Toms River municipal building. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Water damage that resulted from burst pipes at Toms River’s municipal building on Washington Street is still waiting to be evaluated after the township’s insurance carrier ordered an environmental review, and officials are considering whether some offices may have to be temporarily relocated during repairs.
Recent cold weather has wreaked havoc on pipes in the Jersey Shore area. The Toms River municipal building was outfitted with old-style copper piping that was more prone to breaking in extreme cold, similar to issues in nearby county buildings such as the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, which itself relocated some services due to water damage. In Toms River, the damage forced the cancellation of a township council meeting as well as a zoning board meeting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
“The [Joint Insurance Fund] sent out adjusters and they said they are not going to have anybody clean up until there is mold and environmental testing,” said Mayor Daniel Rodrick. “They did not get the cleanup crew out yet, and we can’t put employees or the public in a building with water that’s been sitting for almost a week.”
The mayor said “contingency plans” are in the works, including the possibility of temporarily relocating some offices to a large building run by the Recreation Department on Warren Point Road near the Snug Harbor aquatic facility.
“We are running tests on the internet capabilities at the building there,” said Rodrick. “It’s huge, we run elections out of there, and they have a lot of space there. If we’re not able to solve this, we may have to transfer essential operations to those buildings.”
The building at Snug Harbor where some services may have to be relocated. (Google Earth)
Operations that could be forced to move include vital statistics, the Building Department and zoning officers.
“People have to be able to turn in plans, ask questions and interact with inspectors,” said Rodrick.
Ocean County expects its facilities in downtown Toms River to be shut down for about two months while repairs take place. Toms River itself had another pipe burst at a separate Recreation Department building, but the damage was minimal and will not result in the building being closed.
Rodrick said the incident has prompted his administration to consider whether the municipal building’s HVAC systems should receive a larger upgrade with modern materials and internal heating that would prevent similar problems in the future. The township engineer, he said, is looking into “commercial grade systems” that come with protective features such as built-in heating elements that stop pipes from freezing.
“This happened once before, just before I became mayor,” said Rodrick. “Each time something like this happens, it is hundreds of thousands of dollars in remediation. You lose heat through these cooper pipes, so we’re looking into our options there.”
The grace period for the payment of property taxes has been extended to Feb. 13, 2026 as a result of the closure. A drop box facing the town hall garage has been set up for payments to be submitted.
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