Committee Meeting Highlights

Here's a rundown of the decisions and discussion from Tuesday night's Barnegat Township Committee meeting, from a police lieutenant's retirement to news of new housing developments.

A closer look at the budget hearing and an update on the Lower Shore Road softball field will be coming later today.

• The township is still waiting on state approval of the budget, which Mayor Jeffrey Melchiondo reminded residents has a tax levy cut and absorbs a significant deficit generated by tax appeals. Check back with Barnegat Patch later for details on the budget hearing held last night, during which several members of the public weighed in on the township’s budget process.

• The committee approved a severance agreement with Lt. Joseph Bogdany of the Barnegat Township Police Department, who submitted his retirement after 15 years on the force. Breeden said Bogdany will retire Oct. 1, and that the township will not be replacing him or his position, meaning the department will go from 45 to 44 sworn officers and will have three instead of four lieutenants.

• The township finalized its shared services agreement with Ocean Township with a resolution at the meeting. The townships will share public works and water and sewer employees through the agreement.

• Committee memebers approved the sale of a small non-conforming lot it owns off Gunning River Road. The 3/10-acre lot with no street frontage will be sold to an adjoining property owner for $20,000 plus $1,000 to cover legal fees, said township administrator David Breeden – a price well above what the land is assessed at, he said. 

• The committee also passed an ordinance that allows the body to exceed its 2.5 percent appropriations increase cap and stash away excess appropriations for future years. The committee passes a similar measure each year, said Breeden. The appropriations cap – which is separate from the tax levy cap and doesn’t affect the levy at all, he said – allows the township to pull in extra money if the funds become available and put that money away as a resource for the future.

• Al Bille noted that he oversaw some recent maintenance and cleanup work at Project Playground on Rosehill Road and at the municipal dock. The Public Works Department removed some graffiti from the playground and cleaned up debris and fixed broken bathroom mirrors at the dock, he said.

• Township administrator David Breeden said K. Hovnanian Homes intends to break ground soon on a new senior development south of West Bay Avenue and across from Pancoast Road. The development of 350 new homes was approved several years ago, Breeden said, and K. Hovnanian is now starting the process of installing water and sewer infrastructure.

• Breeden said a developer is also conducting surveys near Hannah Lee Way with the aim of submitting an application to township boards for approvals for new construction. No approvals have been given for a project there yet, he said.

• Breeden also announced 45 new seasonal hires, including 40 people assigned to the township’s summer camp, three lifeguards for the bay beach and two bus drivers.

• During public session, resident and independent candidate for Township Committee Howard Effron addressed the issue of committee members' health benefits. Breeden explained that the township originally planned to keep elected officials on their previous healthcare plans when other Barnegat employees switched over to the state plan, but that regulations ultimately dictated they join the state plan, too. When Effron pointed out that the state benefits plan requires enrollees to work at least 35 hours a week to qualify, the committee members assured him their elected positions are full-time jobs.