By Allison Perrine
MONMOUTH BEACH – The Army Corps of Engineers will begin replenishing sand in Monmouth Beach this fall, starting at the north end of the Bathing Pavilion and continuing north for as far as funding will allow.
The borough will pay just over $1 million toward the project – 15 percent of the total cost – which includes the installation of sand and sediment as well as associated dredging, pumping and sculpting, the approved bond ordinance states.
Work will start sometime this fall and will have an estimated useful life of 10 years.
At a recent meeting, Jack Flaherty of Monmouth Place questioned why the project would start at the north end of the pavilion because, according to Flaherty, sand typically travels south to north. Mayor Sue Howard said the starting point, known as the “hot spot” in the borough with the largest loss of sand, was determined by the Army Corps of Engineers.
“It’s bad out there, it’s real bad. It’s always been bad there,” said Flaherty.
Timing is perfect as beach replenishment is currently being funded at the federal level, Howard said, when in the past the borough had to petition for support from the state government and legislature for more sand. The original 50-year contract between the borough and the federal government allowed for the possibility of beach replenishment every six years.
“We at one point waited from 2004 to November of 2011 to replenish.” Howard said. “This is a good thing for Monmouth Beach.”
Also among discussions at the Aug. 27 meeting was the new reverse angle parking law, an idea originally brought for ward by the mayor to keep pedestrians safe. After hearing complaints about the law from residents, the borough will review the situation at the end of the summer season.
Photo by Allison Perrine
In June, resident William McGowan said he had a hard time maneuvering his way into the angled spot in the crowded parking lot. “The biggest problem is the line of traffic I was stuck in when I first pulled in. It’s like an automatic traffic jam. And that’s on a Wednesday,” he said at a June meeting.
At the Aug. 27 meeting Commissioner David Stickle said he is dissatisfied with the engineering work done by T&M Associates for the recently striped fire lane at the pavilion. According to Stickle, state law calls for 20-foot clearance and the work completed allows for about 19 feet 4 inches of clearance.
“You have to accommodate in some way the fact that people have big SUVs now,” said Stickle. “You need to account for that so there’s still 20 foot clear as a fire lane.” He suggested at the meeting that the borough not pay the bill until the work is corrected. If any restriping is done it will likely not be done until next spring.
