October 2007
How much does it cost to build a
beach? Too much, say local
regulators who feel they got the
short end of the stick in
funding beach replenishment this
year.
If you notice the sand
disappearing at Surf City
beaches, it's because the
funding hasn't materialized,
according to locals who paid
$381,945 to dump 500,000
cubic yards of sand onto a
barren beach filled with
boulders and rocks during the
spring 2007. Surf City,
the Long Beach Island beach,
needs the help of U.S.
Congress to finish the project
or its portion of it before the
sand is all gone. With no
budget for the next fiscal year,
borough officials are concerned
that their portion of the
project will be swept away with
the currents.
Yet borough officials did not
sign a contract for completion
because the were not satisfied
with the terms of the previous
offer. Passing a
resolution that lists the
problems with the project, the
approved document lists problems
such as portions of the stone
jetties becoming exposed,
resulting in the placement of
warning signs for bathers.
The resolution lists a grievance
that the borough will lose much
of the beachfill it is supposed
to pay for if the project is not
funded and completed by the US
government program that
assists in shoring up the eroded
beaches with sand replenishment
efforts.
Wording that would have bound
the borough to future
regulations not yet proposed by
the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) was unfair and
would not be wise to agree to in
a contract, said Surf City
locals.
