Thursday, May 16, 2013
NJ Hope and Healing has had more than 14,000 face-to-face contacts since November as they help locals recover from the emotional impact of Superstorm Sandy
The mood has changed. A log from NJ Hope and Healing shows that people impacted by Hurricane Sandy have gone from feeling shocked, sad and tired with a loss of appetite to angry, hopeless and unable to make decisions. “People are having a natural reaction to abnormal circumstances,” said Carol Benevy, Project Lead for NJ Hope and Healing. NJ Hope and Healing is a project sponsored by the New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Disaster and Terrorism Branch, through a FEMA grant. In partnership with Barnabas Health Institute for Prevention, NJ Hope and Healing offers support to communities in the aftermath of Sandy. “We coordinate statewide efforts to help individuals and communities manage the emotional impact of the …
County will apply for loan through CDBG to boost ratable base
Adoption of the county budget was once again postponed, as the county recently became aware of possible funding that could boost its ratable base, which was drastically cut due to Superstorm Sandy. The Ocean County Freeholders approved a resolution at its regular meeting Wednesday allowing the county to apply for funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Actually, it’s good news,” Freeholder Director John P. Kelly said. The funding would come from CDBG, separate from the grants the county receives annually through the program. The money is for communities whose ratable base diminished by more than 5 percent because of the superstorm, county Business Administrator Carl Block said. “We may be able to incorporate…
Monday, May 13, 2013
County residents can gather information pertaining to hazard mitigation and provide input on Tuesday, May 14 from 3 to 7 p.m.
The Ocean County Office of Emergency Management will be developing a plan to address a variety of potential hazards and is seeking public input at a Tuesday, May 14 meeting. “It’s very important to get public participation in developing our Multi-Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan,” said Acting Sheriff William Sommeling, who serves as the county’s Emergency Management Coordinator. The plan will include a risk assessment and a hazard mitigation strategy. It will identify projects that can reduce damages from natural, man-made and technological hazards. “With Superstorm Sandy fresh in everyone’s mind we want our citizens, elected officials and emergency responders to help develop the plan that is best for Ocean County,” Sommeling …
Senate bill 2601 would also allow the county to exercise the power of eminent domain in order to erect dunes to protect lands, property and facilities near the beaches
The Ocean County Freeholders oppose a Senate bill that, if approved, would permit counties to take over the operation of beaches within its jurisdiction. A resolution stating that Ocean County would be “actively impacted” by this legislation was unanimously passed at a Freeholders meeting May 1. “If Ocean County were to take over and maintain the 44 miles of just oceanfront beaches in Ocean County, it would not only be cost prohibitive but would also require taxpayers who don’t use the beaches to pay for them,” Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari said. The bill (S2601, A3891), sponsored by Sen. Bob Smith and Assemblywoman L. Grace Spencer, would authorize any county of the fifth or six class — Atlantic, Monmouth, Ocean and Cape May — to assume …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
"Discrepancies" were found in some of the charges submitted by AshBritt, the debris removal firm contracted by the state after Superstorm Sandy
AshBritt, Inc., the firm hired by the state to haul debris after Superstorm Sandy, benefited from an “ambiguous” contract that resulted in at least tens of thousands in extra charges, according to a report released on Wednesday. Ocean County Administrator Carl Block handed the Freeholders a thick report at Wednesday’s pre-board meeting. The report, done by state-hired monitor The Louis Berger Group, Inc., reviews the mileage billed to Ocean County by AshBritt. “The director contacted me after some articles had been written about the clean up efforts,” Block said. Freeholder Director John P. Kelly had asked for a report to be done breaking down the process of debris hauling as well as the charges in relation to distance. “Discrepancies” had…
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
More than 13 miles of roadway will be repaired
The county will be embarking on improvement projects for 11 county roads in the upcoming weeks. “As part of our annual overlay program, we will be starting work shortly on safety improvements including stormwater drainage work, new paving and reconstruction on several roads throughout Ocean County,” said Ocean County Freeholder Director John P. Kelly, Director of Law and Public Safety. More than 13 miles of roadway will be repaired when complete, he said. The Board of Freeholders will be awards a contract to Earle Asphalt Company, which is based out of Farmingdale, in the amount of $2 million to reconstruct portions of seven roadways. “This work will get under way in the next few weeks and while there may be some inconvenience to motorists…
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Residents rally outside the Sandy-ravaged Surf Club in Ortley Beach
On any given day or night in the past, Joey Harrison's Surf Club parking lot on Sixth Avenue in Ortley Beach would be packed with cars. But that was before Oct. 29, 2012. There is no parking lot left. And soon the Surf Club will be a memory. Superstorm Sandy took care of that. Two oceanfront homes battered by Sandy served as a backdrop for the latest meeting of the grassroots group Stop FEMA Now. The meeting was held in the Ortley Beach section of Toms River - the spot many consider the epicenter of devastation in Ocean County. Stop FEMA Now founder George Kasimos pointed to the pale-yellow house knocked off its foundation, as seagulls wheeled overhead in a cerulean sky. The Atlantic Ocean roared beyond the new dunes. "Six months," he said…
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Board of Freeholders unanimously introduce 2013 budget; public hearing on May 1
Ocean County's equalized tax base dropped $10 billion after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the Jersey Shore last Oct. 29. The county's tax base fell from $100.2 billion in 2012 to $90.2 billion in 2013, largely as a result of the massive storm that devastated the barrier island and some mainland sections, Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. said. The county tax rate will jump 3.7 cents for each $100 of equalized valuation. But using some of the 2013 county open space tax funds will pare the increase to 3.2 cents, he said. "The tax rate and base work hand in hand," Bartlett said. "We are not going to raise any more in overall tax." Bartlett made the remarks before the freeholders unanimously approved the introduction of the $386,188,713 budget, …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
County will use open space funds to help make up the difference, Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. says
Freeholder John C. Bartlett Jr. has been compiling public budgets for 40 years. And 2013 is shaping up be the worst year of all, he said. "It is the most difficult budget I have ever worked on," Bartlett said a caucus meeting of the Ocean County Board of Freeholders today. "We have experienced unprecedented damage from Superstorm Sandy." The county fronted the money for storm cleanup for municipalities who signed on for shared services through a $100 million emergency appropriation last November. That money must be made up in increments of 20 percent over the next five years, Bartlett said. But most of the emergency appropriation funds will be recovered eventually from FEMA and the participating municipalities, he said. As it stands now, …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Residents must call the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs to report their problems with utilities, county will advocate on their behalf
Don't take no for an answer. Call us. That's the message Freeholder Joseph H. Vicari wants to get out to Superstorm Sandy victims who are still receiving utility bills, even though they may have lost their homes or been displaced. "If they have an issue with a utility company, call us up," he said. 'We will do the best we can." Residents need to call or e-mail the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs with their information before they county can act on their behalf, Vicari said. The phone is 732-929-2105. The fax is 732-506-5330. The e-mail is ConsumerAffairs@co.ocean.nj.us. And he has no patience for utility officials who say they are billing customers fixed costs, not actual usage. "I don't care," he said. "This is the worst storm…
KC
10:26 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013
Angel's work, angels! more ›