The Ocean Signal | June 7th - 20th, 2013
Pine Beach
Council Briefs
The following are news and actions from the governing body meetings through the month of May.
May 6th
• Mayor Lawrence Cuneo reported that the borough was at risk of the state removing approximately $20,000 in development fees earmarked for the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) that were spent properly but possibly marked in the wrong accounts within the borough. He noted that Chief Financial Officer Mary Jane Steib and Borough COAH Attorney Michael Jedziniak were looking into it to correct the error, and added his disapproval of the agency as a whole. • On the topic of the Length of Service Award Program being worked on for a November ballot referendum between Pine Beach and Beachwood officials and the Beachwood First Aid Squad, which would benefit from it, Mayor Cuneo said that he was speaking directly with President Melissa Hickey at the squad to negotiate aspects of the agreement prior to approving it to be put before voters later this year. Several points the Pine Beach governing body has requested to date include the elimination of allowing the program to be backdated and benefit those on the squad prior to its potential activation; a monetary cap on how much the borough would pay into the program each year as part of an overall portion with Beachwood, and a termination clause that would allow the borough to cease funding it if the squad was no longer in operation for whatever reason in the future. • Councilman Andrew Keczkemethy said he was concerned by some debris that appeared at Pocket Park on the western end of Riverside Drive, but Chief John Sgro, who is also the borough administrator, stated
the wood had been in the water due to last October’s Hurricane Sandy and that it was to be cleaned up. • Chief Sgro reported that the public works department was busy with ongoing spring preparations and management of public grounds, and noted that he was looking into a product that could be applied to the Vista Park grass that the invasive Canadian geese would find offensive and halt them from congregating there, dropping their feces everywhere.
May 8th
• Councilman Matthew Abatemarco read from Chief Sgro’s monthly report for April, which stated that the police department had responded to 219 calls for service. Further, “on April 19th, the department conducted a random motor vehicle safety checkpoint in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles. These checkpoints continue to be a valuable resource, with the elimination of the safety portion of the vehicle inspection system. Since this change we have seen an increase of vehicles with safety issues being pulled into the checks.” Chief Sgro continued: “Our department is continuing with our ongoing motor vehicle enforcement efforts. For the month of April, 117 violations were issued. This number does not include figures from the checkpoint. We have shifted some of our focus to people utilizing cell phones while driving and people that block the intersections of the highway during heavy traffic times. “Spring is here and with that, many of our residents are out and about, enjoying our town and more outdoor activities. Our town is noted for the number of residents who enjoy physical activities, such as walking, running and bike riding. With that said, I would like to
remind all drivers to be extra vigilant in watching out for both children and adults that they share the roads with. Please slow down and take your time. Do not assume that a pedestrian or bicyclist has seen you. I would also like to remind drivers that this time of year brings an increase in motorcycle traffic upon our roads. Please remember to slow down and share the road.” • Resolutions passed during the new business portion of the meeting included: celebrating “National Take Your Kids to Parks” day on May 18th; requiring odd/even water use restrictions by residents beginning June 21st to conserve water; hiring part-time employees for lifeguards and a police officer; paying ROCON Construction Group approximately $27,000 through the Community Block Development Grant for work performed on the rebuilding of the police ramp on the side of borough hall to enclose it and make it safer; and appointing Officer Thomas Scalzullo to a full time role in the police department. • Councilwoman Sue Coletti reported that tree plantings organized by borough resident and Toms River High School South senior Lindsey Van Zile and her family for Arbor Day on April 28th went well. • Councilman Barry Wieck stated that the cleanup of the walking trail near the ballfields on Pennsylvania Avenue continued.
May 20th
• Borough resident and Intermediate South 8th grade student, Brielle Anwander, approached the governing body requesting the ability to install a rose garden on public property in the memory of resident Roseanne Kehr, who passed away last December of ovarian cancer and who Mr. Anwander considered a very close family friend, along with her husband. Mayor Cuneo stated that it was a great idea but that he was concerned about adding more work to the public works department for such things on borough property,
and asked the young woman to consider when she would eventually grow older and possibly not be around to care for it. He then added that something to consider was possibly purchasing instead a memorial bench that could be placed along the borough’s Riverwalk boardwalk adjacent the Toms River shoreline, with her name and an engraved rose. Her husband, Daniel Kehr, was also present at the meeting and offered to cover the cost of such a garden, and stated that he would care for it in perpetuity and wanted to know if he could possibly have it installed at Pine Beach Elementary School. “If you want to do it there you have to get that [permission] from the school,” replied the mayor. “We have no control over school property.” He added that upon speaking with Chief Sgro about the proposed garden after receiving a letter about it last month, the two determined that there could be some space made in an area behind borough hall for the garden if an agreement on maintenance was settled. Council President Richard “Ritty” Polhemus urged Mr. Kehr and Ms. Anwander to look at area around town and return to the governing body in June with an action plan that could be looked at in further detail. • Mayor Cuneo gave an update on the LOSAP discussions with the first aid squad, stating that the squad had returned certain items into the proposed program that Pine Beach was opposed to, including the longevity credit and changing a part of the language that previously stated only “active” members could be eligible, but now inactive members were potentially eligible. He noted that the maximum contribution cap clause was still in place for Pine Beach, but added that he did not see one in place for Beachwood. “This is what they want [and they] want to put it out this way,” Mayor Cuneo said. “But I told them straight out – if someone asks my opinion I’m going
to say, ‘Don’t vote for it, vote it down, it’s not right for us.’” Mr. Keczkemethy stated his intention to help fully educate Pine Beach residents about their opinion on the agreement if it included stipulations that the governing body was opposed to. “We’re not against LOSAP or the Beachwood First Aid Squad,” added the mayor, pointing out that the governing body was only opposed to certain things they disagreed with in the potential agreement as currently written. • Mrs. Steib reported that she continued to work on the development fees that the state was demanding for COAH, and that after going through the old paperwork would be able to rectify the situation. • The chief financial officer added that paperwork for the replacement of storm-damaged bulkheading was ongoing. Mayor Cuneo said that the Henley Avenue dock would not be able to be repaired before the bulkheading. “It’s taking too long, but the process is the problem with that,” he noted. • A report received by the Toms River Regional Schools board of education included the annual budget, and the mayor stated that they had determined to use pre-Sandy property values from October 1st, 2012, which would work in the favor of Pine Beach since borough properties were revalued by then and were approximately 18 percent lower, thus reducing the amount to be paid to the school system this year. Next year, he warned, would likely be “a different story” since Hurricane Sandy could have destroyed an estimated 20 percent of Toms River Township’s tax base, which could increase school taxes for possibly Beachwood and South Toms River at that time. • A concerned citizen on Prospect Avenue was discussed as having issues with the speeding of motorists along that roadway and the recent accidents there that saw drivers ignore the stop sign on Motor Road.
The mayor and council discussed possible solutions to the issue, including rumble strips, but noted that noise from the constant rumbling of tires over the strips might upset even more residents in the process there. Chief Sgro added that as that was a county road in that section, the town would be “required to go to the county and they come out and want statistical data on accidents – it was the same thing when we asked for the blinking light at Prospect and Station [avenues] – there’s not going to be enough statistical data to warrant any other type of improvement there.” Mr. Keczkemethy said that it was not the town’s job to babysit thousands of motorists for the one that would not follow the rules of the road. “They’re still not going to pay attention,” he said. • Mr. Polhemus updated the governing body about the proposed false alarm ordinance that would penalize repeat offenders who regularly bring emergency services to their address without making repairs to their home alarm systems. Referring to a similar ordinance in Island Heights Borough, he said that there was no fine for the first or second false alarm, but that the third through fifth alarm would each incur $100 per offense; the sixth through seventh would incur $150 each; the eight through ninth would cost the homeowner $200 apiece, and each one beyond that would be $250. It was determined that if the borough were to go forward with this ordinance, the false alarm numbers would reset on an annual basis so that homeowners wouldn’t have false alarms accumulating over decades. “How many locations do we have in town that create false alarms?” asked Councilman Robert Budesa. “Any household with an alarm has the potential, but we do get multiple,” replied Chief Sgro, adding that the intention of the proposed ordinance was not to fine people but to urge them to fix their alarm systems.
LEFT: The Pine Beach Municipal Alliance sponsored the annual magic show held in the elementary school that carried an anti-drug and alcohol message for students. RIGHT: Students from Ms. Mika’s 5th grade class helped clean up the river area during the Barnegat Bay Blitz last month on Windy Cove.
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