By Neil Schulman
Sea Bright — The Borough Council has delayed accepting a report on whether three properties, including the former Sea Bright School, qualify as an area in need of redevelopment.
A resolution on the agenda at the Sept. 6 Borough Council meeting will be held. The issue will be discussed more extensively at the Sept. 15 Borough Council workshop.
“It’s my understanding there’s still a lot of questions on this,” said Councilman Marc Leckstein.
The councilman, who supports the concept, believes that there are a lot of misunderstandings about what this would entail.
According to the resolution, in June, the Cofone Consulting Group prepared a report on the three unused downtown properties, and whether they qualify, under state law, as “areas in need of redevelopment with the power of eminent domain” under state law.
The use of eminent domain, the ability of the government to take private property, has been controversial in New Jersey for the last decade or so.
“Sea Bright has never gone down this road before,” said Mayor Dina Long, though she said something similar had been investigated, and proved unpopular.
“The community almost blew itself up 15 years ago,” she said.
But Leckstein said that involved potential residential projects. This involves only commercial districts. And one of the buildings, the former schoolhouse, has sat unused for decades.
“I am sick and tired of looking at that building,” he said.
Alternative architecture
On Sept. 27, Sea Bright residents will vote in a referendum on whether to approve $12.9 million in bonds to build two structures to replace structures ruined by Superstorm Sandy, including the beach pavilion, firehouse, police department, and library.
While FEMA and insurance would pay much of the costs, taxpayers would be on the hook for more than $5 million. Residents who think that’s too much held the process for this referendum.
And Mayor Long said that even if it’s approved, she wants to address their concerns, re-examining their plans to see if any savings can be made.
“Should there be an affirmative vote… the borough will immediately engage a review architect,” she said. That architect will look for cost savings. (By law, the borough can’t spend money on the project until after the referendum.)
While council unanimously agreed to hire the architect – if the referendum passes – Councilman Charles Rooney thought that it would make more sense to go out to bid first.
He said that the $12.9 million figure includes contingencies and options, and he wouldn’t be surprised if the final project comes in significantly lower in costs. “We need to see what the real numbers are,” he said. “You’re going to compromise the building before you know what it really costs.”If the referendum is defeated, then council will need to figure out what to do. Officials say they suspect either way, the October council workshop will be dedicated to that.
More news about Sea Bright in this week’s edition of The LINK News.
Eatontown Memorial Student is 10,000th Child to Benefit from Free Vision Screening by New Jersey’s Eatontown Lions Club The Eatontown Lions Club began its sixth year of vision screening with a bang on Thursday, September 14, 2023. As a result of partnering with the Eatontown and Ocean Township School Districts the Lions club provided the 10,000th free vision screening. On Thursday in recognition as the 10,000th screening recipient, Ashton Vassor, an eighth-grade student at Eatontown’s Memorial School, was given a citation and gift card from the Lions Club. Ashton has been screened annually by the Lions since second grade. Also given a Lions Club Certificate was Memorial School Nurse Lucy Craig, one of the first Eatontown School District nurses to collaborate with the Lions when vision screening began in 2017. She was Ashton’s school nurse at Meadowbrook School when his vision was first screened. Working in conjunction with school nurses, vision screenings are done annually by the Eatontown Lions in September and October for students in Pre-K through 8th grade. “We really appreciate your help as well as the support of the Lions. Your work and partnership with us make a difference. The vision screening process as well as the resources the Lions provide to our students if a vision problem is discovered help our students to be in a better position to learn and succeed. Thank you.” said Scott T. McCue, Superintendent Eatontown Public Schools More than 12 million school-age children in the United States have some form of vision problem. Many vision problems run the risk of becoming permanent if not corrected by the time the eye reaches full maturity. Vision also plays an important role in education. According to educational experts, 80 percent of learning is visual. “Early screening leads to early detection, which helps ensure that children get the follow-up care they need,” said Club President Linda Butler. “We want to make sure that cor