WILDWOOD CREST – Two freshman commissioners expressed a desire for more information before deciding on whether the borough will spend its own money to grade back beaches, where there have been persistent issues of ponding.
“Just so everybody is aware, summertime is around the corner, so if we’re going to do any excavation, that’s probably about a two-month process. We’re going to run dangerously close to Memorial Day,” said Mayor Don Cabrera.
Commissioners Joseph Franco and Joseph Schiff said they wanted the results of a survey that is to be conducted by engineer Marc DeBlasio before deciding on anything.
DeBlasio said a decision should be made at the next meeting, later this month, to ensure the project is finished before the height of the tourist season.
“My point is, if we’re going to do it, if they’re going to excavate the back beaches, that decision has to come soon,” Cabrera added.
The mayor said the worst of the issues are to the west of the dune, from Rambler Road to Jefferson Avenue
Schiff said he wanted to know more about how this could interfere with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dune project for the island, which has been continually pushed back in the pipeline for close to 10 years.
Cabrera said that project is still at least two years out.
“This would be, in advance of that, getting that back beach elevation to where you want it to be at our cost. Eventually, that would help, obviously, the Army Corps and the DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection) in their efforts because they wouldn’t have to put as much sand back there,” Borough Administrator Constance Mahon said.
