Board Meeting Minutes August 2008

August 23, 2008 – HIGH POINT FIREHOUSE

Meeting called to order at 10:10 am

Introductions and Rules of Conduct Introduce Mayor Jonathon Oldham All Trustees present with exception of Samir Tadros- who is out of town.

Board of Trustees and Officers for 2009 Change of President: New President Bryan Lewis Introduction of new Trustees: Susan Lewis and Karl Pfeil Vote to approve new Board and change of officers

JCTA update by Charles Gaver: The HCTA participates in the Joint Council of Taxpayer Associations of LBI. There are 13 taxpayer groups on the island that are members and attend this monthly meeting. The JCTA coordinates responsibilities back to various government groups such as school boards, county government, etc. They review the SRHS District budget, initiated and maintain dialogue w/ SRHS Dist Administration, BOE members, etc. Other areas of input are the stripping on Rt. 72/Long Beach Blvd. Safety at the traffic circle in Ship Bottom, coordination with Representative Chris Smith’s Office and the Ocean County Public Works. They are working on the shared services initiative though out the Island. An example of savings to be had is recycling. LBI is a the bottom of the Ocean County target of 50%. A large portion of our tax burden is State and County expenditures. Trustees Charlie Gaver and Lena Nerri attend the JCTA meetings.

Treasurer’s Report: Barbara Frank stated that we currently have $1928.00 in the bank. Last year we brought in $1348.00 and our expenditures for the year were $1397.00. Our expenditures include dues to the JCTA, State fees, rental of the firehouse for the Annual Meeting, Annual meeting signs and supplies, PO box rental, etc.

Membership and Funding: Bryan Lewis appealed for all to contibute and go out and ask a friend or neighbor to joint the HCTA. The more members, the better we are able to contribute to HC. Dues are $25.00.

Zoning and Building: Phil Kunz stated there are currently no changes and nothing pending on the books. The new Zoning Officer is Helen Kornacki.

Safety Committee: Lena Nerri reported on the biggest issue facing our group this year: Safety on the Blvd. Last December 2007, at the request of the Borough, an Accident Study/Analysis was done by the Office of the Ocean County Engineer. It compared the past 3 years of accidents that took place. The good news is that accidents were reduced substantially. Next, a meeting to discuss the the pros and cons of re-stripping the Blvd. to a three lane configuration was held. The Mayor, Commissioners, Police Chief -plus officers, HCTA Board Members & Blvd. Safety Committee members attended. Following this meeting the Ocean Co. Engineering and Road Dept. conducted a Traffic Volume Study at the last two weeks of July, 2008 determine the traffic flow/pattern under various scenarios. Following this study, a determination will be made in which direction to proceed.

Beach Replenishment: John Cadmus shared enlarged photos with the assembled group of two locations in Harvey Cedars where the ocean is either up to the house or UNDERNEATH the house. He then shared a picture of the replenished beach in Surf City. John said, ” A picture is worth a 1000 words. Look at these three photos. I have expresses 3000 words. Enough said. SIGN YOUR EASEMENTS.” There are 15 easements outstanding.

Q & A with Jon Oldham: There were various questions and concerns raised. They included-dogs on the beach, Blvd. safety, the high tax rate, closing off one lane on the Blvd for a few hours on Sunday, closing off one lane on the Blvd for 20 minutes after the Wednesday evening concerts so the walkers and bikers can get home safely,re-configuring the Blvd., dune fence plans, signage on the Blvd. and on the dunes, shared services, when will the beach renewal start, etc. The beach replenishment dredge should be here in November to start work. The Mayor thanked the HCTA and the Trustees for a very healthy relationship, improved communication with the community and the brain trust of those involved that has helped our town-which we all care about.

The meeting was concluded at 11:30