Stop the Talk and Build the Dunes

May 1st has come and gone and the "line drawn in the sand" that Governor Christie placed down still has not been crossed. So we are back again to the Governor's tough guy act of calling out the beach front property owners who refuse to sign the easements for the USACE Dunes. Maybe it’s time he adds this to his ad campaign for reelection! Doesn’t the Governor realize that if the force and fury of Sandy did not put the fear of God in these people, what makes this Governor think that calling out these selfish "SAND PEOPLE", as some of them refer to themselves, is going to do the trick. Governor time for talk has come and gone. It’s time for ACTION!

The Governor has to call a special meeting of the legislation in Trenton (since the political leaders of the legislation refuse to take up the issue), and pass laws that make it mandatory for beach front property owners who refuse to sign the Dune easements to pay and to provide the same Dune system that the USACE is going to provide. The law has to make these "HOLD-OUTS", civilly liable for flood damage caused by failure to provide the prescribed Dunes. I also want the law to make it mandatory for these beach front property "HOLD-OUT" owners to carry a liability insurance policy to cover any flood claims in case they fail to maintain the prescribed Dune system. If Government can get laws passed within days after Sandy hit our shores to increase our flood insurance premiums, (so we are forced financially to raise our homes), then why can’t they pass the same kind of law to build the Dunes? Please don’t tell me our hands are tied and that it’s all up to “FEMA”! If that proves to be so, then it just goes to prove that the political leadership in Trenton is not willing to do their job and it’s time for a change! Government can and needs to use the law to get the easements signed. This all needs to be done before our elected officials leave on their "summer holiday"! How can they even think about taking a holiday with all the destruction up and down the shore… it seems like our elected officials are just as selfish as these "Sand People- Hold-Outs!!

The Patch is starting to post the names of the "HOLD-OUTS" given to them by the Townships. I ask you what good is that going to do? These Sand-People in my opinion have no shame, no sense of community fellowship and they definitely have no remorse for their actions. All they have is a convoluted sense of property rights and a firm selfish belief that their needs and desires come first. Any reasonable person, who has seen the current condition of the beach and the needless destruction caused by Sandy and still thinks the USACE Dunes are not needed is in plain English (and again this is just my opinion), a “simpleton” or better yet a MORONIC IDIOT who should not be left unattended for fear they may hurt themselves or others. The reason I am referring to these "Sand People, hold-outs, in such harsh terms is because I truly feel they are devoid of reality and by their actions, they are forcing the rest of us to suffer the harsh reality of the needless destruction caused from future coastal storms. I also want to remind everyone that no matter how frustrated the easement issue makes us, we all must remain law abiding good citizens. Having an opinion about the easement issue is your right; however, breaking the law to enforce your opinion is wrong and unacceptable. I know that I refer to these "Hold-Outs", in unflattering terms, but that is just my opinion on their views on the easement issue, it’s nothing personal against them. Knowing the names of the people who refuse to sign the easements is no reason to take matters into your own hands and not obey the law.

The time for talk is over. I attended a recent meeting for "STOP FEMA NOW" (in my opinion a fine organization that all flood affected homeowners should join and support), in Ortley Beach. The meeting featured guest speakers two of which are our elected assemblymen officials who basically said “our hands are tied”. They said, "Our hands are tied because we do not control the agenda that gets voted upon". So let us all get this straight, it has been six plus months since Sandy hit our shores and hurricane season is now a month away. The beaches, bay and dune system is still in shambles and there is no sense of urgency in Trenton to protect the Barrier Island and the mainland along the bay. Are you kidding me! All we hear from Trenton is that the beach front property owners have property rights. Does anyone know where Trenton keeps this list on human rights and which rights take precedent? I always thought that majority rules and the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few, especially when the rights being considered is an ocean view over the right to not have your home washed away by a coastal storm. If there is such a human rights list, then why haven’t you Governor or our elected officials demand that the USACE Dunes be built? If the right to protect homes from flooding is second to the right of an ocean view, then I suggest we amend the "Human Rights List" ASAP so the right not to be flooded out of your house takes precedent over the right to an obstructed view of the ocean. I know all this business about a "Human Rights List" seems stupid, but so
does not taking any lawful action against these "Sand-People Hold-Outs".

All I have heard during the last six plus months from our elected officials is that beach front property owners have rights. I say to all these public officials, worried about property rights, that by not building and maintaining the USACE DUNE SYSTEM should be considered a criminal offense against humanity. In my opinion to knowingly put the public and their property in jeopardy when you are charged with the duty of care to serve and protect the public who elected you, is a crime both morally and criminally. Maybe the time has come for us to make our elected officials morally and criminally responsible for the welfare of the Barrier Island!

Stupid is the Government telling us to raise our homes to new flood elevations and in most cases restructure the foundations. The cost of restructuring the foundations can be 100's of thousands of dollars in most V zone locations. Stupid is the Government refusing to do what it takes to build the USACE Dunes and thus forcing home owners to rebuild to higher flood standards. The whole issue of raising homes and restructuring foundations is STUPID, because the Townships themselves admitted that without the USACE Dune system they cannot protect the Barrier Island and surrounding mainland from future flooding. The Barrier Island will become a ghost town and then what happens to the tax revenue. You wonder if our elected officials even thought that far ahead or do they still have their heads in the sand or better yet planning something real important like another Boardwalk ribbon cutting ceremony.

I am going to say what our elected officials are afraid to utter. In fact, I amgoing to yell it out, EMANATE-DOMAIN. There I said it, I feel so much better. Why are our elected officials so afraid of using the "E", word? Could it be that these "Sand-People", are political backers for Trenton? I say the time for talk is over and releasing the names of the “HOLD-OUTS", accomplishes nothing! What’s needed is for Trenton to take the land and end this nightmare once and for all. Just take the land! In most people's opinion, it is not right that some delusional, self-centered, selfish person, (Sand-Person), sitting in their 800 square foot efficiency style beach front condo, looking out at their all-important ocean view, can dictate and control the well-being of a whole community, namely the Barrier Island. The Barrier Island has been held hostage long enough by these "Sand-People". The time for negotiation, talking and reasoning ended May 1st. (The Townships in all good faith have tried to reason with these "people"). It’s time to pull out the "big legal guns" and send in the "government and township lawyers" to seize the land that the Barrier Island needs to get the USACE Dunes built. We have been held hostage long enough and we are running out of time! Hurricane Season is almost upon us.

Thank you for reading and taking the time to respond to my Blog. TomsBoy