Posted on September 21, 2022
Ocean County will pay half of the nearly $8 million cost to county towns for a beach replenishment project that will restore beaches damaged by storms and erosion from Point Pleasant Beach to Berkeley Township, county officials announced.
The beach replenishment project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is an expected follow-up to the beach and dune construction work that was done on the northern barrier island back in 2017-2018. The work aims to address areas that are “hot spots” for damage and maintain the beach construction that was done to help mitigate the effects of a hurricane.
The entire project, set to begin early in 2023, is estimated to cost $60 million, officials have said, with the federal government paying $30 million, and the state and towns affected paying the remaining $30 million.
Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill, at the Toms River Township Council meeting last week, said the county’s mayors organization is urging the state to pay for the full remainder of the costs because of the burden they pose for town budgets. Toms River’s portion of the costs is nearly $2 million, a significant strain on the budget, he said.
“These beaches are used by everyone in the state,” Hill said.
The towns are responsible for the operation of the beaches, which is why they are responsible for the costs of the beach replenishment work.
Hill said the mayors of the affected towns are continuing to seek help from the state for the remaining costs, because of the state’s strong budget position, and because the beach operations have been costly: Toms River has had a deficit in its beach operations the last three years, Hill said.
John P. Kelly, director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, said the county received the request for help and met with mayors and town officials from Berkeley Township, Seaside Park, Seaside Heights, Toms River Township, Lavallette, Brick Township, Mantoloking, Bay Head, Point Pleasant Beach and Point Pleasant Borough. Point Pleasant Borough joined the meeting to support their neighboring communities, Kelly said.
The beaches have suffered severe erosion following several coastal storms that battered the coastline in recent years, including a major storm late last winter.
“The beaches and dunes are vital to the protection of our towns and our residents,” said Virginia Haines, the deputy director of the board of commissioners. “The Board of Commissioners felt it was right to step in and help our communities bear this cost.”
This project is the first major beach replenishment scheduled by the Army Corps of Engineers along the northern barrier island since it completed repairing and strengthening beaches in the years following Superstorm Sandy.
The following towns will receive financial aid from the county:
- Bay Head: $714,000
- Berkeley Township: $159,000
- Brick Township: $450,000
- Lavallette: $336,500
- Mantoloking: $645,000
- Point Pleasant Beach: $135,500
- Toms River Township: $975,000
- Seaside Heights: $375,000
- Seaside Park: $191,000.
