The Sandy-battered community of Belmar received a sizable boost today with the announcement that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded a $9.24 million grant to help pay for the reconstruction of its boardwalk, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) said today.
The decision will provide $9,244,688.54 in Federal funding to Belmar for the use of contractors for the replacement of the boardwalk destroyed as a result of Superstorm Sandy, and is authorized under section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act.
“I have been going to Belmar since I was a young boy,” said Smith, who went to Belmar and many other Shore communities after the storm, “but in the days after Superstorm Sandy, it was unrecognizable to me. The boardwalk—the economic lifeblood of the borough as it is with many Jersey Shore towns—had been utterly destroyed. The restoration is a prime example of an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach—the federal government, state, county, mayor and council—a unified front to rebuild and restore.
“I take this opportunity to remind everyone that the boardwalk is now open for visitors and invite them to visit Belmar and other shore towns whose economies are so reliant on visitors coming to have fun and relax on their beautiful beaches,” Smith said.
“The switch from a 75-25 percent federal-local cost share to a 90-10 split will obviously make a huge difference for the people of Belmar and the town’s budget,” Smith said, who earlier this year took a lead role in obtaining $60 billion in federal disaster relief funding for Superstorm Sandy victims.
The footprint of the boardwalk was determined by review of historic aerial photographs, available plans and bidding documents for the replacement project. The work consists of replacing approximately:
- 1,753 timber piles;
- 190,000 square feet of girders, stringers, and boardwalk deck;
- 19 sets of street-side and beachside stairs and concrete sidewalk, stairs and curbs adjacent to boardwalk, and the pedestrian ramps, and railings;
- the electrical system, 60 two-arm light poles, eight sewer, water, and electrical services;
- 20 galvanized metal bicycle ramps, 40 concrete trash receptacles, 83 concrete park benches, and 9,500 feet of sand fencing;
- vehicle concrete ramps for beach access at 3rd Ave., 11th Ave., and 20th Ave.;
- asphalt pavement and parking striping adjacent to boardwalk, and;
- playground equipment, consisting of climbing equipment, crawl tubes and slides, at four locations.
The borough’s extension of the boardwalk goes beyond its original footprint on the southern end, from 20th Street to North Boulevard. The additional 9,400 square-foot extension resulted in additional contract costs not eligible in the FEMA grant for the replacement project.
At a June meeting with FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate in Smith’s Washington Office, Smith asked for 90-10 federal share for FEMA funding for Belmar and other towns. Fugate approved the 90 percent ratio several weeks later.
At the June FEMA meeting, Smith and Fugate also discussed FEMA’s advisory flood maps, homeowner flood insurance, pending legislative initiatives to ease future flood insurance burdens, and Smith’s House-passed legislation to provide needed assistance to houses of worship, which are now being barred from receiving federal aid.
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