Sandy questions for Toms River

Dear Toms River and Other Officials, I and so many of my neighbors are frustrated for many reasons, I am a permanent resident in Ocean Beach 1, and I will try to pose my letter in the form of questions because if you choose to post and answer these questions I think there would be benefit to all. There are many things I will miss, but as a resident I feel that communication is missing. I am not blaming anyone as I know receiving information from all of the utilities, government agencies and assessment needed must be confusing for you too. ACCESS To HOME 1) First when I went to my home on Friday, there was some numbers written on my door, What does it mean? 2) There are areas that didn't receive as much damage as others, will they be granted more access sooner? 3) Understand that techs are going around with sonar and other equipment to look for sink holes, How soon will this be completed? 4) Other Barrier islands have been issuing plackards so residents could come and go once they have deemed an area safe, will we be doing this soon? 5) Access is so important, so we can determine our next steps. While we are being kept off the island the cheaper rentals that may have been available are being swept up by those area residents that already know what's going on in their communities. 6) I can't even get started with planning my repairs, until I get the insurance adjusters in, we need more access for them. UTILITIES 1) What is intact, beach by beach? It's been two weeks, tell us what you know and post as you learn more   1a) I understand another town has electric restored, but boots or something were put on their houses requiring an electrical inspection, can someone elaborate on this process and does Toms River intend to use the same process?   1b) Water: did the water mains survive?   1c) Sewer: did the sewer and waste systems survive?   1d) Gas, we all heard the pipes were shut down, causing water to fill the pipes, and that the mains and other piping has to be redone. What if I dont want to replace with gas, but use a heat pump or other, do I still have to wait for gas to be restored? ENVIRONMENT 1) I noticed when we took the bus back on Friday, it had to be decontaiminated. What is in the air? And what is the estimate on when it will be gone? 2) Sink holes: can't we lay the roads on one side of the island with gravel and steam roll it? 3) Debris: Seemed like debris was being moved and collected very quickly, is there a plan for when home owners return to do the same? US 1) We need to develop or use a web site where we can barter items and services or just share with each other names of contractors that we trust. I would suspect that there will be some gauging, especially for those who want priority. We need to stick together. ESTIMATES 1) As each of the utilities performs their assessments, I would expect that some work will be done by the town and other work bidded out. Do we have the resources to put these bid packages together and make awards so that work can be started? 2) Lastly, In Toms River I am hearing estimates of 6-8 months before some of us can get back on the island and live. Is this a bad rumor or reality? Thank You for Your Anticipated Attention and Answers to these Questions, Joe Burke / Ocean Beach 1