The Borough of Manasquan was awarded a nearly $2.4 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today to help rebuild dunes, snow fence and beach access destroyed by Superstorm Sandy, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) said.
“I am happy to assist Manasquan in working to obtain funding to protect homes, businesses and lives in the Borough,” said Smith. “I stood on those very beaches with Mayor Dempsey in the days after Superstorm Sandy hit and committed to helping Manasquan and our other shore towns rebuild. These dunes will offer storm protection the Manasquan community and its beaches, which took a direct hit by Sandy and are very critical to the local economy.”
The Federal funding award provides $2,395,098 to Manasquan for the use of contractors for the repair of the Borough’s dunes. After the municipality concludes its local stakeholder meetings and receives local public input, the project is anticipated to include the replacement of the dunes utilizing approximately 35 thousand cubic yards of sand. Also included will be the placement of 14 thousand linear feet of snow fence and cedar fence, and 188,320 dune plantings used to control sand erosion. To access the beach, the project includes 16 gravel cross-over paths from the asphalt boardwalk; two of the 16 will be ADA-compliant and two more will be built to support emergency vehicle access.
“The Borough has been proactive in seeking funding from all possible FEMA programs. We are glad FEMA has offered the opportunity to fund an engineered dune system for our beaches,” said Manasquan CFO & Administrator Joseph DeIorio. “Recognizing the due diligence necessary for such a large undertaking, Councilman Lee, Chairman of the Beach Committee, announced this past Monday the scheduling of an open public information meeting for all stakeholders, residents, property owners and the Department of Environmental Protection.”
Federal support for the project came after Smith’s office worked with New Jersey 30th District legislators Sen. Robert Singer, Asm. Sean Kean and Asm. Dave Rible, as well as local and state officials, to move the project forward. The $2.4 million in funding covers 90 percent of the total project cost of $2,661,220. Smith had previously worked to persuade FEMA to increase the federal share from the initially-planned 75 percent to the current 90 percent for all New Jersey public assistance programs that pay for Sandy cleanup and reconstruction costs. That funding cost-share change, for which Smith advocated, accounts for an additional $400,000 in costs being paid by the Federal government.
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