Annual Meeting Minutes- Sat., August 29, 2009
Welcome and introductions by HCTA President Bryan Lewis and thanks to past Trustees: Joe Krug and Samir Tadros. Thanks also to HCTA volunteers Barbara Lehman and Arlene Pollack for their service this past year.
Committee Reports:
JCTA Representative- Charlie Gaver: School taxes and budget for SRHS District and Stafford was the big issue this years and it continues to be. The JCT asked questions/sent letters this spring to the island B of E Reps concerning the proposed budget and expenditures. They received no response or assistance in trying to inform the Island voters. The remedy to this would be to elect new and responsive board members. The JCT is trying to coordinate voters and get out the vote regarding the school budgets. 30% of the registered voters on the Island actually vote. Harvey Cedars passed the budget this past year. The JCT wants to coordinate the towns and get all to work together to keep the school taxes down.
Treasurer- Barbara Frank: Since the beginning of January we have had income of $372.00 (from dues and Townwide Yard Sale) and $573.00 in expenses. We have a balance of $3065.33 in our account presently.
Annual Townwide Yard Sale- Kathy Ries, Lena Nerri and Susan Lewis: This May was our first time trying to sponsor a community event like this and we dii better that Barnegut Light who has been doing it for years. We were very please with the turnout and participation. Even thought we are doing this to provide an event/service for HC, we managed to make a little profit. Please make sure we have your correct e-mail addresses so we can contact you in the Spring with next year’s sale information. As with this year, our Annual Townwide Yard Sale will be held on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.
BLVD Safety- Phil Kunz and Bryan Lewis: The County presented the results of their BLVD Safety Study using their Super Simulation Model. The engineers came up with a design that presented a safer BLVD for Harvey Cedars. The newly created layout increases the shoulder width, has one lane of traffic I each direction with a center left turn lane through town. The town sponsored an open house on Thursday, Aug 27 at the firehouse. A majority of the meting attendees where in favor of this new configuration. The opposition to this plan appeared to come from residents of Barnegat Light. If our governing body (the Mayor and Commissioners) request this road change, it will happen. We feel there is ‘politics’ involved and those opposed to this plan have not seen the County’s model. They oppose the plan out of ignorance or lack of desire for change. We hope that logic will prevail and the Mayor and Commissioners will put politics aside. The Boro is talking about putting together a survey to be sent to every homeowner in town to gather information on your feelings about the new Blvd design and gage your opinion. The HCTA asks that you respond to this survey and support this re-design. We have actively pursued BLVD safety at your member’s requests. Now we need you to stand up and let your support be known. This design is the best the County can suggest. This suggestion is great and we don’t want to settle for less than the best. Please checkout our website at Harveycedarstax.org for our position paper on BLVD Safety.
Voting- Mike Pasnik: Harvey Cedars homeowners that own another home in the state of NJ can register to vote in Harvey Cedars. It is very simple to do. You can download a voter registration from the Ocean County website if you visit the HCTA website, click on the ‘Links of Interest’ Tab, then go to ‘Government Related’ heading, then finally ‘Ocean County Election Forma and Services’ lower on the page. If we can increase our voting power in town, we increase our voice. It makes sense to even split your household vote between Harvey Cedars and your other ‘domicle’. Joe Geiger and John Demming, two of our members, have volunteered to head a sub-committee on ‘Voting”. As always, you should check with your tax advisor if you have any questions. The next municipal election is in May 2011.
Zoning and Building- Phil Kunz: This past year there have been two new ordinances passed involving our homes. The two ordinances that may be important to you involve burying utility lines on new homes or major renovation projects where over 50 % of the home is being re-done. The other ordinance states that ‘permit’ construction Can only take place between the hours of 8:00am and 6:00pm, Monday thru Saturday. The exception is if construction involved putting a new roof on a house. Roofers need to get the roof installed, and the Boro will allow them to complete the job past the allotted hours.
Beach Replenishment- Bryan Lewis: The Bids are to be opened after Labor Day- they are all within the stated guidelines. They are to be awarded by the end of September and we all are anxious to see how this shakes out. The sand is to start pumping in October/November. As we have more information, we will pass it on to you.
Final reflection- Please pay you dues and share you ideas and/or time with us. We all want our town to be the best it can be. With your input, both financially and sharing of ideas, we can contribute to making Harvey Cedars better.
Mayor Jon Oldham: From my perspective, the community is doing well. We feel the HCTA is a good resource for ideas and is helpful to us. We have worked well together on the beach replenishment and now of the BLVD and the schools. Your involvement on the school issues will be helpful to all of us- especially regarding SRHS. Beach Replenishment has been a passion of mine for 12-13 years and it has been a ton of work. The HCTA has been a great help. “Un-officially” the bids are in and we should see action before the end of the government’s fiscal year. The money is there, NJ has already put their share up. More information will be available soon. As far as the water meters, Harvey Cedars was the 1st Island town to do it. It was very confusing, but we were forced by the state to reduce water usage. Other towns are talking to Harvey Cedars about what went right/wrong. If you want to check your usage, please come into Boro hall and see one of the ladies. They will be glad to help you. Blvd safety- we’ll see when this happens. It will not be done by next summer. The County says they are all about safety- but we want to see what everyone thinks. Some people are violently opposed to this new configuration plan- maybe as many as are for it. We will put out a survey to see reactions- I would hate to see that an idea is not considered because people won’t consider another opinion