By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT The Board of Commissioners Wednesday, Aug. 18 discussed several issues, including ending remote meetings, regulating times charter buses can enter and exit the borough, joining the Atlantic County consolidated court system and regulating the delivery of pilings over bayfront bulkheads. No actions were taken as Commissioner Jim Leeds was absent.
Remote Access Meetings
Solicitor Michael Affanato requested the commissioners consider if they will continue to hold meetings remotely as well as in-person. The commission returned to in-person meetings earlier this summer but continued to allow the public to access the meetings remotely.
Affanato said that if the commission continues with remote access, it should have someone monitoring the meeting to ensure the technology is working properly and allows the public to weigh-in during the public portion of the meeting. Apparently, at the last meeting, several members of the public said they couldn't hear the proceedings.
We don't know if the error was on our side or on their side, he said. This is not something that can continuously occur, especially since we advertise remote access to the meeting.
CFO Jenna Kelly, who controls the GoToMeeting online access platform, said she discovered how the access system was inadvertently muted.
Options for consideration include eliminating remote access for meetings, allowing the meeting to be broadcast live over the internet with a monitor to ensure everyone can participate, or allowing public access without accepting public comments.
I would be in favor of stopping it, because residents have other avenues to get their questions and concerns addressed, Mayor Nicholas Russo said.
Residents contact the commissioners by mail, telephone or email when they have issues or concerns, he said.
The borough posts audio of its meetings to the borough website within a day or two of the meeting.
Russo said the issue would be placed on the agenda for the next workshop meeting.
Charter Buses
Affanato suggested the borough update its ordinance to reset the hours charter buses are allowed to pick up and drop off visitors in the borough. The Temple University Football Team recently came to Longport to work out on the beach and arrived at the wrong times. Affanato suggested the new hours be entering the borough no earlier than 7 a.m. and leaving no later than 10 p.m.
Delivery of Pilings
Affanato said barges have been delivering pilings for new construction in Longport and other Downbeach towns over bulkheads on bayfront street ends, a process that could damage the bulkhead and disrupt residential neighborhoods.
In some instances, the pilings are being dropped onto the street before being transferred to trucks that cart them to their destinations, Affanato said. He said he believes it is being done because there is deep water access in the bay. There is currently no ordinance governing the process.
He plans to write up an ordinance prohibiting the practice without prior approval for introduction at a future meeting. The board would have the ability to allow it under certain circumstances, he said.
Atlantic County Court System
Although there is no time crunch for joining the proposed Atlantic County consolidated court system, at the behest of resident Bob English, who ran unsuccessfully for the Board of Commissioners in the 2020 election, Russo and Commissioner Dan Lawler said they would request additional information from the county before they consider joining the countywide system.
English said he believes the borough could receive greater savings than when the borough consolidated with neighboring Margate's court earlier this year.
Lawler said the borough would seek additional information but that it would be unfair to discuss the issue publicly without all three commissioners being present.
Lawler said the borough's 2021-2022 contract with Margate includes a 6-month opt-out clause.
Affanato said the board is not under any time crunch as the countywide system is not scheduled to be implemented until January 2023; however, county officials say the target date is January 2022. To date, eight municipalities, including Ventnor and the largest communities of Galloway, Hamilton and Egg Harbor Township, have agreed to join the countywide system.
If it's legitimate and solid, and the services are comparable, is difficult to ignore a 75% reduction, English said.
DEP Required Donations
The board approved a resolution accepting the donation of dune crossover access mats valued at $4,500 from an oceanfront property owner who is selling one of three beachfront lots he owns.
In order to receive a CAFRA permit for a new owner to build on the lot, located at 3210 Atlantic Ave., current owner George Baumgardner was required by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to provide the municipality with a donation that enhances the municipality's Public Access Plan.
I tried to explain that we have an abundance of access to the beach at every street end∧ we can't add access through a private property because we have a seawall to cross over and the dune, and we can't touch the dunes without their permission, Affanato said.
Another owner on 12th Avenue provided the borough with beach wheelchairs to accommodate the DEP requirement. The DEP also allowed a Seaview Harbor, Egg Harbor Township, owner to provide a donation to neighboring Longport, and the owner provided funding for the boat lift currently under construction in the bay behind Borough Hall, Affanato said.
Future developers of beachfront properties will be required to check with the municipality on ways to improve public access to the beach and make a donation as required by the DEP to obtain a CAFRA building permit, he said.
Meeting Change
In other business, the board agreed to change the time of its next meeting to accommodate the annual Wounded Warrior Week welcome parade. The next meeting will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 22.
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