From Barbara Susinno: Hello my Lavallettian friends, on this somewhat blustery night, I will try to convey to you some of the highlights of the council meeting that took place tonight. The first topic concerns route 35 reconstruction and it isnt a fun topic because the new proposal and notification is that starting on December 15th, there will be NO parking on route 35 north and one lane, the shoulder, will be the only lane available for traffic in town. Mr. Parlow claimed this new proposal was not in accordance with the original terms of the road construction contract with our town and is not at all acceptable. Mayor La Cicero voiced ,and will continue to voice ,aggressive opposition to this idea and Mark Speaker, president of the Lavallette Business Association, later in the meeting, voiced total opposition to this concept as well, at least until after the holiday season when shopping is so vital to businesses in winter. Compromises may have to be accepted after that time, but not until January will this be an acceptable proposal. As soon as Mayor La Cicero finds out the details and outcome of this parking dilemma, he will have it posted on the Lavallette.org site for all to view. Did you ever have a nail or piece of metal or other debris, lodged in a tire while traveling route 35 during this construction? And then , did you have the tire or tires fixed at your own expense and thought there was no recourse for reimbursement? Well it turns out that Councilwoman Zalom had a lug stuck in her flat tire and knew it was from the road construction debris and to make a long story shorter, she found she could fill out a claim form within 90 days of the problem encountered , and along with protocol documentation, such as receipt for repair and a picture of the damaged part of the vehicle, she was reimbursed for the repair. Being she had been through this procedure herself, she had many claim forms copied for residents use , and now available at the borough trailer. Damage to vehicles is quite common, especially flat tires , and you may not know you have an excellent chance to be reimbursed for your repairs. Keep your receipts, take a picture and then pick up your form and follow the protocol if this happens to you as well. Councilwoman Filippone gave her Construction, Zoning and Municipal Court Reports for November and on a very positive note, it turns out the town is receiving revenue fees of between$ 50,000 to $55,000 a month which is showing a great booming effect for us . This past month there were 7 C/Os (certificate of occupancy for new homes) and 36 C/A s (certificate of approval for renovations). We are coming along even with the demolitions that are still taking place and will eventually have C/Os as well. Councilwoman Zalom gave the Public Affairs report and talked of the great success of the December 5th Tree Lighting event , sponsored by the Lavallette Business Association in conjunction with the Lavallette Elementary PTO. Approximately 200 people were present and enjoyed the lighting of the beautiful Christmas tree purchased by the Lavallette Beautification Committee. This tree was purchased with a root ball to replant eventually and a place may have been chosen which would be on the north side of the tennis courts. After planting and taking root, it could very well become a tree that could also be decorated in the future and will certainly dress up that area as well.. Eventually, the annual tree lighting will take place by the Borough Hall , most likely, as it always has in past years. Some ordinances for adoption that were discussed tonight, included the ordinance for a bond providing financing for a portion of the costs for improvement to Vance Avenue. In the meantime, Virginia Ave is next to be paved, and then Vance and then Guyer Avenues. The next ordinance discussed was one concerning the amending of the code to allow an adjustment of fees charged for beach access. This however, only affects daily beach badges ,which in summer of 2015, will now be $8 a badge. No other beach badge increases will occur as part of this ordinance currently. Also mentioned a few times now and again tonight, was the fact that the town gets charged a fee for credit card use when buying beach badges and stickers .sSo,for those people who pay for their badges by credit card, they will be charged an added 2% fee . If however, you pay for your badges and parking stickers by cash or check, there will be no added fee .This will include those of you who pre order your badges by mail and send in a credit card number with the order. So keep that all in mind next time you purchase your badges and stickers. And as mentioned before, an ordinance changing the date for requirement of parking stickers, was approved as well. You will no longer need to worry about having parking stickers on Memorial Day as they will be required when the beach badges are required which is when the summer season begins. This should clear up a lot of confusion and make it so much easier for people to remember . One new ordinance was introduced tonight , concerning fees for the use of pavilions on the boardwalk and the Gazebo at the bay. The fees for use of either pavilions or the Gazebo, are now going to be non-refundable fees . Both require fees for use for occasions such as weddings, and just keep in mind that once contracted and paid for, if you have to cancel the event, you will not receive back your fee for use. Mayor La Cicero attended a meeting with the NJ Department of Transportation, concerning the update on the Route 37 Mathis Bridge Project .There will apparently be one lane heading eastward and 2 lanes heading westward, (purposed for evacuation). The project will require 3 years of work but will not be worked on from May to October every year. The Ocean County Planning board offers a Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG funding grant, that needs to be designated for a target area. We have a $40,000 grant that will most likely be targeted for our lifeguard headquarters for accessibility and because the lifeguard headquarters will be set on piles, it will need a ramp and decking for wheelchair accessibility. The lifeguard headquarters will not be built until after this coming summer.. A second CDBG grant will be available in July. The architect is moving ahead with plans for the lifeguard station and electrical service is going to be moved to accommodate the future building. Mr. Parlow spoke about a Post Sandy Planning Assistance Grant Program which required a report to be completed as the first step for the grant . We need to renew and revise our existing Master Plan Land Use and need a professional consultant to help with this venture. The second step therefore , will be to advertise for bids for a consultant to prepare a master plan. The Mayor and Council were concerned about an additional requirement that was presented to them, concerning the federal beach replenishment . The new requirement involves additional easements at street endings for perpetual use by Fema ,for beach replenishment continuing access through the years. Neither Mayor La Cicero, Mr Parlow our Borough Administrator or any of the Council members are in favor of this essential handing over of borough property, for perpetual use by the federal government. Mayor La Cicero is going to be looking into this much further before starting this project at all. The street endings have nothing to do with the beach replenishment so the whole proposition is highly debatable as being a necessity . Councilman Lamb reported on the Firehouse and it was a very positive report . He said that the electrical system within the firehouse is possibly but one weekend away from being completed. There is a need for a commercial electrician for one segment to be completed and that will be taken care of soon. Walls have been fixed, are being painted and all should be done by January . $7000.00 of donations targeted for the Lavallette Firehouse, have been received and will be put to good use,probably for rebuilding of the kitchen area inside the firehouse. Unfortunately, however, there has been a major slowdown in the building of our Borough Hall, due to “change orders” by the construction company, involving the need for more funds to continue the project. This new change order concerns a change in the specifications of the dome. We cannot afford to slow down the reconstruction and yet are not sure the change orders that seem to stop the progress, are necessary.. We need a consultant who can analyze and advise as to whether or not the change orders that continue to halt the progress of this project are valid because delays are no longer acceptable. Mayor La Cicero wants to aggressively seek help and get this show on the road once again and a professional consultant seems to be the best choice at this time. Mr. Robert DAnton, president of AST Development Corp , has volunteered some help and keen insight as a consultant in this matter but we will need to hire a professional management consultant to further expedite our Borough Hall progress . You probably have heard by now, about the annual Lavallette Heritage Committee Christmas Party ,to be held on December 21st a t the Lavallette First Aid Building. Tickets are available but are not available at the door so please think about joining us. Here is the information you will need to acquire a ticket; December 21st Caroling in the Sunset Room at 6pm Dinner at 7:00pm BYOB First Aid Building Washington Avenue & Bay Boulevard Limited Seating Available contact: Eileen Vayda at 732 239 0054 for ticket information and purchase ($15 a ticket) For those of you who ordered Christmas wreaths from the Ladies Auxiliary of the Lavallette Fire Department, your wreaths should be here on Wednesday 13. For some reason they were held up and are just in Philadelphia now on there way here soon for you to pickup.They have never been late in past years so this is very unusual. Please remember that if you go to Lavallette.org, you can find the agenda for every council meeting Some of the agenda topics might interest you enough to seek more information on your own , I am just relaying some of the main topics of discussion during the meeting but there are certainly many more items of unfinished and new business in the agenda that are not elaborated upon at meetings. Please do check out the agendas and the minutes to get a feel for what your Mayor and Council are working on through the weeks and months . The next Lavallette Council meeeting is 7 pm on December 22nd, if you are around and care to attend please do! Goodnight , drive safely and stay warm!
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 12:52:29 +0000
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