Fishing pier with its end lopped off. Photo by Mary Walton
By Charles Layton
It’s been nearly 14 months since Hurricane Irene smashed into the Ocean Grove fishing pier, taking out nine pilings and about a 20-foot section at the far end of the landmark structure.
Neither the Camp Meeting Association, which owns the pier, nor the Ocean Grove Fishing Club, which leases the end of it, has yet come up with any firm plan to make repairs.
One of the Fishing Club’s trustees, Fran Paladino, said in an interview that his organization is prepared to float a loan to restore the pier to its former condition if the Camp Meeting, for its part, will agree to extend the Club’s lease on the pier. “I would say if our request is granted we would go ahead,” Paladino said.
Ralph DelCampo, the Camp Meeting’s interim chief administrator, said the organization has yet to decide on the Fishing Club’s request for a lease extension.
Shortly after the August, 2011 hurricane, the Camp Meeting applied for $150,000 — the estimated cost of repairs at that time — from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). However, FEMA informed the Camp Meeting that its request would be rejected “because,” DelCampo said, “the fishing club area is private.”
Although much of the pier is open to the public, the section at the end (about 96 feet, Paladino said) is leased by the Club and restricted to its 125 members. The Club’s 30-year lease is set to expire 12 years from now. The Fishing Club has not committed to making full repairs without an extension of the lease. “We’re stepping up and our members are paying for the restoration, but they should be able to continue its use as it was in the past,” Paladino said. He said the Club recently delivered a letter to the Camp Meeting explaining its desire that the lease be extended to 30 years from the present time.
Asked what the Club would do if the Camp Meeting refuses to extend the lease, Paladino said the Club’s board has not yet addressed that. One alternative might be to make something less than a full restoration, perhaps leaving the end section cut off short. “There’s a lot of ifs at this point.”
Paladino said the Club has a “rainy day” fund of cash which, combined with the members’ $150-per-year dues, would be enough to handle a loan in the neighborhood of $150,000.
DelCampo said in an interview that the Camp Meeting, meanwhile, is getting some construction estimates. “The economy being the way it is, we wanted to get a realistic estimate,” he said. “We haven’t received that yet.”
Asked if that meant the Camp Meeting itself might be inclined to foot the bill for repairs, he said, “All of it is being looked at, but no final decisions are being made.” He said the Camp Meeting continues to have “dialogue with the Fishing Club leadership.”
Here is how the pier looked before the damage. Photo by Paul Goldfinger
Partial, emergency repairs were made shortly after the hurricane. Paladino said the end of the pier is safe at present, but that not enough of it remains for the Club to continue its popular summer program of teaching kids to fish. There is only enough room for a few people at a time to fish on the end of the pier, the part behind the shack. Leaving the pier as shortened as it is now could eventually cause the Club to lose members, Paladino said.
“Unfortunately we’re in the middle of a negotiation,” he said. “What one side does will determine what the other side does.”
The wrath of Hurricane Irene. Photo by Ted Aanensen
I was told it was the CMA.
Question — Was it the OGFC or the CMA that asked FEMA for funds to repair the pier?
Well, I hate to say this but if Sandy hit on Monday, this issue may really be moot.
Bo — I’m not sure I’m the best one to answer this, but I am told that FEMA has yet to give any written explanation — let alone any formal “ruling” — about why it turned down the funds application. It might have been that FEMA officials felt a recreational pier was a less urgent priority than people’s destroyed homes and businesses. But the CMA was told that funding to rebuild the pier wasn’t to be.
Nobody answered my question. According to the story, FEMA ruled that since the OGFC is private, it couldn’t get funds. I thought FEMA did give out funds to rebuild private property. Can someone explain why is the OGFC different then the other private entities that got FEMA funds?
It strikes me that power is the determiner here. The CMA has the ability to put an end to the Fishing Club in the year 2024 if it chooses to, simply by not renewing the lease. So if the FC wants to continue to exist, there’s a limit to how much it can demand in the negotiation. And that’s what it is, a negotiation.
Bullets, I have to disagree. If you rent a house, are you as the Tenant responsible if a storm comes along and damages the structure? No, of course not. The Landlord is. OGFC is a tenant on the Camp Meeting’s property.
The fishing pier is such a wonderful symbol of Ocean Grove. I hope the Ocean Grove Fishing Club and the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting can come to an agreement on extending the lease and making the necessary repairs to the pier. The Fishing Club offered some wonderful children’s programs that teach them how to fish and share information about the ocean and nature. (This is offered to some physically and mentally challenged children.) Also, the Ocean Grove FIshing Pier is such an important part of its history and we do not want to loss that. So I hope this is resolved.
The fishing club should pay for all of the repairs. They are the lessees and they are the only ones who use it. I don’t feel as if the funds that the CMA brings in from the tents, concerts, and home sales should go to fix something that isn’t available to everyone.
I just reread the article to be sure it says the Fishing Club would pay. That is exactly what is in the third paragraph. What does the CMA have in mind when the lease IS up? –kick the OG Fishing Club off the end of the pier? If not, why not agree to an extension to such a worthy Ocean Grove organization now?
Didn’t most of FEMA money go to private properties, i.e. private homes and businesses?
This one of those issues that might be unique to Ocean Grove and the CMA. Just like the Pavillion controversy, restrictive usage. If use is restricted in any way, how then can you justify obtaining public or government funds to fix it?