Beach replenishment to begin as summer ends
PETERSBURG — A federal beach-replenishment project is about to gear up as the summer season winds down in Strathmere.
Committeeman Curtis Corson, who oversees the Upper Township Beach Patrol, said Monday, Aug. 28, that the re-nourishment work is expected to start in about two weeks, possibly disrupting access to some beaches as the dredging company sets up equipment and begins pumping sand.
“We’re getting sand on our beaches, that’s the upside, and hopefully we don’t have a storm.”
He said he expects the work to begin near Corsons Inlet in the north, where the township has experienced the worst of the erosion that has been eating away at the strand and the beaches have been closed.
“I’ve got to believe they will start close to the borrow site, in the inlet, then keep extending pipes,” he said.
Conditions were so bad that in late June, Township Committee warned the public to stay away.
“It is a dangerous situation and we want to keep people off the dunes,” Mayor Jay Newman said June 26, noting erosion had carved out cliffs at least 10 feet high.
Upper Township is set to get 586,000 cubic yards of sand with as much as 205,743 cubic yards in options as part of the Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Townsends Inlet project.
According to an email from the state Department of Environmental Protection, Upper Township’s share of the cost is estimated at $1.45 million — about $1.3 million for the re-nourishment and $150,000 for additional work of cutting the timber groins. That groin work is still under negotiation.
“You’re going to see a substantial movement of fencing and equipment to prepare for the beach replenishment project,” Township Administrator Gary DeMarzo said.
Fewer guarded beaches
At the same time, Corson reported the UTBP staff is dwindling, reducing the number of beaches that can be guarded.
“People are going back to school,” Corson said. “We’ve got a couple more weekends. Guards will be there every day until Labor Day and then weekends.”
He said the UTBP would be able to staff only four beaches.
“Please swim in front of guard stands,” Corson said.
The committeeman said that while it would have been nice to have the sand through the summer, the timing actually works out well.
“If it would have happened in the middle of the summer, we would have lost three or four beaches when they were working. Then we would have had the pipes in the middle of the beach, would have had to build ramps over the pipes and the guards would have been stuck on one side,” he said. “So it probably worked out for the better.”
Projects stalled
Work to repair and replace the floor at the Upper Township Community Center is taking longer than expected and desired, with subcontractors pointing fingers at each other for the delay.
“It will start again after Labor Day with floor leveling, then two weeks after that … ”
“So we’re targeting the first week in October,” Deputy Mayor Kim Hayes said.
At the same time, work on the Upper Township Senior Center HVAC system continues.
“The repair and diagnostic continues on that system,” DeMarzo said. “It keeps throwing codes, there are passwords put in place in 2013 that we can’t get access to. … ”
Hayes said two specialists have worked on the system and a third will be needed to address the computer problems “all for our little Senior Center.”
She said activities continue at the center, noting the temperature is stable and does not rise to a dangerous level.
DeMarzo noted the air conditioning can be run for three hours before it goes wonky and stops working.
Illegal dumping
Corson noted the Department of Public Works was notified of illegal dumping on Bailey Road and took care of the situation.
He told the public there is an ordinance in place that rewards witnesses $250 for photographing and reporting someone dumping trash or construction materials illegally.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff