Trident Marine lifts the pilings into the water to build a rescue boat lift behind Longport Borough Hall.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT – It gets pretty rough in the bay behind Longport Borough Hall where the Volunteer Fire Department moors its 25-foot rescue boat. So rough that a collar around the boat was damaged and the manufacturer had to walk firefighters through the repair process, Fire Chief Levon “Lefty” Clayton said.
“The water there gets very rough in nor’easters and from boat traffic,” Clayton said. “We get swells of 2-3 feet, which rocks the boat around against the dock.”
Mayor Nicholas Russo, who is a member of the Fire Department, suggested a boat lift would solve the problem and the Board of Commissioners agreed to include the cost of the boat lift in a 2019 bond ordinance, which appropriated $142,400 for fire equipment, repairs and purchases. Chief Financial Officer Jenna Kelly said the borough included some of the extra funding needed to build the lift in this year’s capital budget.
Clayton said the refurbished U.S. Coast Guard boat, which has been equipped with all the emergency medical equipment needed for a rescue, an infrared camera system for searching below the water and a pump for fighting fires, will be lifted out of the water until the department is called for a rescue.
“It will be lowered with electric motors in a minute or two when we need it,” Clayton said.
The boat has been used for several recent high-profile rescues – about five times so far this year – and can be used to fight fires from the water if necessary.
The cost of installing the fiberglass coated wooden pilings and dock were financed by the municipality, but the contractor, who submitted the lowest bid, and grateful residents of the Seaview Harbor Homeowners Association in the Egg Harbor Township neighborhood across the bay, donated the lift mechanism.
“They did it as a thank you for all the services we provide to Seaview Harbor,” he said.
Architect Arthur W. Ponzio Associates of Atlantic City received $11,000 to obtain permits from the Department of Environmental Protection, engineering, construction document preparation and inspections. Trident Marine Construction was awarded a $107,000 contract to install the pilings and dock.
Clayton said the work started on Monday, July 26 and will likely be completed by the second week in August.
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