Smith Announces $3.8 Million in Sandy Recovery Reimbursements

Congressman Chris Smith and Monmouth County Shaun Golden prepared to survey Hurricane Sandy damage. file photo

Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ4) announced that FEMA will be reimbursing the Borough of Belmar and the South Monmouth Regional Sewerage Authority (SMRSA) 90%, instead of the standard 75%, of the cost of repairs to infrastructure damaged by Superstorm Sandy.  Belmar is slated to receive $1.74 million for repairs to marina buildings, bridges, docks and other facilities, in addition to the $9 million already granted for their boardwalk replacement.  SMRSA will receive $2.083 million to relocate and replace a pump station.

“As someone who has been going to Belmar since I was a young boy, I can easily envision how these improvements will change the Belmar waterfront which was nearly unrecognizable to me when I first saw it days after Superstorm Sandy hit,” said Smith.  “Boardwalks and marina facilities are the critical for many Jersey Shore towns and rebuilding them and restoring them is essential to recovery.”

The Belmar grant will help fund nine construction sites, four of which are completed and the others underway.

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36 Mumps Cases Being Investigated, Most Still Tied To D’Jais

The number of cases of mumps being investigated by the Monmouth County Health Department has jumped from 27 to 36.  One case has been confirmed, according to a statement by the department.

“Individuals are continuing to come forward to report mumps-like symptoms,” County public health coordinator Michael Meddis said. “The median age of the individuals under investigation is 26. With the exception of one pre-school aged child, all of the individuals are adults and 39 percent of the cases involve females.”

The cases under investigation include individuals who have or had mumps-like symptoms as early as August 3. As in previous updates, most of the individuals under investigation have either been patrons or employees of D’Jais Bar and Grill in Belmar.

D’Jais voluntarily closed its doors to patrons last week. The Health Department provided cleaning and sanitizing recommendations to D’Jais management.

On Sunday, County Health Department nurses immunized 32 D’Jais employees with the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. Several D’Jais employees submitted immunization records that were evaluated for age appropriate MMR immunization.

“If you believe that you may have been exposed to someone who has experienced mumps like symptoms, call the Monmouth County Health Department,” said Meddis. “Our public health nurses can answer your questions and evaluate your need for additional follow-up.”

The Monmouth County Health Department continues to ask that anyone who is experiencing swelling of salivary glands along with fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite should seek medical attention and call the Health Department at 732-431-7456.

Of the cases under investigation, individuals in Monmouth County are from Asbury Park, Belmar, Colts Neck, Farmingdale, Howell, Keyport, Long Branch, Matawan, Middletown, Neptune City, Tinton Falls and Wall. Individuals who reported hometowns from outside the county are from the New Jersey towns of Brick, Ogdensburg, Emerson, Fairfield, Jackson, Lawrenceville, Monmouth Junction, Point Pleasant, Saddle Brook, Waldrick, Warren, Whippany and Woodbridge. Individuals who reported out of state hometowns are from New York City, Philadelphia, Straussberg, PA and Port Saint Lucie, FL.

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Mumps Closes D’Jais For The Weekend

D’Jais, the popular Belmar bar suspected of being ground zero for a Monmouth County mumps outbreak, is closing voluntarily for the weekend to clean and sanitize what might be left on the virus, according to a statement by the Monmouth County Health Department.

With the exception of one pre-school aged child, all of the individuals are adults. The median age of the individuals under investigation is 27. Most of the individuals have either been patrons or employees of D’Jais Bar and Grill in Belmar.

“The staff and management and ownership of D’Jais have all been very cooperative and most helpful in advancing this investigation,” said Monmouth County Administrator Teri O’Connor. “Additionally, the Borough of Belmar continues to assist as we work our way through this public health issue.”

D’Jais has voluntarily closed its doors to patrons for the coming weekend. D’Jais has received and carried out cleaning and sanitizing recommendations from the Health Department.

The Health Department has confirmed one case of mumps. 26 other cases of patients with mumps-like symptoms are under investigation.

The Health Department asks that anyone with symptoms of the swelling of salivary glands along with fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite to seek medical attention and call the Health Department at 732-431-7456.

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Mumps Outbreak Traced To D’Jais in Belmar

UPDATE, 9/6/13 D’Jais is closed voluntarily for the weekend

The Monmouth County Health Department is investigating 22 cases probable cases of mumps in the county, 15 of which have come forward since yesterday, according to a statement issued by County Public Health Coordinator Michael Meddis.

“Since yesterday, an additional 15 individuals with mumps-like symptoms have come forward,” County public health coordinator Michael Meddis said. “The medical professionals advised these individuals to be on bed rest, increase their fluid intake and take steps to reduce their fever.”

 

Twenty-one of the individuals are adults and most of them have been either a patron at or an employee of D’Jais in Belmar in the last several weeks. The one youth is of pre-school age.

 

Individuals in Monmouth County are from Asbury Park, Belmar, Farmingdale, Howell (4), Keyport, Long Branch (3), Neptune City, Tinton Falls and Wall. Individuals who reported hometowns from outside the county are from the New Jersey towns of Woodbridge, Saddle Brook, Ogdensburg, Emerson, Lawrenceville, Point Pleasant (2) and Port Saint Lucie, Florida.

 

The Monmouth County Health Department asks that if you are experiencing the swelling of salivary glands along with fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness and loss of appetite you should seek medical attention and call the Health Department at 732-431-7456.

 

Meddis added that the investigation is continuing as new cases are presented and to determine the source of transmission and identify close personal contacts.

 

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Thanks Gannett, for the kick in the teeth #STTS

Photo credit: www.SignsByTheSea.com

Ugh!

As if the weather wasn’t a damper enough to the Jersey Shore kickoff that Superstorm Sandy ravished businesses, their employees and  shore area municipalities desperately need, the shore’s biggest newspaper, and its most popular columnist/blogger are working against us too.

The Asbury Park Press Editorial Board (formerly known here as the Neptune Nudniks, a title we retired the day before Sandy hit, but are tempted to bring back after today’s doozy), opines today that Governor Christie should issue an Executive Order doing away with beach badge sales.

What is really insulting, is that the APP blatantly show how ignorant they are about the New Jersey economy, our tax structure and the cost allocation of our various governments.

There is another logical reason for making the beaches free: revitalizing the Shore economy. What better extra inducement to get people to come to the Jersey Shore? Free beaches could mean millions of dollars in additional revenues for towns. More money spent in restaurants and bars, on summer rentals and motel stays, on souvenirs, on gasoline. For some families, beach fees are prohibitive. For a family of four, they can run $40 or more. That kind of expense can make the difference between going to the beach or staying home. Or between going once or twice a summer instead of several times during the season.

Doing away with beach badges would be a logical thing to do if it would bring revenues to shore towns. Duh!  Why didn’t the mayors think of that!?

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Belmar Councilman Jim Bean Lodges Ethics Complaint Against Mayor Matt Doherty Over AshBritt Contracts

Bean cites Local Finance Board’s Decision Against Marlboro Councilwoman Randi Marder To Support His Complaint

Doherty Dismisses Complaint As Politics

Belmar Councilman Jim Bean. Photo credit: Belmar.com

Belmar Councilman Jim Bean, a Republican, has written to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ Local Finance Board requesting an investigation into a “potential violation” of New Jersey’s Local Government Ethics Law by Mayor Matt Doherty, a Democrat.

Doherty’s wife, Maggie Moran, a former Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Jon Corzine, worked as a consultant for AshBritt, the Florida company that performed debris removal throughout much of New Jersey after the Superstorm Sandy.  Belmar paid $2.67 million to AshBrit and its affiliates, according to Bean’s complaint which can be found here.

Doherty said that Bean is “Belmar’s Bayshore Tea Party….a cancer on the Republican Party.”

“This is the second, politically motivated, baseless complaint Bean has filed against me in the past 8 months, ” Doherty said, “If he didn’t waste his time on this nonsense maybe he could actually do something useful for the people of Belmar.”

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Belmar Councilman Takes Issue With Doherty’s Veracity On AshBrit Contract

Doherty says he maintained the highest ethical standards.  Charges Councilman Jim Bean with his own conflict

UPDATED

Belmar Councilman Jim Bean, a Republican, says that Mayor Matt Doherty, a Democrat, “kind of lied” when he told MMM that he recused himself from voting on the borough’s contract with AshBrit, the Florida company that was hired by the Christie administration for Superstorm Sandy cleanup.

We asked Doherty if he had recused himself from voting on the borough’s business with AshBrit because we had documentation that his wife, Maggie Moran, was acting as a sales agent for the company in its efforts to secure lucrative business in cleaning up municipalities impacted by Sandy.  He said he did.  But that was not the whole story, according to Bean, who said that the borough council’s vote to authorize payments to AshBrit occurred two weeks after Doherty signed the contract.

Bean sent along an email exchange between him and Doherty to back up his complaint:

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Congressman Chris Smith’s Statement At Belmar Boardwalk Groundbreaking

Yesterday, in the State of the State address in Trenton, Governor Chris Christie eloquently spoke of the courage, tenacity and resolve of the people of New Jersey both during and after the worst storm in our history.

He introduced and told the stories of a few jersey heroes.  However, the statehouse could have been filled to overflowing with people who performed remarkable feats of selflessness and bravery.

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There’s no such thing as a free beach

Sweeney wants to pay for beach safety and maintenance by getting rid of cops and dpw workers

Photo credit: www.SignsByTheSea.com

MMM has called Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) three times since he jumped on board with the Senator Mike Doherty (R-Warren) in sponsoring legislation that would ban shoreline municipalites from selling beach badges or imposing other user fees to pay for lifeguards, beach cleanup and policing, if those towns accept federal and state money to rebuild from the destruction of Hurricane Sandy.  He hasn’t called back.  Steve Sweeney is a kitten.  Kitten, kitten, kitten!

Given that he won’t talk to us, we’ll have to judge Sweeney’s crusade for free sand in his ass by what others report he says.  The Senate President invited himself to a meeting with the Asbury Park Press Editorial Board earlier this week to make his case for free beaches.

“You don’t charge me to breathe air, why are you charging me to sit on a beach?”

We should be grateful that the top elected Democrat in New Jersey hasn’t figured out how to tax breathing (yet).  But really now, our Senate President thinks breathing air (as opposed to grapefruit juice?) is analogous to sitting on a beach?  That is something we should be concerned about, especially since this guy is considering a run for governor.

Sweeney told the APP that Belmar and the other shore communities that impose beach user fees should cover those costs by consolidating police forces and departments of public works.  He said he would “beat up mayors down the shore” to make it happen “because its not acceptable, you know, to charge beach fees.”

Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty took Sweeney’s first beating:

“I asked (Doherty), how many people live year-round in his town,” Sweeney said. “He’s got a one-square mile town, he’s got 5,800 people. Now, could we run a shared police department? I met his public works director today, could we run a shared public works office?”

“You guys know how I feel about shared services,” Sweeney told the APP.  We don’t know if the APP knows how he feels, but MMM thinks Sweeney is thwarting shared services and other methods that municipalities could use to reduce the size and cost of local government.   If Sweeney was serious about property tax reduction and more efficient local government he would have passed Governor Christie’s property tax tool kit.

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Christie’s Town Hall Meeting in Belmar

The Spirit Of This State Is In Our Families

Congress Can Return To Their Bickering After They Step Up And Help New Jersey

What would he do differently during the storm?

Christie’s remark on school security, guns, mental health and video games in the wake of Sandy Hook Elemenatary School shootings

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