Boro seeks state funding for repair of eroded seawall DEP awaiting estimate; state to pay 75% of cost BY LIZ SHEEHAN Correspondent LIZ SHEEHAN Commissioner Kim Guadagno and Assemblyman Sean Kean at the sea wall. MONMOUTH BEACH - Mayor Susan Howard and Commissioner Kim Guadagno were joined by Assemblyman Sean Kean (R-Monmouth) last Thursday at a press conference at the Shores Condominium to discuss the condition of the sea wall there. The borough officials have requested funds from the state and county to repair damage to the sea wall in front of the building. The estimated cost of the repairs for about 1,000 feet of the wall would be $2.8 million, according to Howard. The borough would be responsible for 15 percent of the cost, with the county and state funding the rest of the project, the mayor said. David Rosenblatt, administrator of the Office of Engineering and Construction at the state Department of Environmental Protection, said Tuesday that the DEP is waiting for the borough engineer to complete the design plans. The DEP will review the plans and go out to bid as long as the price is one the agency is comfortable with. He said that approximately $2.5 million is the amount the agency expects the project to cost. The state will pay 75 percent of the cost, Rosenblatt added. "We'll work it out somehow," he said. Rosenblatt said the rocks that are in the sea wall in front of the Shores were taken from the reconstructed groins in nearby areas. The groins were redone, Rosenblatt said, to allow littoral drift of sand on the beaches. The rocks from the groins were piled up in front of the Shores and now are moving, and they need to be secured to stop them from slipping. Stephen Casner, a resident of the Shores, led a group of officials, reporters and others to the rear of the building at the press conference last week, where he showed them large cracks that had developed around some of the rocks that make up the sea wall. Even though it was low tide at the time, the ocean was very close to the wall, which provides protection to the building from the ocean. There are 132 units in the 12-story building. Kean said he had spoken to Lisa Jackson, DEP commissioner, about the critical condition of the wall and he believed that state would provide the necessary funding. Borough Engineer Ed Broberg said the section of the wall in front of the Shores is a "hot spot," that is more subject to erosion than other parts of the beach. Since the beginning of the Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project in the borough in 1994, the sand has eroded more quickly in front of the Shores than any other section of the town's beaches. On some days, the ocean reaches to the wall and there is no beach at all in front of the sea wall. In a press release about the condition of the wall, Kean said, "The sea wall has been in desperate need of repair even before our area was pounded in by the recent nor'easter. "The sea wall is losing stones and the beach sand is being eroded with each storm. On April 15, the sea wall was breached continuously from 7 to 9 p.m." The release also said that Kean had written to the DEP about the condition of the wall and has personally discussed the matter with Jackson. "The DEP recognizes the need to repair the wall and has agreed to fund their share of the project," the release said. "The Monmouth Beach sea wall has deteriorated to the point that it presents a hazard to the residents and businesses in this community," Kean said in the release. "With the additional damages incurred during the recent storms, I am concerned that, if action is not taken immediately, this situation could end in disaster."