Christie Visiting Point Boro Monday

Gov. Christie is expected at Community Park, Point Borough, at 11 a.m. Monday, according to Mayor William Schroeder.

And it looks like this might be a campaign stop. The governor's schedule, emailed daily to media in the state, was sent at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, directing reporters to contact staff for "Chris Christie for New Jersey" for Christie's daily schedule for Monday. Patch is waiting for a return call from the campaign staff.


News of the expected visit is posted on a large banner hanging on the black wrought iron railing at Community Park, Bridge Avenue and Beaver Dam Road.

When asked how he feels about the governor visiting, Schroeder said, "I'm excited," said Schroeder, who's been inviting, and inviting and inviting, the governor to visit the Sandy-slogged borough.

"I've been asking since January," Schroeder said. "So I'm glad he's coming and I'm hoping to get some answers."

Answers about when Sandy-flooded residents can get back into their homes, when they will get the kind of financial aid they need to get their homes renovated and elevated, when they can get through a day without feeling like Sandy just happened because they don't feel any closer to normal than they did on Oct. 30, 2012, the day after Sandy struck.

"I hope we can take the band-aid off and start healing this wound," Schroeder said. "A lot of people aren't back in their homes yet. There are a lot of unanswered questions."

Schroeder said the governor's office has not explained what the agenda will be, why the governor is agreeing to visit the Borough now, after being asked for six months, or whether he will have time to visit any of the flooded neighborhoods.

"I don't know what the agenda will be, but I assume it has to do with Sandy," Schroeder said.

Ironically, Community Park is where Sandy mangled a chain link fence behind the baseball diamond closest to Beaver Dam Road.

The timing is interesting in that it was just a week ago that the Borough found out its V flood zones were significantly scaled back in the preliminary FEMA flood maps. Some local residents, including some in the heavily flooded Sunshine Harbor, had taken exception to the governor, months ago, accepting the FEMA flood maps as the state standard since the V zones mandate that residents elevate on driven wood pilings.

A zones allow for houses to be raised on concrete slabs, a less expensive process.

Christie said he accepted the "advisory maps," released by FEMA in December, to let affected residents know what the prevailing standard is so they know how to elevate their homes.

Now that many local residents have found out they are in A zones, rather than V zones, and will therefore face less stringent rebuilding requirements, Christie may be facing a less acrimonious crowd.

When asked if the governor might be coming now that many local folks got good news with the release of the preliminary maps, Schroeder said, "I don't know, but it could be."

Schroeder said there is also a meeting on Thursday between Borough and state Department of Community Affairs officials about programs to help fund local homeowners' efforts to renovate and raise their homes to meet federal standards to help control increasing flood insurance rates.

- by Denise Di Stephan