Dear Fellow Members,
The official start of summer is almost upon us. After the amount of snow I got this winter, I couldn’t be happier.
A lot has been going on over the past winter besides snow. The Trustees have been busy working on multiple projects, here is an update:
Yard Sale
The HCTA’s 3rd Annual Town-wide Yard Sale will be held on Memorial Day weekend. Clean out those closets, attics or garages! Participating HCTA Members benefit by getting a get a flag to mark their house, signage to mark their street, and are listed in our detailed Treasure Map and the HCTA places an ad in the Sandpaper. All this for just $10. If you held a sale on your own, your costs would be doubled without the benefit of our detailed Treasure Map, location flags, etc.
To sign up as a seller, please visit our website at harveycedarstax.org to print a sign-up form. Forms must be received by us no later than Saturday, May 21at NOON to be guaranteed a place in the “Treasure Map’. Flags and signage will be available to HCTA SELLERS at 6:15 to 9:00am on Saturday, May28 outside of Borough Hall. “Treasure Maps’ will be available to BUYERS around 6:45 that morning. The permit is good for two days so sellers have the option to hold their sale thru Sunday, May 29th. Sellers, please place your marker flags by your front door or porch for pick-up by an HCTA volunteer on Saturday or Sunday. You are responsible for removal of the signage.
For those members that would like to donate their left over items to charity, HCTA member Jen A. sent us the following :
The only group I could find who would pick up items was Big Brothers/Big Sisters. They said we’d have to call after the yard sale so they’d know what items we had. Members can also drive items to Grace Initiatives (they help young pregnant girls get started) and have a thrift store that takes the kind of items we have. Their phone numbers are:
Big Brothers/Big Sisters : 877-336-8828
Grace Initiatives : 609-242-3001
Thanks Jen for sending us this worthwhile information.
Membership
Our Membership Chairman, Saul Ellman has launched our annual membership campaign. All taxpayers should be receiving a letter soon if you haven’t already. Please re-join us now and extend your membership thru August 2012. And please encourage your neighbors to join us as well. There is strength in numbers, and dues are important. The costs of the Boulevard battle will soon begin to add up. Forms and checks can be mailed back to the HCTA at PO Box 3065, Harvey Cedars, NJ 08008.
The Boulevard
We continue our efforts for a safer BLVD. On behalf of the Trustees, I want to personally thank all who have taken the time to write a letters to the papers. PLEASE support our efforts with your continued letters. We have noticed that the Sandpaper has not printed all the letters sent to them. If your letter was not printed, please resend it. We need to keep this issue in the papers and in front of the Freeholders and Mayors Mancini and Larson. They are beginning to feel the pressure and hopefully soon their intelligence will outweigh their selfishness. We continue to work with the Borough and will be meeting with them to coordinate our efforts and financial resources.
The three flashing lights installed by the County last summer were converted to regular traffic lights last week. All six lights will be turned on May 23rd. The lights are programmable and the County has been asked to regulate the lights so they are not as offensive to the residents living around them. If those north of us were concerned about 28 seconds, just wait till they get stuck at one or two of these lights.
We expect to receive the computer simulation file created by Stantec in the near future. When we do we will put it on the website, and then hope to meet with the Taxpayers associations north of us so that they can see it as well. The more people who see the facts the better and the facts should dispel the fiction being spouted by the uninformed. If anyone can assist us in this campaign on a volunteer basis or with ideas/suggestions, we welcome your assistance. Watch for more BLVD information and opportunities to help. This is a community wide effort to change the perception of uniformed residents in surrounding towns.
Fire Department Chicken Dinner
The High Point Volunteer Fire Department is hosting their Annual Chicken dinner on Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend (May 28) at the fire house. For many of you this may be your first weekend down, so why cook? Please come support the fire company, see some old and make some new friends, and get a close-up look at the new fire truck. The truck is not yet in service, but company members have been training on it in preparation for its use.
During the Chicken Dinner a local nursery has volunteered to host a plant sale at the fire house that will benefit the Fire Company. Since this will be the first time they have done this, they would like your feedback on the plants and the prices. Email us what you think, and we will pass it along to the Fire Company.
Food, fun, and a chance to spruce up your yard – I will see you there.
Beaches
At citizens’ requests, the beach ramp at Mercer Ave had been re-done. Previously, it looked more ‘deck-like’. The railings have been re-worked to make them look like the other beach ramps with handicapped features. The Borough is busy readying everything for summer. The quads are being serviced, the guard stands have been repaired and are being given a fresh coat of paint and the HCTA has provided new beach umbrellas for all town guard stands. Look for them in crisp green and white, protecting our Beach Patrol from the sun. The Borough will be painting one Handicapped parking spot on most oceanside streets in the coming weeks.
There was a rather large award ($430,000) for a beach easement that the Borough is appealing. In this case, the Judge ruled that the Borough could not enter a “Special Benefits” defense, and the Borough is appealing this specific ruling. All other cases are on hold until this appeal is decided.
School Budgets
The LBI and Southern Regional School Budgets passed in Harvey Cedars and in most towns on the Island. Mayor Jon Oldham states “the LBI budget has been cut a lot. The BOE’s have been budget conscience while raising less money and receiving less State aid.” While we applaud the cost cutting, we will continue to ask the Commissioners to look at the costs per child Harvey Cedars pays and work on alternatives.
Looking forward to the upcoming season and thank you for your support of the HCTA.
Sincerely,
Bryan Lewis, President