We attended the Regularly Scheduled Meeting of the Board of Commissioners yesterday (Monday, July 3) and the following very important items were on the agenda:
The first reading of Ordinance 17-29C was passed which will require a permit to be obtained when groups of 30 or more people gather in a residential zone for commercial purposes. It does not apply to family gatherings. This ordinance is the result of MTV renting a home in a residential area of Loveladies during the MTV Beach House event.

The first reading of Ordinance 17-30 was passed which authorizes a Referendum Ballot Question regarding the establishment of an open space conservation trust fund. The tax for this fund will be a 1 cent assessment. This will result in the accumulation of approximately $800,000 per year for open space and since the County will match this amount, the fund would accrue approximately $1.6 million per year. The taxes on the average home in the Township will increase about $80.00 per year for this initiative. A Referendum for this type of initiative had been turned down by voters previously. Harvey Cedars has recently passed such a Referendum. The Public Meeting for this Ordinance will be held on Monday, August 7, 2017 at 6:00 PM. Anyone with questions or comments are urged to attend the meeting.
The first reading of Ordinance 17-31C was passed, which if passed on second reading, will adopt an Ordinance that will prohibit businesses in the Township from distributing single-use plastic carryout bags and will encourage the use of reusable bags at businesses. This initiative is to protect the environment and the public health, welfare and safety. The Township will not address this Ordinance again until the October Meeting following a 90-Day Hearing Period in which the Township is seeking feedback.

Bus shuttle ridership has gone through the roof. Two more buses will be needed. One of the most common complaints is that the buses are full. The Township is working on a solution to fund the service as opposed to being partially funded by the taxpayers as it is now. It will put forth a referendum question in the future to permit charging a nominal fee for the service. There is talk of having daily, monthly and/or seasonal passes available for purchase.
The Township will be installing a camera at 38th Street. There will be an app that will allow users to log on and view the traffic conditions at that point on the Boulevard on-line.

Just a reminder, the minutes to the Association’s June Membership meeting have been posted on the Association’s web site (www.holgatetaxpayers.org). Initial planning for the Chili Cook-off got underway. We have received some inquires regarding dune walk-overs. A permit is required. The Ordinance 64-17 (Dune Walk-Overs) can be found on the Association’s web site under the Dune Vegetation Project listed at the top of the main page menu. After clicking on this item and the subsequent page being loaded, it will be the 5th item down on the list. The following information is on the Township’s web site:

Dune Walkovers

Before installation of all rollaway dune walkovers, they must be registered with the township zoning department. Call 609-361-6679 to register the walkover.

DO NOT CUT ANY INSTALLED DUNE FENCING TO THE BEACH!

You must call the zoning department. The township will cut all dune fence openings to the beach.

The HTA is looking for a member who can represent the Association and cook up a mean chili and enter it in the contest for best chili on Sunday, October 8th. Please get in touch with us if interested in entering the contest. We are continuing to work with the Township to have a bench placed at the Jacqueline Avenue beach access and to add more benches at the south end of the south parking lot. As stipulated in our by-laws, all trustees are up for election for a term of 2-years at this fall’s meeting (BBQ – September 9th). Trustees shall be elected from a slate of candidates selected by a Nominating Committee. Nominations may also be made by any member based on providing a nominating petition with 5 signatures (which may include the signature of the nominee) to the trustees. Said petition must be received by the President no later than 30 days prior to the election. The officers of the Corporation shall be elected every year at the Fall meeting from a slate proposed by the nominating Committee. Nominations may also be made by a member but must be received at the President’s home postal or e-mail address no later than 30 days prior to the election. The First Vice-President, Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer are up for election this year.

The next meeting of the Land Use Board will be on Wednesday, July 12th at 7:00 PM. The next Regularly Scheduled Meeting of the Board of Commissioners will be on August 7th at 6:00 PM.

—
Dan Macone

Volume 25

Holgate Taxpayers Association
P.O. Box 1326, Holgate, New Jersey 08008
www.holgatetaxpayers.org

The Annual Spring General Meeting
Saturday, June 10 at 1:30 (note different time from last year)
Place: Long Beach Township Municipal Building, Brant Beach, NJ 08008

Please try to attend and meet your elected officials. Mayor Mancini, Commissioners Ralph Bayard and Joe Lattanzi are scheduled to speak and answer questions. Coffee and cake will be served. Come join us!

Message From Dan Macone, President

Hello Everyone!

Soon another summer season will be here and we will all be enjoying our corner of paradise once again. The Holgate Taxpayers Association (HTA) has been very active this winter. In addition to following up with the Long Beach Township officials on the ongoing projects such as the Janet Road pump station and the stains on the pavement on Inlet Road, the HTA conducted a survey of homeowners and residents regarding the future development of the LBI Trailer Park. The results of the survey have been posted on our web page here. The Trustees met on April 8th to set the agenda for 2017. The minutes from the meeting have been posted on the HTA website here along with the budget for fiscal 2017 posted here. Also the by-laws committee updated the by-laws and the proposed changes will be voted on at the June 10th membership meeting. The proposed changes can be found here.

We thank everyone for their support of the HTA as we work together to make Holgate the best it can be. Last year we surpassed the 300 member mark for the first time! If you have new neighbors who just moved to Holgate, please let them know about the HTA and encourage them to become a member.

The HTA “Adopt a Dune” Program was established to “stack the deck” in favor of success. Many members have contributed substantial additional funds for this initiative and the HTA is determined to make sure that these funds are being used wisely. Prior to choosing a beach access to work on, several items need to be addressed. The abutting beach access property owners need to be notified of the plantings. A nearby water source needs to be identified and a “caretaker” is needed to commit to watering the new plants for a year until the new trees, shrubs, and grasses take hold. Lastly an “access captain” is needed to coordinate the volunteers and direct the layout of the plantings according to the architectural drawings. This Spring the accesses at Washington, Pershing and Susan are ready to be planted. There are a total of 21 beach accesses in Holgate and the HTA is looking for additional “caretakers” and “access captains” to step forward and volunteer for the Fall 2017 plantings.

Greenhead Traps
We will be repairing and baiting all traps 200+ by June 7 with a second baiting completed by July 21.

Fall BBQ and Picnic
The Fall BBQ and Picnic will be held on Saturday September 9 at 4:30 pm at the Holgate Tennis Courts. Please bring a covered dish to share. Hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks are provided by the HTA.

The HTA is organizing a neighborhood cleanup for Saturday, May 27th. We haven’t done a clean-up in a couple of years and this is a good opportunity to come out and join your friends, neighbors and fellow HTA members in the effort to beautify our community.

May 27th (rain date May 28th)
8:30am to noon
Meet at the South End parking lot for assignments and supplies.

This is not a beach cleanup, but rather a cleanup of all the other areas.

To volunteer, or for more details,
contact event coordinator Tom Beaty at Tom@woodenjetty.com

Thank you for your support!

The food

The “Pres”

The commissioners

Prepared by Long Beach Township and the Holgate Taxpayers Association

To enrich your visit, Long Beach Township (LBT) and the Holgate Taxpayers Association (HTA) would like you to be aware of the following important items:

Boulevard Safety Tips

• This narrow main road, shared by vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, gets busy in the summertime, especially on weekends.
• For your safety, all bicyclists and skaters must go in the direction of travel and pedestrians travel against traffic.
• If we all follow these simple rules, accidents will be eliminated and everyone can take pleasure in the beauty of this paradise on earth.

Keep Off the Sand Dunes – $500 Fine!

• The sand dunes are NOT JUST A PILE OF SAND. They are a vital protection system for all the homes in Holgate. During Superstorm Sandy the homes protected by well-developed sand dunes suffered far less damage than elsewhere.
• Trees, sand fences and dune plants can build dunes with time. All three catch sand in the wind while their roots spread below the sand surface stabilizing the dune.
• Stepping on the plants, even lightly, damages them and leaves them open to infection especially in the hot summer months. When they die they weaken the dune and therefore the protection.

Keep Holgate Clean and Watch Your Garbage

• LBT does a very good job of providing recycling and waste containers at beach entrances and in the parking lot at the south end of the island. Please use them.
• Always securely cover your garbage cans. The seagulls are quite aggressive in the summer when it comes to garbage.
• LBT outlawed smoking on the beach in 2015 and you will be fined if caught smoking (or worse improperly disposing of cigarette butts) on the beach.

Watch your pets

• Dogs are not allowed on the beach from May 1st to October 1st.
• Please be sure to pick up after your pets and properly dispose of their waste.

Greenhead Traps

• There are approximately 140 greenhead traps placed throughout Holgate. LBT and the HTA invest heavily each year to build, maintain and bait these large black four-legged boxes.
• These box traps provide an ecologically safe, inexpensive and effective means of greenhead fly control. Remember, For Every Fly That Is Trapped, there Is One Less Female Fly to Bite or Breed. Please do not damage the greenhead traps.

Printable version of the information

I attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the Commissioners on Monday, July 11th. I also attended the pre-meeting, which is also open to the public 30 minutes prior to the scheduled meeting. At the start of the public meeting, a proclamation recognizing the birthday of a Township resident, Mary Leonardi, was read. On July 27th, she will celebrate her 105th birthday. Amazing! She can remember WW I.

In the portion of the agenda addressing special events approval, the Bowker Deli Beachside Social, scheduled for July 21st from 7pm to 10 pm in the south parking lot, was approved. We are also in the process of submitting the application for approval for our annual fall BBQ to be held in the Bond’s Park tennis court on Saturday, September 10th at 5 pm.

There was also a reminder from the Police Department (PD) that we were now in hurricane season and that each resident should make sure they know the location of their re-entry placards. Obviously it should be with you and not left in your Holgate home. New residents should have received their re-entry placard by mail shortly after the purchase of their home. If not, I suggest contacting the PD soon.

The PD also invited the public to attend two separate police sponsored events in Bayview Park at 68th Street on the Blvd.: Bike Safety and K-9 Demonstration on July 20th from 9AM to 10 AM and National Night Out from 5 PM to 9 PM on August 2nd. With all the anti police rhetoric and actions in recent years and apparently continuing to deteriorate, it might be an opportunity to show your support. A member had raised the subject of police presence in Holgate with the Mayor during our June 4th annual spring membership meeting and we have seen the PD patrolling our neighborhoods more since then. I thanked the Mayor for the PD’s increased presence during Monday’s pre-meeting.

The Mayor invited the public to attend the dedication of the new park at the Township complex tonight, Wednesday, July 13th, immediately following the Land Use Board meeting at 7:00 pm.

Commissioner Lattanzi reported that the audit of the Township’s financial books came back clean and thanked Chief Financial Officer, Lisa Jones, for an excellent job. He reported that bus ridership was over 20,000 users as of July 4th. He did point out that the Governor has suspended all grant monies from the Transportation Fund due to current inability for the State government to resolve the gas tax increase issue. The Township was expecting a $300,000 grant for the bus service this year. He was hopeful that the state leaders could resolve their difference so the Township taxpayers would not be responsible for the shortfall. They will be working on a future referendum on how to fund the bus operation.

Commissioner Bayard reported that due to a change in State regulations, the Township garage (at 79th Street and the Blvd.) will not longer be accepting e-waste. Residents will need to bring these materials to the Stafford Recycling Center. However, residents will still be able to call the Township for pickup of computers, monitors, laptops and televisions.

Mayor Mancini stated that beach replenishment in Holgate was completed and by contract, the contractor has 14 days to complete the walkovers after the pumping had stopped.

Angela Andersen gave a brief presentation on the recently completed Hideaway Bay Nature Area at 105th Street (Louisiana Avenue – new traffic signal just south of the ACME) and invited all to visit. She also stated that the nature area slated for the bay side of Osborn Avenue in Holgate will be completed in 2017. I requested that the HTA and interested Holgate residents be kept in the loop as plans were being developed. Angela was also looking for feedback from residents regarding the new recycling app.

Lastly, thanks to member Marc Slovak, the HTA web site (holgatetaxpayers.org) has been updated to include a new main menu item entitled “Dune Vegetation Project”. Since we are very concerned that we show how our members’ generous donations into the dune vegetation fund over the past several years are being used wisely, all the minutes and notes from the dune vegetation committee and other meetings will be posted for all to see. There are a couple of items posted there already. Please let us know if you have any comments. I have a meeting with Angela Andersen this afternoon as we continue to work up a plan for the fall planting.

—
Dan Macone

Opening Remarks – Saturday, June 27, 2015

Firstly, I want to thank you all for being here today and being part of the Holgate Taxpayers’ Association and actively demonstrating your support for your community. I want to thank those of you who actively participate in our scheduled activities. This coming year we do need some volunteers who can care for the new plantings we will complete in the parking lot and the Bond’s Park. Until the plants take root, we need some volunteers to keep them watered and weeded. If you live close to those locations, we really need your help.

Introduce Board of Directors and Trustees

• Daniel S. Macone President
• Tom Beaty 1 st VP
• Ted Stiles 2 nd VP
• Bill Cannon Treasurer
• Marianne Hurley Recording Secretary
• Yanni Kaloudis Corresponding Secretary

Trustees

• Al Callese
• Bill Hutson
• Eileen Bowker
• Bob White
• Frank Lowry
• Lucille Benedetti
• Rand Pearsall

Over this past year, the Association has worked on several initiatives and I am pleased to say that several have been realized. First, the signs along the boulevard indicating the proper direction of travel for pedestrians and bicyclists have been installed. Second, working with the County and the Township, a stop sign has now been installed at the intersection of McKinley and S. Long Beach Blvd. This is a good safety improvement. Following last year’s spring membership meeting, we contacted
the County and got information about its land conservation program. Subsequently, letters were sent to the owner of the Rosemma – Beck property to see if they were interested in participating in the conservation program. Since December, we have been working with the residents at the west end of Janet Road and the Township to try to make some changes to the design of the new pump station so that a look more conducive to the characteristics of the surrounding area would be used.

The Holgate Taxpayers’ Association is determined to make a difference for our community. Together we will accomplish more.

CLICK HERE TO SEE NOTES FROM THE MEETING

Our meeting with Commissioners Mancini and Bayard is scheduled for next Saturday, June 27th at 10:00 am in the Township Municipal Building in Brant Beach. Commissioner Lattanzi is unable to attend. The meeting will begin promptly at 10:00 am as our guests have another Taxpayers Association meeting to attend following Holgate’s meeting. I hope you all can attend this very critical meeting next Saturday and that you will continue to support the Association’s work by renewing your membership. We have some additional activities planned for later this year and we are continuing to build up a fund for dune vegetation plantings that will be utilized upon completion of the beach replenishment project. As you may know, the beach replenishment project does provide for some dune vegetation. However, the HTA will plant other plants to further strengthen the berm. We will see you on Saturday