Vol. 19 - No. 1
In This Week’s Edition
THE BRICK
FOR BREAKING NEWS
TIMES
JERSEYSHOREONLINE.COM
Your FREE Weekly Hometown Newspaper For Brick and Lakewood Townships
| May 11, 2019
Banquet Hall Proposed Near Mantoloking Bridge
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK – Developers hope that their plans to build a four-story, 82.2-foot tall banquet facility and restaurant at the foot of the Mantoloking Bridge will be approved by the Board of Adjustment. The board must agree to a Use Variance, since a banquet hall is not permitted in the B-2 zone; and a Height Variance, since the area is zoned for buildings no higher than 38.5 feet. The applicant, Vilamoura, LLC has also asked for a handful of minor variances and design waivers, such as smaller than required parking space dimensions, setback relief, and more, for the site that was formerly Winter’s Yacht Basin and Hinckley Marina. But before the applicant could present the plan to the Board of Adjustment during their regularly-scheduled May 1 meeting, the Mantoloking Borough attorney Jean Cipriani asked to have the meeting adjourned for “procedural requirements”
Community News! Don’t miss what’s happening in your town.
Pages 9-14.
Government Page 9.
Letters Page 8.
Dr. Izzy’s Sound News Page 18.
Dear Pharmacist Page 19.
Inside The Law Page 21.
Business Directory Page 24.
Classifieds Page 25.
Horoscope Page 31.
–Photos by Judy Smestad-Nunn (Above) This photo shows what the area looks like now, taken from the Mantoloking Bridge. The banquet hall would be located to the right of the large blue building. (Inset) This rendering shows what Vilamoura, LLC has in mind for the site.
Brick’s $104 Million Budget Passes
By Judy Smestad-Nunn BRICK – The governing body adopted the $104,245,623 municipal budget for 2019 during a recent council meeting, up some $1.6 million over last year’s budget, which represents under a penny per $100 of assessed property value. The property tax levy is $73,782,168 which would result in an annual increase of $26.47 on the tax bill of an average assessed home of $294,000. Council President Andrea Zapcic said the township experienced increases in the cost of gasoline, pension contributions, and in the salary and wage budget for dispatch, emergency medical services and police, all 24/7 operations. “When we experience vacancies, we often need to fill the shifts on overtime, and that creates unanticipated increases,” she said. The spending plan utilizes $8,546,711 in surplus funds, leaving a balance of about $9.8 million. “Every year we stress how important it is to have a healthy surplus balance...which shows the fiscal (Budget - See Page 5)
(Hall - See Page 4)
Support Growing For Plant Sale
–Photo by Chris Lundy Susan Payne Gato carries some vegetables at the end of the sale. By Chris Lundy TOMS RIVER – It was a good day for plants that like shade and light rain.
The annual Ocean County Master Gardeners Plant Sale was held on a recent Saturday morning in the parking lot that
services the health department and the Rutgers Cooperative Extension. (Plant - See Page 6)
Stay Connected www.facebook.com/jshoreonline