Despite the governor’s statements that “every boardwalk up and down the Jersey Shore” would be open in time for this weekend, at least several inland boardwalk areas, including Ocean Gate and the marina boardwalk section in Beachwood, both on the Toms River, remained under partial reconstruction at press time.

Area officials describe difficulties following Hurricane Sandy

POINT PLEASANT—“The future of the Republican Party is in this room,” said New Jersey Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno to a gathering of New Jersey Young Republicans at the Whites Sands Hotel here on May 18^th for the annual New Jersey Young Republicans Convention.

It was the first time the group has hosted their annual conference at the Jersey Shore and the theme of the meeting was governing during a crisis and recovery. It was the first time the annual convention was held in Ocean County in nearly twenty years.

In addition to Lt. Governor Guadagno the Young Republicans were joined by Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher, Brick Township Mayor Steve Acropolis, Point Pleasant Beach Councilman Stephen Reid and Stafford Township Council President Henry Mancini.

The delegates at the conference were given face time with a panel of Ocean County’s mayors and municipal council members who shared their recent experiences with governing during and after Hurricane Sandy to the group.

Mayor Acropolis, when asked by the young republicans what was one of the biggest challenges he faced as Mayor in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, he replied, “Trying to get people back in their homes. The biggest problem is that once our town once took federal dollars, it seems like we’re no longer in charge of our town. The federal government came in and put in regulations and requirements.”

The Brick mayor has been an outspoken opponent to the way federal agencies performed during and after the storm.

On a more political note, Acropolis gave advice to those in the audience with future political aspirations. “If you have any interest in getting into politics or running for elected office, start now, don’t start two years before your election,” he said. “Just lead a good life because you can’t build your resume two years before you run for office. Be a good citizen, so when you decide to run, you already have your resume.”
 

In 2005, Brick Township acquired the run down marina property with the intent to turn it into a public recreational waterfront park, saving it from a high density condominium development project.

Shortly before Hurricane Sandy struck, the municipality was awarded an additional $600,000 matching grant by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJ DEP) Green Acres Program and was engaged in the second phase of the project, which included the installation of utilities, curbing, parking areas, sidewalks and construction equipment.

The first phase consisted of replacing bulkheads and docks and repairing boat slips. Despite the destruction all around it, Trader’s Cove made it through Hurricane Sandy relatively unscathed, in part due to the four feet of added height that was required to build the project which limited damage mostly to the docks.

In 2012, township council delays had pushed the project’s timetables back, according to Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis, but when complete, plans call for a bay front amphitheatre, a nautical and marine educational center and museum and an access trail to the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

BRICK – The New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) hosted a weekend community design program starting on April 27th at Emma Havens Young Elementary School on Drum Point Road, here, to help develop a plan to rebuild Camp Osborn in Brick Township, which was devastated by a fire after Hurricane Sandy.

The program, formally known as a Sustainable Design Assessment Team or SDAT, combined local resources with the expertise of a multidisciplinary team of professionals to create a viable solution for rebuilding the Route 35 community. The volunteer participants included architects, planners, engineers, landscape architects, attorneys, officials and stakeholders.

“As architects, we have the ability to not only rebuild structures, but entire communities,” said Jack Purvis, president of AIA-NJ. “In an effort to help rebuild one of our local communities, which was devastated by fire as a result of Sandy, we’re using an SDAT as tool to help mobilize local support and foster result-driven cooperation. This fast-paced, exciting program will help us design and rebuild Camp Osborn in a sustainable way as quickly as possible.” Read More

Photos-  Top: AIA Rendering of Camp Osborn.  Middle: Camp Osborn on fire by Sean Furey.  Bottom: Camp Osborn days after Sandy, still smoldering by Patrick Day, NYOnAir.

Mayor Acropolis greeting Prince Harry of Wales, Tuesday, May 14, 2013.

by Phil Stilton

BRICK—More than six months after Hurricane Sandy struck, Brick Township Mayor Steve Acropolis once again took to the offensive with federal agencies who he said were hindering rebuilding efforts they were supposed to be assisting with.

On Friday, May 18^th, at a meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and three private contractors hired for debris removal, here, Mayor Acropolis to know why not a single home in Brick had yet to be approved for demolition…Read More

JACKSON – After searching for months, posting the job twice and receiving troves of resumes from all over New Jersey and surrounding states, the Board of Education ultimately decided it needed to look no further than within its own family to find the district’s next superintendent of schools.

At the May 21 meeting the board voted unanimously in favor of appointing Lu Anne Meinders, the district’s current deputy superintendent, to be the new superintendent beginning July 1. Meinders will replace Superintendent Thomas Gialanella, who is retiring as of June 30.

After graduating with degrees in both business administration and English and working in private industry, Meinders began a career in education and has been with the district for 25 years. She was as a middle school math and science teacher, then an advanced placement English teacher and served as the district coordinator of grants and district coordinator of curriculum before becoming the district’s Deputy Superintendent. She is a Jackson resident.

“The Jackson School District is at a critical juncture and I am excited to have an opportunity to continue to serve the students and taxpayers of Jackson in this capacity,’’ Meinders said. “I love this district and I am honored the board has given me the opportunity to continue to shape its future.’’

Meinders said that among the district’s challenges will be implementing the momentous changes to the common core curriculum while advancing student achievement, guiding the district through historic shifts in both teacher and administrator accountability and continuing to find creative ways to manage financial responsibilities to both students and taxpayers.

“I believe fiscal responsibility means not only demanding efficiency in and accountability for how we spend public funds, but also the importance of being able to measure the results of our investments,’’ she said. “This is why we are so committed to making data-driven decisions about how to allocate those precious budget dollars.’’

The superintendent search process was handled by the board directly and began in the beginning of the school year with a community survey to help provide the board with input on what taxpayers, staff, students and residents considered valuable in a candidate. The board also held a community public forum to solicit input.

After months of interviewing candidates through multiple rounds of interviews, the board selected Meinders and voted to hire her at the May 21, 2013 meeting. The board’s vote was 6-0. Board Member Michael Hanlon was not permitted to vote on the position or participate in any of the search process because he has a family member who works in the district.

Superintendent Gialanella said he is thrilled to be leaving the district in such capable hands.

“I could not be more confident in her ability to expertly guide Jackson through what lies ahead because although she is a true educator at heart, she has incredible business acumen as well,’’ Gialanella said. “She also happens to be someone who can navigate through a challenge with intelligence, logic and grace – all the while identifying what opportunities are possibly being created in any given situation. She is truly one of a kind.’’

Topic focused on obesity surgery first; hurricane recovery second

by Phil Stilton

SEASIDE HEIGHTS – In an unannounced visit here, Governor Chris Christie sat down on May 7^th with NBC anchorman Brian Williams to talk about his ordeal as the Governor of a hurricane ravaged state.

The interview, recorded for Mr. Williams’ Rock Center variety news program, was conducted outside the Beachcomber Bar & Grill on the boardwalk, one of many businesses impacted by Hurricane Sandy last October.

When aired on television the following week, much of the start of the nearly 11-minute segment instead revolved around laparoscopic gastric band surgery the governor had in February. The program host began the segment telling viewers he and NBC had planned to interview the governor for many months about the conditions of the hurricane ravaged state in which he presides, but the topic was quickly changed to the pop tabloid topic of the week…Read More

by Kathleen Koch and Phil Stilton

SEASIDE HEIGHTS – What do three Democrats from the “Deep South” have in common with a Republican mayor from the Jersey Shore? They all know what it’s like to have a hurricane devastate their communities, and on Friday, May 17th, they all came together in here.

Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers hosted the delegation from Mississippi who came to meet with local mayors and officials and discuss the long term effects of Hurricane Katrina on their cities, including former United States Congressman Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), Mayor Brent Warr (D-Gulfport, Miss.) and Mayor Eddie Favre (D-Bay St. Louis, Miss.). All were elected officials when Hurricane Katrina struck their state in 2005.

Rep. Taylor, who lost his home in that Category 3 storm, tried to introduce legislation to reform the insurance industry to give homeowners more security after national disasters, but his bill never made it to the Senate floor for vote. The divide was between congressmen who represented coastal communities and those who did not. With Taylor’s 2010 election loss, supporters of reform were certain the legislation would die without his support, and it did. Today, New Jersey towns face the same insurance and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) problems his state was confronted with eight years earlier.

Seven weeks before Hurricane Katrina made landfall…Continue Reading