Belmar Council Set To Move On New Pavilion Measures

The Belmar Borough Council is wasting no time scaling back, again, its plans to build a pair of pavilions on its boardwalk.

The governing body is slated to vote on a trio of ordinances at its Thursday meeting that will rescind the previous $7.1 million bond ordinance for the construction of two, two-story pavilions to be built on the boardwalk at 5th Avenue and 10th Avenue and replace it with two others, according to the Borough Council’s agenda.

The meeting has been moved from its normal Wednesday night slot to Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at borough hall, 601 Main Street.

A vote is set to introduce a bond ordinance for the cost of the 10th Avenue pavilion – a $1,970,000 ordinance that borrows $1,871,500 for the pavilion construction. The measure would be repaid entirely with the borough’s Beach Utility fund, Mayor Matt Doherty said Tuesday.

The second bond ordinance is to cover the cost of replacing Taylor Pavilion at 5th Avenue. Doherty has previously said that the borough would build a single-story structure, down from the proposed two-story pavilion that included a banquet room.

The measure is a $5,030,000 ordinance that borrows $4,778,500 for the construction. Doherty said the amount represents engineering estimates, not an exact price of the new plans, which are still in the works.

The pavilion would be paid for with a mix of beach utility money and from the borough’s general fund, Doherty said. The exact percentage mix is still in flux, he said.

Doherty remained steadfast to earlier statements that borough taxes would not be raised to pay for the pavilion construction.

“We have not had a tax increase in three years,’’ Doherty said. “And we’re committed to not having one again next year.’’

The measures are the latest in an ongoing drama over the pavilion plans, which have been scaled back twice since they were unveiled earlier this year. The plans also are the subject of three lawsuits brought by a citizens’ group, which were ruled on by  Superior Court Judge Lawrence Lawson two weeks ago.

Lawson issued orders preventing the borough from taking a $375,000 down payment for the pavilion construction out of the town’s Beach Utility money or using any of its $485,000 flood insurance claim money to forward the pavilion construction plans.

Lawson also said the borough may not raise beach fees to pay for the construction and called for a Dec. 11 conference between the borough and the Let The Citizens Decide group, which brought the lawsuits.

The council would not violate Lawson’s orders by introducing the measures, if it votes to do so Thursday, because introduction only puts the measures up for public scrutiny. A final vote will be scheduled at the discretion of the Borough Clerk.