Hi everyone! Please note the schedule updates for several events (especially the HazMat drop-off for tomorrow) and please join us by volunteering. We hope to see many of you on Zoom next week and then outside in October as there have been too few opportunities to get together this year. And we have already started planning for a bigger and better 2021.

Rescheduled Fall Membership Meeting: Now officially rescheduled for Saturday, September 26 from 10:00 – 11:00 am via Zoom. A separate email will be sent to the membership with the Zoom invite information but please put this on your calendar.

Forsythe Refuge Clean-up: Officially scheduled for Saturday, October 10, beginning at 8am and running to noon (or as long as you can be there). The HTA will provide beverages and snacks. We are partnering with both the Refuge and the Alliance for a Living Ocean. Please advise if you have a 4-wheel drive truck (not all-wheel drive which is more common in SUVs and sedans) as we can cover more ground with more trucks. More info to come in a separate email.

Dune Planting: Officially scheduled for Saturday, October 17 beginning at 9am. OCEANFRONT OWNERS: We cannot plant your dune entrances unless we can also access your water. Please respond to this email if you can provide water access.

Lifeguards: 8 beaches in Long Beach Township will have lifeguards until the end of September. The only Holgate beach at this time is off Nelson Avenue on the north side. Please be strongly advised not to swim without a lifeguard for your safety.

Gator: The gator is still available daily and will operate until the end of September.

Shuttle Buses: The buses will operate on weekends only through the end of September.

Covid Impact: While the hospital remains in good shape, the economic dislocation of closed and partially re-opened businesses has put many out of work. This has resulted in unprecedented unemployment for the people who provide services to you on LBI and the St. Francis Food Pantry has had to expand their offerings. As a result, the HTA is contributing an incremental $1,000 on top of the $500 already donated.

Ocean County Solid Waste Household Hazardous Waste Program: The last HHW event of the year is taking place this Saturday (September 19) in Long Beach Township and is free to ALL residents of Ocean County. With approximately 100 spots available, advanced registration is required. https://www.co.ocean.nj.us/OC/SolidWaste/frmHHWP.aspx PAINT, BATTERIES, ANTIFREEZE and MOTOR OIL are always accepted at our Recycling Centers, no need to go to an HHW event. Learn more here: http://www.co.ocean.nj.us/OC/SolidWaste/frmRecycling.aspx

Chowderfest: Due to Covid concerns, the Chowderfest will be held over an entire month. Please see their website for details: https://bit.ly/Chowderfest2020

Kite Festival: Scheduled to take place October 10-11. http://bit.ly/LBIKiteFest2018

Tax Revaluation: There is still time to schedule an in-home assessment. This will provide a more accurate assessment and the visit only takes 5 minutes. Call Appraisal Systems at 201-493-8530.

Water Meters: Deadline for installation is October 1. Don’t wait for the last minute only to discover your plumber may not be available: https://bit.ly/LBTWaterMeterExtension

Water Meter Activation: Must be separately activated by the homeowner with the Township. Call the Water/Sewer Department to schedule. First bills under the new metering system are expected in January 2022.

Support Surflight Theater: Donations to keep Surflight operating and recover from summer storms can be made directly to: https://bit.ly/SurflightLBIDonate

Fall 2019 Membership Meeting Results

Election of Officers

Elected to two-year terms (running unopposed):

Eileen Bowker, 1st Vice President
Bill Cannon, Treasurer
Yanni Kaloudis, Corresponding Secretary

Election of Trustees

Elected to two-year terms*:

Frank Benintendo
Eileen Bowker
Denise Brand
Bill Cannon
Marianne Hurley
Bill Hutson
Yanni Kaloudis
Frank Lowry
Ted Stiles

*Detailed election results can be seen here

By-Laws Revisions

Approved by Membership

This year the Holgate Taxpayers Association is electing 9 trustees from a list of 10 candidates for a two-year term. In addition, the officer positions of First Vice President, Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer are up for election this year for two-year terms. The officer positions are not being contested this year.

Candidate profiles are available in the column on the right side of this homepage.

Each family with active member status in the Association is entitled to one (1) vote. In some cases, the Association has multiple e-mail addresses per family. The software being used to conduct this election will only allow one of those e-mails to be executed.

Early voting begins on Sunday, September 8, 2019 and ends on Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at 11:00 pm. Additional voting will re-open at the Meeting/BBQ at 5:00 PM on September 14, 2019 and will end at 6:00 PM the same day. New members and others who have not remitted their dues for 2019 will have the opportunity to pay their dues and cast their ballots at that time.

Results of the election will be announced Sunday, September 15 following validation of all ballots.

Forsythe Preserve Winter Clean-up:

HTA members are invited to join the NJ Beach Buggy Association and the staff of Lorry’s Island End Motel, on Saturday, March 16, to remove litter and trash from the Forsythe Preserve.

Volunteers should meet at the parking lot at the end of Long Beach Boulevard at 8:00 am with the event ending around noon. Coffee and donuts will be generously provided by the Beach Buggy Association. Please bring your own refreshments, gloves and garbage bags – and dress warmly. For questions, contact the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR at (609) 652-1665.

The monthly Township meeting was held March 4. The HTA’s Marianne Hurley provided this report:

Children’s Activities. The Township is going to have weekly bonfires (using propane) for kids on Friday evenings at the Bayview Park. Festivities will begin around dusk and will be followed by live music for the children for approximately another 2 hours. The weekly bonfires are intended to provide safe, social, and chaperoned entertainment. The Township has purchased a stage but is unsure at this time how soon it will be used.

Boulevard Flooding. Joey’s Pizza (‘waterfront dining’) has been purchased by the Township and over the next year it will be torn down and replaced with a pumping station to relieve the flooding problems on the Boulevard.

Shuttle Buses Update. An agreement has been completed with the Mayor of Manahawkin and our buses will be going off the Island in the hopes of picking up individuals who are interested in working on the Island during the summer. The number of daily pick-ups, cost to the rider, etc., is to be determined.

Hazardous Waste. In the next few months, there are 4 dates set up for hazardous waste pick-up. Please check the Township web site for the exact dates.

Holgate Groin. The groin was completed on February 20th and now we wait for the sand to start migrating back on our beaches. Beach access points will probably not be repaired until April after the Nor’easter storm season passes.

Safety Notice — Beach Access. People are going past the barriers to get to the beach and this is not advised due to the danger when you get to the top.

Road Repair. The roads in the Township to Beach Haven will be torn up starting in a few weeks to lay new water pipes. This will go on until June, and then beginning again in the Fall so “driver beware” and please have patience.

The monthly meeting for the Township was held February 4.

Water Bills. When we receive our next water bill, there will be 3 enclosures:

Notice regarding water meters. 2,000 have been received and the rest should be coming in shortly. It will be up to the home owner to pick them up and then have a plumber install them. The average cost “should be around” $250.00 for the water meter but that is not written in stone. Commercial businesses already have water meters but will have to purchase a transponder.

The re-evaluation is still happening. The County has asked for more information regarding the tax maps which have been sent. As soon as they are approved by the County, the re-evaluation will start.

New Jersey is now requiring that all rental properties be inspected by the Fire Marshall with an “estimated” cost of $125.00 per unit.

Bayview Park Accessibility. The Township has built a dock/pier at Bayview Park for use by those with disabilities. It will also have 7 handicap parking spaces. Since some of the parking spaces will be in wetlands there was negative reaction from the large crowd at the meeting. Some individuals suggested there are numerous parking spaces within a block or two of the pier and that people could use beach wheels to get to the dock from these spaces. This appears to undermine the purpose of the handicap parking spaces. These individuals also asked for a special meeting when the residents from 66th Street (the area adjoining this project) get back on the Island to come up with another solution. Mayor Mancini told them that they will have 30 days to email back their concerns, and that those concerns would then be sent to the County. This will begin another 30 day period to contact the County with concerns.

Lifts. The lifts at 119th Street and 131st street are being renovated.

Wooden Jetty Replacement. Phase 1 for the new groin should be completed on deadline. The larger groin (Phase 2) will probably not start for at least 2 years. The Preserve is reported to be in agreement but it may be difficult to obtain approval from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Budget constraints will limit the amount of sand that can be added after the groin is completed (most of the budget for sand was used to protect the beach prior to groin installation) but the natural return of sand during the Spring combined with the drift of sand from the north is expected to contribute to better beaches.

Shuttle Buses. Pricing for the shuttle buses will be $2.00 per ride, or $5.00 daily; the Township has not determined a price for a seasonal pass. They are also working with Stafford’s Mayor to establish a bus route from the mainland which will help bring people (needed summer employees) to the Island who have no other way of getting here.

This is Stockton University’s Coastal Research Center Presentation by Dr. Stewart Farrell, PhD regarding the United States Army Corps of Engineer’s Study concerning Back Bay Flooding and the Construction of the new Terminal Groin in Holgate (Replacement of the Wooden Jetty). It was presented to Holgate residents on Thursday, September 6th at the Long Beach Township Marine Education Field Station at 127 Osborn Avenue. Click on the link below to view the presentation

LBI Taxpayer Association Talk

As you may know, despite multiple replenishments and truckloads of sand, the erosion of the beaches at the south end of Holgate is becoming critical. Beach entrances are closed; some beaches were not open for swimming this summer; the dunes are being carved away; homes will be endangered.

The Township and Mayor Mancini have been fighting for a new terminal groin to replace the wooden jetty. This groin is intended to greatly slow the erosion of sand and to stabilize the beach.

The Holgate Taxpayers Association is calling on all stakeholders (Homeowners, Businesses, Visitors, etc.) to immediately contact the Army Corps of Engineers District Engineer, James Boyer, at the following address and support Mayor Mancini’s request to have our groin permit moved up to an “A#1 Priority”:

Failure to act now means Holgate may not get the groin built this year and the south end will be at greater risk to the winter storms. If the situation worsens, we can expect a negative impact on property values and rental prospects for next year.

Rentals, motel reservations and home values have already suffered this year. If homes are damaged this winter, the economic impact will not be limited to Holgate and would likely start to affect the entire island.

Please send your letter today; all letters must be received by September 12 to have a chance to influence this important decision. We have included a sample letter below that you are free to use or edit as needed. If you have factual information such as cancellations letters from your renters due to the lack of a beach or loss of business statistics relative to prior seasons etc. , you should include this information. In addition, an aerial view of the beaches taken this summer by Bucks County Drones on July 9, 2018, is attached which dramatically depicts the present and deteriorating situation. If you have any questions, you can contact me or attend the Coastal Research Center presentation on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the Long Beach Township Marine Field Station at 127 Osborn Avenue in Holgate.

Thank you!

Dan Macone
President, Holgate Taxpayers Association

Sample Letter – Letter to USACE September 1, 2018

If you are concerned about, have been affected by or are just interested in the increasingly frequent and destructive damage caused by back bay flooding on LBI, you are invited to join other Holgate homeowners for a timely and informative presentation sponsored by the Holgate Taxpayers Association (HTA). The Speaker will be Dr. Stewart Farrell, PHD, Director, and Founder of Stockton University’s Coastal Research Center (CRC).

The meeting will be convened at the Long Beach Township temporary Marine Field Station on Osborn Avenue on Thursday, September 6, 2018 at 7:00 pm. This same presentation was delivered on August 1, 2018 at the Town Hall and is featured in an August 8th article in the SandPaper entitled “LBI Homeowners, Stockton Scientists Talk Back Bay Flooding”.

The CRC also completed an environmental assessment and conceptual redesign of the Holgate terminal groin which had become ineffective in trapping sand and maintaining the position of the shoreline. The preferred design that was chosen by the project team is an impermeable groin that protects the beach/dune while allowing sand to bypass to the Refuge. All stakeholders recognize the urgency for the new groin construction and the Township has taken on emergency efforts to restore the beach until the goin project can be constructed. You will be able to learn more about the status of this critical project for our community.

If you plan on attending, I want to remind you that there is limited parking around the Field Station as there is no parking at the location or on Osborn Avenue. You will have to park on West Avenue or consider walking, bicycling or carpooling to the meeting.

Just a reminder, if you have not remitted your 2018 dues, please take this opportunity to add your name to our 2018 membership list. Attached is a membership form for your convenience. We thank you for your support. There is strength in numbers and the HTA is working with the Township to effect a solution to the beach erosion problem soon.

We attended the regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Commissioners on Monday, July 2nd. The following items were on the agenda:

• Resolution 18-0702.09, awarding the contract per bid to B&H Contracting for the construction of the Holgate Sanitary Sewer Pump Station (Janet Road) in the amount of $1,901,785.00, was unanimously approved.
• Mayor Mancini stated that the beaches in the Holgate section of the Township are eroded even more than prior to the replenishment conducted in the spring. A lifeguard is on duty just north of the wooden jetty on a day-by-day basis, based on the size of the beach. Swimming, he added, is allowed north of the wooden jetty, but not to the south. “We don’t want people swimming south of the jetty; it’s unsafe” the Mayor noted. Surfers, though, are permitted south of the terminal groin (wooden jetty). Regardless, Mancini stated, anyone that heads to the beach there – to sit, swim or surf – needs to have a township beach badge as the area is municipal property and a lifeguard is stationed when the beach width allows. The Township decided a police officer was necessary to keep the peace after adult beachgoers yelled at young beach checkers. This information is in this week’s edition of the Sandpaper in an article entitled “Township Emphasizes: Beach Badges Required”.
• An application for permit was submitted to the State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection on June 28, 2018 for the replacement of the existing terminal groin (wooden jetty) with a new larger terminal groin consisting of steel sheathing, stone core and 8-12 ton armor stone. The Mayor stated it would take 3 to 4 months to obtain approval. Attached are two draft drawings of the proposed structure.

Other Items:

• At our request, the Township Police Department has located one of its mobile electronic signs in Holgate. The effort is to try to get visitors and other walkers and joggers to abide by the rules of the road when utilizing the very narrow shoulders in Holgate. In addition, for their safety and the safety of everyone enjoying our community, the Holgate Taxpayers Association has purchased some additional signage to help everyone go in the right direction. We should be seeing these new signs shortly. These signs were designed by the Trustees of the Association and we especially appreciate the efforts of Frank Benintendo and Denise Tierney.
• We completed the landscaping of the Tebco Terrace beach entrance in June. It looks great! Thanks to Andrea Daniels and Brian and Denise Tierney, the plants are being watered daily (maybe not today – Mother Nature did a lot of watering today).
• We are finalizing the agenda for our next Trustees meeting to be held on Wednesday, August 1st in the temporary trailers of the Long Beach Township Marine Field Station on Osborn Avenue. We have several items to discuss including the preparations and assignments for the September 8th BBQ. We are also trying to arrange for a presentation from ReClam the Bay. We have budgeted funds to have that organization locate a giant clam in Holgate. The permanent Marine Field Station is expected to be completed before next summer. There will be some on-site parking once the permanent building is finished.
• Lastly, there is strength in numbers and we want to continue to grow our membership. If you have neighbors or friends in Holgate who are new to the area and are not members, please let them know about the Association. Membership forms are on our web page at www.holgatetaxpayers.org. To make it easy, dues ($25.00) can be remitted using Pay Pal. Be sure to include an e-mail address so regular communications can be received. Thanks to member Marc Slovak, you can now go to the Association’s web page and have access to the traffic cameras at 38th Street, northbound and southbound, 28th Street southbound, the south parking lot ocean view and an ocean view in Beach Haven. Before travelling, take a look at the cameras and see what traffic conditions you will be facing or view the waves before going out to the beach.

We engaged Kline Brothers to pretty up the beach entrances at Tebco Terrace