{"id":8428,"date":"2020-11-20T02:17:39","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T07:17:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/?p=8428"},"modified":"2020-11-20T02:17:39","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T07:17:39","slug":"seaside-park-explores-6m-boardwalk-replacement-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/2020\/11\/seaside-park-explores-6m-boardwalk-replacement-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Seaside Park Explores $6M Boardwalk Replacement Project"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Seaside Park boardwalk, Nov. 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

Seaside Park officials on Thursday said the borough\u2019s boardwalk \u2013 both the decking as well as its support system \u2013 is due to be replaced, kicking off a multi-year process that will require a $6 million investment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had looked at a lot of options, and the direction we\u2019re heading is toward a boardwalk reconstruction,\u201d said Councilman William Kraft, the chair of the council\u2019s boardwalk improvement committee, adding the replacement may have a mix of funding sources. \u201cWe have to be mindful that the beach badge revenue can be used to take care of our infrastructure \u2013 not just the beaches but the related infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kraft said the entire length of the borough\u2019s boardwalk will be replaced, most likely with Trex decking rather than timber. The committee has also recommended that an electrical conduit be laid along 16 blocks, which would allow the town to add lighting and beach loudspeakers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also looking to upgrade the existing bathrooms and some foot washes,\u201d said Kraft. \u201d It\u2019s a fairly comprehensive effort we\u2019re embarking on.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all likelihood, the scope of the project will also include an additional $1 million to improve the borough\u2019s public parking lots at the beach, which are in \u201cdismal shape,\u201d Kraft said.<\/p>\n

The process of replacing the boardwalk will take multiple years since work will be completed on a seasonal schedule. The borough will be able to use a mix of traditional bonds, bond anticipation notes and beach revenue to fund the project. The town will be able to pay off the improvements over 10 years, since that is how long the state considers a boardwalk to have a useful life, despite the fact that modern boardwalk designs, especially with Trex decking, last in upwards of 20 years.<\/p>\n

Councilman Ray Amabile said he would like special attention provided to boardwalk lighting, especially when it comes to the aesthetics of the lights. Currently, Amabile said the lights between 10th and 14th avenues are more pleasing than the traditional street lights used along the rest of the length of the boardwalk. The issue of lighting, however, could create issues. Jersey Central Power and Light asserted its ownership of light poles near the boardwalk in the past, which caused the borough to remove its public Wifi system along the beachfront. But recently, the utility said it will no longer place street lights along boardwalks. That left officials in a quandary \u2013 and questioning whether JCP&L has essentially abandoned the current poles. The township attorney will be looking into the matter further, including the question as to whether JCP&L will remove the existing poles so construction can commence.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Seaside Park boardwalk, Nov. 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

The entire project is expected to take two years or more to complete. According to Borough Administrator Michael Capabianco, the borough must apply for a CAFRA permit under state law \u2013 an environmental approval process that often takes over six months to complete \u2013 before readying bond ordinances for introduction and approval. The project must then be designed and put out for competitive bidding.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs part of this, the governing body has to determine when they want construction to start and stop \u2013 Labor Day, Memorial Day, the middle of June \u2013 before we commence,\u201d Capabianco said, estimating completion would be possible in the fall of 2022.<\/p>\n

Council members briefly discussed the timeline, and the benefits of doing the bulk of the project all at once or splitting it into additional phases.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to do more than three [years] because you\u2019re spending a lot of money every time you bring in a construction outfit and then tear it down,\u201d said Councilman Frank \u201cFritz\u201d McHugh.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Seaside Park boardwalk, Nov. 2020. (Photo: Daniel Nee)<\/p><\/div>\n

The governing body is expecting to put the plan into motion in the beginning of 2021. Given the lengthy process of obtaining permits, combined with the administrative effort required by officials, it wasn\u2019t clear if any work could be completed by next summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not something that has to be decided this very moment, but it has to be on the front burner,\u201d said Mayor John A. Peterson. \u201cIt\u2019s urgent, but I don\u2019t know if we\u2019re looking at the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Seaside Park officials on Thursday said the borough\u2019s boardwalk \u2013 both the decking as well as its support system \u2013 is due to be replaced, kicking off a multi-year process that will require a $6 million investment. \u201cWe had looked at a lot of options, and the direction we\u2019re heading is toward a boardwalk reconstruction,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18,6,5],"tags":[1830,32],"class_list":["post-8428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-seaside-government","category-seaside-heights","tag-boardwalk-replacement","tag-seaside-park-nj-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/IMG_0082-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgsn9q-2bW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8428\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8431"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/lavallette-seaside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}