http://www.bricktownship.net/news The Township of Brick http://www.bricktownship.net/news/mayor-and-councilman-urge-congress-to-delay-flood-insurance-premiums Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis and Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni presented a resolution to the Council that urges the United States Congress to take immediate action to delay flood insurance rate premiums at the Council’s May 21, 2013 Meeting in the wake of Senator Pat Toomey’s (R-PA) recently blockage of a vote on an amendment that would have delayed premiums.  The resolution was approved with a unanimous vote. “The new flood insurance rates and guidelines are going to have a profound effect on families across the Nation.  The best course of action is to delay the increase in flood insurance premiums until areas affected have a chance to rebuild stronger and then analyze the risk,” said Mayor Acropolis.  “Unfortunately, Senator Toomey has single-handedly stopped that from happening by not even allowing a vote.” Senator Toomey recently blocked a vote on an amendment sponsored by Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and David Vitter (R-VA) that would have delayed the flood insurance premiums mandated by the Biggert Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012. “I appreciate the Senator’s desire to make the flood insurance system stronger financially, but the current plan seems to be little more than a money grab,” said Mayor Acropolis.  “There are now homes in flood zones in our town that did not even see water during an historic storm.” “My family lost our home.  Our neighbors lost their homes.  Too many people in Brick Township did too.  Now, as we start to rebuild, we do so knowing that we either have to pay an enormous amount of money to raise our homes or to face flood insurance premiums that are – to put it kindly – crippling,” said Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni.  “To have the possibility of delaying these premiums taken away by one Senator is salt in the wound.  I hope that our Congress is able to work together to help the victims of Sandy and all citizens who are facing these exorbitant costs.” The text of the resolution that Mayor Acropolis and Councilman Sangiovanni presented to the Council and that was approved unanimously is as follows: RESOLUTION WHEREAS, in 2012, the United States Congress passed the Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, also known as the Biggert Waters Act; and WHEREAS, the acts stated purpose was to make the Federal Flood Insurance Program financially sound; and WHEREAS, as thousands of families in Brick Township and countless more across our Nation are learning, that is being done on the backs of citizens through punitive flood base elevations and flood insurance premiums; and WHEREAS, due to the new parameters established by the Biggert Waters Act and FEMA’s revised advisory base flood elevations, citizens are faced with the choice of either paying to raise their homes or face flood insurance premiums of up to approximately $25,000 annually; and WHEREAS, these parameters will have a devastating financial effect on the families of our community and potentially our community as a whole; and WHEREAS, Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and David Vitter (R-VA) recently introduced an amendment that would delay the flood insurance premiums for the countless affected people across the; and WHEREAS, a vote on the amendment was blocked by a single member of Congress – Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) – who stated that he did not want citizens in ‘low risk’ areas to subsidize in ‘high risk’ areas; and WHEREAS, many of the people facing higher flood insurance premiums have never had a flood insurance policy as their homes were never in flood zones but now are thanks to FEMA’s revised maps. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWNSHIP COUNCIL OF THE TOWNSHIP OF BRICK, COUNTY OF OCEAN AND STATE OF NEW JERSEY, as follows: 1.       We join Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis in expressing our profound disappointment that Senator Pat Toomey blocked a vote on delaying flood insurance premiums. 2.       We urge the United States Congress to take immediate action that will help the families of the United States by delaying or eliminating the punitive and unjust financial burden that is being placed on them thanks to the Flood Insurance Reform Act and FEMA’s revised Base Flood Elevation Maps. 3.       That the Municipal Clerk forward a copy of this resolution to United States Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA), United States Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), United States Senator David Vitter (R-VA), United States Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), United States Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Governor of the State of New Jersey, our State Legislators, the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders, the Mayors and Governing Bodies of all towns in Ocean County and the New Jersey State League of Municipalities. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/mayor-and-councilman-urge-congress-to-delay-flood-insurance-premiums#id:224#date:20:15 2013-05-22T20:15+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/brick-township-police-department-accepting-unused-and-expired-medications-d Prescription drug abuse is the nation’s fastest growing drug problem. The “Take Back Drugs” event is a useful tool to reduce the abuse of and assist in the diversion of prescription medications.  Keeping medications out of the wrong hands, especially  juveniles, will help keep our families stronger and our communities safer.  The goal of the program is to allow the citizens of Brick to rid their homes of unused, unwanted, or expired medications by turning these medications in to law enforcement officials who  dispose of the substances in a safe and non-hazardous manner.,.  On April 27th, 2013, between the hours of 10am and 2pm, the Brick Twp Police Department will be collecting unused/unwanted prescription medication for the “Take Back Drugs” program sponsored by the DEA.  Collection location is at Police HQ - front window. Please adhere to the following requirements: ·         NO Syringes or Needles ·         Liquid Prescription Medication must be sealed to prevent leakage ·         It is preferred that medications be removed from the prescription bottle. You then should remove or black out the personal information on the label prior to discarding the container. No personal information will be gathered from persons discarding prescription medication. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/brick-township-police-department-accepting-unused-and-expired-medications-d#id:218#date:17:53 2013-04-26T17:53+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/township-addressing-electrical-issues-at-drum-point-sports-complex Citing a potentially dangerous situation discovered during repairs from Super Storm Sandy, Mayor Acropolis and township officials are prohibiting the use of field lighting at the Drum Point Sports Complex until further notice. The Township’s electrical contractor was performing a repair work on one of the complex’s lighting stanchions when he discovered problems with the wiring and grounding.  After an electrical inspection, it was confirmed that the contractor who installed the lights in 2005 did not adhere to the plans. “When our electrical contractor informed me about the situation, I immediately instructed the administration to prepare a plan that would ensure the safety of our residents and others that utilize the fields. The Drum Point Sports Complex is our busiest recreational facility and I will not permit citizens to be at risk,” said Mayor Stephen Acropolis. All night activities at the Drum Point Sports Complex have been cancelled until further notice; activities during the daylight hours will continue as scheduled.  Mayor Acropolis has also instructed the electrical contractor to inspect all projects that were installed by the vendor who did the work at the Drum Point Sports Complex.  There were several done between 2005 and 2006 at various parks in the Township. “These projects were done prior to this administration.  We are going to make sure that we check all lights done by that vendor to make sure similar situations don’t exist anywhere else,” said Mayor Acropolis.  “This is being done right now and will continue until the inspections are done and all parks are deemed safe.  In the meantime, we apologize to anyone who is being inconvenienced by this.  Rest assured we will make every effort to reschedule games and events affected by this.” http://www.bricktownship.net/news/township-addressing-electrical-issues-at-drum-point-sports-complex#id:214#date:13:35 2013-04-24T13:35+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/residents-asked-to-be-patient-during-rebuilding-and-recovery Since November 1, the office of Community Development and Land Use received 22,594 incoming calls and has issued 1,574 permits since December 1st. Homeowners with property that was damaged by Hurricane Sandy are seeking permits, substantially damaged reports, elevation certificates and other materials and documents. Business Administrator Scott Pezarras says a little patience goes a long way as township officials work to support the thousands of homeowners who are seeking assistance from the township Building Department. “We have supplemented the staff and opened the office on Saturdays, but we are still facing new procedures in flood zones and other changes that increase response time,” said Scott Pezarras. “Residents should provide staff with the information needed to meet their requests and then be patient and trust that we are working as diligently as possible.” Many residents are calling numerous times to check on the status of their requests which, in turn, delays the processing. “I know residents just want to get back to normal, or begin the rebuilding process, and we can understand their eagerness,” said Pezarras. “However, residents also need to understand that everything about this storm and its aftermath presents challenges that require thoughtful and deliberate attention by our staff.” Residents are encouraged to speak to their contractor/builder/architect and other professionals before seeking information from township staff. The township website, www.bricktownship.net is also a valuable resource for information and frequently asked questions. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/residents-asked-to-be-patient-during-rebuilding-and-recovery#id:192#date:19:29 2013-03-22T19:29+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/spring-leaf-collection-dates-announced The Brick Township Department of Parks and Recreation has announced the dates for the Spring Leaf Collection.  Leaf collection will begin on Monday, April 8 and will be done in accordance with the recycling schedule.  The collection schedule is as follows: If Your Recycling Day Is: Put Leaves Out By: Friday Monday, April 8 Monday Thursday, April 11 Tuesday Tuesday, April 16 Wednesday Friday, April 19 Thursday Wednesday, April 24   Residents are asked to have their bagged leaves at the curb by 6am of the first day of their collection period.  Do not put branches, sticks or other debris in bags.  Leaves may also be brought to the Brick Township Recycling Center, Ridge Road, Monday - Saturday 8am - 3:30pm.  Leaves may also be brought to the Ocean County Recycling Center on New Hampshire Avenue, Lakewood Township. For more information about leaf collection call the Parks and Recreation Department at 732-262-1044. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/spring-leaf-collection-dates-announced#id:188#date:17:57 2013-03-13T17:57+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/btv-to-experience-outages-on-march-12 The Brick Township IT Department would like citizens to know that there will be sporadic outages to Brick Township's PEG Channel, BTV, on Tuesday, March 12 due to service upgrades on the Comcast service in the Municipal Building.  Citizens are thanked for their patience and understanding as the upgrades are taking place. Anyone who wishes to watch the Township Council scheduled to air at 10am can click here anytime.  Anyone who wishes to watch the Board of Education meeting scheduled to air at 8pm can click here anytime. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/btv-to-experience-outages-on-march-12#id:186#date:14:41 2013-03-11T14:41+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/mayor-reminds-residents-to-change-clocks-this-weekend Mayor Stephen Acropolis is reminding residents that Daylight Savings Time begins this weekend at 2am on Sunday.  Remember to change your clocks accordingly. The Brick Township Bureau of Fire Safety is also reminding citizens to Change Your Batteries when you Change Your Clock.  Batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors should be changed every six months to ensure their operation.  In an effort to help, representatives from Brick Township's fire services will be at the Brick Lowes, Brick Wal Mart and Brick Home Depot on Saturday, March 9 beginning at 9am to distribute free batteries.  Distribution will continue as supplies last. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/mayor-reminds-residents-to-change-clocks-this-weekend#id:183#date:16:27 2013-03-07T16:27+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/township-preparing-for-late-winter-storm-coastal-flooding-likely The National Weather Service has updated their forecast for the impending Nor’easter storm that is headed in our direction. A Nor’easter will affect our region starting Wednesday morning through Thursday night. Threats from the storm include heavy rain, chance of snow, coastal flooding, and wind. Along the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey, moderate coastal flooding is likely; moderate to major beach erosion is also likely. Winds will gust up to 40 mph while gusts of 50-60 mph are possible.  A combination of high winds and wet snow will produce a threat of significant power outages. The timeline for the tides are as follows: Wednesday High Tide: 2:02 A.M. and 2:37 P.M.                   Thursday High Tide:  3:10 A.M. and 3:45 P.M.                   Tides of up to 2 feet above normal will occur at the times of high tide Wednesday afternoon, Thursday afternoon and very early Friday morning.  The high tide that occurs around 2am on Thursday will be three to perhaps 4 feet above normal causing moderate coastal flooding.  This will flood the streets in areas normally prone to coastal flooding.  Residents with vehicles in these areas are strongly encouraged to move them to a safe location.  Fortunately, astronomical tides are not high during this period.  A complete wash over of the beaches is likely Wednesday night and beach erosion will be an issue due to the persistent high tides and rough surf. Based on the above information from the National Weather Service, Mayor Steven Acropolis and Chief Nils R. Bergquist are strongly encouraging any residents currently residing on the barrier island section of town and residents in those areas throughout the town that are prone to flooding, to relocate or take the appropriate action for their safety.  The Brick Township Office of Emergency Management will continue to monitor the storm and provide any new updates as deemed necessary.  Anyone who is of need of assistance in relocating can contact the Brick Township Police Department for assistance at 732-262-1100. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/township-preparing-for-late-winter-storm-coastal-flooding-likely#id:181#date:21:05 2013-03-05T21:05+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/mayor-acropolis-discusses-flood-maps Mayor Stephen Acropolis released a Focus on Brick Township Update on the Township's Official YouTube Page earlier today.  In the Update, Mayor Acropolis discusses FEMA's Advisory Base Flood Elevations, the impact they are having and the Township's efforts to have those maps amended in the future.  You can watch the video by clicking here. Mayor Acropolis will be posting more Focus on Brick Township Update videos on YouTube in the future.  If there is a topic you would like Mayor Acropolis to address, please feel free to email them. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/mayor-acropolis-discusses-flood-maps#id:179#date:22:57 2013-03-04T22:57+00:00 http://www.bricktownship.net/news/mayor-acropolis-and-councilman-sangiovanni-want-fema-to-fully-fund-home-ele The Township Council will vote on a resolution that will ask Federal Government to fully fund the cost for families to raise their homes to comply with the Advisory Base Flood Elevations in Brick Township at their March 5 meeting.  The resolution was prepared and placed on the agenda at the request of Mayor Stephen Acropolis and Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni. “The Advisory Base Flood Elevations released by FEMA late last year have created a crisis in our community.  Families who lost their homes in Hurricane Sandy now have the choice to pay tens of thousands of dollars to meet the new requirements, potentially pay tens of thousands of dollars in flood insurance or to leave their homes and hometown,” said Mayor Acropolis.  “This choice should not be forced upon our citizens.  Councilman Sangiovanni and I urge the Council to support a resolution urging the Federal Government to help these people by fully funding the elevation of homes.” “It is our duty to fight for the families of Brick Township, many of whom will likely not be able to afford to elevate their homes,” said Councilman Sangiovanni.  “They should not have to leave their homes and Brick Township because of the financial burden the new flood zone regulations have forced on them.  It is another unfunded mandate that is unfair to citizens.” Families who had flood insurance will be eligible for Increased Cost of Compliance Grants of up to $30,000.  That is not enough to raise many homes said Mayor Acropolis. “There is so much that goes into elevating homes.  Foundation work, utility work and more.  That $30,000 will not go far for most families,” said Mayor Acropolis. Families that do not raise their homes to comply with the new base flood elevations could have flood insurance premiums of upwards of $20,000 a year after the new maps are adopted in about two years depending on how far below the elevation a home is. “It is my hope that the Council supports this resolution and shows the people of our community that we will continue to do everything we can to help them,” said Mayor Acropolis. “I fully expect my colleagues to support the resolution that Mayor Acropolis and I have prepared.  It is the right thing for our citizens,” said Councilman Sangiovanni. The resolution is on the agenda for the March 5, 2013 meeting.  It will be held at 7pm in the Municipal Building, 401 Chambers Bridge Road. http://www.bricktownship.net/news/mayor-acropolis-and-councilman-sangiovanni-want-fema-to-fully-fund-home-ele#id:178#date:21:20 2013-03-01T21:20+00:00