Sea Bright OKs Bonds To Replace Town Buildings

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By Liz Sheehan
SEA BRIGHT – In a 4-2 vote the Borough Council at its June 1 meeting approved three bond issues that will pay to replace the firehouse, police headquarters and library destroyed by Super Storm Sandy and the existing Borough Hall.
In order for the bond issues to be approved at the June 1 Council meeting, two-thirds of the council, or four members, were needed to pass them.
Councilmen John Lamia Jr., and Jack Keeler voted against the bond issues, saying they were concerned with the costs and wanted to look into less costly alternatives.
Council members Peggy Bills, Brian Kelly and Charles Rooney III supported the bond issues.
Borough residents spoke for and against the approval of the bond issues at the public hearing.
Kathy Morris, the secretary of the Planning and Zoning Board in the borough, cited the difficult conditions that borough workers faced in working in the former gym section of the Borough Hall. “I’ve almost been electrocuted twice in the gym,” she said, “because of the outmoded facilities there.”
“Think of the legacy you will leave,” Drew Miller said to the council, referring to the new municipal buildings.
James Forsman said that the town was looking at a $7.3 million bond.
“The main thing is how are we going to pay the bill,” he said.
Mayor Dina Long said the town would have “to tightly control costs, scrutinize every line item.”
In response to questions if the project could be changed or delayed,  Long said that the borough had spent three years planning the project and delaying it could endanger the funding for the buildings that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would allocate for the project.
At a previous meeting, Kelly said the proposed bonds would cause an increase of two cents per hundred dollars of assessed valuation for borough taxpayers. He said the funds from FEMA for the project, the insurance reimbursements for the buildings, the revenues from the new metered parking system and the elimination of rental costs to replace those buildings that were lost would help pay for the new buildings.
The $3,942,500 bond issue approved for construction of a municipal complex stated that FEMA was expected to give a grant of $2,700,000 towards the $7,900.000 cost of construction of the complex, and there would be an insurance payment of $1,000,000 for it.
The bond issue approved for $1,486,750 for construction of a beach facility stated that $185,000 would come from insurance payments, $1,450,000 was expected as a grant from FEMA and $400,000 from beach clubs for a settlement of beach access for the $3,600,000 construction costs.
The $332,500 bond issue for the community center construction said the grant amount from FEMA was expected to be $900,000 and insurance $150,000 towards the $1,400,000 construction costs.
Originally published in the June 9-16, 2016 issue of The Two River Times