Friday, January 11, 2013
The goal is to complete the cleanup by Memorial Day; plans and priority-setting are in works now
Getting Barnegat Bay cleaned up from Hurricane Sandy may take longer than Memorial Day, but the state and Gov. Christie have made it clear that getting it ready for tourist season is a priority, Ocean County officials said this week. Freeholder Director John P. Kelly on Wednesday said he and County Administrator Carl Block had a conference call with DEP Commissioner Bob Martin and some of Martin's staff last Friday, and received assurances that the state sees the cleanup of the bay -- including the removal of sand washed in from the ocean -- as its responsibility. Those assurances were echoed in the governor's words during his State of the State address, "and that gave me a good feeling," Kelly said at Wednesday's preboard meeting of the …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Debris removal has topped 1 million cubic yards so far
Imagine an entire football field covered three feet deep from sideline to sideline and goal line to goal line in debris. Then imagine that 187 more times. That is how much debris -- more than 1 million cubic yards of it so far -- has been removed from Ocean County towns in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, county officials said Wednesday. "We wrote a check last week for $5.1 million for tipping fees," County Administrator Carl Block told the Ocean County Board of Freeholders at Wednesday's preboard meeting. And there's still a lot more debris to be removed. Block said the cooperative agreement between the county and many of its towns has helped move the cleanup along more quickly than the towns would have been able to manage on their own. …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Bartlett, Little sworn in; Kelly officially takes reins as director
With family, friends, and Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno in attendance, John C. Bartlett Jr. and Gerry P. Little were sworn in as members of the Ocean County Chosen Board of Freeholders on Wednesday, amid one of the most challenging periods the county has ever faced. As critics from all corners were taking the House of Representatives to task for its failure to pass a $60.4 billion bill that would have provided much-needed assistance to the county, its towns and its residents in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, the freeholders spent much of the 2013 reorganization meeting focusing on pulling together on the local level. "Together we will rebuild Ocean County," said John P. Kelly, who was officially named freeholder …
Monday, December 31, 2012
Kelly, who takes over as freeholder director, focused on rebuilding county for both residents and businesses
When the Ocean County Board of Freeholders reorganizes on Wednesday, John P. Kelly will take over as freeholder director in the midst of one of the most challenging periods the county has faced in decades. Already struggling with difficulties from a tough economy, the county now must rebuild from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy — and do so in the face of many conflicting demands and interests. "The storm has caused havoc," said Kelly, who will be sworn in as director for the third time in a ceremony that begins at 3:30 p.m. James Lacey will be sworn in as deputy director, while Gerry P. Little and John C. Bartlett will be sworn in after being re-elected to the all-Republican board. Freeholder Joseph Vicari continues in his seat …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Parks' schedule will remain the same; permit fee being reduced, freeholder says
County residents will continue to have access to the county's two off-leash dog parks in 2013, but the number of hours they will be staffed is being reduced, officials said. Ocean County Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr., the liaision to the county's department of Parks and Recreation, said budget constraints and continuing efforts to reduce the county's workforce have led to the decision to cut back on the hours an attendant is present at each of the two parks -- at Ocean County Park, Lakewood, and adjacent to Robert J. Miller Airpark in Berkeley Township. The hours in the winter are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and are extended to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the summer. Of those hours, an attendant will be present daily for the first three hours and the …
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Lacey to serve as deputy director
John P. Kelly will be named director of the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders at the board's organization meeting on Jan. 2, the board announced this week. Kelly, of Eagleswood Township, is serving his seventh term on the freeholder board and has served as its director three previous times, in 1995, 2001 and 2007. He is the board's director of Law and Public Safety and the liaison to the Ocean County Engineering Department. James F. Lacey of Brick will be named the board's deputy director. He is the liaison to the county's roads department and to Ocean County’s Department of Solid Waste Management. The board's organization meeting is set for 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, and freeholders Gerry P. Little, the board's current director, and John…
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Freeholder Joseph Vicari wants FEMA, banks, federal government to help get tourism back on its feet long before summer arrives
Freeholder Joseph Vicari was watching C-SPAN, listening to New Jersey Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez talking about the need for billions in federal funding to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. There was one thing that bothered him about it, however: all of the damage they discussed was in North Jersey. "The senators made it very clear about North Jersey, but I didn’t hear anyone mention the Jersey Shore," Vicari said. "They have to be more aggressive about getting the money for us, too." It's not just financial assistance Vicari wants to see for Ocean County, especially the small businesses that have been severely impacted by the storm. He wants to see FEMA do more to remove debris that will impact tourism, and he wants …
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
121212 Concert beneficiary connected with county services through county's social services department, OceanFirst Foundation
Ocean County charity organizations are slated to receive a combined $1.9 million in aid from the Robin Hood Foundation to help their efforts assisting victims of Hurricane Sandy. The Robin Hood Foundation is the beneficiary of donations from Wednesday night's 12.12.12 Concert for Sandy Relief. At Wednesday's preboard meeting of the Ocean County Board of Freeholders, Freeholder Director Gerry P. Little said the New York-based foundation has awarded grants to a variety of county organizations, from Hometown Heroes to O.C.E.A.N. Inc. to Homes for All, from the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties to Community Services, which delivers hot meals and a variety of services to senior citizens. "Right after the storm, the Ocean First Foundation …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Money will be repaid by FEMA, municipalities
The Ocean County Board of Freeholders approved an emergency appropriation of $50 million on Wednesday to allow the county to pay for cleanup costs associated with Hurricane Sandy -- costs that it anticipates will be fully reimbursed. The appropriation -- which received the blessing of the state government, Freeholder Deputy Director John Bartlett said -- will allow the county to pay the bills created through the county's contracts with AshBritt Inc. and V. Louis Berger Group, Inc., under shared services agreements with 15 towns for the removal of debris and the monitoring and paperwork that must be done. Both companies have received approval from the state and from the Federal Emergency Management Administration as companies to handle …
Saturday, December 1, 2012
County engineer's report shows work progressing to get county back to normalcy
A map of Ocean County sat on an easel in the corner of the room, a blue tint highlighting many of the coastal areas but reaching well into the estuaries as well. That blue, of course, represented water -- water that inundated so much of the county's eastern areas. "This is just a little perspective of what's going on," Ocean County Engineer Frank Scarantino said, as he gave a Power Point presentation at the county freeholders' preboard meeting on Wednesday. The map was a FEMA representation of the surge, with the bluish gray areas representing static water, not flowing water, Scarantino said. The map -- broken into smaller sections -- is in the photos attached to this story. It is an unprecedented amount of water, Freeholder Joseph H. …
STEVEN DOMINICK
8:34 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
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