The Margate Board of Commissioners held a special public meeting on August 2, 2017 for the sole purpose of discussing the extensive ponding behind the dunes caused by the accumulation of storm water that has not percolated into the sandy soil as designed by the Army Corps of Engineers.
This ponding is occurring in an approximate 18 block area where the Army Corps
Contractor has begun executing the designed project.
By vote of 3 yes and 0 no, on the advice of the solicitor, the Commission authorized Jordan Rand Esq, now with the firm of Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg LL P to prepare court documents to seek to restrain the federal project from continuing in Margate until sometime when the drainage issues can be resolved.
The formal acceptance of the proposal and awarding of a contract with the law firm is scheduled for August 3.
Residents want a stop to the dangerous, harmful and un-needed dune work on their beaches.
“Stop the project until the ARMY CORP can prove competence”
Suffering irreparable harm. Will Margate sue for damages?
Pumping contaminated water into the surf. One Margate lifeguard has been home sick , reportedly from a bacterial infection caused by the contaminated water.
Bulldoze the whole stupid dune system. Stop the Army Corp from wasting taxpayer dollars. Nobody wants this….except for a small handful of Jersey politicians, contractors and insiders.
“There’s nothing more important than our beach,” said Margate Commissioner Maury Blumberg
Mayor Becker. “I want this project stopped immediately.”
Local politicos; Frank Lobiondo, Chris Brown & Vince Mazzeo….have yet to step up and voice their opposition to this project. All three are invisible.
Ventnor commissioners are still pro-dune….at this point.
Margate biz has 14 weeks to make money. Store traffic is down. Restaurant traffic is down.
Worries about property values and ratables. Summer rental business is way off.
Who da thunk it? The real threat to Margate & other shore towns isn’t stormy waters & mother nature… but… it’s the Army Corps of Engineers.
The Army Corps of Engineers is destroying Margate, in order to save it?
I find the whole dunes fiasco very upsetting. We are aware that the beach is gone for the rest of the summer. At this point we can only hope that Margate’s legal efforts will be successful. In the event that we win, I suggest the following:
1. Knock the dunes down.
2. Regrade the beach to run off to the ocean.
3. Build 6 ft high bulkheads right in front of existing bulkheads.
All of this should be done at the expense of the state—not Margate. This whole project is killing us as a shore vacation town.