses. More details about times and schedules will be available in the Sandpaper. Shredders will be on the Island in April, June and September and once again dates, times and locations will be in the Sandpaper and while there, check the trash/recycling summer schedule. They are still waiting for the permit for the jetty work which is probably about 6 months away as the Army Corps called for a second design/opinion from Stephens Institute besides the one that they have already have from Stockton. The Township has nothing to do with this. Work is being done on various parts of the Island for Beach Replenishment, i.e., Daddio’s and the Township is working on fixing up our beaches here in Holgate. A re-cap of the meeting can also be found in the April 11th edition of the Sandpaper.

On Monday, December 4th we attended the Regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners. The following salient points were presented:

• The mobilization for the dredging of the Little Egg Inlet began the day after Thanksgiving. The project is expected to be completed by the end of March. The sand dredged from the Inlet will be used to replenish the beaches in southern Beach Haven and Holgate.
• The Terminal Groin redesign (wooden jetty) is still under review. The plan has now been sent to Stevens Institute of Technology for review before the permitting process can begin. The Mayor stated that there were two designs being considered. The first allows sand to pass under the structure and thus, requires a lot of maintenance. The second allows sand to pass over the top of the structure and the design allows some regulation of the amount of sand going over. The Mayor stated that the National Wildlife Refuge is requesting a certain amount of sand flow to the Refuge each year as it has been determined that the nesting of the Piping Plovers is increased when there is a receding shoreline. The bidding process for the new groin is not expected to occur until the Fall of 2018. The Taxpayers of Long Beach Township will possibly bear 25% of its cost.
• Mayor Mancini reported that Moody’s has upgraded the Township’s financial rating to AA1. This is the second highest rating and will allow the Township to borrow at the best possible rates.
• Bidding for the Janet Road Pump House rebuild will go out in January 2018 and the project is expected to be completed by the beginning of the summer. The stones around the area including the parking lot on the west side of the tennis courts will be changed to a white, 3/4″ crushed granite identical what has been used at the 68th street bay beach parking lot. The walking path from Janet to West will be made of crushed shells as was requested by the residents abutting the site.
• Commissioner Bayard reported that P&A Construction was repairing and re-paving the trenches that had been dug for the sewer and water projects over the last year. The longer term plan is to completely re-pave Long Beach Boulevard once the last water and sewer project is done. We also discussed the repair of the half dozen or so intersections of the Boulevard and side streets at the north end of Holgate. Since the County maintains the Boulevard and the Township maintains the side streets, getting this work accomplished is taking more time than. However, the Commissioner is working on it.

Holgate Taxpayers Association
P.O. Box 1326, Holgate, New Jersey 08008
www.holgatetaxpayers.org

The results in alphabetical order of the recent election of Trustees and Reelection of Three Officers are listed here.

Trustees
Tom Beaty
Frank Benintendo
Eileen Bowker
Bill Cannon
Marianne Hurley – Current Recording Secretary
Bill Hutson
Yanni Kaloudis
Frank Lowery
Dan Macone – Current President
Rand Pearsall
Ted Stiles
Bob White

Reelected Officers
Tom Beatty – 1st Vice President
Bill Cannon – Treasurer
Yanni Kaloudis – Corresponding Secretary

Thank you for your membership in the HTA.
Bob White

Elections for trustees and certain officer positions will be held later this summer. A slate of candidates is now being prepared by the Nominating Committee. As stated in the HTA By-laws, nominations may be made by any member based on providing a nominating petition with 5 signatures (which may include the signature of the nominee) to the trustees. Said petition must be received by the President no later than 30 days prior to the election. If anyone is interested in being nominated, this petition must be received no later than Wednesday (tomorrow), August 9, 2017.

Further, several standing committees exist within the Organization. They are as follows: Nominating, Membership Recruitment, By-law, Community Safety, Dune Planting, Green Head Traps and Audit. If you are interested in serving on one of those committees, please let us know. This is a perfect way to get involved in the community and work on solutions to the current issues being worked on in Holgate. The Community Safety Committee is meeting on August 14th and the Dune Planting team will be planting a number of beach accesses beginning on Thursday, September 28th and continuing on Friday, September 29th and Saturday, September 30th. In addition, once it is known when the dune grass supplied by the Township will be available, a date for this planting will be scheduled.

Shortly you will receive an invitation to the fall BBQ to be held on Saturday, September 9th at 5:00 PM. There will be an alternate location designated for the BBQ in case of inclement weather.

We attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners on Monday, August 7th. Ordinances 17-29C (permit requirement for non-family groups of 30 or more in residential zones) and 17-30 (authorizing a referendum ballot question regarding the establishment of an open space conservation trust fund) were unanimously adopted. The public comment period was extended to October 3, 2017 for Ordinance 17-31C (prohibition of single use plastic bags).

Commissioner Lattanzi stated that there will be a referendum question on the ballot this fall to give the Township flexibility for a fee collection to fund the buses. Mayor Mancini stated that the Stockton design and blueprint along with the expected cost to replace the wooden jetty at the south end of Holgate is anticipated to be in by the end of the week. He also commented that the new bids to get the contracts in place to dredge the Little Egg Inlet would be going out. The sand from the dredging will be put back onto the beaches in Holgate and Beach Haven. A large crowd of residents voiced their concerns regarding the delivery of mail and other packages to places other than their addresses. Due to having essentially only one zip code on the entire Island (with the exception of Barnegat Light) and in many cases more than a single unique street name, the post office and other delivery services are sending materials to the wrong address. The Mayor set up a meeting at the Town Hall at 11:00 am on Wednesday, August 9th, with the residents to address this problem.

Last evening we also attended the Joint Council of Taxpayers Association of Long Beach Island. All ten Associations were represented. A motion was passed to support the efforts of the six municipal entities to address the inequities in the apportionment of the regional school funding between LBI and Stafford Township. Also, there is need for additional EMT’s for the Beach Haven (and Barnegat Light) First Aid Squad. Anyone interested, please let us know.
—
Dan Macone