Times
MICROMEDIA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Inside This Week’s Edition
THE SOUTHERN OCEAN
Vol. 3 - No. 31
Business Directory...................18 Classifieds................................19 Community News.................8-11 Dear Joel..................................16 Dr. Izzy’s Sound News..............14 Government...............................7 Inside The Law .........................17 Letters to the Editor.....................6 Wolfgang.................................23 WWW.MICROMEDIAPUBS.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper | Serving Lacey, Waretown, Barnegat, Manahawkin, LBI, Tuckerton and Little Egg
Dog Park Planned For LBI By Daniel Nee LONG BEACH TOWNSHIP – Improvements are on the way for a number of parks, including the addition of a long-awaited dog park. Township officials have announced the plans over the course of the last several months and recently held a public hearing where renderings of the proposed improvements were displayed to the public. Plans call for a budget of about $2 million, which would be borrowed, though Mayor Joseph Mancini has said grant funding will be sought to ease the cost. “We’ll discuss funding as we move forward,” Mancini said. The dog park, the most ambitious project in the works, would be located adjacent to the baseball field in front of the municipal complex on Long Beach Boulevard. Plans, according to Mancini, call for an 8,000 square foot park that would be open from dawn to dusk daily. “It will be fenced in,” Mancini explained. “We have grass there now, so it won’t need too much of improvement.” The park will include a pavilion-style building where water is available. Directly across Long Beach Boulevard from the baseball fields and upcoming dog park,
Barnegat Gives ‘Last And Best’ Shot To Retain Dispatchers
By Daniel Nee BARNEGAT – Township officials held off on a measure that would switch the township’s emergency dispatching services to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, a move that would result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings, but cost about a dozen employees their jobs. Following a lengthy presentation by County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy at a recent meeting of the township committee, a motion was put forth to switch dispatching services to the county, but it was tabled at the last minute in order to allow the Office and Professional Employees International Union Local 23, the collective bargaining unit that represents dispatchers, one more chance to make an offer that could achieve the savings the county is offering. “I’m hopeful we can come to some sort of accord, to get you in the same ballpark as the county,” said Committeewoman Susan McCabe, speaking to employees gathered at the meeting. “This is your last shot, it will be voted on on the 9th.” Ultimately, the decision on dispatching will be determined at the February 9 committee meeting, officials said. Mayor John J. Novak called the decision “not an easy” one. Barnegat spent approximately $750,000 on dispatching in 2014 and ended 2015 having spent about $800,000, said attorney Jerry Dasti, who was hired by the township to
–Photos by Catherine Galioto The Little League field in front of town hal l is the planned site of a dog park and other new park and recreation facilities for Long Beach Township. Across the street, Bayview Park is also slated for improvements. improvements will be made to Bayview Park. Planned improvements include new shower (Dog Park - See Page 4)
GOP To Decide Vacant Freeholder Spot
By Catherine Galioto OCEAN COUNTY – County Republicans will meet January 26 to decide who will fill the shoes of Jim Lacey, the Ocean County Freeholder who resigned recently. The vacancy meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the TR Hotel on Route 37, where the Ocean County Republican organization will meet as county committee for candidates to Lacey’s seat. Lacey, who resigned December 31, had served as a freeholder since 1993. His term was to end January 2017. Freeholder Director John Bartlett announced Lacey’s resignation December 31 from the five-member, all-Republican board of chosen freeholders.
January 23, 2016
Lacey, who was also serving on the Brick Municipal Utilities Authority as its executive director, earned an annual base salary of $192,280 from the MUA. However, the MUA is advertising the position. Lacey’s appointment as executive director was to expire this year. The county Republican convention would also likely nominate a replacement for Freeholder Jack Kelly, who was nominated by Gov. Chris Christie to the state Parole Board. If his appointment is confirmed by the state Senate, Kelly would be required to resign as a freeholder as well. Lacey’s resignation and Kelly’s anticipated one is related to state law that says in order to collect a pension one must resign all paid (Freeholder - See Page 12)
(Dispatchers - See Page 12)
–Photo by Catherine Galioto Barnegat is weighing whether to switch from its own dispatch service to the county’s, above, in Toms River.