CAPE MAY – As promised at City Council’s work session earlier in the month, City Engineer Thomas Thornton of Hatch Mott MacDonald presented, on Oct. 20, the firm’s proposal for conducting a feasibility study to identify actions which could potentially improve beach safety.
The issue has been one the city has grappled with for years, but it has taken on a renewed sense of urgency recently as continued injuries on the beach have prompted public comments pushing for city action.
The problem is those years of beach replenishment, along with impacts of storms and other natural phenomena which alter beach contours, have resulted in steep slopes in the surf zone that could be the source of plunging wave actions dangerous to ocean users.
The city began an education campaign with a beach safety brochure handed to beach tag purchasers, but residents are asking for a more active approach.
Thornton’s proposal amounts to a six-week study which will determine if there is a project the city could undertake. If so, what it would cost. Hatch Mott MacDonald would call on the firm’s resources and experts outside the local area for the project.
The firm will use a review of much existing data from academic research, state surveys, and Army Corps plans to consider the size, shape, and location of breaking waves and possible factors that influence them.
Among other actions, the firm will conduct an alternative analysis, essentially what Thornton called a wave breaking analysis, to determine what might be done to “beneficially alter the wave dynamic.” What appears to be at the core of the concern are the plunging waves which produce a horizontal force that could be dangerous for beach users.
The six-week time frame has been set in order to allow council to consider possible options for what Thornton termed a “pilot project” that could be accomplished before the start of the 2016 season. The report from the firm will include an analysis of permits required for any proposal.
In response to questions, Thornton acknowledged that storms could change whatever engineered solution is put in place.
“That is the nature of the risk associated with this kind of activity,” he said. He expects the report will discuss risks associated with any proposed action in sufficient detail to allow the council to make an informed decision.
Liability Issues
Previous discussion on the matter has touched on the related issue of liability.
One concern is that if the city becomes directly involved in altering the beach slope, liability for any future injury could be lodged with the municipality in ways that it could not now while the city is largely a passive, financial partner with the Army Corps.
Council will have to weigh those risks as well when considering any proposal.
Flag of Honor
For some time, a Flag of Honor has hung in the council room as a gift from the city fire department. The flag lists names of all who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Former mayor Jerry Inderwies, Sr. and his son, former fire chief and council member, Jerry Inderwies, Jr. were concerned that it was not protected from deterioration. The Inderwies family, with council’s approval, had the flag professionally framed at their expense.
At the council meeting Mayor Edward Mahaney pointed to the reinstalled flag and plaque the city added to acknowledge the Inderwies family.
OPRA Suit
The lawsuit by a self-proclaimed North Carolina “OPRA crusader,” has finally been served on the city. City Solicitor Anthony Monzo said the order to show cause suit will be heard on Nov. 18. The city has until Nov. 11 to file a written response to the complaint.
Saying that he was approached by city residents who wanted help forcing the city to provide records, Harry B. Scheeler began the effort with a focus on city legal expenses, but requests for information have broadened from that point.
Monzo said that the city will file a motion to dismiss the suit based on a lack of standing to bring it.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
Cape May – Governor Murphy says he doesn't know anything about the drones and doesn't know what they are doing but he does know that they are not dangerous. Does anyone feel better now?
