The Arnone Report: Progress on Shark River Dredging and Two River Bike Path

By Monmouth County Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

Summer is in full swing and I hope everyone is out there enjoying the beautiful weather we’ve been having. An annual tradition here in Monmouth County is the County Fair. The 41^st Monmouth County Fair was a huge success with thousands of residents attending over the five days it was held at the East Freehold Fairgrounds on Kozloski Road.

Monmouth County is the gateway to the Jersey Shore, and you will find more than 50 miles of beaches, revolutionary history sites, nationally recognized parks and golf courses, outdoor dining experiences for all tastes and plenty of places to spend the night.  The Monmouth Park System offers over 30 park areas to explore, please go out and enjoy all our beautiful county has to offer.

While we are on the topic of outdoor activities you can enjoy throughout our County, I would like to take a moment to address several concerns within different regions, including the Shark River dredging and the two-river area bike path.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Shark River Dredging Project Will Go Out To Bid Late Summer

Bids expected in late summer.  Award anticipated in Fall of 2015

The long delayed dredging of the Shark River Channels is finally moving forward, according to a statement released today by State Senator Jennifer Beck, Freeholder Tom Arnone and Neptune Township Committeeman Randy Bishop.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Office of Maritime Resources has provided a working timeline for dredging the channels. Requests for proposals (RFP) will be released by DOT in August or September, according to Arnone, and a contract for the project is expected to be awarded in late October.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Christie: Shark River Dredging Delayed By County and Municipalities

Beck: Federal and State Agencies Haven’t Approved Drying Sites

Governor Chris Christie told his Town Hall gathering in Belmar yesterday afternoon that the dredging of Shark River is being held up because the municipalities along the river and Monmouth County can not agree on a destination for the dredge spoils to be dumped.

The issue has gathered increased public attention in recent months due to a massive fish kill in the river last May.  310 tons of dead fish were removed from the shoreline of the estuary that feeds into the Atlantic through the inlet between Belmar and Avon-by-the-Sea and extents 11 miles through Neptune and Wall Townships.

In answering a question from a man who identified himself as Bob from Wall, Christie said that he supports the dredging, fought for money from FEMA to pay for the dredging and would impose a solution on the county and municipalities if he had the authority to do so.  He said he had been briefed on the issue three weeks ago.

Maybe the Governor remembered a briefing from a different dredging project when answering Bob’s question.

Both the Monmouth County and Neptune landfills are willing to take the dredge spoils, according to Senator Jennifer Beck.  The river hasn’t been dredged, Beck said in a phone interview last night, because over the last two decades various federal and state agencies have rejected every proposed location for the dredged materials to dry before being moved to their final disposal site.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

The Arnone Report: Update on Shark River Fish Kill

By Freeholder Tom Arnone

Freeholder Tom Arone

On May 12, 2014, a massive fish kill began in the Shark River.  Over the next 10 days, 310 tons of fish would die and wash ashore.  According to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, the cause of the fish kill was due to a large number of bait fish entering the river to seek refuge from bluefish and bass.  The concentration of fish, coupled with warm and shallow waters, depleted the dissolved oxygen levels, resulting in the die-off.  Despite that this event appeared to be a naturally occurring phenomenon, the die-off was a wake-up call that we should not take the health of the River for granted.  While a number of factors working together may have contributed to the event, there are some people that believe this devastating ecological event could have been avoided with preventative maintenance, or more specifically, the long-overdue dredging of the Shark River.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet