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Health & Fitness

Open Letter To The Mayor Of Toms River Township

Open letter to the Mayor of Toms River Township.

Mr. Mayor it has been 148-plus days since Sandy ravaged our community of Ortley Beach. As you know, the property owners of Ortley Beach have suffered unprecedented flood damage from the storm. We were told by you and other major public officials, that our only defense against future storms will be the dunes that line our beaches. The township then proceeded to spend 1.3 million dollars to temporarily repair the Ortley Beach dune system. Somehow as the days turned into weeks and the weeks turn into months, the word temporary is starting to be left out, in recent conversations, correspondence, etc. when the township refers to the dunes. Mr. Mayor, I am referring to your recent appearance on Comcast. In that interview Mr. Mayor, you told the interviewer about the enormous amount of sand placed on the beaches. I would like someone from the Mayor’s office to measure the height of the newly place dunes. I’m asking you to compare the measurement from a few months ago when the sand was first place to what it is today. You will find that an enormous pile of sand is washing away with each day that passes. Mr. Mayor, you also proceeded to say in that interview that the dunes are our only defense from the coastal storms that naturally occur along our shores. We all totally agree. Mr. Mayor when are these temporary dunes going to be turned into a permanent system and not just a pile of shifting, eroding sand? I heard that Bay Head is building a sea wall as their dune system and that approximately 15 homes are paying 2.5 million dollars. Mr. Mayor when are you going to make a stand and do something! This dune situation has to take precedent over all other projects?  

We all know that fixing downed power lines, restoring phone service, as well as repairing ruptured gas, water and sewer lines are of obvious major importance. The repairs to these utilities were taken on by the respective utility companies. Some outside contractors assisted

in removal of refuge and the reopening and repairs to roads. No one is saying that this was not an unprecedented undertaking. The township’s role, it seems, was to assist, coordinate the repairs and to supply police protection. Most of the major repairs have been completed and slowly residents have been allowed to move back in. I ask you again, Mr. Mayor, why are the dunes, our only defense from coastal storms, still in a state of temporary repairs? There are many questions Mr. Mayor that you and your administration have to answer. Mr. Mayor what are the plans to convert this temporary dune system into a permanent system? How is the easement issue progressing? What demands are being placed on beach front property owners? When does the money that FEMA is supplying for dune/beach replenishment come to an end? Mr. Mayor, if you cannot get the easement issue resolved, what is the Township’s plan? When does the Army Corp of Engineers offer to build and replenish our dune/beach expire? Mr. Mayor, if the offer expires, what does the township plan to do? What is being done to repair our sand clogged street sewer system? These are just some of the questions that the residents of Ortley Beach feel you need to address and address now. Mr. Mayor, the time has come to hold a town meeting, so the tax payers of Ortley Beach can ask questions and get some honest answers. Mr. Mayor, be a leader, let's end the confusion and all the misinformation.

The residents of Ortley Beach are going to invest large sums of personal funds as well as insurance money into the rebuilding of their homes. They would like to be reassured that their, first line of defense, a dune/beach system is properly rebuilt and a maintenance program is in place. We want to know that our investments into newly rebuilt homes are afforded some level of protection from costal storms. I am personally tired of the evacuation notices every time a hard rain falls.

The street sewers and the catch basins are packed with sand a condition that existed before Sandy. The Sandy storm just about completely shut down Ortley Beach’s street sewer system. Yet nothing is said or done about the street sewers. The reason I am mentioning the street sewers is that with a hard rain and high flood tides that invade our streets the standing water has no place to go because of the sand packed sewers. The water from the flooding streets invade our crawl spaces and in some cases our cars and homes. This condition is totally unacceptable to us as it would be to you Mr. Mayor if you were forced to live under these same conditions. In some areas of Ortley Beach the street flooding is a pre- Sandy condition. We want to know Mr. Mayor what the Township intends to do regarding this situation as well? The residents of Ortley Beach hope your answer is not we are aware of the problems and we are working on them. That stock answer worked a few months ago but not now. We need real solutions to the real problems that we mentioned. Let's stop piling it on, if you know what we mean!

All the sand that is now piled on the beaches reminds me of the last time the township piled sand on our beaches. It was after the Veterans Day storm of 2009. That repair lasted until the next major Nor’easter hit. That second Nor'easter destroyed the repair job that was done to protect our dunes and beaches. Those of us that remember that event see the same action being taken after Sandy. Pile a lot of sand and pile it high on the beaches as long as FEMA pays for the sand. Build the dunes high, make it massive, make it impressive so it gives the residents a false sense of security. We all noticed Mr. Mayor that after this winter coastal storms the temporary newly placed sand piles, the township called dunes, are wearing down. We all know that before Sandy hit our shores the beach was getting narrower and the dunes were worn down. We would all like to know Mr. Mayor how much the township spent on sand each year to replenish the dunes and the beaches from the years 2010 till October 2012. We would also like to see Mr. Mayor the repair orders and the amount of man hours charged for repairing the dunes and replenishing the beaches for that time period. We all feel Mr. Mayor that the township ignored the dune/beach maintenance issue. We know now Mr. Mayor what ignoring the problem turn into. Dr. Jon K Miller, Ph.D. did an extensive study concerning Ortley Beach’s dunes and beaches. If you wish to see Dr. Miller’s presentation it is available at: http://www.tomsrivertownship.com/downloads/JKMBeachNourish.pdf.

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The way I understand the results of this study Mr. Mayor is that the Ortley Beach dunes/beaches were not up to the job. Dr. Miller's study simply states that our dunes and beaches were in bad shape and under maintained. Mr. Mayor the pre-Sandy dunes/beaches afforded us very little protection. In fact Dr. Miller found that the condition of the dunes and the beaches before Sandy to be 50% less than what was needed for basic protection. Mr. Mayor it seems we are setting up the same story line again. We are just waiting for a monster storm like Sandy to come along and bites us all in you know were.

Mr. Mayor there is a growing number of Ortley residents who feel the township failed in its responsibility to maintain the dunes/beaches. We know that extensive flooding would still have occurred, but a proper dune/beach system would have mitigated the flood damage. Mr. Mayor compare the damage sustained in townships that made the effort to properly maintain their dunes/beaches.

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Mr. Mayor the answer to a safer Ortley Beach is not to change our flood zones from A to V or devalue the value of our land in order to make some political point. Mainland zoning should not have any bearing on the changing of the Barrier Island zones. The only way to ensure our safety and the future of Ortley Beach and surrounding areas is to build the dune system that the Army Corp of Engineers is willing to build and maintain for fifty years. Mr. Mayor it’s time now to stop playing a political power game with beach front property owners.

Mr. Mayor it is time to put the power grab and the political agenda aside for once. Step out in front of the rest of pack and be a real leader Mr. Mayor. Be fair in your demands and get the easements signed. The symbol of a rebuilt Jersey Shore should be a proper dune/beach system not a rebuilt boardwalk. It seems to all of us Mr. Mayor that the township, if it had a choice, would rather build the boardwalk than build and complete a proper dune system.

It is time for the township to get out of its own way. Now is the time Mr. Mayor for you to step up and take command of the major task at hand. That task, your number one job, is to get the Army Corp of Engineers to complete the dunes system. I cannot understand what is keeping such an important issue like the easements from getting done. Why the information blackout? I feel and I believe that I speak for my fellow residents and ask you again Mr. Mayor for a meeting.

The agenda of the meeting should be to address the permanent rebuilding and maintaining of the dune/beach system. At that meeting Mr. Mayor we again ask that you make these certain issues clear. What progress has/been made thus far? State the townships demands as far as the easements are concerned. What is the townships plan for the temporary dunes if the easement issue is not resolved? How does the township plan to turn temporary dunes into a permanent structure What is the condition of the beach? Mr. Mayor we are not asking for this meeting we are demanding it!

You are the one, Mr. Mayor, who stated in your recent Comcast interview how important and vital the dunes are to our safety. In that regard we are all in total agreement. We want answers and most of all we need action. We are not going to accept what the township provided in the past and called it a dune system. Dr. Miller’s study educated us to what is required to maintain a proper dune/beach system. Mr. Mayor we are not going to accept flooded streets and voluntary evacuations every time a coastal storm hits our shores. Mr. Mayor the residents of Ortley Beach are not going to accept that temporary pile of sand (which is getting smaller and smaller as time passes), on our beach the township calls a dune system. Every time we look at that pile of sand that is piled on our beaches, it reminds us of the time the township piled sand on the beach in 2009. Mr. Mayor we all remember how quickly the next major coastal storm undid that 2009 beach repair job. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well Mr. Mayor let's stop the insanity.

If the tone of this letter sounds offensive it is because we are all frustrated with the township. Mr. Mayor the township leaves us in a constant state of confusion. The source of that confusion is the townships inability to come to a logical conclusion and stick to it. The Governor said New Jersey is going to rebuild to the existing FEMA maps, but the township disagrees, therefore our rebuilding efforts are put off till August. Mr. Mayor we’re asking you to tell us why? If the dune/beach replenishment system can be built to protect us, then why isn't it being built? If the Army Corp of Engineers can build a system to protect New Orleans and they are willing to protect us, then what's the problem? Mr. Mayor if you’re main objective is to protect us from future tidal flooding (which I hope it is), then keep the existing flood zones and have homeowners raise their homes to a reasonable height.

The Army Corp of Engineers dune/beach replenishment system can provide the protection needed to rebuild in a reasonable way. If the main objective of the township is to be unreasonable, then just continue doing what the township did in 2009, pile sand on the beach, as long as FEMA pays the bill. When the FEMA money runs out, just push the existing sand around the beach and make it look safe. Mr. Mayor if the township thinks the same old inaction is going to fly this time around they are totally mistaken. Mr. Mayor we now know that failure to maintain the dune and beach caused the excessive flood damage. Mr. Mayor you have an opportunity to protect our shores by letting the Army Corp of Engineers rebuild the dunes. The choice is apparent, we need a Mayor who wants to be a leader a Mayor who wants to serve the people not some political agenda. Mr. Mayor, I respectfully ask are you that leader? Mr. Mayor, I respectfully ask are you the Mayor for the people or a mayor for a political agenda?

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