Buffeted Beaches Being Rebuilt By Borough’s Public Works

STONE HARBOR – The condition of Stone Harbor’s beaches remained a serious concern for borough council at its meeting April 19.
Beaches were hit hard by winter storms. The borough’s plan to partially replenish them with sand separated from dredge material came to an abrupt end when a breech at the dewatering site led to a state-ordered halt to dredging for this season.
Now, Council member Jocelyn Rich, who chairs the Natural Resources Committee, reported that meetings have been held on what she termed “sand plans.” The borough is hoping that a sand-rich area of ocean just off a portion of the beaches will, with nature’s help, return some of the purloined sand.
Absent that gift from winds and tides, the borough will be relying on its own Public Works staff to harvest and redistribute sand in an effort to improve the beaches as best they can.
Rich noted that the borough is in line for a federal beach replenishment project, but the project, which is expected for this fall, will be too late to impact the quality of the beaches for the 2016 season.
Rich said that the borough held an emergency council meeting April 11 to pass resolutions allowing acquisition of heavy equipment required for the sand redistribution.
In an ironic related comment, Rich said that signs informing the public of special rules for using the ecologically-sensitive Point area had to be moved further out to reflect the growth at the Point due to naturally acquired sand from areas north of it.
Public Safety
Police Chief Paul Reynolds said the department has been working on gaining a reaccreditation from the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police. The process began in 2014 and will result in the department’s accreditation by this summer, he anticipates. The department was last accredited in 2006 when it was the first police department in the county to gain that distinction.
Accreditation reflects the department’s successful incorporation of best practices and standards which promote effective and efficient law enforcement.
Reynolds said 105 separate standards were involved producing over 400 performance objectives. The comprehensive nature of the standards and practices cover functions as diverse as administration, personnel, operations, investigation, and detention.
The department recently had a multi-day visit from a peer review panel, a last and critical step in the overall process.
The panel’s chair informed Reynolds that the review went well and a recommendation for accreditation would go forward to the association’s governing body. Reynolds should be able to tell council and the public the final decision by summer.
In a piece of related news, council member Judith Davies-Dunhour announced that progress on the plans for the new police building could allow bids for construction to be out by mid-June. 
Peermont Project
Atlantic City Electric (ACE) is continuing work to bury transmission lines for a portion of 95th Street prior to those lines reemerging and traversing the southern portion of the borough from 95th to 80th streets on galvanized steel polls. The poles are a source of controversy, objected to by many residents. 
According to Borough Administrator Jill Gougher, there have been several complaints of a sulfur-smelling liquid being pumped from the ground and subsequently discharged back into the bay.
Gougher reported that ACE takes the position that its actions are covered by DEP permits and that no harm is being done to the bay environment.
The underground transmission lines will run from the point where they emerge from the back bay to the 300 block of 95th Street. That relatively small distance has produced its share of problems involving long period of excessive noise, intense vibration, water main problems and now the discharge back into the bay. 
In a related quip, Mayor Suzanne Walters noted that the borough is getting no breaks.
The installation of the steel poles meant that the wooden polls would be removed for that portion of the borough that had made the transition. 
The current strike impacting service technicians for Verizon will delay the necessary work to move Verizon lines from wooden to the newly-installed steel poles. This leaves both sets of poles in pace for the time being. 
Gougher also noted that projections call for the Peermont substation to be energized May 8.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.