Avalon Manor Owners Press Middle On Fishing Pier, Damaged Bulkhead

COURT HOUSE – A brief Middle Township Committee meeting efficiently dispatched a series of routine resolutions. Recent controversial issues concerning PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) funds for the municipal school system or the continuing impasse over charges from the county animal shelter were not discussed or updated during committee reports. 
A group of property owners from Avalon Manor used the public comment period to request an update on plans for rebuilding the community’s fishing pier and repairing the damaged bulkhead.
Plans for a rebuilt pier and general public recreation area had been presented to the public at earlier committee meetings in 2015 but expected grant funding for the project did not materialize.
Township Administrator Constance Mahon told the group that bulkhead damage from recent storms had been included in the township’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) submission. 
The disaster agency did a site inspection, she said, and the township is hopeful that FEMA reimbursements for the bulkhead will free up funds for the pier project.
The proposed pier project is linked to an application before the county Open Space Program. Depending on the FEMA decision, that application may have to be modified or redone.
Mahon pushed the probable date for resolution of the pier project’s future in 2017 given FEMA uncertainties and the existing agenda before the county for Open Space funds.
Some members of the public presented the committee with photographic proof that the existing, damaged pier represented a public safety problem. 
The danger they perceive is that individuals still use the decrepit pier for fishing. If that pier gives way “someone is likely to get badly hurt,” one said.
They urged the township to erect better barriers and warnings until the pier’s future can be determined.
Residents of the Manor community lauded the county’s recent cleanup of storm debris. The township made several trips to the area following winter storms.
Absentee homeowners, delayed in gathering debris curbside, led to pick-up by the township that was too late to be included in disaster relief funding applications.
Mahon urged the residents to carry the message back to the community. Debris must be gathered and put curbside in a “timely manner” or dealing with it is not reimbursable to the township.
Mahon and Mayor Michael Clark took the opportunity to thank the municipalities of Wildwood Crest, Ocean City, and Upper Township for their help in responding to damage across the southern portion of the township following a recent severe wind event.
Mahon cited the activity as proof of the value of county mutual aid agreements. “We assured them that we would be there for them if needed in the future,” she said.
One resolution passed accepted the resignation of John Clifford, the township’s chief financial officer. Clifford took over a finance office that had a history of problems and was with the township in an acting and then permanent capacity for a short time. 
He became the temporary chief financial officer in December 2014. The agenda indicated that his resignation would be effective in August. The township is advertising for his replacement.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.