Politics & Government

Manasquan Introduces $13.4M in Post-Storm Spending

Beach rebuild, capital improvements, water/sewer improvements on list

At $13.476 million total, three ordinances before Manasquan council aim to rebuild the borough's devastated beachfront, facilities and water/sewer issues after Hurricane Sandy.

The three ordinances were introduced last night at the Manasquan borough council meeting after Borough Administrator Joe DeIorio broke down how so much of the Manasquan facilities and operations — beach sand, emergency sirens and even photocopiers were impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

Manasquan is looking to spend $7.4 million in beach rebuilding, $5.548 million in water and sewer costs and another half million in other capital improvements.

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DeIorio, in a presentation before the ordinances were introduced, outlined the damage to Manasquan facilities and the struggles the borough faced trying to operate and address emergencies while it had no power and damaged communications in the days after Hurricane Sandy.

DeIorio recommended not just repairing or replacing damaged equipment, but upgrading some of the emergency systems which proved to fail during the storm.

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Manasquan is assuming FEMA will reimburse many of the suggested projects at 75 percent, leaving the borough to pay for the remainder with bonding and its beach badge revenue. 

Councilwoman Patricia Connolly endorsed the projects but had concerns about repayment.

"I’m concerned that if we don’t have the reimbursement, the expense doesn’t fall back on the taxpayers if the beaches can’t cover it," she said. "This year is a lot of ifs. We don’t know if they’re going to come back to the beach."

Councilman Michael W. Mangan urged Manasquan to press forward on the plans. 

"But we have to invest. We have very limited time frames that we're dealing with. We have to move forward," he said.

In DeIorio presentation, the suggested spending included:

$7.366 million in beach operations: rebuilding destroyed bathroom facilities, gazebo, boardwalk promenade and other buildings; the purchase of a surf rake, hauler and golf cart; sifting sand and more.

$3.45 million for bulk heading on Fourth and Perrine

$782,000 in spending in the public works and water/sewer departments: water meter replacement, flooded lift stations and 3 phase generators and replacing two pieces of equipment damaged in the storm — a front end loader and a dump truck.

$650,000 to resurface storm-damaged roads

$500,000 to restore the Sea Watch Building

$300,000 to restore the Life Saving Station

$177,000 for backup repeaters, a technology that enables communication between dispatch, vehicles and walky-talkies of emergency personnel, which failed after the storm; that figure also includes spending for solar backup for the siren system, replacing portable radios, and a flood mapping initiative under the borough Office of Emergency Management.

$100,000 for Borough Hall generators

$66,000 in spending in the administration and code enforcement departments, such as a multipurpose vehicle shared between the two departments instead of two older vehicles damaged in the storm; a new copier for the disaster recovery center and code officer technology upgrades.

The ordinances will be before the council a final time Dec. 27, where the public can comment.

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For the latest Hurricane Sandy coverage from Manasquan-Belmar Patch visit our topic page here.

 

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