Attention Mantoloking Residents

The Mantoloking Police and Fire Departments reported an event that happened on February 9th which could have affected your residence. An explosion at the Garden State Power Sub Station in the 1500 block of Ocean Avenue caused a town-wide power outage. The explosion is believed to have been caused by workers installing power lines. A power surge was produced which caused residential damage such as appliance fires and electrical problems. Because of this, the Police and Fire Depart- ments needed to obtain access to your residence to ascertain that a fire had not started up inside.

To better serve you, we request that all residents supply the Police Department with caretaker/key holder information which is kept at headquarters and is used only in emergency situations. This information can be phoned in by calling 732 892-0832 Monday through Friday, or by FAX at 732 295-4148. signed, Chief Richard Ortley.

Council Meeting February 17, 2004

All members of Council were present except George Nebel who had been excused. Mayor Dunbar announced the Department of Transportation will NOT widen Rt 35; it will only be overlayed.

The Mayor recognized Jeffrey Henba who read his oath of office as Patrolman in the Mantoloking Police Department. Michael Dreher was promoted to lieutenant and Mark Wright, to sergeant who, in turn, read their oathes of office.

Ordinances #470 and #472, amending #465, providing for land use regulations, were passed after a public hearing. William Wolf again objected to some restrictions in the ordinances concerning height, frontyard setbacks, lot coverage and balconies.

Ordinance #471 fixing salary and compensation of officers, positions and employees in Mantoloking was passed. And Ordinance #473, 'to regulate parking within the Borough and repealing all prior ordinances for regulation of parking' and to prohibit parking on public streets in the event of snow storms or during emergency conditions, was passed on first reading.

Dr. Stewart Farrell of Stockton University, with the help of several digital elevation maps which are used to assess the condition of the beach, that the bulldozing was effective to resist major damage from Hurricane Isabel and six minor storms this season. However, it is not the beach that saves oceanfront houses, it is the dunes. Still, wider beaches are preferred and renourishment is the answer. The maps will be at Borough Hall.

There will be a questionnaire on the mantoloking.org website that residents are asked to fill out: re Household Natural Hazards Preparedness. A hard copy will be available at Borough Hall.

The following resolutions were passed: Accept the report of the Municipal Finance for December, 2003; Transfer 2003 budget appropriation reserves; Adopt temporary emergency appropriations of $25,200; Pay bills for January, 2004 totaling $1,575,523, of which $1,200,000 was for county taxes; Introduce the 2004 budget which will provide $907,861 in additional resources requiring an increase in the local tax rate of approximately one cent or 5.5 percent. A public hearing will be held on March 22nd.

A resolution to be sent to the Governor to support the Mantoloking School District was passed. The school "district's entire budget for educating approximately ten children is less than the annual salary of many local school administrators, that the Board of Ed enjoys the support of local residents and that the Mayor and Council take exception to any attempt to dictate a change in how the Borough meets it constitutional mandate for education." The Point Beach schools to which our kids are sent, have been rated #1 for the last 25 of 26 years.

A resolution to increase beach badge fees to $12 a season was passed. The cost to monitor beach access exceeded revenue in 2003.

A good start to codify all Borough ordinances has been made. Ordinances from 191l will be on the website for all to see in about six months. This is a monstrous job and is progressing daily.

The Police reported 173 incidents for January. The month was very cold and nine water leaks were discovered in empty houses. Turn your water off if you are not there. Chief Ortley said there were 65 accidents, 65 arrests and 168 false burglary alarms in 2003.

Construction official Wardell issued six new building permits and three updates during January. These were for plumbing, alterations, lawn sprinklers, fire alarms and CO detectors.

Councilman Laymon reported the award for garbage and recycling will go to M & S Waste Services, Inc., the lowest bidder, for a two-year contract. He is also working on the beautification of the Borough to supply benches for the garden, new signs upon entering our town and to clean up the area around the pump station.

Councilman Popaca will be able to scare up salt if we have another bout with snow and ice and cold weather. And there is a new light in the Borough parking lot. Residents have been complaining about low water pressure, not all the time, but enough to require an answer from the water company, which he is pursuing. Also, the street light at the east end of Downer Avenue will be moved to a more westerly location.

Councilman Husted is pushing for renourishment but the Bush Administration recommends the government not do it. Very shortsighted; visits to beaches are the second-most popular activity tourists and vacationers pursue which adds tax dollars to government coffers. A resolution urges Congress to reject all efforts to withdraw from or limit the Fed's role in our Nation's beach renourishment projects and to know that continued Federal support is critical to the sustained environmental and economic health of our coastal resources and communities.

Richard Laird, coordinator of Emergency Management wrote the OEM is actively participating on the Flood Mitigation Plan committee, chaired by Councilman Jones. A Flood Mitigation plan is required by FEMA if the Borough wishes to apply for mitigation funding sources in the future. Therefore, it is important for residents to fill out the Household Natural Hazards Preparedness Questionnaire, as asked at the beginning of this Reporter.

The next meeting of Council is March 15, 2004 and the Special Budget meeting is March 22, 2004, both at 8 pm.