NW beach replenishment scheduled for next summer

By MAUREEN L. CAWLEY
Staff Writer
NORTH WILDWOOD – Five years ago, lifeguards drove elderly and disabled beach-goers about 100 yards from their headquarters on 15th Avenue and JFK Boulevard to the water’s edge, Beach Chief Tony Cavalier said.
They don’t need to do that anymore.
Today the distance from the foot of beach patrol headquarters to the ocean at high tide is 20 twenty feet, and shrinking every year.
For the second consecutive year in a row the city has laid a knee-high concrete blockade across the sand in front of the beach house to protect it from the pounding surf. But it’s a temporary solution and not always effective.
“When we had the Nor’easter (last month), the water came all the way up to the deck,” Cavalier said.
That storm came ashore here on Oct. 26 and was fueled, in part, by Hurricane Wilma.
“We’ve lost 100 to 150 feet of beach since the end of the summer,” City Council President Patrick Rosenello said, “and that’s just the beginning.”
Though hurricane season ends in November, the season for beach-eroding Nor’easters extends into April. The solution, city officials believe, is a long-awaited beach replenishment project.
At a council meeting last week, Rosenello announced the wait may soon be over.
Rosenello, retiring Mayor Aldo Palombo and Mayor-elect Bill Henfey met with U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo and representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection and the Army Corps of Engineers last week to hammer out a solution to the seawall project, and they came away with more than they bargained for.
In regard to the seawall project, Rosenelo said, “We had a very good meeting. We are working toward a final agreement between everybody.”
The seawall agreement is expected to include solutions to issues of beach access and the aesthetics of the wall, particularly at the municipal parking lot near the now-demolished Moore’s Inlet. It could include railings at access points and a 10-foot walkway, Rosenello said.
“We’ll be able to talk more about it once the final decisions are made,” Henfey said. “I think everybody’s going to be pleased.”
In addition, city officials said that they were pleased that a beach replenishment project, which had been previously discussed as a possibility for the spring of 2007 will happen ahead of schedule.
“With regard to beach replenishment,” Rosenello said. “I believe we have a commitment from the DEP to fast track (the project).”
That’s the good news.
The bad news is that project is tentatively scheduled to take place during the summer of 2006, and the project will cause some beach closings throughout the summer.
“It’s either that or to wait until the spring of 2007,” Henfey said. “If we have to deal with a little inconvenience, it’s worth it.”
Rosenello agrees. He said a maximum of three to five blocks of beach will be closed for a couple days at a time, throughout the work period, which is yet unspecified.
Rosenello described the beach replenishment as a “major, major project.” It will include 400 feet of new dunes to replace the ones that have eroded in recent years. When completed, the project should look much like the new dune system on the southern end of Stone Harbor with dunes rising to an elevation of eight feet as a protection against the tide, he said.
The city will pay 25 percent of the cost of the project and the state will pay 75 percent. The figures are not firm yet, but Rosenello said the city has about $9 million earmarked for the project.
“We’ve had a majority of the money set aside for years,” he said. But, he added, that as the beach continues to diminish, the cost increases.
Beach Chief Cavalier believes the fast-tracked project is good news for the city.
“We really need it,” he said.
The bayberry bushes that have the lined the walkways to the beach for years are being overtaken by the tides. They are completely gone from in front of the Boardwalk, Cavalier said.
In addition, the water now rushes under Sportland Pier, at 23rd Avenue.
“You can’t get even get around there at high tide now,” he said.
If the problem is not addressed, city officials know that diminishing beaches will eventually have an impact on tourism.
At North Wildwood’s tourism meeting on Thursday, volunteers worked on the calendar for next year’s events with an eye toward how beach erosion could affect their plans.
The Elk’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt is tentatively planned for the beach at 15th Avenue, near the Boardwalk.
“It might have to be moved because of the ocean,” one volunteer said. “Some of the low level tides come right up to the Boardwalk.”
They agreed that plans for Captain Kidd’s treasure hunt on the beach in May might also need to be flexible.
It’s issues like these, Rosenello said, that are on the minds of city officials.
“Having beach replenishment going on in the summer is better than having no beach at all,” he said.
Tourism depends on it and ignoring the problem could have long-term effects.
The beaches need to be protected sooner rather than later, he said.
Otherwise, “We could always have an Easter egg fishing tournament,” Rosenello said.

Maureen L. Cawley can be e-mailed at maureen.cawley@catamaranmedia.com or you can comment on this story by calling 624-8900, ext. 250.