Shifting Sands, South to North; Should Borough End Jitney Fees?

AVALON – Avalon Borough Council at its April 13 meeting received an update on the borough’s efforts to get beaches ready for fast-approaching summer. Winter storms badly depleted the sand on north-end beaches and a number of beach entrances are in need of repair.
The plan calls for replenishing beaches in the north with sand that has accumulated in the area of 38th Street in the south.
Borough Engineer Thomas Thornton estimated the borough will be able to move as much as 50,000 cubic yards of sand from one end of the borough to the other. 
In order to save on time required to bid out the work, the Public Works Department will do the project. Business Administrator Scott Wahl praised the department for volunteering for the task and for the “creative scheduling” that will allow the work to be done without serious disruption to normal borough activities.
Council approved a resolution to expend $57,000 for the short-term lease of the heavy equipment required. Working from approved modifications to two existing permits, the borough hopes to begin work no later than April 27 and to have the beach replenishment finished by Memorial Day.
The modified permit from the Department of Environmental Protection is in hand and Thornton expects the Army Corps of Engineers to approve soon.
Work will continue after normal hours and Public Works hopes to minimize disruption or noise for neighbors, but there was uniform agreement that the project needs to be done and quickly.
Jitneys
Wahl used the work session to prepare council for a coming proposal to terminate the current $85 annual license fee for jitney operators. The fee had been paid by Avalon Chamber of Commerce since jitney service began in 2013.
The chamber will no longer continue that practice and there was concern that the fee might negatively impact some of the jitney operators who are all independent contractors.
The administration will be proposing to council that the fee be waived on the grounds that jitney service represents a significant public safety effort in the borough.
Police Capt. Jeff Christopher reported that the years since 2013 have seen a drop of over 80 percent in driving while intoxicated arrests in the period when the jitney service operates.
No action was proposed, but council members appeared supportive of efforts to continue the positive impact from jitney service during the busy summer months.
An incident in 2015, when an Uber driver was accused of fondling himself in the backseat in front of a female passenger, is the negative publicity and the safety risk the borough wants to avoid.
Wahl said the borough provides a safe service with the jitneys where drivers have been through police background checks.
Bonds
Council adopted two bond ordinances for various capital improvements. In one they appropriated $1.1 million for improvements of which $425,000 would be financed through issuance of new bonds. Half of the appropriate funds were directed to road improvements with other significant amounts allocated to continuing the back bay dredging already underway and the removal of stone from Inlet Drive Beach.
In the second ordinance, council appropriated $2.6 million for water and sewer utility improvements almost all of which will be financed through new bonds. 
A long list of improvements includes replacement of the Dune Drive sanitary sewer main from 76th to 80th streets, replacement of the Fifth Avenue main, and repairs to pumping stations.
Massage Anyone?
The work session saw discussion of the need for changes to existing ordinances in order to give the borough great ability to regulate individuals who seek to sell services to beach goers.
Existing ordinances envisioned a world where regulation would be on those who sold “goods” to the public on or at entrances to the beaches.
Apparently an increasing number of entrepreneurs have proposed ventures which the strict letter of the ordinance was not constructed to meet. One example cited was a group that wanted to sell massages to those enjoying a day at the beach.
Assistant Business Administrator James Waldron explained that the existing ordinance did not set up the borough well for the regulation of those who wanted to sell services rather than goods.
Amendments will be proposed to appropriate ordinances concerning Peddlers and Hawkers.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.