Avalon Master Plan Reexamined; Incumbents Returned to Council

AVALON – At its May 10 work session, Avalon Borough Council heard a presentation of the Master Plan Reexamination. 
The Planning and Zoning Board had formally adopted the report at its April 11 meeting following a public hearing.
State law requires municipalities to update their master plans in the form of periodic reexamination reports. The purpose of the reexamination is to consider land development issues and objectives at the time of the last report and their current status.
It also allows a point for a reconsideration of the master plan’s underlying assumptions, policies, and objectives.
Changes in policies and standards can be incorporated as can alterations of emphasis.
In presenting the report, Planning and Zoning Chair Neil Hensel stressed that one of the primary considerations in this report is what he called “water on the island.” 
He noted that the borough might lose businesses because of the hardship and losses caused by all-too-frequent flooding, especially in the business district.
The adopted Master Plan document put protection from flooding as the first goal with eight corresponding objectives including a flood proofing education program for businesses, added research on potential back bay improvements and additional outfall pipes, and working to obtain greater state and federal grant funds for flood protection.
Hensel noted that failure to act aggressively on the flooding problem could jeopardize much of the past work of the borough to strengthen its business district.
Business Administrator Scott Wahl said that the administration was working to address many of the plan’s objectives on flooding. He said a presentation on potential measures might be available as early as the May 24 council meeting.
In all the reexamination report cites 18 goals including areas of support for continuing dredging of waterways, beach management, and the promotion of shoreline protection measures. The full report is available on the borough’s website under Planning and Zoning.
Emergency Operating Plan
It was a night for plan updates. Council also heard from Edward Dean on the borough’s update of its Emergency Operations Plan (EOP).
Such plans detail all hazard response to emergencies at the local level. As such they must be able to fit seamlessly and quickly into efforts arising from similar plans at county and state levels.
Dean said that a new template for the borough’s plan allowed for that easy access to information and coordination across municipalities and counties.
With one template used by all, “We can find information quickly if called on to aid another municipality,” he said.
Dean said that the borough’s previous plan was “probably one of the best and most comprehensive in the state.”
However, he added that it had a lot of redundancy and information was not easy to find by those who were not intimately familiar with it.
This new process allowed the municipality to bring its plan into full compliance with evolving federal requirements. Dean said the plan is good until 2021.
Plans are required to be updated periodically, and the old plan’s approval would have run out in June.
A required Local Emergency Planning Committee was also established, and membership lists were distributed to council.
Elections
This was the first meeting of the council after the May 9 municipal election. All three sitting council members who were up for reelection gained new terms.
James Lutz, a local businessman who has run twice, unsuccessfully, again, challenged the incumbents.
A newcomer to the council, James Deever, appointed last year to the unexpired term of William Burns, led all vote-getters with 345 votes. With 379 total ballots cast, according to the County Clerk’s unofficial results.
Deever was successful. He was followed closely by incumbents John M. McCorristin with 331 and Nancy Hudanich with 316.
Lutz received 122 votes. County Clerk records showed a turnout of 31 percent of registered voters.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.