Strathmere beach fill on hold

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Strathmere beach fill on hold

By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, 609-463-6716

Published: Friday, July 04, 2008

UPPER TOWNSHIP - Township Committee has opted to hold off on a summer beach-replenishment project for Strathmere's beaches in favor of a fall beach fill that would have the backing of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

During a Thursday morning meeting, Mayor Richard Palombo said the committee had hoped to negotiate a better contract with Great Lakes Dredge & Dock and to obtain a state-aid agreement to help pay for the $2.8 million project this summer.

Great Lakes, which had just completed a project in Avalon, wanted the township to pay a contingency fee of $105,000 for each day the project might be delayed, an added expense the township was not willing to absorb.

Palombo said he had a conference call with two officials from the DEP on Wednesday afternoon, and while they would not support a contract with such a high contingency fee, they said a fall beach-replenishment project would have the state's support.

"Both assured me this project is absolutely a go," Palombo said, adding State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, also offered his support for the project.

The fall project, he said, would likely incorporate more areas of the beach on the north and south end along Whale Beach than the summer replenishment project being considered.

In addition, the state would be responsible for the fall project with the township paying just 25 percent of the cost as opposed to the summer project, which the township would have to pay for and then seek reimbursement from the state.

Palombo said Strathmere residents would have a chance to meet with representatives of the DEP at a meeting to be held after Aug. 1 and discuss their concerns about the oceanfront community.

In the meantime, the township is trying to gather the easements to conduct the beach fill when the fall arrives. Palombo added that the summer talks have had a positive result overall.

"We're well prepared for the fall," he said, noting the DEP's verbal commitment for a fall beach fill.

"The five days of very hard work I think are fruitful," he said.

E-mail Trudi Gilfillian:

TGilfillian@pressofac.com