OG boardwalk near Seaview Avenue, looking south towards the Pavilion. The long unfinished stretch is to be completed by Memorial Day.  CMA funded territory.  5/2/18 © Blogfinger.  Click to enlarge.

This shows the North End boards where TREX meets non-TREX—FEMA funded territory. Blogfinger photo. ©

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.  Video by Blogfinger.

Regarding the current boardwalk project, we have communicated with the OGCMA  and with FEMA, and here is a summary of our findings:

a.  You may recall that the massive Sandy storm, in October, 2012, destroyed about 60%  of the boards in Ocean Grove, primarily in the “middle beach” section.   But damage occurred at the north and south ends as well.

From the OGCMA:  “FEMA reimbursed a significant percentage of the cost to repair/replace only those sections of the boardwalk which were significantly damaged by Sandy.”

b. The South End boards were protected somewhat due to a pre-existing metal bulkhead that had been built after a 1992 nor’easter. But the CMA embarked on a reconstruction project near the beach offices and the connection to Bradley Beach.

c.   Similarly, there was some damage at the North End, and a new bulkhead was built there after Sandy.  The boards at the North End, by the White Whale building, which don’t match the TREX are, according to the CMA, not old boards.  “They are newly installed wood, despite being of a different material than the other new portions of the boardwalk.”

North of Seaview Avenue  (see photos above,)   FEMA estimated and paid $494,650.80 for that work, but the CMA wound up spending $862, 542.13, and they paid for the balance.

d.  The Middle Beach project was completed in 2014 with FEMA funds.  The engineering and structural challenges were significant, as the CMA strived to rebuild a very strong boardwalk to withstand future storms.

f. From OGCMA:   “The current project replacing boardwalk from the southern side of the Boardwalk Pavilion to Seaview Avenue is 100% financed by the OGCMA.”     President Michael Badger says, “This replacement effort is not part of the FEMA reimbursement for super-storm Sandy.  The demolition of the old section of the boardwalk, debris removal, surface grading, and construction involving structural components, decking, railing, steps, curbing, and other elements are being funded by the OGCMA   (‘over $1 million’) without government reimbursement.”

FEMA has verified that this  CMA statement is factual.

g.   From FEMA:  “In total, FEMA awarded $2,174,565.82 in public assistance funding to repair the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association boardwalk. These costs are from the cumulative total of three separate PA project worksheets addressing different areas of repair. Included in this total is $549,612.00 for the north section of the Boardwalk.”

h.  At Blogfinger we have been interested in this subject since the storm  and  we posted many articles, more than any other media outlet,  about the FEMA decisions vis a vis reimbursement to rebuild the Boardwalk and about construction and engineering details.

So many people from the OGCMA, State and Federal governments, and Neptune Township, participated in the difficult effort to obtain reimbursement for the Grove as other Jersey Shore communities did.

You can do Blogfinger searches by typing in key words at the upper right hand corner of our home page.  The topic is very complicated.

BILLY JOEL  “MOVING OUT”