LAVALLETTE – A borough resident recently expressed concern about the condition of one of the community’s most valued resources – its oceanfront boardwalk – but officials responded that everything is safe and sound.
Borough home owner Nick Gaffney made his concerns known through letters and e-mails reaching out to Mayor Walter G. LaCicero, the Borough Council, Business Administrator John Bennett, the Borough Clerk and the head of the Department of Public Works (DPW) along with a member of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners.
“Many residents and non-resident boardwalk users have shared their dissatisfaction with the state of the boardwalk. Some have recounted trips, falls, and injuries,” Gaffney said.
He added that he believed, “the Lavallette Police Department and First Aid Squad have responded to boardwalk injuries; however, I do not have specific details on their responses. There must be a public record.”
Gaffney told The Toms River Times that he felt there has been a decline “in the number and quality of services delivered to taxpayers. I think it started four or five years ago. An informal survey of people walking the boardwalk gave the boardwalk’s condition/maintenance a letter grade of C to F.”
The resident said he hadn’t received any response from any of the officials he contacted outside “County Commissioner Robert S. Arace’s office acknowledging receipt.”
The Toms River Times also reached out to the mayor, council president, business administrator and supervisor of the Borough DPW regarding their view on the condition of the borough’s boardwalk.
Council President Anita Zalom said there were no reported incidents that occurred due to the conditions of the boardwalk. “It has all been taken care of. We don’t want anybody to fall.”
Bennett told The Toms River Times, “the man sent me the letter to have everything done in three days. In six days, I did respond to him and in the meantime, we had the boardwalk walked from one end to another by a council person and I had DPW walk from one end to another and there were some immediate repairs. When nails come up you don’t know they are up until somebody tells you or somebody (from DPW or a borough official or employee) is up there.”
“We had no other complaints made and we still have no other complaints except for Mr. Gaffney. We have had no reported injuries,” Bennett added.
The business administrator said Lavallette “did apply for a grant the State of New Jersey had made available in 2024, $100 million dollars for boardwalk repairs. We did apply and had an engineering firm put together a really comprehensive plan to replace whole sections of the boardwalk.”
He added, “we didn’t get one cent. It was awarded on a point system and we didn’t have the repairs necessary to get a dime. Where other towns got literally millions of dollars, we got absolutely nothing.”
“I think Atlantic City got $10 million and Asbury Park got $10 million. We weren’t looking for that kind of money.”
“We did get a substantial grant towards our well #6 to put in a new well but that had to do with the county, it had nothing to do with the state,” Bennett said. “I don’t know how many grants we’ve gotten from the state in the last six years that I have been here. We did get a Jake’s Law grant for a playground which is about $500,000 and we just got that.”
Jake’s Law encourages counties throughout the state to build inclusive playgrounds that are designed with standards that generally exceed those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and result in accommodating people with disabilities to the greatest degree feasible.
That state grant was administered through the Green Acres Program and in 2024, Green Acres expanded the grant incentive funding program to include municipal governments.
Counties and municipalities applied to Green Acres for 75% matching grants for Completely Inclusive Playgrounds; awards are anticipated to be between $500,000-$750,000 for municipalities and $750,000-$1,000,000 for counties, depending on demand.
Gaffney previously came before the council in concern of a feral cat problem he said existed in the borough and noted trash issues along Route 37 which is an issue beyond the purview of Lavallette, a community based along Route 35.
Bennett wrote back to Gaffney and told him what work had been done on the boardwalk “and what steps had been taken.” He noted maintenance of the boardwalk and other town facilities is always “an ongoing thing and we will be doing certain renovations and we’ll have to pay for them because we didn’t get any money from the state. The taxpayers will have to pay for it.”
“In our opinion there are no safety issues. There is some work to be done. There was a bench we had to replace but nothing serious and no one ever reported anything. He was the only complaint we had for the whole summer and I immediately sent someone out there,” Bennett added.
