PETERSBURG — Just weeks after a beach-replenishment project wrapped up in the island community of Strathmere, a major nor’easter battered the region Sept. 25-27 during a full moon, generating astronomical high tides and strong winds that led to flooding and erosion.
Township Administrator Jimmy Van Zlike said Oct. 13 that the township was working in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection and Stockton University’s Coastal Research Center to quantify the loss of sand during the storm, which had prompted Gov. Mikie Sherrill to declare a state of emergency for Atlantic and Cape May counties, among others.
Van Zlike said the township is working with the consultants because “there are efforts to restore beach sand capacity to pre-nor’easter conditions.”
“We’re trying to document that adequately and kind of illustrate how much sand erosion we sustained as of that storm,” he said.
Van Zlike also reported that the township has sold 130 seasonal beach tags and collected $3,800 in the first 10 days of sales.
The township instituted its first beach tag program this year to try to recoup some of the money it spends on beach replenishment and protection.
“That’s without a big marketing campaign. That’s without having our app fully online and it’s off-season,” he said. “If you could extrapolate that across how ever many weeks until summer, I think we are in pretty good shape as far as annual revenue generated from the introduction of the beach tags.
Township Committee voted 4-0 on Aug. 24 to institute the program next summer. Committeeman Zach Palombo was absent.
Tags will be required for all users 16 and older on Atlantic Ocean, Corson’s Inlet and Whale Beach beaches from the Friday before Memorial Day until the end of September.
The program is expected to raise about $320,000 in revenue from preseason ($30), daily ($10), weekly ($20) and seasonal ($45) tags. Preseason tags can be purchased until the Monday following Presidents Day in mid-February. There is no cost for tags for military members or veterans.
Living shoreline
Mayor Curtis Corson said a groundbreaking ceremony for the living shoreline project in Strathmere is set for 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at Bayview Avenue and the boat ramp.
“It’s a project that’s been going on probably about four or five years,” he said, noting the Strathmere Fishing and Environmental Club was instrumental in finding and securing funding for the project.
The SFEC received a $915,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to facilitate the construction, which aims to alleviate erosion south of the boat ramp on Bayview Drive.
Safe Routes to School
Van Zlike said the township is working through the next submission of the Safe Routes to School grant in coordination with DeBlazio and Associates and the Upper Township School District.
He said the proposed work would provide ADA-compliant sidewalks, upgraded crosswalks, pedestrian safety enhancements, drainage improvements and bicycle facilities around the primary and elementary schools.
“The next milestone with that is submitting the full documentation before the November deadline. We are on track with that,” Van Zlike said.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff