LONG BRANCH – A summer of sunny weather has forced the hand of the City Council.
The council unanimously passed an emergency appropriation during the Aug. 25 meeting that will allocate $100,000 of extra funding to continue beach operations this year. The money will help fund lifeguards through the end of September.
Beaches traditionally close after Labor Day, but will remain open on weekends free to the public.
“We’ve had a tremendous season, which is why we are asking for more funding,” Stan Dzuiba, director of the office of emergency management, said. “We are looking to go … almost to the last weekend of September if the weather holds up.”
For the 2015 beach season, the city allocated $342,000 for lifeguards and $188,000 for ticket takers in the budget through Labor Day weekend.
Dzuiba credited both the good weather and the city’s decision to open up Takanassee Beach as a public beach as the key drivers leading to the need for additional funding.
While expenses are increasing, Business Administrator Howard Woolley Jr. said the city is approaching topping last year’s recordbreaking beach revenue figures.
“We are closing in on last year’s number,” he said. “We did $1.87 million last year and I think we are at $1.83 million.
“It’s amazing, we got a lot more people down there considering we have some of the beaches closed.”
The city has also made $717,000 thus far on parking fees, with $506,000 coming from Pier Village; $96,000 coming from the new Chandler and Maps lot on lower Broadway; and $114,000 coming from other parking meters throughout the oceanfront.
Despite having to pass an emergency resolution to fund the additional expenses, the city is expected to pay off the $100,000 with funds from parking.
Beach Manager Dan George said one of the reasons the Takanassee beach has been successful is the ample parking around the lake.
“We get a very good crowd, smaller during the week, but it’s doing quite well,” George said. “We’ve had good crowds on weekends because many of our people have found the beach and said, ‘I’ll shoot down there, there is great parking.’”
City attorney James Aaron said the city has collected $15,236 in revenues from the new beach.
George said despite several different beaches closing throughout the summer due to the ongoing reconstruction of the boardwalk, the same number of lifeguard crews have been stationed as in previous years.
Dzuiba said because people are waiting to park on the weekends in the new lot, the city has moved the opening time for parking from 9 a.m. to 8 a.m.