A volunteer works during a cleanup organized by the Whale Pond Brook Watershed Association. The group hopes to secure funding to preserve the stone hut on Ross Island, which dates back to 1896, in Lake Takanassee. FAITH TEITELBAUM LONG BRANCH — With the first phase of a multiphase Lake Takanassee dredging project complete, officials are expecting some of the flooding issues that have been plaguing the neighbors surrounding the lake to subside.
Fred Migliaccio, Long Branch director of public works, said during the Dec. 30 City Council workshop session that dredging of the western end of the lake will prevent some of the flooding issues that been occurring during rain events.
“It’s going to assist with the drainage,” he said. “Now the water will flow a lot better, and now [the lake] will be able to hold more water.”
The first phase of what the city hopes will be a multiphase commitment on the part of the county, included dredging the lake from Norwood to Woodgate avenues. The dredging project is a partnership between Monmouth County and the city, with the county providing some manpower, funding and a depository for the dredge spoils as landfill cover.
The city and county shared the cost of the initial phase under an interlocal services agreement, with each contributing approximately $155,000, according to John Tobia, director of the Monmouth County Department of Public Works and Engineering, and Howard Woolley Jr., Long Branch business administrator.
Also at the workshop session, Faith Teitelbaum, a trustee of the Whale Pond Brook Watershed Association, requested a $4,000 commitment to a Monmouth County His- torical Preservation matching grant application to restore a stone hut on Ross Island, a small island at the western end of the lake.
According to Teitelbaum, who also serves on the Long Branch Environmental Commission, the grant would fund the removal of trees and shrubs that are intertwined in the roof mortar of the stone hut.
“They are deep inside, and we tried to pull them out. And we realized, if we did that, the whole thing would probably collapse,” she said.
Teitelbaum said other than vegetation, the hut is architecturally sound.
“Right now, we just want to preserve it so it doesn’t cave in, but all the architects that have been out there said it’s in really good shape,” she said. “There’s not a lot of cracks; the mortar looks good.
“There are some stones that are starting to crumble; you can walk around and see them on the ground. Other than that, it’s in great shape and it’s got a beautiful fireplace inside.”
She said that outside of the county grant, not much more funding would be needed to completely restore and secure the stone hut and Ross Island.
With the completion of the first phase of dredging, Migliaccio said the focus could turn to the second phase, which would include dredging the lake between Woodgate Avenue and the railroad trestle.
He said the third phase would include the main body of the lake, between the trestle and the Atlantic Ocean.
Last year, the City Council authorized testing of the lake sediment, with results indicating the dredge spoils could be used as landfill cover, paving the way for the county to help fund the project.
In November, the city received a $197,000 federal grant through the Emergency Watershed Protection Program of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a program of the federal Department of Agriculture, to clean up debris in the lake deposited as a result of superstorm Sandy.
Beth Woolley, a trustee of the Long Branch Historical Society, told the council that the Ross Island hut was part of the estate of civil engineer P. Sanford Ross.
Ross, who also considered buying the property that is now Monmouth University and opening a country club, carved the western portion of the lake out of wetlands, according to Woolley.
She said the island, which is currently owned by the city and dates back to 1896, was designed as an architectural folly, a practice of building construction primarily for decoration that was popular in Europe during that time period.
Woolley also said the island and hut were popular recreation spots in the past.
“There used to be a bridge that went over to it, and people would canoe on the lake and stop in there and have a little picnic,” she said. “In the winter, they would ice skate and go in there and warm up with the fireplace.”
Woolley also said the hut, if restored, could once again become a popular spot for recreation.
“People could actually kayak and canoe out there, and you’d have recreation,” she said. “Here, you have the county that is actually willing to pay one-half of it.”
A public hearing on the grant application is scheduled for the Jan. 14 City Council meeting.