BERKELEY – A passive recreation area that’s off the beaten path will be renewed in the coming future.
At a recent meeting, the Township Council announced it is using $448,125 in grant funding to repair the Allen Road boardwalk. The township agreed to a memorandum of understanding with the State Department of Community Affairs’ Boardwalk Preservation Fund Grant Program.
“The money will help get it back to where it was,” Mayor John Bacchione said.
First Responders And Vets
The Township Council appointed Class II Special Law Enforcement Officers and authorized their attendance at the Ocean County Police Academy. Business Administrator Scott Tirella said the two officers were Class 1 and this is the next step in their training.
The council also crafted a Memorandum of Understanding with Ocean County to use the firearms training facility in Little Egg Harbor. The Ocean County Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Training Center is on Route 539. It was formerly Shooters Sporting Center, but the county purchased the 26-acre site for $10.5 million last year. Local departments would pay a fee to the county to use the range, but officials at the time of the purchase said that it will cost less than other locations, and that officers won’t have to travel long distances to qualify on their testing, which is done twice a year.
Meanwhile, Dakota Pisano and Jonathan Rainforth were appointed to the Pinewald Fire Company.
Councilman James Byrnes said that he would like to see a veterans committee full of volunteers who will suggest things to the council that could help the large vet population. He would like to have one person from each community on this team.
Tunnel To Towers is building a veterans village on Route 9. There will be 99 apartments and 25 single-family homes all dedicated to veterans. There will also be workers on site to help them receive services.
The 125 veterans are going to need more help, Byrnes said. They have a lot of supports already but he wants there to be more.
During almost every Township Council meeting, they cancel taxes for a handful of 100% disabled veterans, as per state law. Byrnes, a Vietnam veteran, said that in November this cost the township about $40,000, and in October it cost roughly $50-60,000. He was speaking on behalf of a movement to get the state to reimburse towns for this.
Berkeley public officials have frequently spoken in favor of the state law that allows disabled veterans to be exempt from property taxes, however, they have also spoken frequently in favor of a measure that would soften the blow for towns, particularly ones with a large portion of seniors – and therefore veterans – like Berkeley. Former Mayor Carmen Amato, who is now a state senator, has been promoting this legislation that would reimburse the towns.
The post Allen Road Boardwalk To Be Repaired appeared first on Jersey Shore Online.
