Mayor: Flooding, beach erosion result of storm
BY LIZ SHEEHAN
Correspondent

SEA BRIGHT - Mayor Jo-Ann Kalaka-Adams has asked representatives of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers to visit the borough to look at the damage that was done last weekend by Tropical Storm Ernesto as it swept up the coast.

"I think we lost half of the beaches," she said at the Borough Council meeting Tuesday

Kalaka-Adams said the borough had "only one way in and one way out," referring to Ocean Avenue, which is the only road that can be used to enter and leave the town. Before the corps' beach replenishment project to widen the town's beaches was begun in the mid-1990s, Ocean Avenue was often flooded and impassable during bad storms.

"We really have to protect that asset," she said.

Councilwoman Maria Fernandes said the flooding from the Shrewsbury River was also an issue that should be looked at by the corps and the DEP. She said Councilman Brian Kelly had videotaped the surge from the river into the streets during the storm.

Kalaka-Adams said she had e-mailed John Garfalo of the DEP and Doug Liete of the Army Corps requesting they come to the borough to look at the storm damage.

After the meeting, the mayor said she had not seen the borough's beaches suffer such comparable damage as the result of one storm.

In other business, Councilman William Keeler recommended that the borough hold off appointing more than a few representatives to participate in the preparation of the Coastal Regional Development Plan until it was clear what was involved in the process and how often there would be meetings to attend.

The Monmouth County Planning Board has asked 30 municipalities in the county to participate in preparing the regional plan and requested that the towns select their representatives by Sept. 22.

A letter from the county planning board to the borough said that the purpose of the plan was "to establish a set of planning alternatives to help coastal municipalities manage their remaining development potential, conserve open spaces, explore redevelopment opportunities, and address the impact future growth will have on infrastructure, the natural environment and the overall quality of life."

In addition, the plan would be formulated to be adopted as "an element for the Monmouth County Growth Management Guide," and result in a plan suitable for regional plan endorsement by the state Planning Commission.

Keeler suggested that the mayor and two alternates, plus the borough clerk, a member of the Planning Board, and the borough's Zoning Officer Mary Tangolics be appointed as representatives for the town.