Longport wants to replace 50 feet of deteriorated bulkhead along Amherst Avenue.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT The Board of Commissioners Wednesday, Jan. 5 held a brief reorganization meeting setting a temporary budget for 2022, meeting dates and times, and hiring a bond counsel to assist with bonding for capital improvements in 2022. The board hired Fleishman Daniels Law Offices at a cost not to exceed $20,000.
The board also introduced an ordinance to set salaries and wage ranges for municipal employees and duty crew stipends for emergency management workers.
It also approved a resolution setting dates for barbequing on the beach during the upcoming beach season. Charcoal grilling only will be allowed 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday through Monday, May 28-30, July 2-4, and Sept. 3-5.
In other business, solicitor Michael Affanato said that after sending two letters but receiving no response from Luciano Lamberti, owner of a restaurant being built on land in neighboring Margate, the borough will likely proceed with replacing a span of bulkhead on its own.
The borough considered several options for replacing 50 linear feet of deteriorated borough-owned bulkhead along Amherst Avenue, which abuts 75 feet of similarly deteriorated bulkhead owned by Lamberti on the Longport portion of his property. Lamberti has already replaced the length of bulkhead that he owns in Margate, where a new restaurant is being built. The new bulkhead was constructed 2 feet into the bay and must match up with Longport's new bulkhead.
The borough attempted to work cooperatively with Lamberti on a joint project to replace the entire 125 feet of bulkhead in Longport. But Affanato said Lamberti did not respond to two written requests, and that the borough would move forward with our part of it.
Deteriorated bulkhead in Longport.
City engineer Remington & Vernick inspected the borough's bulkhead and determined timbers have deteriorated more than expected and land is eroding below the timbers into the bay.
Affanato said the borough would contact Arthur Ponzio to design the new bulkhead, which would need to match up with Lamberti's deteriorated bulkhead.
Another option considered was asking Lamberti to sign over the upland portion of his land to the borough and the borough would assume responsibility for replacing the entire 125 feet. Lamberti also asked the borough to sign over its land, a park that includes a gazebo, to him so he could replace the bulkhead and build a small house on the waterfront park, but Affanato said that was a non-starter.
Affanato said the Longport Code Enforcement Office has cited Lamberti for his deteriorated bulkhead and notification will be made to require him to replace it.
We're now in legal mode, Affanato said.
The next Borough Commission meeting will be held 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 19.
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