June 2023 Newsletter
Department of Public Works & Public Property - Commissioner/Mayor Jonathan Oldham
Memorial Day has come and gone. The Island was packed with people filled with anticipation of the beginning of summer, and the weather did not disappoint. Public works worked very hard to get everything ready for the kickoff to summer. Beach entrances were rebuilt, dunes pushed up, beach mats installed, trash cans put out, wind screens placed on the pickleball courts, and so many other things were accomplished that nobody sees.
There is a real stir over the windmills that are proposed to be installed offshore. There are people on both sides of this issue, and we need to leave this world a better place than when we found it. If you are concerned about moving the windmills further offshore, I would recommend that you get involved with Save LBI at https://www.savelbi.org They are working to have them moved further offshore and seem to be a source of information.
We are completing the watermain on 75th Street and will try to get one installed on West Bergen Avenue before everyone arrives for the summer. We will want to let the trench that was dug settle over the summer, and then we will pave both of the streets in the fall. If you watched the North Beach project, you would have seen why we let trenches settle prior to paving.
The streetscapes project is being reviewed by the Department of Transportation and, as soon as we receive their blessing, we will go out to bid. We are slated to begin construction in the fall. I have also been notified that the beach replenishment will begin late fall or early winter. We are in desperate need of replenishment from 76th Street in the north all the way to the south end of town.
The borough will be installing a fence at the bay beach shortly and look forward to opening all our beaches. A number of years ago, we started lifeguarding some of our beaches on the weekends beginning Memorial Day. There were many rescues up and down the island and lives lost north of Long Beach Island. I am proud we put guards on the beach to make it safer for the residents of our town.
We are looking forward to a good summer.
Department of Revenue & Finance – Commissioner Paul Rice
We are rapidly approaching the summer season! Water and sewer bills are currently being processed and will be mailed out shortly. If you are interested in signing up for direct debit, click here to access the form.
Beach badges are available at the pre-season rate until June 15th. If you cannot make it in person to purchase, click here to access the mail-in order form. Mail-in orders must be postmarked no later than June 15th. Pick-ups and in person purchasing will take place at the borough hall until June 16th. Beginning June 17th all badges will be available at Sunset Park daily from 10am-3pm.
The calendar of events is available now in borough hall and on the borough website. Click here to check out our scheduled events and camps!
The Harvey Cedars Activity Committee has added a hand full of new merchandise in the last few months. Now available in borough hall is our new "distressed" visor (perfect for pickleball), crewneck collegiate sweatshirt, and our 2023 fireworks shirt. If you can't make it to borough hall, make sure to visit the HCAC booth at all of our craft and art events throughout the summer.
Thank you again to all of you that have donated for our Labor Day fireworks event.
Department of Public Safety & Public Affairs – Commissioner/Deputy Mayor John M. Imperiale
The Chief and I hope everyone had a great and safe Memorial
Day Weekend and are ready for a great Summer!
The Harvey Cedars Public Safety Community Forums continued in May with the HC
Beach Patrol Community Forum, led by Chief of Beach Operations Randy Townsend.
Chief Townsend did a great job presenting the HC Beach Patrol’s Organization
Chart, Policies and Procedures, a description of the Lifeguard in Training
(LIT) Program, the Beach Access Program, and more. As always, a great question
and answer session followed with some great ideas from our residents.
Congratulations and thanks to Chief Townsend for a great presentation.
Next up, on Thursday, June 15th, at 5 pm, will be the Harvey Cedars Public
Safety Community Forum presented by the High Point Volunteer Fire Company and
the Barnegat Light First Aid Squad. Come join your neighbors for a great
presentation about the key VOLUNTEER organizations that keep us safe all year
round!
In a continuing effort to keep our beach staff and residents safe, especially
the youth in our Lifeguard In Training Program, HC Public Safety will be
purchasing a weather machine w/ lightning detection capabilities. This
equipment comes fully warranted every year, provides mobile (cell phone) and
desktop notifications to our public safety supervisors and key decision makers,
visual camera of the area of our choosing and radar tracking with 24/7 access
to a meteorologist for questions regarding weather activity specific to Harvey
Cedars. Not only would our Beach Patrol and Police Department greatly benefit
from this equipment, our Department of Public Works will have full access to
the data and it will assist them with their weather related concerns such as
upcoming nor-easters and snow storms. This equipment will greatly assist us
with making important and quick life saving decisions.
Some more good news: In May the LBI Health Department provided us with the
results of bacteria samples from Kinsey Cove, all samples indicated less than 3
colony forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliter of water. That is extremely
low: it could likely be zero, as you can only get so low based on dilution and
sensitivity. The recreational bathing standard is less than 104 CFU per 100ML.
In terms of bacteriological standards this is great and indicated there are no
sanitary issues or leaks leaching into the lagoon.
In addition, we completed the “Dead Fish Plan” in case we have another incident
of dead fish in our coves this Summer. This plan will allow us to respond and
mitigate the negative effects as much as possible. I want to thank the
Department of Public Works, Public Finance, and the LBI Health Department for
their contributions to this plan - which I hope we never need!
I am sure you have seen by now that Traffic Lights on the boulevard have been
activated and the speed limit lowered. Please drive carefully at all times, and
remember to move over one lane for pedestrians or bikers, when possible, and
slow down to 25 MPH if you cannot move over.
Please note the Lifeguard schedule for beach coverage can be found at www.harveycedars.org.
Over the Memorial Day Weekend, the weather was excellent and our town was
packed. Our police department was fully staffed and responded to and handled
approximately 180 incidents. Below is a brief summary of a few of the incidents
that you might find interesting:
Fire calls: 2
Medical calls: 4
Missing persons: 1
Motor Vehicle Stops: 60
Motor Vehicle Summons: 15
Trespassing call: 1
Property Checks: 75
Property Damage: 1
Assisted LBTPD: 5
Finally, I hope to see everyone at the Saturday, June 17th Harvey Cedars Taxpayers Association (HCTA) social at Sunset Park from 4:00 - 6:00. The HCTA does a great job for Harvey Cedars and this is just another example of one of their great programs. Come and meet your neighbors and enjoy a Saturday afternoon!