By Kenny Walter
Staff Writer
SEA BRIGHT- The borough council is expected to update the rules and regulations at both Anchorage Beach and Anchorage Park prior to the next beach season.
Borough Administrator Joseph Verruni said during the Feb. 11 Workshop meeting that borough officials have recently met with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials to discuss rules and regulations for both Green Acres properties.
“They would like one unified agreement that covers both of the properties because they are both Green Acres properties,” he said.
According to Verruni, the borough has an existing ordinance regarding Anchorage Beach that is outdated.
“We told them the one we have regarding Anchorage Beach is kind of antiquated, it’s old,” he said. “There is a lot of things in there that do not apply anymore or become moot because we built a bathroom.”
Last year the borough opened only Anchorage Beach on the weekends. Also in 2015, the state purchased the former Anchorage Apartments property, which will now be converted into a water park that is currently being dubbed Anchorage Park.
Verruni said the borough and DEP were negotiating a number of issues regarding the two Green Acres properties, including whether the borough would allow animals on the beach and whether lifeguards would be on duty.
He said the state was reluctant at first to allow residents to bring pets onto the beach and the park but the borough was able to convince the state to allow that practice for the offseason.
Verruni also said the DEP and borough were on the same page regarding lifeguards.
“I think it was their opinion that if we are going to guard the beach, they have no problem with that, but they said that if you do not have lifeguards there, then you can not allow swimming during the summer season,” he said. “We were leaning towards guarding it all the time anyway this year.”
Last summer, some 69,379 beach badges were presented at borough beaches from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend. Of those badges, 49,506 were daily badges, 2,000 senior badges and 414 military complementary badges.
Forty percent of the beach badges were presented at the North Beach; 35 percent were presented at the main beach; 12 percent at the lifeguard entrance, seven percent at Anchorage Beach, and six percent at Donovan’s Reef.
Verruni said the numbers for Anchorage beach came up higher than he anticipated.
“We were all surprised at the level of activity at Anchorage beach, pleasantly surprised,” he said. “People just wanted to be there.”
Verruni also said the DEP would be agreeable if the borough wanted to make improvements to the areas, including public showers and a small boardwalk area, but the borough would need to request approval first.
Verruni said the council will discuss a few other items regarding beach operations prior to the 2016 beach season in the coming months, including the possibility of providing grills in a special area for beachgoers to use, constructing a small play area for children and extending lifeguard hours from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.