• Bill Walsh - President

  • Mayor Mancini

  • Membership in the Audience

  • Commissioner - Ralph Bayard

Beautification Update

Sprucing up the median – it really is a chicken or the egg thing.  Some member comments seemed to relay some level of impatience with plantings on the median. At our June 29th meeting we did get some clarity around the timing of projects that need to be completed prior to any plan to improve the median.  The video inspection of the North Beach sewer main has been completed and work on the main – which runs down the center of the median – is scheduled for the Fall of 2020. Also, Ocean County has plans to repave the Boulevard in North Beach.  Now, both of these projects seem as though they have been in the planning stages for quite some time and the schedules have been delayed. The most recent information from Ocean County suggests that the Boulevard will be repaved sometime after the sewer project is complete.  Any median improvements undertaken by our Association prior to completion of these projects run the risk of being impacted by the sewer project or the repaving project. The prudent decision is to wait until these projects are finished.

Additionally, the trees on the median have been trimmed to improve line of sight at the turnarounds.  This work will be reviewed for completeness.

Water Meters

There was a lengthy discussion with Mayor Mancini and Commissioner Bayard regarding water meters and installation costs.  A number of our members have received very high estimates – as high as $2,500 plus $1,000 if a meter pit is installed! A little gouging, maybe?!*%/??

The Mayor came prepared with props – a meter and sending unit – and the following info:

  • A typical installation should cost between $300 and $500
  • Meter costs range from $196 to $696, depending on size, including the sending and register unit.
  • If the property already has a meter installed, you need to purchase a remote reading sensor and /or remote register.  The remote reading sensor is $96 and the remote reading sensor/register costs $196.
  • It is recommended that you or your plumber bring a picture of your meter at the time of pickup so the Water Department can assist in determining the correct equipment.  

Additional information is available at the LBT website under “Water Meter Project Update”.

Contractor Issues – if you believe the estimate you receive from a plumber/contractor is inappropriate, you can send that information to NBTA through our website – nbtpa.org.  We will forward your concerns to the Mayor’s office.

Likewise, if you have a good experience and would like to share it with your North Beach neighbors, send it along and we will post it at our site.

Meters and sending units must be installed by June 2020. Live reads will begin in July 2020 and actual billing will begin in January 2021.

CAUTION – Questions were raised about whether the meters need to be installed in an inside, heated space, if not in an outside pit.  For seasonal owners who shut off the water in the off-season, provisions must be made to ensure that the water meter drains when the house is drained.  Frozen pipes are bad, so are frozen water meters and the cost of a new meter is on the homeowner.

The Mayor indicates he would look into whether water department employees can do meter installs on their own time.  Stay tuned.

What are those stakes on the beach?

If you have noticed stakes on the beach about ten feet east of the toe of the dune, they are not for additional dune fencing.  They delineate a “no beach raking, no vehicular traffic” kind of area. And apparently, a beach grass – seabeach amaranth – might be responsible.  If you want more info, visit this page: Beach Management Planning in New Jersey.  It explains what constitutes a beach management plan and covers protected species of birds, plants and insects.

So it seems that these stakes delineate a Plant Protection Strip – a no traffic kind of zone.  Apparently, seabeach amaranth was extirpated from New Jersey in1913. Yes, I had to look it up.  Extirpation basically means local extinction – it used to be here, it’s not anymore, but it exists elsewhere.  Below is an excerpt from the document:

“New Jersey’s upper beaches (from the wrack line or high water mark to the dune or other landward limit, such as a boardwalk or bulkhead) support a number of listed beach plants including seabeach amaranth. Seabeach amaranth was extirpated from New Jersey in 1913 and remained absent from the State until its rediscovery in 2000 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 2007). Following a period of geographic re-expansion in the 2000s, seabeach amaranth populations recently declined sharply. Range-wide, plant numbers declined more than 99% between 2002 and 2013. In New Jersey, seabeach amaranth counts from 2007 to 2014 were down more than 75% compared to the period from 2001 to 2006. Moreover, New Jersey’s remaining plants are very concentrated, with more than 95% located in Sandy Hook. Thus, populations outside of Sandy Hook are at high risk of extirpation. In 2014, outside of Sandy

Hook, only 11 plants were observed in Monmouth County, 7 were observed in Ocean County, and none were found in Atlantic or Cape May Counties.

However, seabeach amaranth does have the potential to recover in New Jersey”.

So, it’s amazing what’s lies behind a lonely set of beach stakes…

Lifeguards

The Mayor reported that LBT has started the season with a full complement of lifeguards n

But warned that in mid- August, the ranks will thin considerably as many guards return to school or other endeavors.  The Township continues to look for housing opportunities for the lifeguard staff.  

Special thanks to all the lifeguards who keep us and our beaches safe.

Revaluation

Currently, LBT properties are assessed at 96% of market value, for a total of approximately $8.6 billion.  Total assessed value could reach $10 billion post revaluation. While the Mayor expects the 24.4 cent municipal rate to be stable, we could see an increase in county taxes.