Wind Farm Proposed off Cape May County Coast
Cape May County Herald
By Herald Staff

NEWARK –– PSEG Renewable Generation and Winergy Power Holdings announced March 4 that they have submitted a proposal to the New Jersey Office of Clean Energy (OCE) to build a 350 megawatt wind farm about 16 miles off the coast of Cape May and Atlantic counties.

The wind farm would be called Garden State Offshore Energy and, subject to receipt of all required permits, financing and other conditions, could be fully operational in 2013. The project is expected to utilize an innovative construction methodology and create onshore construction jobs for New Jersey at a cost lower than other construction methods. The project is expected to consist of 96 turbines arranged in a rectangular grid as far offshore as commercially feasible to make it virtually invisible from land.

This proposal was submitted in response to a solicitation by the OCE, which was established by the NJ Board of Public Utilities. The solicitation was for formal proposals to build a large-scale pilot wind farm off the New Jersey shore in order to gain experience constructing and operating an offshore wind project and to determine if similar projects should be built.

If chosen by the OCE, the project is expected to apply for permits and conduct additional feasibility and environmental studies. The decision to build as well as final location, design and construction schedules could be affected by these studies.

"We are committed to maximizing the positive benefits of this clean energy project while limiting any negative impact that this might have on the Jersey shore communities or on the environment," remarked Nelson Garcez, vice president, PSEG Renewable Generation. "We believe that to see the wind turbines from land, you would need to use potent binoculars," added Garcez.

The companies announced that they will be forming a community advisory committee made up of local residents, elected and tourism officials as well as community, environmental and local business leaders.

"We've located the project as far offshore as possible in order to make offshore wind a positive resource for everyone," said Chris Wissemann, chief operating officer of Winergy. "New Jersey has been at the forefront on promoting solar energy and, with this project, it will move to the cutting edge of offshore wind power as well."

PSEG Renewable Generation is a subsidiary of PSEG Global and is part of the PSEG family of companies with headquarters in Newark NJ. This is PSEG Renewable Generation's first project though PSEG Global has experience with wind generation in Latin America and biomass generation in the U.S. and Europe. PSEG is a diversified energy company (NYSE: PEG - News) and parent of PSE&G with over 100 years of delivering safe, reliable energy to New Jersey consumers.

Winergy Power Holdings based in New York was formed to explore opportunities for offshore wind development on the eastern coast of the U.S. Winergy offices in New York, New Jersey and Texas handle permitting, development and engineering.

Survey: Upper Twp. 2nd best place in state to live
By MICHAEL MILLER
Press of Atlantic City
Published: Friday, February 29, 2008

New Jersey Monthly Magazine named Upper Township the second-best place to live in New Jersey in this month's issue. The township's low tax rate, ample open space, low crime rate and good schools made it tops in the list of 566 towns.

UPPER TOWNSHIP - The township was named the second-best place to live in New Jersey in a state survey - even as its beachfront hamlet is begging to leave.

This sprawling township in northern Cape May County was second only to Chatham Township in Morris County as the best place to live in the state, according to a survey commissioned and published this month by New Jersey Monthly Magazine.

The list was compiled by Monmouth University's Polling Institute. It ranked the state's 566 towns based on property taxes, crime rates, open space and school test scores, among other measures, institute Director Patrick Murray said.

"We tried to come up with a way to list characteristics that, taken together, would give you an idea about things that are important to people in New Jersey," he said. "What's important is that no one town is perfect."

Upper Township Mayor Richard Palombo basked in the glow of the survey. Members of the New Jersey Board of Pharmacy on which he serves complimented him for his town's ranking at their meeting in Newark.

"I've often said that I love living in Upper Township. By and large, most people are comfortable with the township. It's a great place to raise your family," he said. "I think it's in recognition of the people who live there more than anything."
Palombo noted that his brother and parents, including former North Wildwood Mayor Aldo Palombo, moved to the township.

Not everyone is so full of rosy praise for the township. Its island community, Strathmere, is trying to leave No. 2 for Sea Isle City (No. 462 on the list).

"Their high ranking doesn't surprise me," Strathmere resident Randy Roash said. "We feel it's a fine community with a lot of fine people."

And as for Sea Isle's less-than-stellar showing?

"I'm confident the moment Strathmere joins Sea Isle, their rankings will soar," he quipped.

The Polling Institute's Murray said the rankings have generated some friction, mostly among border towns in northern New Jersey.

"There's a lot more fight in northern New Jersey towns. They're much more densely packed, and their borders are very close together. They're like the Hatfields and McCoys spitting across the border," he said. "With the townships in southern New Jersey along the Cape May-Cumberland area, you don't have that rivalry."

In any ranking, someone must be last. The 566th best place to live in New Jersey was Chesilhurst, in Camden County.

Mayor Michael Blunt saw nothing complimentary about his borough's ranking.

"They are wrong, wrong, wrong," Blunt said. "They must have mixed us up with someone else."

His tiny borough made news recently when Blunt closed and padlocked the volunteer fire company's firehouse because of its deplorable conditions. A former councilman awaits trial on charges of animal cruelty.

Blunt said his Pinelands town has small-town charm.

"Have those people lived here? Have they been here, talked to any residents?" he said. "If people didn't like it here, they'd be leaving in droves."

To e-mail Michael Miller at The Press:MMiller@pressofac.com

Bottleneck at Shore will be a breeze
By Jacqueline L. Urgo
Posted on Sun, Feb. 10, 2008
Inquirer Staff Writer

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - For some, the trek across the Route 52 Causeway has long been the most annoying part of a journey to the Jersey Shore.
But when a $400 million state plan to improve the causeway area is finished, it will become something entirely different: a spot to enjoy a sunny day.

Fishing piers, boat ramps, bike paths, walking trails, and a new visitors' center complete with a scenic overlook are taking shape in one of the largest projects carried out by the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

"Instead of just a causeway that leads in and out of Ocean City, this project will actually make the Route 52 Causeway a destination unto itself," Ocean City Mayor Sal Perillo said. "People will actually look forward to going there."

Under the state's plan, the two fixed bridges and two drawbridges connecting Somers Point to Ninth Street in Ocean City are being replaced by two fixed spans more than five stories above the Intracoastal Waterway.

Shoregoers will welcome the change. Besides the annoying hourly openings during summer, the drawbridges - one at each end of the causeway - were notorious for malfunctioning on the hottest days, when the gears would stick with a bridge open and tie up traffic in both directions.

Built across the Great Egg Harbor Bay in the 1930s over a series of islets, the causeway had four 10-foot-wide lanes and no shoulders, a hazardous design for today's higher speeds and SUVs.

The causeway was designated an evacuation route for the barrier island where Ocean City grew, but was so close to the water that waves would wash over the two lowest bridges whenever a strong storm hit, forcing officials in recent years to close the road for safety.

The planned elevated causeway will ensure the road can be used in an emergency, Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said.

"The Route 52 Causeway, which will provide a critical evacuation route, represents one of the largest bridge projects the NJDOT has ever undertaken," he said. "We look forward to advancing construction as quickly as possible."

The project began in July with construction of the northbound lanes connecting Elbow and Garrets Islands and of a section of road across Rainbow Island.

The four new lanes - two in each direction - will feature 12-foot-wide lanes, 8-foot shoulders on each side, and a concrete median barrier.

A section of the completed northbound lanes has already been woven into use, with traffic in both directions shifted onto them while workers finish the southbound lanes.

Officials said the northbound section of the project should be completed by Memorial Day, with southbound lanes completed by fall 2009.

The rest of the causeway, including the elimination of the drawbridges, is scheduled to be completed between June 2009 and December 2012.

That part of the project will be concurrent with improvements along MacArthur Boulevard in Somers Point, which runs for about a mile between the causeway and Route 9.

At the foot of the causeway on the mainland, the Somers Point Circle has been known to confound even the most experienced drivers. It will be replaced by an intersection with traffic signals.

The Transportation Department has tried to minimize the construction project's impact on drivers, keeping lanes open and not planning any detours during the two phases, officials said.

The centerpiece of the new causeway might be the recreational opportunities it will create along the backbay section of Ocean City.

Pedestrians and bicyclists will find a 10-foot-wide concrete path along the length of the causeway. The path will connect with a 25-mile Atlantic County bike path that meanders through Somers Point, Linwood, and Egg Harbor Township to Mays Landing in Hamilton Township.

At the Ocean City and Somers Point "gateways" to the causeway, landscaping and design will encourage pedestrians to take advantage of improved accessibility to historic districts, restaurants, docks and parks.

In Somers Point, a new parking lot, a green lawn, and a perennial garden next to the historic Somers Mansion will make the foot of the causeway more attractive, officials said.

At the foot in Ocean City, a two-story, 2,800-square-foot visitors' center built to emulate the historic Ocean City Yacht Club will provide restrooms and parking. The building's wide porches and decks will become a scenic overlook for the wetlands locally known as Great Bay.

Also, four fishing piers and boardwalks will be constructed on the bay in Somers Point, on the north and south ends of Rainbow Island, and on Garrets Island. Boat ramps with parking for boat trailers will be constructed in Somers Point and on Rainbow Island.

"I can't wait to see the completion of this project and how it will really open up the back bay of Ocean City for both residents and visitors," said Margo Smith, an environmental advocate and longtime Ocean City resident. "That whole area has always been such an underutilized asset to the town and the region."

Bids Being Accepted for Ocean City Beach Replenishment
January 31, 2008
By Herald Staff
Cape May County Herald.com

OCEAN CITY -- The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has started the bidding process for a $6-million beach replenishment project in this resort.

On Jan. 10, 2007 the DEP released bid specifications for the needed beach project that should result in a beach re-nourishment project this spring. The project will result in additional sand on the beaches from the north end of the island to 12th Street.

“This has been one of our priorities and it is good to see that the State is fast tracking this project,” Mayor Sal Perillo stated in a Jan. 28 release.

State funding will pay for 75 percent of the cost and the remainder will be paid by the city. Ocean City funding for this project was budgeted as part of the 2007 Capital Plan.

Once bids are received and revised, the state will award a contract and the contractor should be mobilized by April.

Additional improvements to the stormwater piping on the beaches are also planned as part of this project.

Shore home prices, sales escape brunt of market downturn

Saturday, January 19, 2008
By WILLIAM H. SOKOLIC
Courier-Post Staff

AVALON
Chip Moran just put the family vacation house up for sale.

His father died in July and his mother is in an assisted living facility. Selling the house would help offset the costs for his mother's arrangement, said the Westmont resident.

Moran and his two brothers are asking $2.1 million for the five-bedroom, beach block house on 20th Street. His parents paid about $350,000 for it in the early 1980s.

"If it sells for the price we're looking for, that's the best. But there's no rush on our part. If it doesn't sell and we end up keeping the house, great," Moran said.

The Moran situation typifies the real estate market at the Jersey Shore as the new year unfolds.

While the home-sale market nationwide has gotten hammered since the real estate bubble burst in 2005, the shore has weathered the downturn better than much of the country, said Drew Fishman, president of the New Jersey Association of Realtors.

As a corollary, the repossession market has not hit the shore area, said Lester Argus, president of the Atlantic City & County Board of Realtors. Because so much of the market consists of second homes, neither sellers nor buyers are pressed to transact a sale.

"The shore does better because buying and selling are discretionary," said Richard Perniciaro, director of the Center for Regional and Business Research at Atlantic Cape Community College.

"People are not moving in or out for jobs. Most are in a position to wait a year or two to sell," said Matthew Iannone, president of Freda Real Estate in Sea Isle City.

Yet, real estate experts say the time is better than ever to buy. Prices have come down from the bloated figures of a few years ago. Interest rates are favorable, dipping below 6 percent.

And inventory is high.

"There's more inventory than buyers by a 4-1 margin," said Alex Linsk, a Realtor with Farley & Ferry Realty Inc. in Margate. "Lenders are anxious to get the market started and lend, but they will look a little closer into the buyer's credit history. Still, it doesn't cost anything to make an offer."

Back in 2005, there was a dramatic increase in the number of homes on the market at the same time buyers throttled back, said Randy Leiser, a Realtor with Avalon Real Estate Agency.

"Demand decreased, supply increased, and there were more on the market ever since."

The ups and downs are a cyclical thing, Linsk said. "It happens every seven or eight years. I've seen it three times since the early 1980s."

A lot of professionals, steeped with cash in 2002 and 2003, were sold on real estate.

"They didn't think there would be an end to the boom. Now they're paying the price. They can't sell their properties. Those who spent $500,000 to $1.5 million and thought they can flip with a 20 percent increase, they got hurt," Linsk said.

In 2005, the last strong year at the shore, some 435 units sold in Avalon and Stone Harbor.

Last year, the figures were around 300, Leiser said. But the turnaround began this past year.

"We had a good run in 2007, much better than 2006," Iannone said.

The market experienced a 13 percent drop in the volume of sales in the last year. But prices have not taken the hit other areas did, Argus said.

In Ocean City, the number of sales was up compared to 2006. November and December numbers picked up over the previous year by as much as 25 percent, Fishman said.

"It's not 2005, but it's not bad, and the dollar amounts are well ahead," Fishman said.

Said Iannone, "The asking and selling prices are not far off nowadays. We haven't had a distress sale to any great extent." Certainly, sellers are not going below what they paid for the property, Leiser said.

"One unit came on the market at $740,000 two years ago. It came off for a while, then went back on for $649,000. However, the folks paid $200,000 10 years ago. What has happened, sellers have gotten the message and depending on the situation, are reducing asking prices."

The average sales price has declined from $1.7 million in 2006 to $1.57 in 2007 in Avalon and Stone Harbor.

"The market is not as strong as we'd like it to be," Argus said. "But indicators for 2008 are looking pretty good. Mortgage companies are getting a lot more activity. We hope that translates into sales."

"We believe barring any major economic disaster, there's no cause for a further decline in values during the next 12 months," said Ian Lazarus, president of the Cape May County Association of Realtors.

Moreover, interest rates tend to ease in a presidential election year, he said. Outside of some high-end properties, Realtors aren't seeing bidding wars anymore.

"Buyers can take their time for inspections and due diligence. I think lots of buyers are on the fence figuring when they can get a good buy. Sellers are willing to negotiate," Leiser said.

Not Moran and his brothers. Then again, they don't really have to. Properties over $1.5 million sold even when the market turned, Linsk said.

Shore home buyers come in with their own financing, and larger down payments. They come in with more income. In Ocean City, there was a bidding war for a million dollar home that sold for over the asking price, Fishman said.

So the prospects look good for Moran, a 47-year-old facility manager.

If the house sells, he has a condo on 78th Street in Avalon he'll use more often. Or he and his brothers will get together and buy something else a little less expensive.

"The Jersey Shore is great. I've been all over the country. I'll put Jersey beaches against anybody," he said.

Reach William H. Sokolic at (609) 823-9159 or bsokolic@camden.gannett.com

N.J. Beach Town Scraps Rain Forest Deal
By WAYNE PARRY – 8 hours ago
Associated Press

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — A plan to buy $1.1 million worth of tropical rain forest wood to fix the boardwalk was scrapped Thursday following a year of delays and protests from local residents and environmentalists around the globe.

"This has become a big embarrassment for the city of Ocean City," said Councilman Scott Ping.

The wood carried a hefty price tag because it was certified as having been harvested responsibly. But environmentalists say such harvesting is still denuding the rain forests and said the city should use domestic wood or synthetic alternatives.

Several council members said they now prefer using domestic yellow pine to cover a block-long section of the boardwalk that has been ripped up in anticipation of the wood being delivered.

"This is amazing, fantastic news," said Rhonda Van Wingerden, head of a local environmental group, Friends of the Rain Forest, which has been fighting the plan for the past year.

In a 6-0 vote, the council passed a resolution declaring the Louis J. Grasmick Lumber Co. of Baltimore in default of its contract with the city. The company said Monday the delays in shipping the wood were due to unavoidable factors, including record low water levels in the Amazon jungle that made it hard to float the logs to mills.

The council does not intend to pay for any of the wood, including the 3 percent of the order it has already received and another 15 percent that is supposedly on its way, Councilman Keith Hartzell said after the meeting.

"Our preference is to send it back," he said.

The only way the city would pay for the wood it has already received is if it were ordered to do so by a judge, he said.

City Attorney Gerald Corcoran, said the council's refusal to pay the bill could lead the lumber company to sue, but said he doubted that would happen.

Ocean City may scrap rainforest wood boardwalk deal
By WAYNE PARRY | Associated Press Writer
Newsday.com
5:04 PM EST, January 14, 2008

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Since this southern New Jersey beach town broke a decade-old promise last year not to use wood from tropical rainforests on its boardwalk, just about everything that could go wrong with the plan did go wrong.

Environmentalists picketed and the mayor's office was flooded with 50,000 protest e-mails from around the globe.

The wood, which was supposed to be certified as having been harvested responsibly from trusted sources in the Amazon, cost anywhere between 30 and 70 percent more than wood without the certification.

And the Baltimore lumber company that was supposed to have the wood here by the end of the year still hasn't. It blamed, among other things, unfavorable currency exchange rates, and low water levels in Amazon jungles that made it hard to float logs to mills.

Now, after suffering serious damage to its reputation as an environmentally friendly community, the city that calls itself "America's Greatest Family Resort" may be ready to scrap the $1.1 million deal _ even if it means a costly legal battle.

A majority of the City Council is considering voting Thursday night to refuse to pay for the wood, claiming the Louis Grasmick Lumber Co. has defaulted on its contract with Ocean City.

"We've taken this entire community down a path of divisiveness, for reasons I still don't understand," said Councilman Jody Alessandrine. "It has put our city on the map and on the Internet and in the newspapers for all the wrong reasons. Some people are just unwilling to admit their mistakes."

That was a reference to Mayor Sal Perillo, who since last January has championed the use of Brazilian ipe wood for a block-long section of the boardwalk. He likes the durability of the wood, and says the environmental certification it carries proves the city is doing the right thing. He also said breaking a contract could expose the city to damages, and hurt its reputation among other companies that do business with it.

Perillo did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday.

Ten years ago, Ocean City voted never to use tropical rainforest wood again for its 2{ mile-long boardwalk that is a mixture of ipe and domestic yellow pine, citing the damage that logging operations are doing to the Amazon. But last January, it decided that using wood certified as having been harvested responsibly would be OK.

Ipe is a flowering tree that towers over others in the forest canopy and can grow to 100 feet. Because it lasts longer than pine, it has been used in boardwalk projects from coast to coast, including Atlantic City, New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Miami Beach and Long Beach and Santa Monica, Calif.

Ocean City bought wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, a group of industry and environmental groups who seek to improve forestry management practices. Certification means that loggers operate in ways designed to damage the ecosystem as little as possible, including not over-harvesting or wasting trees.

But environmental groups are split over whether that represents true progress or just a fig leaf covering for practices that still denude the rain forest.

Matt Miller, a sales representative for Grasmick, said the company has asked Ocean City for more time to deliver the wood. He said an additional shipment left for Ocean City on Monday, and would not comment on what the company would do if Ocean City refuses to pay for the wood.

So far, only about 3 percent of the wood has reached Ocean City. And only part of that bears stickers claiming that it meets responsible forestry guidelines, said Georgina Shanley, one of many local activists trying to get the city to kill the plan.

"We look ridiculous in the eyes of the world," she said. "We have all these wonderful initiatives _ green cars and solar buildings, but then we have this absolutely ramming through of something that is incredibly damaging to the environment."

The delay in delivering the wood has left a gaping hole in a block-long stretch of the boardwalk, which was ripped up in preparation for the new boards. And several councilman are worried that if work doesn't start immediately, the boardwalk won't be ready by Easter _ the traditional start of the spring season for boardwalk merchants.

"We all agree that the boardwalk has to be ready by Easter, even if it means we have to use a different kind of wood," said Councilman Greg Johnson. "If a correction needs to be made, we will make it."