LONG BRANCH — The city is taking another step toward rebuilding the damaged boardwalk with a much wider structure.
Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. said the boardwalk will be rebuilt close to twice as wide as the 10-foot-6-inch boardwalk that was destroyed by superstorm Sandy.
“We want to do it 20 feet wide going down to South Bath [Avenue] and probably 16 feet wide from there [going] south,” he said in an interview.
During the Nov. 13 meeting, the City Council introduced a $30.4 million bond ordinance — the majority of which will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). If adopted, the bond ordinance would fund construction of the boardwalk, repairs to the protective bluff underlying the boardwalk and road improvements along the beachfront.
“We hope to be out to bid by the first of the year,” Woolley said. “If we are out [to bid] by the first of the year, we can award a contract within maybe six weeks.
“It will probably take 10 days to two weeks to go through the bids.”
Woolley said the aim is to begin construction next spring, although it is unlikely the new boardwalk would be completed prior to next summer.
“It would be nice if we could get some portions of it complete by summer, but we need to get busy on it,” he said. “Everybody in the city — elected officials, appointed officials and citizens — all want this thing to get going.”
Of the $30.4 million, the city’s share is $4.14 million, which includes a 10 percent matching of FEMA funds and $1.2 million for projects not funded by FEMA. The agency does not cover the cost of building a wider boardwalk.
The majority of the outlay, $18.1 million, would fund major repairs to the boardwalk including repairs to the protective bluff, roadway, comfort stations, steel bulkhead and promenade.
Another $11.5 million of the bond is slated for improvements to city parks, which include repairing and replacing synthetic fields, underground electricity for scoreboard and walkway lighting, a new irrigation system and various street improvements.
Other work includes $51,000 for improvements on Pullman Avenue; $37,000 for the demolition of the city’s recreation building on Bay Avenue; and $420,000 for a water filtration system at Manahassett Creek Park.
Also included in the bond is $250,600 to repair the Lake Takanassee spillway damaged during the superstorm, which controls the flow of water from the lake into the Atlantic Ocean.
Woolley said that because the project will be financed by federal funding, FEMA must sign off on the final design of the boardwalk and bluff.
“We are in the process of working on a design, getting a design approved through the various federal and state channels,” he said.
“It’s not just our call. It’s federal money, so there is a whole process we are going through.”
In October, the council introduced a similar $30.4 million bond; however, the ordinance was withdrawn after the Local Finance Board ruled that the city would have to make a $140,000 down payment, which was not included in the original bond ordinance.
Once adopted, the bond ordinance would put the city’s debt at $108 million, according to Finance Director Ron Mehlhorn Sr.
However, he said at least half of the debt represents bond ordinances adopted by the city that are scheduled to be paid off by outside entities, including various state Green Acres grants that require bonding and a $25 million Redevelopment Area Bond slated to be paid off by the developer of Pier Village.
The Long Branch boardwalk was destroyed during the 2012 superstorm, with the exception of the Promenade adjacent to Pier Village.
Over the past two summers, the city has fenced off the missing portions of the boardwalk and constructed temporary beach-access ways.