Should Margate move forward with plans to explore the possibility of a new, better boardwalk?
That question will be placed on the General Election ballot of November 3.
Glenn Klotz, Director of the Margate Boardwalk Committee is now delivering lawn signs to those who want to show their support.
Want a lawn sign? Contact: BuildMargateBoardwalk@comcast.net.
Both Glenn Klotz and Stefanie Bloch continue to fund raise on behalf of The Margate Boardwalk Committee. Donations are 100% tax deductible.
Schlep up even MORE stairs to get to the ocean? Dunes are bad enough. Is Margate better with a Boardwalk? What does Glenn Klotz of the Margate Boardwalk Committee think?
Glenn Klotz says: Have you gone to any of the Ventnor beaches lately? People easily enter and exit the beach on ramps over the beach. It carries them over the top of the dune , unlike in Margate where you must climb steps. A new Margate Boardwalk would eliminates all of that. Once built, no schlepping required. Oh, and a boardwalk would make our beaches safer, and would keep our bikers and pedestrians off crazy busy/dangerous, Atlantic Ave.
The Margate Boardwalk Committee: Educate and advocate for building a new public accommodation (a modern Boardwalk) for Margate City, NJ
Just what we need years of construction, litigation And sky rocketing taxes on top of total disruption from beach dredging. Why have a beach at all – you won’t be able to use us for next 7 years. Let’s use $ for flooding mitigation !!
.#dumberthenthedunes
The beaches of Margate, Longport, Ventnor and Atlantic City will soon get another face-lift.
Scheduled for every 3-4 years, it’s time for another round of dredging and beach replenishment along Absecon Island.
Absecon Island beach work could include:
Widening of beaches
Dune maintenance
Work on beach access paths / crossovers
Repair sand fencing
Dune grass planting
Lower the dunes that grew too high?
This seems like a really good idea that no one has thoroughly thought through.
I know everyone is saying that there will be a “minimal” tax increase but this is just like any other large project. And the “hidden” costs pile up when no one is looking.
You get people hooked in with pretty pictures of what life could be and then the “actuals” start rolling in: increase in prices of design, alterations, wood, labor, zoning, litigation, insurance, plumbing. And five years from now there’s still no boardwalk, just a lot of red tape and related costs. So a “$25 million dollar” project is now a $40 million dollar project and who’s paying for it? Homeowners.
And why is it so important to spend $285,000 for a study of whether a boardwalk is even feasible? Why not study the pumping opportunities back by the bay? It just seems like we’re focusing on “wants” versus “needs.”
And don’t forget the money that the corrupt 3 Amigos and their cronies will steal from this project. It will cost 2X and take twice as long to complete. Margate has so many other real issues, the streets are filthy, the storm drains are clogged, whenever it rains, many streets flood and public employees have a terrible attitude. Also, the traffic patterns are insane and speeding is at dangerous levels with minimal enforcement. Yeah, the boardwalk is not a priority!
I think Margate has other issues that truly are more important and should be addressed first, however, if in the end this November they determine that a boardwalk is a must have, then let private fund raising raise 50% and the taxpayers assume the other 50%. Then make it clear to all tax payers, not just residents what that is going to do to their taxes. Then put a second referendum out by mail and allow a final vote to be taken by all taxpayers, next May This will allow time for final design and bidding. Then as long as the bidding is put out as a “not to exceed” bid, meaning it cannot increase, you will protect the cost and actually see what it’s really going to cost to build i before that taxpayers vote on it.
I know for a fact that many of the lumber prices alone have gone up 50 – 80% since last year and have risen even quicker through the COVID situation. This isn’t something you want to start without knowing the final cost of the project or the final cost to taxpayers
On the beach at Washington avenue, we had a terrible incident with a very young girl on Friday night. She was taken by ambulance. This has been going on all summer- kids passed out and parents coming to get them. These are kids on bicycles, so they look no older than middle school. The police have made supreme efforts to control this activity. There is no one to supervise them and it is sad to see them often staggering off the beach late at night. Their language is the worst I personally have ever heard. And now you want a boardwalk. We need to protect these children, not give them more opportunities to ruin their lives by making bad choices. Are those who are advocating the boardwalk ready to help protect and supervise these children, because the police have much more to do than police the beaches.
Many runners don’t like going up and down the curbs, so they run in the street. In Margate the best place to run is the boardwalk. On the boardwalk no cars, a forgiving surface, plenty of fresh air. But if you can’t get to Ventnor or the Ocean City boardwalk (don’t have the time) and have to run in Margate they use the street. People need to have empathy for the runners in the streets of Margate and give them some space.
There is a beautiful Pristine beach to run on. Not sure if runners having to deal with a curb is such a huge imposition that we waste tens of millions of tax payer $. The constant flooding and associated destruction of property seems like a bigger problem to prioritize.
Minimal interest in a Boardwalk. Read the comments. How can the Buzz say interest is growing. Just because a group of individuals are focused on destroying what’s left of our beaches. Spend the money more judiciously on projects that make sense. Fake News.
A boardwalk will cut the beaches in half and cause even more of an eyesore than the dunes, plus make the beaches narrower. It will take years to plan and build, increase taxes( no matter what people are saying), and cause years of disruption on our beaches. Waste of time and money. Vote no!
First the dunes! Now a boardwalk! With in going beach erosion how much beach will we have?? I VOTE NO!! OUR TAXES WILL GO UP to cover maintenance once you tear up the beach again to put in that boardwalk!! Only a few on the beaten path want this! Please vote no. Our beach in Margate was already destroyed by allowing dunes!! Really!!??
It is amazing that no one talks about the problems we are having with the number of kids on the beaches, until 11:00 pm. and then on the streets. The task of controlling them has been an enormous undertaking, thanks to the great job by our police. But, it has been every night this summer. It gets old real fast. Yes, we are fortunate to live on the beach but it does not mean we have to endure this nightly abuse.
Where are the comments from the proponents of the boardwalk. Have they witnessed our problems during the summer? The kids are running from beach to beach. How about running down or under a boardwalk. There is no curfew in Margate and no legal way to check their backpacks. I guess it is not, allegedly, obvious, what is in the backpacks. What a bigger mess this could be with a boardwalk.Maintaining and policing a boardwalk will be a nightmare.
Nov. 3, 2020- PLEASE, PLEASE VOTE “NO” on the question of building a boardwalk on what’s left of our Margate Beaches. There hasn’t been a need to rebuild for how many decades? Absolutely nothing good can come from it.
Instead, Let’s address strictly enforced curfews for minors and MANDATING summonses to parents of delinquent minors! Let them come to the MPD headquarters and pay a substantial fine for the release of their precious little ones! That would be a YES from me and countless others who are fed up with the sidewalks blocked by hoards of kids and bikes who refuse to move to let anyone pass by! THAT’S a public risk! Round them up and off our beaches after dark when the kids are out there partying like it’s their private playground, disturbing the peace, without any regard for the huge messes of trash they leave behind. The PARENTS must be held responsible! This should not be for our Police Dept. to have to step in and parent them. These kids have parents!!! Lets pull their heads out of the proverbial sand and make THEM responsible NOT the MPD!
I have not seen one positive comment posted here in favor of a Margate boardwalk. So why does the article state support is growing for it? I just see a small group of people trying to strongarm this through. When is the vote, and are part time residents allowed to participate in voting? I for one will gladly drive to Margate to let my voice be counted. No one listened to residents when they pushed through the dunes, I suspect if the commissioners decide there is something in it for them to approve the boardwalk they will allow that to get pushed through as well. Tired of the beautiful beaches being disrupted and disfigured.
Your point are all VERY astute! The vote will be on the November Ballot but people will get mail in ballots as early as mid October so they could send in votes starting then. New Jersey only allows fulltime residents to votes but if you are not one there is lots of other ways to get involved to fight the BW debacle. Please join the MCOBP Facebook group for more info. ( margate citizens opposing BW project )
A handful of Margate beachfront property owners that think they’re more important than 99% of residents. Shameful.
Margate is better with a boardwalk. And that riparian rights nonsense is just that. Nonsense.
With close to $30mil in new ratables each year, Margate can afford a much needed amenity… a boardwalk.
All for avg of few hundred dollars in new taxes per yr.
A Margate Boardwalk would dramatically increase public safety. Being forced to run, bike and walk on Atlantic Ave is just inviting tragedy. Commissioner Amodeo would agree?
I am NOT a beachfront or beach block resident for that matter. But I do enjoy the beach, and I don’t want years of disruption, narrowing of the beaches, and higher taxes.
My wife and I are full time residents and have to agree with all of the negative reasons for not having a boardwalk. WHY. It doesn’t have 1 positive aspect of building. Who wants to pay the additional taxes. I have not heard a big outcry for – only from a few strong arms and of course the 3 crooked amigos- everyone knows who you are – who will have their grubby hands in the $ pie. There will be years of litigation, flood mitigation. We have done without BW for decades and I know of no one who has suffered for lack of. We can use the $ to improve the drainage problem – has to be 40 years, improve traffic patterns, We do not want to deal with the increased traffic in Margate, parking problems and YES SECURITY PROBLEMS created NOT as the DELUSIONAL SUPPORTERS claim to the contrary. Poor idea.
Also – why for once don’t the families that are not full time residents and who pay a very substantial portion of the taxes participate in the vote. They are greatly affected by this decision and as such also help fund the finances if its a go. STRONG NO from our family and we will strongly voice our opinions to whomever will listen. Golf Course, Water park – construction on Amherst now the BW This is not the town that I moved to and have loved. This will most certainly create the wrong flow of traffic and security issues.
Agree, agree, agree! For all the reasons you stated above. Do folks really want the beaches of Margate cut in half by a boardwalk? Do you want to see our beautiful beaches look like some of the Ventnor beaches where people are crowded onto a thin strip of beach, crowded together like a pack of sardines? Do folks want years of hammering, and construction? Not to mention taxpayer’s money being flushed down the toilet with feasibility studies and cost evaluations. Flooding is a huge problem for many residents in Margate. Where is the outcry to try and mitigate that situation? And I think it is a disgrace for part time residents not to have a say in what happens in Margate. Their taxes go a long way in supporting the community, why don’t they have an equal voice? I smell a rat. The only reason this boardwalk is being considered is because some people see a financial gain coming their way. VOTE NO ON THE BOARDWALK!!
As a senior, easy access to the beach is key. I am voting YES for a Margate Boardwalk.