New Shark River Municipal Marina construction: floating docks, June 9, 2013
New bulkheads, docking posts, water and electric almost complete. Blogfinger photos.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger. This topic came to the surface after Sandy, but it was relevant before then and is relevant today. Read it now in 2019 and you will see the similarities between Sandy and now. Neptune Township has not changed its stripes—it takes from Ocean Grove but doesn’t give.
It is a bizarre relationship that should be subject to legal scrutiny, but that doesn’t happen. We get minimal value for our tax dollars while other parts of town have favorite nation status. It was unfair then, and it is unfair now, and the 800 pound gorilla in the Township, the OG Camp Meeting Association, is not interested in recognizing this conundrum. (defined as “A paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma.”)
The Fairness Dilemma in Neptune Township: (June, 2013) on Blogfinger.net
There are two similar public recreational places in Neptune Township: The Shark River Municipal Marina and the Ocean Grove Boardwalk. The Marina is owned by Neptune Township, while the OG Boardwalk is owned by the OG Camp Meeting Association. Both places are open to the public and provide public services.
Neptune manages and maintains the Marina, while the CMA does the same for the Boardwalk. Supposedly the Marina is self- sustaining, requiring no taxpayer dollars for its routine functions. The OG Boardwalk receives no taxpayer dollars from Neptune Township either.
But along comes a massive storm called Sandy, and there is destruction in both parts of town. A cleanup ensues after the storm, and Neptune Township borrows a great deal of money and quickly begins to deal with the mess at Shark River. It sends crews everywhere except the beachfront at Ocean Grove. Its workers do not step beyond the eastern curb of Ocean Avenue.
Marina building after post-Sandy demolition by Neptune Township
Ocean Grove embarks on a slow cleanup, mostly with the help of volunteers. A remarkable outpouring of support brings help from around the state and other states as well. While the CMA struggles with its oceanfront cleanup, it tries to figure out how to pay the bills for the boardwalk reconstruction. Because of the uncertainty of financing, a phased project is designed. Once FEMA rejects their initial application, they know that the boardwalk will not be done for this coming summer.
In February, 2013, construction work begins at the Marina to replace bulkheads, docks, electric and water systems. The Township is sure it can get funding from FEMA. Their confidence lets them issue bonds while they wait for FEMA to pick up 75-90% of the bill.
Now, June, 2013, expensive floating docks are arriving and being installed at the Marina along South Riverside Drive at the Shark River. There are plans to rebuild the Marina buildings which were demolished. The Marina will be operational this summer; boaters are already enjoying their new dockings. The Riverside Park across the street has already been rebuilt to help lift the spirits of the citizens who live near the river. The final reconstruction of the Municipal Marina will be expensive.
Riverside Park is across the street from the Marina. Blogfinger photo June 10, 2013
In Ocean Grove, a part of town which is almost identical in population to Shark River Hills, minimal rebuilding of the boardwalk has occurred—paid for by the OGCMA. There are no plans to reconstruct the entire middle of the Boardwalk at this time. No FEMA money is approved, and an appeal has been denied.
Not a dime has been paid by Neptune Township for the oceanfront cleanup, nor do they intend to help pay for the boardwalk. They have given some advice and moral support, but evidently, it appears that they are certain that it is not their business. The Mayor says that no money can come from NT because the Boardwalk “is private.” In fact the financial burden for that is all on the CMA, generous donors from outside, and the people of Ocean Grove.
Yet the citizens of both parts of town pay taxes to Neptune and the Federal Government. One part is being helped, but not the other part. The only difference between the two is that the owners are different. But in terms of public service, they are essentially the same. In fact Ocean Grove serves many more people on their Boardwalk than are served at the Marina.
Where is the fairness in that? The people who live by the ocean want access to their public place restored just as those who live along the Shark River do.
OK, the CMA owns the boardwalk, but it is used as a public facility and it has been recognized as such in the past by court rulings. (ref: State Sen. Jeniffer Beck) The CMA has acted in good faith all these years by maintaining the boardwalk so that it is accessible and free to everyone. I bet most of the boardwalkers never wonder who actually owns that wonderful place, and Neptune has not objected in the past to the public services provided by a private group. They were OK with the unique private/public relationship as long as they were getting, but not giving. But now, after the storm destruction, the boardwalk is recognized only as being private. They seem to have forgotten the rest.
Maybe the FEMA bureaucrats see a distinction according to their rules, but to the people of the Grove, it fails the smell test. The situation requires special consideration by Neptune Township because fairness is the American way, and, in our country, rules are often changed in the interest of fairness. Neptune needs to take down the smokescreen, start thinking out of the box, and try harder to find a way to help the taxpaying citizens of Ocean Grove.
2019 update: A private fund raising effort by the CMA brings in over $1,000,000 (the Together Fund.) The Township eventually issues bonds to help pay for part of the boardwalk, but that isn’t the same as free money provided by FEMA to the Shark River area. Eventually FEMA did award some money after appeals, but not enough to rebuild it all in the Grove, and they denied payment to bring back the pier after initially promising payment. It took several years to restore the entire boardwalk, one of the slowest beach towns to recover. Meanwhile, while the CMA had to beg for some FEMA money, parts of Seaside Park were rebuilt twice.
Today, Neptune Township continues to show little interest in its “historic district,” and it refuses to recognize the specific demographic of “OG residents.”
There may be something to R. Salow’s comment, at least in terms of thinking clearly out loud. Neptune needs to give more to Ocean Grove, and Ocean Grove needs to get out from under the grip of the CMA. Unfortunately, the status quo has allies including the CMA, the Home Groaners (who never think out of the box,) the self-interested single party Committee, and the apathetic public .
Ultimately, for the residents of the Grove, they will never enjoy the clear breath of democracy unless OG becomes its own town.
The solution might be for the CMA to sell the beachfront to Neptune Township for $1 and for the Township to lease it back to the CMA under a long term (100 year?) lease for $1/per year, renewable at the option of the CMA or successor corporations. Thus, when a storm damages the boardwalk, the re-building effort will qualify for FEMA monies.
Reblogged this on Blogfinger and commented:
This 2013 post is interesting, coming on the heels of Sandy. Blogfinger supported the CMA from the start..Now, in 2018, we are still puzzled over the relationships of the CMA, the tax paying public, and Neptune Township.
Click on “BLOGFINGER” below.
Here’s a two-in-one :
Hi Aggravated Curmudgeon –
I can’t comment on CMA information. However, even if the CMA were to cede the boardwalk to the Township tomorrow, it’s still unlikely that FEMA would pay to repair the boardwalk, as it was damaged while owned by a private entity. The Township would end up having to bond for money to repair the boardwalk from Sandy damage. Of course, going forward, the boardwalk would be eligible for FEMA funding for repairs or at least the Township tapping its bonding power (we have a very low debt load and because of the Township’s stellar credit rating, we usually borrow in the 1%-2% range) to cover future repairs if we owned it. However, the CMA has not offered to sell and we haven’t offered to buy.
And just to clarify, the land leases have nothing to do with Ocean Grove’s National Historic District status. That status was granted due to the layout of the town and the architecture of its buildings. There are plenty of National Historic Districts that do not have land leases. The historic status would not change based on that. And to be clear, the sale of land leases has never been breached.
Frank S –
We at the Township have our eyes and ears open about this every day. The Mayor has met or spoken with staff from the Governor’s office and State Senator Jennifer Beck several times a week since Sandy hit. The Township’s FEMA specialist, who has been helping us get reimbursed for costs and losses in Sandy, has taken a look at the Ocean Grove situation and given advice on how to proceed. Not a day goes by that we are not pushing to find a way to get this boardwalk fixed.
Hi Inquisitive –
The revenue issue every beach town deals with is something we can’t control: the weather. In the summer, there are basically 28 days in which you put your beach utility into the black. If you have a rainy summer, you’re pretty much screwed. Also, all beaches require a fair amount of work to try to keep erosion at bay and dunes with sea grass in place to try to lessen a storm surge. This is work that is over and above the costs of the lifeguards, badge attendants, beach office staff and daily beach raking and cleaning. You can try to forecast the revenue, but Mother Nature will have her way.
Jan, I do not think the CMA would die out if they sold the beach. What I do know is that it is a very valuable asset in terms of revenue and while it also has liabilities, the long-term picture of selling the beach for a one-time lump sum of cash versus yearly seasonal revenue would mean a restructuring of the CMA’s final and business plans and would require a lot of contemplative thought on behalf of the trustees.
Dear No Fan –
Please pardon me for bursting your bubble, but Neptune Township has no real interest in being in the beach business. We would rather it remain with it’s traditional owners. We want very much to assist the Camp Meeting in securing funding for boardwalk repair and replacement, but we do not wish to purchase the beach.
Regards,
Mary Beth Jahn
A Representative Of Your Local Government
By state law, any monies a municipality collects from beach badges, can only be used for beach operations (lifeguards, cleaning the beach, lifeguard stands, step guards, etc.). These funds cannot be used for a board walk. Beach operations typically begin on the eastern edge of a boardwalk.
The Government will not stop until they own and/or control everything — both real and intangable assets. The current FEMA rules are obviously designed to encourage no private property being owned along the beach. Next they will want our IRAs!
Aggravated Curmudgeon-Yes, I’m familiar with the prejudiced background of Ocean Grove. I own a house and when my husband and I bought it 12 years ago, we had to sign a document saying that we would uphold the tenets of the Methodist Church. We are not Methodists though, and have never attended a service at St. Paul’s or the Great Auditorium. I personally think that there are fewer old-school Methodists in town now. OG has really changed since the 50s; the video is inaccurate in some ways.
I didn’t fully understand that the CMA controlled the boardwalk until this FEMA denial after Hurricane Sandy.
fortiesbeachgirl – Great video. Ocean Grove is already a destination. And a couple of years ago, National Geographic featured our town in an article, referring to “God’s Square Mile”. To answer your question, the Camp Meeting is responsible for trash collection on the boardwalk. And it’s not like any street, it’s private property. You may or may not know that this town was a theocracy until about 3 decades ago. That’s not a long time. Only white Methodists were welcome here. Jews, Catholics, and African Americans were could not obtain a leasehold. Fifteen years ago an interview with the president of the Camp Meeting was strongly advised before closing on a house. The video is nice, but dig deeper and the characterization of going back to the 50s is really pretty superficial.
Lisa-I agree with your comments. Neptune also publicizes the OG beaches and boardwalk on their website, for tourism reasons.
I think that maybe the CMA should consider giving the boardwalk to Neptune so that the boardwalk can receive FEMA money. The boardwalk is a public walkway like any street in Ocean Grove, but the other streets are maintained by Neptune-garbage pickup, street cleaning, etc. Does the CMA staff pick up garbage on the boardwalk?
Not sure if it was mentioned on Blogfinger, but The Huffington Post ran an article and video about Ocean Grove a few days ago. This will surely bring more people to town, and when they come and see that the boardwalk is half built, I don’t think it’s good publicity. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/09/how-america-lives-ocean-grove_n_3403887.html
Mary Beth: You seem to think that the C.M. will die out if they loose the beach revenue. I guess you really have no idea about the C.M.
Happy Wonderer: I agree 100% with you; the C.M. has a major undertaking to rebuild the boardwalk. What would they do if we get another storm this year; three hurricanes are estimated for the shore this year, and we can get any one of them.
Mary Beth: Every town along the shore makes money on the beach; why wouldn’t Neptune?
Why would the history of O.G. change because Neptune takes the beach over and why would it change the survival of the C.M.?
The C.M. makes revenue in many ways, so I am sure they don’t depend on beach revenue only to survive. What a cop out!
OGCMA turning over its beach/boardwalk to Neptune would indeed be a major matter and undertaking. Both for OGCMA and also for Neptune Township. However this really has to be addressed. Especially now in the wake of Sandy damage/rebuilding nightmare and FEMA denial(s).
No excuse now not to deal with it now. Mary Beth are you reading this? Mayor Eric? This is a huge elephant in the room that won’t simply go away.
Mary Beth, I’m just a little puzzled because I thought the CMA always said that all beach revenue went toward maintanence of the beach. But thanks for a well-considered response.This is something people should seriously think about. Ocean levels are rising. Severe storms are predicted to be more frequent. From my point of view, it’s more important to look ahead than to look behind.
Here is an idea I am proposing that should be taken seriously:
Unless Mary Beth is privy to inside information, we just don’t know how much funding the beach provides for the Camp Meeting Association and how dependent they are on the profitability of beach operations. But it’s fair to conclude that they don’t have enough money to fully repair the boardwalk from internal funds. And if another devastating storm occurs, and it well may, there might be no boardwalk at all.
So here is the idea. The Camp Meeting should turn the beach over to the Township and sell the existing leaseholds to the property owners. The money from selling the land under our leaseholds would fund an endowment that could support reduced operation of the Auditorium and related religious activities.
Now, why would anyone buy the land under their leasehold when they don’t have to? Because part of the deal would permit unrestricted development. Yes, Ocean Grove would no longer be an historic district and building restrictions on anyone agreeing to buy their land would be abandoned. Everyone would benefit, including the Township, as property values and tax collections would rise.
I don’t expect anyone to think this is an idea whose time has come. But it may well be the only alternative when the next storm happens. And we really need to start thinking about what to do before and not after. And I’m not sure I really like the potential consequences of this idea, but that doesn’t mean it has no merit.
Ken is right about the ocean bottom, and I believe it is about 1500 feet.
Happy, that’s a lot of potential revenue for the CMA to just hand over. Of course, it’s also a lot of potential liability, too. So much of Ocean Grove’s history, first as a secular town and then as part of Neptune Township revolves around the beach. That’s a huge step for the Camp Meeting Association to take, one that could and would radically their change their mission and cash flow and might even challenge their very survival if they were to choose this option. It’s certainly not a decision to be taken lightly or made quickly.
The CMA “owns” ocean bottom not ocean water for some distance out from the beach.
Dear MBJ, thank you for your articulate comments and refreshing willingness to be straightforward.
“…..As for the idea of selling the beach to the Township and having the CMA run it, quite frankly, the Township is not in a financial position to purchase that asset, especially an asset that has sustained heavy damage….”
No no no. The CMA should just HAND OVER the beach front area to the Township. That way the CMA would eliminate a huge dilemma and daunting responsibilty (considering that similar storm damage is more likely in the future) and concentrate on their mission.
The Township should operate the beach just the same as every other shore town does. FEMA will likely contribute to rebuild. Everyone (including the CMA) would continue to use the beach just the same as they always have done.
This should have happened a long time ago.
Curmudgeon: – “The CMA owns the beach and boardwalk, and even part of the adjacent ocean.”
How can they “own” the ocean? Its parameters reach out to neighboring towns.
ps: Mary Beth Jahn – Thank you for the facts
OLD TIMER Re: Your comment – “If that is illegal, as MBJ says, then why doesn’t Neptune Township change the law?”
That’s a state wide law, very difficult to change. I would suspect that after FEMA’S final denial, then I believe there will be assistance from the state, as our Governor seems to have suggested. Things have to follow a course.
MARY BETH: Unfortunately, like many Sandy victims have found with their homes, funding for rebuilding is wrapped in yards and yards of red tape. ACTUALLY, it’s MILES of red tape 🙂
BACK to Old Timer and others, I think you have to place your trust and faith in what Mary Beth says below…
“However, as I said before, there are things the Township can do, which are still confidential, once the third and final denial is received, and we will do them.”
Ocean Grove’s situation is unique. And I suspect there will need to be unique and creative solutions.
DEVO: You are 100% correct. A long term solution is needed. I don’t know how you figure out the funding, but Bradley Beach’s boardwalk is the perfect design to mitigate future damages. A bulkhead, preventing water from getting underneath and paving stones.
YES, expensive. But, considering the unique situation here in Ocean Grove with the boardwalk ownership and FEMA’s new propensity to deny; you have to find a way to mitigate future damages, just like homeowners have had to install flood vents, move furnaces, wiring and water heaters up out of possible future flooding at great expense. They too had to bear the burden of those extra costs.
Signed,
A Temporary Resident; soon to return home to our own house; but still supporting your cause..
Thank you for the clarifications about Point Beach and the dates of court rulings, Paul and others. After last summer, I have a hard time cramming as much stuff into my now-somewhat-damaged brain and I spend most of my days or evenings teaching my employees that three feet equals a yard. While I do get to see a lot of Ocean Grove and Neptune people at the store, it’s only for a few minutes, and sometimes I suffer from a dearth of intellectual conversation.
As for discussing the other issues you say did not even come up on Blogfinger, I figured I might as well talk about the elephants in the proverbial room that people are hushedly discussing but no one wants to bring up. Blogfinger has always been the one and only place to have these difficult conversations, to separate truth from rumor and talk about what’s really going on. That’s why I brought up Asbury’s objection’s to FEMA funding for our boardwalk reconstruction and some of the challenges we would face if the CMA were interested in selling or leasing the boardwalk to the Township. Where else can you do that but Blogfinger?
Not only is the Point Pleasant Boardwalk owned by the municipality, it has been vacated as a public street. So it is considered street like any other street. It shows up on the townships maps as a road as well
The much bigger issue at play here is what happens next time—-and the time after that. We know with a fair degree of confidence that the boardwalk will sustain multi-million dollar damage every ten years or so.
We need to come up with a funding solution to get through the current crisis — but we also need a solution for the next one and the next one and the next one. Perhaps leaseholders should submit to special collections — perhaps $100 per year per house to build over a decade a multi-million dollar fund for repairs.
With our luck, 2 years from now, a big N’oreaster will wammy us and then where will we be? Answer: exhaused and poor from making the Sandy repairs.
Paul– What I was responding to was the sub-head about why are Grovers treated differently. I was trying to point out one of the legal reasons why there is a difference between privately and publicly owned facilities, and the use of taxpayer funds. Sorry for the confusion.
I have spoken to a journalist in Pt. Pleasant Beach. Evidently the entire boardwalk there is owned by the municipality, and they are responsible for the reconstruction. The town took out loans to do the work, and they will be reimbursed by FEMA. So the boardwalk is public, not private.
The reason for the confusion may be that the boardwalk is often called “Jenkinson’s,” but that private company, which owns a great deal of property in town, is not the boardwalk owner. The beaches there are another story. —-Paul
All of this griping about the absence of FEMA money to repair the boardwalk is pointless. Their rules prohibit funding the repairs. I think an exception is justified, but understand their position even if I don’t agree with it.
The CMA owns the beach and boardwalk, and even part of the adjacent ocean. That’s not going to change. And it has nothing to do with support for the marina. Why should that be denied available repair funding because the special situation here prohibits FEMA money? The Township’s job is to get money from whatever sources are available to it. As for property taxes, well many suggest we overpay here, and I would like to see more factual information about that. But it’s a separate issue.
Thank you MBJ for all you do for us. You are blunt, but we know you have our best interests at heart. We also appreciate you speaking out on this Blog.
Editor’s clarification re Mary Beth Jahn’s comment :
In 1979, the NJ Supreme Court turned over governance of the Grove to Neptune, but it didn’t actually begin until 1980 when the Supreme Court in DC finally refused to hear the case. 1979 is probably the date that Ms. Jahn is referring to.
Ocean Grove actually became part of Neptune Twp. in 1879, and our homeowners have been paying property taxes to Neptune ever since then, even though the CMA provided many services including police,courts, fire, beach/boardwalk maintenance and others until the 1979 ruling.
Point Beach in Point Pleasant received $2.1 million from FEMA for their boardwalk. Here is the link:
http://pointpleasant.patch.com/articles/fema-gives-2-1-million-for-point-beach-boardwalk-rebuilding#photo-14177037
Perhaps the Committeewoman is referring to a private segment of the boardwalk over there. It would be interesting to know if Pt. Pleasant Beach may have received money from FEMA for a private boardwalk. We need clarification on the Pt. Pleasant Beach boardwalk situation.
As for possible religious discrimination by Neptune Township, our article that mentioned the subject of discrimination was clearly about the FEMA ruling. Here is the link:
http://blogfinger.net/2013/02/09/is-there-a-political-or-religious-angle-to-the-fema-denial/
I’m not sure why she is defending Neptune from an accusation that didn’t occur on Blogfinger.
The 1974 ruling that made Ocean Grove part of Neptune put the boundaries of the Township’s responsibility at the eastern edge of the curb on Ocean Avenue. East of that, the court ruled, is the property of the CMA.
Yes, your property taxes may be higher because you perhaps are in the first beach block with the flare and can see the ocean. This is also true of many homeowners in Point Pleasant Beach, who are adjacent to the privately-owned Jenkinson’s Pavilion. The difference here is that Point Pleasant Beach’s privately-owned boardwalk is full of businesses that carried insurance and that because Jenkinson’s has huge revenue flow from these businesses, they could afford to fix their boardwalk.
I will take the liberty of speaking on behalf of the Township Committee and our professionals (CFO, business administrator, Township attorney, Township clerk, Township engineer) that neither the fact that the Camp Meeting Association is Christian or that there were/are some discriminatory policies about civil unions being held in the pavilion.
None of us care what private entity owns the beach, religious entity or not, and while there is still work to be done on the latter, the only people who have ever brought up that issue were the governing body of Asbury Park, who asked FEMA to deny the OG application for funding because of the discrimination issue and because we lock the gates over the Wesley Lake footbridges at night. FEMA has not given either of those reasons for the denial of the funding.
The Committee knows how many business owners draw their livelihoods from the beach and boardwalk and what an important feature it is for residents. We will not let it go unrepaired. Unfortunately, like many Sandy victims have found with their homes, funding for rebuilding is wrapped in yards and yards of red tape.
As for the idea of selling the beach to the Township and having the CMA run it, quite frankly, the Township is not in a financial position to purchase that asset, especially an asset that has sustained heavy damage. We also would most likely not be able to hire the CMA to manage it; as a public entity, we would not be able to follow the the same rules as the CMA, simply because municipalities cannot employ the same policies as a private corporation. In addition, even if Township purchased the beachfront, we would have to ensure that beach revenues at least break even just to pay the debt service for what would need to bond for this purchase, much less have a beach utility make enough to be able to make capital improvements year after year.
However, as I said before, there are things the Township can do, which are still confidential, once the third and final denial is received, and we will do them.
Paul@ Blogfinger—- The FAIRNESS DILEMMA article makes a false comparison. The Marina is a self-financed Utility that pays its own costs and expenses from income. It receives no monies or help from Neptune whereas you suggest Neptune Township should help pay to rebuild OG’s boardwalk.
June 12, 2013. Blogfinger’s story on the “Fairness Dilemma in Neptune Township” was named to “the weekly roundup of the best in NJ reporting today” in NJ News Commons from Montclair State University School of Communications and Media.
This is the second time recently that we were so named. The other also had to do with the FEMA issue in OG.
“Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
In the short term, we have to find a funding solution to rebuild the boardwalk. That’s likely a mix of the OG Together fundraising campaign and hopefully rebuilding support from the State.
But in the longer term, the Camp Meeting Association and Neptune Township need to discuss/address the ownership of the boardwalk. One idea: transferring ownership of the beach area/boardwalk to Neptune township and provide the CMA with a long-term management contract to run the boardwalk/beach.
In the eyes of the federal government and FEMA, the boardwalk would then be a public entity and eligible for future funding.
We have received a few comments that seem to think that we are critical of the Neptune Municipal Marina. That is not the case. The Marina is discussed here for purposes of comparison to the Ocean Grove Boardwalk situation.
Good for them if they can get funding to rebuild; and more power to Neptune Township if they can offer such recreational and safety services to the public.
I only wish that the OG oceanfront had received similar post-Sandy financial help from the Township as did the folks along the Shark River.
Thank you Mary Beth
I think it’s hilarious that my name is cash cow!!! Not to mention we don’t even get a parking spot like other towns in NJ with parking problems!!!
Cash Cow has a great point. Why do we pay much higher taxes if Neptune won’t even stand behind us? How can it be illegal for Neptune Township to use tax dollars raised in OG to fix storm damaged property in OG? If that is illegal, as MBJ says, then why doesn’t Neptune Township change the law? Neptune can’t levy high taxes and then say they can’t help us. That is absurd and unfair. In fact it should be illegal to tax people and say its illegal to give them their money back!!
Frank S: Is this the best you can come up with—asking the CMA to sell or give away their property?
Here’s one: The CMA should charge admission to their boardwalk. Why should they be forced to have it both ways—private and free public, if they can’t get some help from the local government when a disaster occurs?
A legal exception should be made for this extraordinary situation, and the solution needs to focus on what’s best for the public, not some narrow, biased FEMA regulation and a state law that ties the hands of the locals. Maybe local property taxes should be tied to how much money is spent on each neighborhood to get rid of the “cash cow” allocations that are ironically based on fairness.
Editor’s note: There actually was a movement in Ocean Grove in the early 1900’s that proposed that OG should have its own tax rate to reflect all the services provided by the CMA— services that Neptune did not have to provide, such as police, fire and municipal court. P.G.
Hypothetical thought : If OGCMA gave or sold ownership of beach/boardwalk to Neptune Township, then Neptune would have to step in and help out. If OGCMA didn’t want to do this (as they would lose beach fee revenue) could they sell part ownership(say 49%) to Neptune? Then Neptune Township would have to help out with at least half the costs. Lawyers, politicians or otherwise comments please.
If the town can’t use Ocean Grove taxpayers’ money to work on our waterfront (which I was told is why my taxes are higher—because I live near the waterfront,) then why not lower our taxes!
The town wants to capitalize on the waterfront and give nothing in return! I understand FEMA and their stance.
I don’t understand how the town can ignore their cash cow!
The Ocean Grove boardwalk received FEMA money in the past, after the 1992 hurricane. We Ocean Grovers pay hefty taxes to town, state, and Federal governments. I would like to remind Neptune residents that OG is a part of Neptune. We should be treated equally.
OG brings the tourists who spend money in all of the neighboring towns. Does anyone come summer or weekend in The Hills?
Help support our local economy by helping support OG
Longtimer: I’m afraid you have misunderstood my article on “the Fairness Dilemma in Neptune Township.” The main purpose of that piece is to describe a factual contrast between the spending, or lack thereof, by Neptune Township in two similar parts of town. My main point was that the discrepancy regarding spending is “unfair.” Although I don’t like the discrepancy, at no time in my piece do I advocate that Neptune spend taxpayers dollars on the OG oceanfront. That’s because it is not allowed by law.
It’s like tax laws—- many citizens criticize them all the time and claim that they are unfair. That doesn’t mean that they advocate breaking the law. On the other hand, complaints by citizens might promote changes in the laws.
The only time in the article that I actually advocate for something specific is in the last sentence where I ask that Neptune Township become more visible and more involved in finding creative solutions to the funding problems in the Grove.
I completley understand your position, but you miss the legal issue. Despite both entities providing similar services, one is a government owned facility; the other is a privately owned facility. Taxpayer monies cannot, by law, be used to benefit privately owned facilities unless the privately owned facility is treated as a concession, selected by means of an open bidding process, and managed with oversight by governmen/elected officials. It may not be fair in this particular case, but it is the law.
Thank you, Mary Beth, for a very clear and explicit explanation of what we’re looking at re: the township level.
Let’s face the fact that no one wants to help a Christian-oriented town if there is even a thin veil of an excuse not to. FEMA will never give us any money and, probably, no one else will either. Why? Because it’s illegal (as in jail time) to help our small, storm-afflicted community. This is society’s punishment for not conforming to a purely secular, liberal orthodoxy. Welcome to America 2013!
The state won’t allow us to use our money and resources (human and machine) to fix what we do not own. It’s not that we don’t want to, it’s that we literally can’t – as in, jail time for inappropriate use of Township funds and property if we did just go ahead and do it. That doesn’t mean there aren’t other things we might be able to do, but we need a final denial from FEMA to look at those options (and sorry, I cannot discuss them).
The only omission may have been the appropriate use of the word “discrimination” to describe what’s taking place .