End Of The Line For Bay Beach Way Battle

Supreme Court Denies Town’s Attempt To Block Secession

By Judy Smestad-Nunn - February 3, 2010
Toms River just got a little smaller, as the New Jersey Supreme Court denied the township’s motion for reconsideration and upheld its decision to allow the 58 homes on Bay Beach Way to de-annex from Toms River and become part of Lavallette.

Supreme Court Justice Virginia Long made her decision on January 14, which ended the protracted legal fight that began after a snowstorm in the winter of 2003.

The barrier island street was not plowed for three days, residents claimed, while the next street over, which was part of Lavallette, was plowed within the first day.

After the snowstorm, Bay Beach Way residents Daniel and Maureen Russell, David Finter and Frank Michenfelder formed a committee to poll the residents there, and found out that, “99.9 percent of the residents on the street supported the effort,” of de-annexing to Lavallette, according to Mrs. Russell.
The Russells purchased their home in 1993, and moved to the street full-time from Bayonne in 1996.
“The residents are very happy (with the recent Supreme Court decision). We never felt we belonged to Toms River. We have a sense of community with Lavallette, which is really all we ever wanted,” she said.
The residents there felt like they were far away from Toms River, she said, and many wanted to join committees in the borough, which required residency there.

“We do everything in Lavallette, we shop, socialize and go to churches there. Becoming part of Lavallette is conducive to happiness on this block,” she added.

Toms River Council President Gregory P. McGuckin recently claimed that the residents of Bay Beach Way were “tax-shopping.”

“We always want to make sure that Toms River remains a mainland community and a beach front community; it’s part of what makes us unique. That’s why we feel it’s inappropriate. We do not feel that the court gave adequate weight to that issue,” he said.

The cul-de-sac was granted secession in July of 2008, and that decision was upheld a year later. In October, an appeal was filed by Toms River Township, which was denied by the Supreme Court. The township filed the final motion for reconsideration in November.

Bay Beach Way already has a Lavallette mailing address and the borough provides electricity, cable and water service to the residents there.

Officials from both communities will meet to discuss the allocation of taxes from the annexed property.
Toms River Township Attorney Kenneth Fitzsimmons, Chief Financial Officer Christine Manolio and Business Administrator Paul Shives will represent the township.

Lavallette Planning Board Chairman Lionel Howard, Borough Clerk Chris Parlow and Chief Financial Officer Michele Burke will represent the borough.

Planning For Town’s 250th Anniversary Already Beginning

By Judy Smestad-Nunn - January 27, 2010
Planning for a birthday party that will take place in seven years has already started, when Toms River will celebrate its 250th birthday on June 24, 2017.

An 11-member Semiquincentennial Commission is being formed, and the goal is for the celebration to be a history and civics lesson for the community, said Township Historian Mark Mutter, who is chairing the event.

Mutter was chairman of the township’s 225th celebration in 1992, which took two years to plan, he said.
“2017 sounds like a far time off, but the historic dates just spring up on you. It’s important to have a plan in place,” Mutter said.

For the 1992 event, a historically accurate replica of the original blockhouse, or fort, was rededicated in Huddy Park. Patriots originally built the structure in 1776 to protect the village from attack.

Also, the Luker Bridge in Huddy Park was rededicated to honor English settler Thomas Luker. It is believed that Toms River was named after Luker, who operated a ferry across Goose Creek, which is now Toms River.

“For the semiquincentennial celebration, we would like to have more of these rededication events…take historic sites in town and either make capital improvements or not, but to rededicate them, using the locations for the celebration,” Mutter said.

In 1967, when the township celebrated its 200th anniversary, the governing body passed a resolution adopting an official flag, seal and motto.

“All the things we did in 1967 and 1992 are still around. We want to bring history alive to share with the next generation and not just see it as dusty ideas from a book,” he said.

The township of Dover was formed from a portion of Shrewsbury Township, when William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin’s son, was the governor of New Jersey. Franklin was the last Colonial governor, and was appointed by the king of England.

At the time, in 1767, the township was 441 square miles, with boundaries starting at the Cranberry Inlet, which no longer exists. The inlet was located north of Ortley Beach near the Lavallette border.
The original township included what is now Manchester, Berkeley, Lacey, Jackson, Plumstead, Lakewood, part of Brick, and all of the barrier islands from the mouth of the Metedeconk River to Barnegat Light. The township was left with 41.62 square miles.

The commission hopes to involve the approximately 17,000 school children in the township by putting their thoughts to work by the creation of such items as art posters and contests.
The celebration will once again be funded by private donations, mostly by community-based businesses, and promotional items such as T-shirts, hats and memorabilia will be sold to promote the anniversary.

Meanwhile, committee members are being sought out to serve on the Semiquincentennial Commission.

“It should be a microcosm of the community,” Mutter said. “People from other aspects of government, like the school system; people from civic and religious organizations. The mayor and council will make decisions about the working committee,” he explained.

The 1992 celebration culminated with burying a time capsule in front of Town Hall, something that Mutter would like to repeat in 2017.

“The time capsule contains items that show what it was like to be alive in Toms River in 1992. There is a VHS tape that shows the whole town, plus newspaper articles and things of that nature,” he said.
“We never said when the time capsule would be opened. We told the school children, one day you’ll be the leaders of our town and you’ll decide,” he added.

If you would like to help with the Semiquincentennial celebration, call Mutter at 732-341-1000, extension 8200, or e-mail him at jmmutter@tomsrivertownship.com.

Town Has One Last Chance To Block Bay Beach Way Secession

By Judy Smestad-Nunn - January 20, 2010
Township officials acknowledged that the battle for Bay Beach Way is nearly over, when the council passed a resolution conditionally consenting to the deannexation of the 58 homes from the township of Toms River to the borough of Lavallette.

Sometime around January 15, the state Supreme Court was expected to reach a decision on the final appeal for reconsideration, said Township Attorney Kenneth B. Fitzsimmons.

“I don’t want this resolution to be misunderstood,” he said at the council meeting last Tuesday night. “We have not received a decision for our request for a reconsideration from the Supreme Court. Lavallette (approved) an ordinance in December making the annexation effective January 1. We object to that.”

In order to prevent Lavallette’s ordinance from becoming effective January 1, the attorney filed a legal motion that stays the ordinance until the final result has been heard from the Supreme Court, he said.
“It’s probably been going on about three years or so, where the residents (of Bay Beach Way) petitioned to be part of Lavallette,” said Council President Gregory P. McGuckin after the meeting. “The township denied their request and there were a number of public hearings, and they then filed suit challenging our denial. The Superior Court allowed them to become part of Lavallette, we appealed that decision; that decision is still on appeal, and that’s where we are.

“We (the council) took a vote at the time and decided that we did not think it was appropriate; they are part of Toms River, and they should continue to be so. We believe it is a question of tax-shopping…The courts so far disagree with us, and they’ll have the final say,” McGuckin added.

The taxes collected from the Bay Beach Way homeowners represent a relatively small percentage of the overall tax ratable base, McGuckin said, but the area is an important part of the Toms River community.
“We always want to make sure that Toms River remains a mainland community and a beach front community; it’s part of what makes us unique. That’s why we feel it’s inappropriate. We do not feel that the court gave adequate weight to that issue,” McGuckin said.

The cul-de-sac was granted secession in July of 2008, and upheld a year later. In October, an appeal was filed by Toms River Township, which was denied by the Supreme Court. The township filed the final motion for reconsideration in November.

Bay Beach Way already has a Lavallette mailing address, and the borough provides electricity, cable and water service to the residents there. Residents there have argued that for all intents and purposes, they’ve always been Lavallette residents, if not legally than in spirit.

If the reconsideration is denied, this will be the third deannexation from Toms River. In 1969, West Point Island seceded from the township, and four years later, in 1973, the Westmont Shores Property Owners Association seceded. Both areas became part of Lavallette.

In other news, Councilwoman Melanie S. Donohue-Appleby asked that residents comply with the upcoming Census in March.

“Whether by mail or Census worker, it’s very important that everyone fill out the 10 question form,” she said.

The impact of accurate statistics affects everything from grants, school funding, child care, roads, hospitals and the representation in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Donohue-Appleby said.
The next council meeting will be on Tuesday, January 26 at 6 p.m.

For Local Officials, Water Rate Is All Wet

By Chris Lundy, December 9, 2009
Mayors in Berkeley and Toms River are angered by a 37 percent water rate increase proposed by United Water Toms River.

“People are hurting. It seems ridiculous to increase it now,” Berkeley Mayor Jason Varano said.

For the average residence, this would be an increase of about $13.13 a month, said Jane Kunka, manager of public affairs for United Water Toms River. The area affected will include Toms River, South Toms River and Holiday City in Berkeley Township.

For the average home in this area using 5,300 gallons a month, it amounts to an annual change from about $400 a year to about $550 a year.

“It's never really a good time to raise rates,” Kunka said. “We don't want to raise them.”

About $29 million in major projects are the cause of the increase, she said. A new iron treatment plant in Toms River, a new treatment plant in Berkeley to remove naturally occurring radionucleotides and 3,000 feet of water main are the bulk of it.

Additionally, overall expenditures have increased, such as labor, benefits and energy costs, she said.

The last increase was for 62 percent, she said. The BPU split it up into two phases, one starting in November of 2008 and one starting last month.

The BPU also prevented United Water from including the construction projects in the 2008 increase, since they were not done yet, Kunka said. They were told to petition again after July 2009.

The increase petition was filed with the State Board of Public Utilities November 18.

Particularly difficult is that this increase is going to hit a large senior population in Berkeley when there has been no increase in Social Security this year, Varano said.

“United Water should not be spreading the cost within three communities,” he said, rather they should be spreading it nation-wide.

“We think it's too much at one time,” Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher said. “The timing is bad.”

He said township officials will take the opportunity to oppose it on record with the board at public hearings.

“Water companies probably have some of the same problems towns have,” Kelaher said, referring to rising insurance rates and other expenses. “We have caps set by the state. It appears that doesn't apply to regulated utilities.”

It's difficult to say if United Water Toms River's petition is on par with other utilities, said Doyal Siddell, public information officer for the BPU. Every company proposes a rate increase sufficient enough to cover operations and earn a reasonable rate of return. There really isn't an average.

Public hearings will be scheduled locally for people to comment on the proposal, he said. There is a nine month time frame for the board to make a decision. The petition could be accepted, rejected or changed.

Township Hopes For FEMA Money To Rebuild Destroyed Beaches

By Judy Smestad-Nunn, December 2, 2009
TOMS RIVER - Township Engineer Robert J. Chankalian presented an overview of the Ortley Beach storm damage to the township and council last Tuesday night.

“The dunes are now cliffs,” he said while presenting before and after photos of the decimated beachfront, stairs, and ramps on an overhead screen.

Chankalian said that according to his estimations, 60 to 70 percent of the dunes have eroded away due to the coastal storm that struck the area from November 13 to 16.

The engineer said that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wanted an estimate of the damage the day after the storm ended, and he calculated the damage as $1,296,000 to public beaches, and $1,508,400 to private beaches there, for a total of $2,804,400.

“We’ve prepared an interim plan using drainage funds, subject to your approval,” Chankalian said to the mayor and council. “We want to restore the dunes to their pre-storm condition.

“Nature will replace the beach, but the dunes will have to be manmade,” he added.

Funds of approximately $500,000 are needed immediately for the public beaches.

The council members were unanimous in passing a resolution declaring an emergency in Toms River, allowing emergency contracts to be awarded without public bidding for the repair and replenishment of the damaged beaches.

Estimates from three contractors were expected last Wednesday, after this story went to press, and work was expected to begin just after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Ortley Beach encompasses about 4,000 feet of shoreline. About half of that is public, and they are interspersed with the private beaches.

Private beaches are responsible for paying for their own dune and beach replenishment, Chankalian said.

“We’ve written letters to the private beach owners telling them we have the contractors in place,” Chankalian said.

The owners have to agree to not only pay for the replenishment, but allow easements for the construction equipment to gain access.

“We put numbers in to FEMA on behalf of the private landowners, but we don’t know what they’re going to do,” Chankalian said.

In other news, the mayor announced at the council meeting that “in light of the economy,” the minimum bid for the sale of a retail consumption liquor license has been reduced to $700,000 from $750,000 “in an effort help offset the budget with non-taxpayer revenue.”

The township had both a minimum bid of $750,000 for the retail consumption license and a minimum bid of $600,000 for the retail distribution license in June, but only the retail permit sold for $806,000, according to the mayor’s office.

This is the last consumption license Toms River may sell, based on a law that says a municipality must meet certain population criteria to issue liquor licenses.

The next council meeting will be on December 8th at 5 p.m. (Council meetings take place one hour earlier than the usual time in the month of December.)

To reach Judy Smestad-Nunn email judysmestadnunn@gmail.com