All Candidates Running Unopposed in Oceanport, Little Silver Primaries

Two council seats are up for grabs in both municipalities.

Oceanport Council to Reorganize for New Year

The new year could bring a new council president.

The Oceanport Borough Council will reorganize Tuesday at noon and while no new members are coming onboard, there may be a new council president. The annual meeting, which will include the swearing in of two returning council members and reappointment of everything from borough attorney to school crossing guards, will take place at Maple Place School. According to the agenda, a motion will be made to appoint Councilman Joseph Irace as council president, replacing Councilman Gerald Bertekap. Councilman William Johnson and Bertekap, who ran unopposed for three-year terms in November, will be sworn in at the annual ceremony.

• Photos (1)

Oceanport OK's Another $700K for Sandy Cleanup

The second emergency appropriation brings the borough's cleanup tally to $1.4 million.

The Oceanport Borough Council approved an additional $700,000 in emergency appropriations Wednesday night to cover Sandy clean up costs. Officials approved an initial $700,000 in appropriations in November to fund removing debris throughout town and cleanup and repair of the four borough structures damaged during the storm. The Oceanport Office of Emergency Management has estimated $367 million in damages to the borough and residents due to Hurricane Sandy. Costs so far have included $125,000 to ServPro to clean up water damage to borough structures and $57,000 for packing, storing and eventually reassembling all borough records, which includes library books, according to Borough Administrator Kim Jungfer. Damaged structures included the …

• Photos (2)

Reviewing Home Elevations on Oceanport Council Agenda

Oceanport officials are considering a zoning change for homes in flood-prone areas of the borough.

Authorizing the borough's planning board to review the elevation of homes affected by Superstorm Sandy is one of the items to be discussed at Thursday night's Oceanport Borough Council meeting. The mayor and council will meet at Maple Place School at 7 p.m. while borough hall, which took on about four feet of water in the municipal courtroom during the storm, is restored. The council will also make a recommendation to the planning board to amend borough zoning ordinances for elevation of homes. The meeting agenda includes a number of emergency contract authorizations for storm related clean up, like paving and construction, as well as for packing up and cleaning out borough hall.

• Photos (2)

Coffey, Welsh, Murphy Win Oceanport BOE Seats

Two newcomers and a former board member win spots in the hotly-contested board of ed race.

The voters in Oceanport have spoken. Newcomers Jay Coffey, Mike Murphy and former BOE member Tom Welsh came out on top in the school district's board of ed race on Tuesday. The borough council and Shore Regional terms up-for-grabs this year were uncontested races with Oceanport resident Paul Rolleri winning a term on the high school's board. The borough council race for two seats was also uncontested, with incumbents staying on for three more years. Here are the results by numbers: Oceanport Borough Council   Oceanport Board of Education

• Photos (1)

A Promotion for Oceanport Police Officer

Sgt. Michael Chenoweth was officially promoted to lieutenant at the Sept. 20 council meeting.

Oceanport Police celebrated the official promotion of one of their own Thursday night at the borough council meeting. Sgt. Michael Chenoweth, who has been on the force since was hired as a probationary officer in 1997, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant -- a first for Oceanport, according to Capt. Daniel Barcus. "Lt. Chenoweth is an excellent role model for our young officers and has earned the trust and respect of all the members of this department," said Barcus. Chenoweth has served as a traffic safety and field training officer for the department, teaching new officers how to maximize effectiveness on the job. The new lieutenant began his career with the Middletown Police Department in 1989 and moved onto Allentown before coming to …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

Scouts Recognized for Sprucing Up Old Wharf Park

The three Oceanport teens took on the renovation of the waterfront park as part of their Girl Scout Silver Award Project.

This time last summer, Christine McArdle, 14, and sisters Lauren, 14, and Brooke Harrigan, 13, were busy painting picnic tables and planting flowers in their effort to spruce up Oceanport's Old Wharf Park as part of their Girl Scout Silver Award Project. One year later, the butterfly garden is in full bloom, shuffleboard and bocce ball courts have been repainted and Goose Patrol Dogs have been installed to help deter geese at the waterfront park. Oceanport's mayor and council recognized the three girls at the Aug. 14 workshop meeting for their efforts. The entire project cost $1,284, of which the girls raised $755 through car washes and bake sales. The council funded the remaining $529. Other improvements to Old Wharf Park made by the …

• Photos (1)

Go Ahead, Mow Your Lawn on Sunday in Oceanport

The borough council voted to tweak Oceanport's noise ordinance to give homeowners some extra time to mow their lawns.

For anyone who's had to rush home on a summer evening to get her lawn mowed before the 6 p.m. curfew, which prohibits the loud noise blowing from your mower, the Oceanport Borough Council feels your pain. To make things easier for homeowners who tend to their own lawns, the council agreed at its June 14 meeting to amend the existing noise ordinance for the borough, increasing hours from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the weekend. The previous restrictions on excessive noise in Oceanport was 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays with Sunday being off limits for mowing. The new increased hours only apply to residential work and restricts commercial landscapers to the …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

PHOTOS: Kids Rule Oceanport for Student Government Meeting

Seventh graders weighed in on Monmouth Park, Fort Monmouth and speed bumps at the June 7 council meeting.

Oceanport's future leaders took to the dais last week in borough hall as Maple Place seventh graders held the annual student government meeting. The 10 students, elected to their positions by classmates, went through the motions of a regular borough council meeting and addressed many topics that their adult counterparts are wrestling with. The students discussed Monmouth Park, Fort Monmouth, speeding traffic, bike paths, alternate rec sports and the geese at Blackberry Bay Park. Students who participated in the meeting, under to direction of seventh grade social studies teacher John Vaccarelli, are as follows:

• Photos (9)

Oceanport Officer Saves 11-Year Old Boy

Ptl. Gregory Lauretta was commended at the June 7 council meeting for resuscitating the Oceanport boy in April.