It is a cold windy day here in Harvey Cedars.  Phil saw his shadow and it looks like six more weeks of winter.  The beaches saw significant erosion from our last storm, and we suffered the loss of some dune fence.  We also saw several of the beach entrances disappear.  We will be working to rebuild the entrances so people can get on the beach, in the near future.  The dune fence will be replaced as we get closer to the summer.
Public works is also rebuilding some of the valves in the water plant and we are getting ready to go out to bid to increase the water supply for Bay Terrace.  We have put ice eaters out on our docks to protect them from the bay freezing over.  We are also developing plans to refurbish the dock on 78th Street.  It has needed repair for some time, and we are looking forward to having it ready for the summer.

There has also been the need to do some repairs at the borough yard.  The apron to the garage has deteriorated and needs repairing, along with the floor inside of the maintenance building, it has settled and cracked.  Our team will be working on making repairs to the building during the winter months.  Along with responding to the occasional water leak we are prepared for snow storms.  We are committed to providing clear roads for all our residents.

Stay safe and warm as we enjoy six more weeks of winter.

Hello Residents! Not much new for this installment of the February blast email.  We are continuing to work on the 2021 budget and will have it finalized by the end of March.  We have submitted our Borough's annual debt statement; it shows that our long-term debt is at a very low percentage compared to our annual budget indicating we are in sound financial shape.  Year over year, our debt has been decreasing.

Hope to see you all soon.

On behalf of myself and Chief Burnaford, we hope all are well, healthy, safe, and happy!

Speed Limit on side streets: This has been a big issue for me as I think the speed limit on the Harvey Cedars side streets has been too high, creating a dangerous situation for children playing in the streets. Last July I asked the Ocean County Engineer (Ocean County is responsible for West 80th Street and Camden Avenue) to look at lowering the speed limit, beginning with W. 80th Street - which we feel is a huge concern.  The HCPD performed a traffic study which we submitted last July and this week we got an OK to lower the speed limit on W. 80th St. from 25 MPH to 20 MPH. This will take a Borough ordinance, which will be introduced at the Feb. 5th Borough meeting; a hearing and adoption of the ordinance will then take place at the Feb. 19th meeting. New signage will follow thereafter. A very good start, and a demonstration that the County Engineer can be responsive to our requests if we handle them properly.  The HCPD is currently working with the HC Municipal Engineer on lowering speed limits on other side streets. Stay tuned! Speed limits on the side streets and the Boulevard will be enforced, as always, so please drive carefully.

HCPD Grants: this month we became the direct recipient or beneficiary of two nice grant programs:

• Child Restraint Safety: because HC Detective Tim Butler is one of our Traffic Safety Officers and is certified in auto child car safety restraint systems (no minor thing!) we are eligible to receive grant funding to hold an event and/or participate in other events throughout our area. It is our goal to hold a child restraint inspection event this spring/summer, if at all possible, given the current coronavirus restrictions.

• A “Move Over” enforcement grant. Much as with a DWI program, this program will fund HC Officers to enforce the “Move Over” for emergency vehicles law. Failure to “move over” creates extremely dangerous situations, so please be aware.