By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT – The Board of Commissioners Sept. 22 took the following actions during its monthly board meeting.
Borough employees request COVID-19 hazard pay
According to Commissioner Jim Leeds, borough employees have requested hazard pay for working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal Funding in the amount of $89,000 has been made available to the municipality to cover costs incurred as a result of the pandemic. The funding will be paid over the next two years.
Leeds said Administrator Scott Porter and Solicitor Michael Affanato would investigate how the funds can be used.
Leeds said other larger municipalities have received millions of dollars and that the City of Trenton, and recently Atlantic City, have agreed to share the funds with their employees.
Charter Buses
The board approved an ordinance limiting the hours charter buses visiting the borough can pick up and drop off passengers. According to language in the ordinance, no charter buses may discharge or pick up passengers after 10 p.m. or before 7 a.m. However, the police chief may grant exceptions upon request. The ordinance was introduced after The Temple University Football Team arrived in Longport before 7 p.m. to work out on the beach.
Freight drops prohibited on public rights-of-way
The borough approved an ordinance regulating use of vehicles over 4 tons that accept deliveries of pilings for new construction from barges or other vehicles. Materials were being delivered over bulkheads to bayfront street ends, a process that could damage the bulkhead and disrupt residential neighborhoods.
Ordinance 2021-20 sets a fine for trucks over 4 tons that transfer supplies to another vehicle. Language in the ordinance states operators may not drop or transfer freight or other items on any public right-of-way. The police chief, upon request, may provide exceptions if warranted. Failure to comply with the ordinance could result in a $500 fine or 90 days community service.
Borough appoints full-time police officer
The board approved a resolution appointing Matthew Long as a full-time police officer for the Longport Police Department. Long has worked as a part-time special officer for several years and was appointed to serve as a full-time patrol officer to fill a vacancy on the force.
Deal in works to establish beachfront park
According to Solicitor Michael Affanato, the borough is working on a proposed memorandum of agreement with two local homeowners’ associations to establish a park next to the bulkhead along Beach Terrace between 14th and 16th avenues. The memo would outline obligations for the borough and the associations.
Longport Seaview and Costa Videre homeowners’ associations in December 2019 proposed having their landscaping contractor develop plans for the park and pledged a $5,000 contribution toward the cost of beautifying the lot into a passive park. They also agreed to raise the remainder of the cost from other Longport contributors. According to Affanato, the cost of building the park could be as much as $60,000 funded entirely through a fundraising effort conducted by the associations.
The borough has since installed curbing and a sidewalk along that stretch of Beach Terrace.
Police to get new pickup truck
The board approved a contract to purchase a new vehicle for the Police Department. A resolution was approved to spend $31,149 to purchase a 2022 Ford 150XL 4×4 crew supercab, plus $4,265 to cover options. The Police Responder vehicle will be purchased from Cherry Hill Winner Ford through the NJ Cooperative Pricing Program.
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