Hearing Nov. 14 on beach pavilion project
BY LIZ SHEEHAN
Staff Writer

MONMOUTH BEACH -- Residents will get a chance to question borough officials and make comments about a bond issue proposed to fund renovations at the town's beach pavilion at a meeting of the Borough Commissioners at 7 p.m., Tuesday Nov. 14.

The commissioners approved the introduction of the bond issue to pay the estimated $2,736,997 cost of the project. A public hearing on the bond issue will be held at the meeting Tuesday before the vote for its final approval.

The estimates include $2,399,997 for construction costs, $240,00 for professional fees, $72,000 for furnishings and equipment and $25,000 for bonding costs.

At a meeting on the proposal in September, Commissioner James Cuniff said that the costs of the 15-year bond could be paid by doubling the fees at the beach club for nonresidents, except seniors, and a slight increase for residents.

A projected revenue report prepared by the borough said that $925,406 was expected in revenue from the club in 2007. In 2006, the report said, the revenue from the club was $551,704, leaving a surplus of $373,702 over last year to pay the bond and put funds in escrow for a new pool if necessary. Some residents at the meeting said they had concerns that beach erosion might result in a lower number of members in the beach club, resulting in higher taxes to pay for the bond.

Mayor Susan Howard said at the meeting that the borough had set aside funds for beach replenishment. Long Branch had a scheduled beach renovation project, she said, and the borough might be able to share the equipment from the Long Branch project and save costs on building up its beach.

On Monday, Howard said that a contract for the work in Long Branch had not been finalized so she could not yet determine if the town could join with the Long Branch project. She said she was in discussions with the Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers concerning damage done to the sea wall just north of the beach club and about what steps could be taken.

The borough has $220,000 it has set aside for beach replenishment, Jim Fuller, the borough's CFO, said Monday. He said that in 2004 Monmouth Beach had paid $423,000 for replenishment work done in 2003.

The beach renovation work began in the early 1990s, is paid for by the federal, state and local governments. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., (D-N.J.) said recently that the Bush administration does not want to pay for beach replenishment projects.

On Monday, Howard said the borough did not get the Community Development Block Grant it had applied for to fund renovations at the building to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

She said the renovations proposed in the grant application, including changes in showers and bathrooms and a walkway to the beach, would still be part of the project.