by Erik Weber

ISLAND HEIGHTS – It appears that another chapter is about to be written in the history of the 87-year-old former borough fire company building, located at the corner of Simpson and Van Sant avenues, which later became known as the “String Band Building” due to the organization that began leasing the site after a new fire company station was built on Lake and Maple avenues in 1963.

During the new business portion of the December 7th council meeting, here, Councilman Gregory Heizler made it known that a number of neighbors in that section of town were interested in preserving the site, which was recently returned to borough control after it was discovered that the Ocean County String Band, which had been leasing the site for approximately 40 years, had disbanded due to lack of interest and the building was found to be in a worsening state of disrepair.

The governing body has since held occasional discussions during borough council meetings as to how to handle the property.

“I thought they would be excited at the prospect of removing [the building],” said Mr. Heizler, speaking about one of the potential plans for the building after an inspection revealed its growing deterioration. “They actually said they like it, and one has said to me that he knows someone interested in buying it and making it a residence.”

“It’s someone who has looked at that building for a long, long time and said it would really be a great place,” he continued. “I was amazed they wanted to keep it.”

“Have they been inside?” asked Councilman Al Gabriel, who is a past chief and longtime member of the borough fire company.

“No,” replied Mr. Heizler.

“That might change their mind,” stated Mr. Gabriel.

Councilman Brian Taboada suggested that the council place a question on the ballot in the spring election as to “what the town is willing to stomach” in regard to the building and property.

Mayor Jim Biggs said that a ballot question might be good to consider and noted that its position in the historic district “complicates things even more.”

“Our attorney did write to the state historical [commission], and there are certain regulations we have to follow there to be able to do anything at all,” he continued, adding that for the interim period the borough had addressed a broken window problem at the site by boarding the windows up and having them painted.

“That is one ugly building,” remarked Councilman John Bendel, who groaned when he learned that the borough would have to follow similar procedures in dealing with the property as its surrounding historic homes.

“It is borough property and it does have some value, and we must recognize it has two values – a value to us as a community and to people who may bid on it,” said Mayor Biggs. “Both the community and those interested in bidding must recognize that it’s nothing to give away.”

He added that he would like the governing body to begin looking into what the value may be after the New Year.

“When the fire company was in there, the borough wouldn’t do a thing for us,” stated Mr. Gabriel. “That’s why we moved the hell out.”

The mayor noted that with the current economy and increasing budget pressures, they must “recognize that we don’t have a great deal of assets we could spend in creating another borough property that we must keep up – we have enough of a problem keeping up what we do have.”

“It’s something we all have to consider and have input in,” he added, calling the governing body “stewards of this community and of its assets” and that as such, they must “treat these assets with as much respect as we would treat any of our own.”

The next meeting of the borough council will take place on Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 at 7 pm in borough hall at the Wanamaker Complex.

by Philipp Schmidt

ISLAND HEIGHTS – With the cold weather and winter season upon us, the borough police have undertaken a campaign to remind residents of the snow emergency ordinance that is in effect during winter weather events in which snow falls and accumulates to a point that it covers borough roadways.

During these snow emergencies, parking is prohibited on the south side of east/west streets and on the east side of north/south streets and all off-street parking must be utilized to the fullest capacity.

Violation of the snow emergency ordinance could bring a fine not to exceed $200 or incarceration for a term not exceeding 10 days, or both.

For a copy of this ordinance or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Island Heights Police Department at 732-270-3006.

by Erik Weber
ISLAND HEIGHTS – Visitors getting lost, packages going to the wrong address and a concern for emergency services access were all touched upon by one borough couple who recently constructed a home on a subdivision adjacent Summit Avenue Beach and found that their private access, currently recognized by the borough as a private extension of Bay Avenue, was renamed through the installation of street signs by a nearby property owner who owns the mouth of the access.

Joseph and Kathleen Gunteski, longtime borough residents formerly of River Avenue who purchased the lot and built their home earlier this year at the end of the easement, approached the borough council during the November 9th council meeting in an ongoing dispute that has seen the borough attorney, William T. Hiering, draft letters to those property owners at the entrance of the easement, Walter Matthew and Colleen Marvin, stating that the signage claiming it to be Marvin Drive must be removed.

The Marvins, speaking from their home in the days following the meeting, see it differently, stating that while their property’s easement provides access to the private road that the Gunteskis utilize, the property between Bay Avenue and the private road is still theirs and as long as they pay taxes on it, they can place whatever signage on it they like. They also don’t understand how the borough can recognize the street as having any name, as their deed specifically states it is an “unnamed right of way.”

The Gunteskis also claim the Marvins have blocked access to the private road numerous times by the storage of boat trailers and parking of cars on the easement. The Marvins dispute the severity of the issue, with Mr. Marvin stating that “if they had ever come to me and asked me to move anything, I would have, but I guess they feel more comfortable complaining to the town council.”

Over the course of the past year, other borough residents have also approached the borough council with their own problems regarding the subdivision, its individual properties, and the construction of the Gunteski home.

NAMING RIGHTS

“All this started years ago when we bought the house,” said Mr. Marvin. The Marvins purchased and built their home in 1999. “We knew there was an easement when we bought the place, an unnamed right of way, and it specifically says in our deed that it is for the ingress and egress to the properties behind our house.”

At that time, neither John and Hallie Aubin’s home, which now sits on the easement directly behind the Marvins, nor the Gunteskis’ home, which now sits approximately 150 feet farther down the easement, were yet built, and Mr. Marvin recalled that the property access was used by local residents as an unofficial alternate route to Summit Avenue Beach, something he said he was fine with until vandalism began to occur on his property and vehicles a few years later.

As a result, the Marvins installed a security camera and the signposts.

“You’d have gangs of kids [using the access], and then my dingy got a hole poked in it by somebody with a knife, and they kicked one of my vehicles, and I got a window broken on one of my cars,” said Mr. Marvin. “Quite frankly, I got mad and I put [the] camera out there, and now I record all the vehicles going up and down the easement.”

“We put [the sign posts] out and if you notice the front, it says private, on the part that would have been named Bay Avenue, to discourage people from coming up there,” said Mrs. Marvin.

Al Gabriel, a borough councilman who is also a lifetime member and past chief of the Island Heights Volunteer Fire Company, referred to fire safety when he spoke out against the personal signage at the governing body’s June 10th meeting.

“We’ve got one person who keeps changing street names,” he said. “If there’s an emergency call for a fire, you’re going to have one hell of a problem finding the streets.”

Adrian Fanning, then the chief financial officer and administrator for the borough, said the easement “is not ours – it belongs to those individuals off Bay Avenue, and I’d ask the attorney to write a letter but I believe it’s something that needs to be handled amongst themselves.”

Still, he added that he “agrees the signs should be removed.”

Following their discussion, Mayor Jim Biggs asked Thomas G. Gannon, an attorney with the borough-appointed Toms River law firm of Hiering, Gannon and McKenna, to “research and properly execute a letter to satisfy the problem.”

Mrs. Aubin, speaking at the July 13th borough council meeting, stated that she also had encountered problems with the Marvin Drive sign posts, stating that “people don’t know where we are – we have to identify ourselves as being between 130 and 131 on Bay Avenue.”

Delivery trucks, she said, don’t know where Marvin Drive is, as it doesn’t officially show up on any maps or global positioning systems.

Speaking on the issue last month in front of her home, Mrs. Aubin said that the delivery drivers will now no longer drive the vehicles down the easement, and instead must walk the packages to her door after parking on Bay Avenue, because “now that they know it’s not an approved road, there’s no insurance so if they damage their equipment down here it’s the drivers responsibility.”

This is a persistent problem, she added, because she and her husband get regular deliveries due to the daily operations of their environmental services businesses – the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Company and Connelly Environmental, Inc. – which they run from their home.

Mr. Marvin disputed the issue.

“In all the platts that I can see that approved the subdivision, there’s no name on it at all,” he said, showing a map of the property that labeled the access an “Unnamed Right of Way (for use by all owners).” “I don’t understand how all of a sudden it’s an extension of Bay Avenue.”

“First off, this is private property – I pay taxes on it. I’ve got markers out there to show where my private property is,” Mr. Marvin continued. “As long as I’m paying taxes on this property, I would have a really hard time with them naming it Bay Avenue. I mean, it’s not a town road, and if they want to name it a town road, then they’re going to have to do a taking, pay me for this, create a nonconforming lot and deal with all the fallout from it.”

DISPUTED ACCESS

At last month’s meeting, Mr. Gunteski cited a recent problem he had trying to access the easement on his way home.

“There were two cars parked right next to each other,” he said. “You couldn’t get a bike through – I had to call the police so I could get home.”

“It’s a hazard,” said Mrs. Gunteski, who stated that her daughter had recently almost encountered a head-on collision there as a result and asked if the borough could begin towing the vehicles away.

“We never attempted to encumber access,” Mr. Marvin continued, noting that “hundreds of construction trucks have come in and out of that easement, they dumped hundreds of loads of fill dirt out there, and they managed to build the house okay, so I really can’t understand that they can claim they don’t have access out there.”

The Friday before, he noted, “they had at least eight cars parked out there, blocking the emergency easement, and two more cars parked at Summit Avenue Beach, which they seem to use as their personal parking lot and access way when it suits them.”

Mrs. Aubin backed up Mr. Marvin’s statement as to the parking situation of the previous Friday.

At the October 11th meeting of the borough council, resident Don Williams asked for an update regarding what he said was a “legal driveway” that exists between the Gunteskis’ home and the Summit Avenue Beach parking lot.

“They’re not using that,” said Mr. Gabriel. “It’s chained off by the Gunteskis, and they are using the back way.”

“Why is there a driveway between that property and the town parking lot?” asked Mr. Williams.

“That’s always been there – it was a fire access,” replied Mr. Gabriel. “If there’s a house fire back there we can get a firetruck down there.”

Councilman John Bendel remarked that the fence present at the site “is not a borough fence, and is not on our property.”

“They could take the whole fence down if they want to,” said Councilman Brian Taboada.

Mrs. Gunteski, speaking at last month’s meeting, noted that Mr. Marvin began storing boat trailers “in the middle” of the easement that they regularly use for access to their home as the off-season approached, and requested that borough police begin towing his vehicles.

Mr. Hiering stated that it was a private matter between the neighbors and it did not involve the borough.

“It’s not the borough’s property – I don’t understand how the borough could get into this with them,” said Mr. Taboada. “I hate to say it but I think you’re going to have to get a lawyer.”

He asked if the Gunteskis ever considered “putting a fence up there.”

“He can take it down – he’s very aggressive,” replied Mrs. Gunteski.

Mr. Gunteski inquired whether the borough could take the road as its own.

“From what I understand there was no bond posted, and the road was not done to standard,” replied Mr. Hiering.

When asked by members of the governing body for his take on the situation, Island Heights Police Lt. Kevin C. Arnold replied, “it’s a nightmare.”

In attendance at the November 23rd borough council meeting was Mr. Marvin, who, during privilege of the floor, stated that there was “so much discussion about the easement and access that I thought I would come and see if there was any news for me.”

“I see noone was here to speak about it tonight,” he added.

“I don’t think today,” replied Mayor Biggs. “We will keep you informed.

CONTESTED LOCATION

Problems arose even before the Gunteskis moved into their new home across from Summit Avenue Beach, with at least one resident up in arms earlier this year as he began to see it built.

At the March 23rd borough council meeting, Ocean Avenue resident Paul John “P.J.” Smith remarked that the character of the town was “completely destroyed by the monster being built” across from the beach.

“It’s such a beautiful spot and it’s taking away its privacy and character,” he said, calling it “some rich person’s summer home overhanging a jewel of a park.”

“That should have been buffered off and untouched for history,” Mr. Smith added. “It’s very short-sighted and a disgrace [that] someone allowed it to be built.”

“It’s a disaster to Summit Beach,” he continued, questioning as to what borough residents would want to sunbathe there if they could be watched from the windows of the new home. “There are 200 to 300 people there on bonfire night, and you know those people are going to complain about Port-O-Johns, the crabbers, the bonfire – it’s a disaster and it should never have been allowed.”

“I went down there the other day and choked up,” the Ocean Avenue resident stated.

Two months earlier, in January, while requesting aid from the borough council to allow construction vehicle access onto the Summit Avenue Beach parking lot, Mrs. Gunteski had also requested that portable bathrooms present at the beach be moved elsewhere, stating that they “created an unpleasant breeze across the lawn.”

While numerous members of the governing body have stated over the course of the past year that the subdivision at the Summit/Bay Avenue tract should originally not have been approved by the borough planning board, they have also been quick to defend the property owners now mired in its problems, most pointedly when Mr. Taboada stated during the October 11th meeting that regardless any public opinion of the Gunteskis’ new home, “there is nothing illegal about what they’ve done.”

The next meeting of the Island Heights Borough Council will be on Tuesday, December 7th at 7 pm in borough hall.

In this series, we invite local residents, past and present, to share their stories and memories of living in the area. Below is Ms. Eileen O. Fancher’s story of crisp autumns spent growing up in Island Heights during the Great Depression.

Any resident interested in sharing their story with the Signal and its readers, please write riversidesignal@gmail.com

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Island Heights, sitting where the waters of the Toms River meet the waters of the Barnegat Bay, offers a comfortable spot to watch the passing of the year. Vast expanses of water change as the calendar changes. Sometimes it seems as if fall is the most fragile and fleeting of the seasons. The weather brings new surprises each day, and we feel an urgency to get ready for what lies ahead.

During the 1930s, everyone felt a need to hurry when September arrived. The pressing chores of fall couldn’t wait or be postponed. Once Labor Day was over and school started, adults cleared the porches of summer furniture. Summer rugs and clothing had to be put away, woolens retrieved from their mothball storage, windows washed and storm windows lifted into place. Food had to be laid in for the coming months when we would setting into winter’s cold and isolation.

Wood had to be cut and kindling gathered for the stoves. Kerosene tanks needed to be filled. The coal truck, with its long chute, would deposit a ton or more of coal through cellar windows down into the dark bins below. We had to be ready in plenty of time because the first cold days could arrive swiftly and without much warning.

The huckster trucks that brought fresh produce and meat during the summer stopped at Labor Day. We still had some deliveries. Woods and Kohlers trucks offered meat and Dugans and Fischers provided baked goods for sale throughout the year. Gaskills and BeyLea Dairies delivered glass bottles of milk to our front steps in all kinds of weather. Small food purchases could be made at “Uncle George” McKaig’s Store but larger amounts of supplies had to be obtained in bulk or bought in the grocery stores in Toms River. In the Thirties, many families did not own automobiles, and shopping trips were major expeditions to be planned in advance.

There were many signs that signaled the coming of fall. Mr. Craven and Mr. Hurley would appear, carrying huge bags of potatoes and onions that would be spread out on newspapers on basement shelves to last all winter. Big baskets of peaches and tomatoes were bought from peddlers in early autumn and the wonderful smells of simmering fruit and spicy sauces came from the busy kitchens as food was canned for the winter.

September also meant that the stores lining Central Avenue closed for the winter. Siddons and Vierecks, the Jenny Shop, the Riverview Hotel and Brown’s Bakery all were shut down after Labor Day. The A&P Store locked its doors. The summer folks departed and the small, year-round population started preparations for the cold weather ahead.

We made big bonfires of leaves as we raked our yards clean. Those of us who grew up in those years have happy memories of evenings spend gathering and burning those leaves. The smell of bonfires and the fragrance of wood smoke rising from chimneys on the first cold nights marked the beginning of autumn. Many men of the town fished with nets in the river and the bay to supplement their winter incomes, shipping their catch to the Fulton Fish Market in New York City from the train station in South Toms River. The public dock would be crowded with fishermen on cold fall nights as they fished under the solitary light at the end of the pier.

A sense of excitement grew as we looked forward to Halloween when the youngsters would “go begging”, wearing homemade costumes. Children made their way in the dark, going from house to house carrying large brown grocery bags which would be filled with fruits and candies by the end of the evening. The people of the town were generous in handing out treats on that night, and the parents allowed their children to roam through the streets unsupervised, knowing that their neighbors would keep an eye on the young folks.

Fall also mean the sound of the marching band and cheers from the football games coming across the river from Admiral Farragut Academy in Pine Beach.

There was a sense of expectation as we looked forward to another season in our little town, as well as a sense of reassurance as we returned to the predictable routines of autumn, watching the brilliant leaves fall and the Harvest Moon rise of the bay, high into the evening sky.

ISLAND HEIGHTS – The John F. Peto Studio Museum is making its street front debut, here, with the two-year exterior transformation now completed, thanks to generous private donations that have turned back the hands of time to reintroduce the community to the original structure, design, and architecture of this 115-year-old house.

Architect Michael Calafati was awarded the coveted 2010 Historic Preservation Award from the State of New Jersey for his attention to detail in the painstaking restoration.

Peter H. Brink, Retired Senior VP, National Trust for Historic Preservation, remarked, “I think a restored Peto House would be a wonderful addition to the National Trust’s Artists’ Homes and Studios program.”

A generous donation has been put into place to allow this slice of history to open its doors and invite guests to walk back through time. Visiting patrons will see the original studio, artifacts and furnishings used by John F. Peto, who lived and worked in Island Heights from 1890-1907, and was recognized as one of America’s most important still life painters.

Today, Peto’s works are found throughout the world’s finest museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. His artwork is dominated by rich colors and enhanced lighting. He often used the “fool the eye” technique known as trompe l’oeil.

“The house is actually a three-dimensional work of art, a sculptural embodiment of the personal aesthetic of John F. Peto,” said Martha Fleischman of Kennedy Galleries, New York.

Eleanor J. Harvey, chief curator of the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, which holds an original work by the artist, stated, “I think preserving Peto’s house is very important—at the very least to document it and preserve its contents.”

The John F. Peto House and Studio Board of Trustees, a local group of Island Heights citizens, agree and has created a mission for the project to go beyond the historically correct preservation of the house and grounds. Their April 2011 opening is slated to encompass an enriching journey into Peto’s life and times in which he lived, as well as exhibitions, an artist in residence program, restoration of the gardens, and outreach to artistic programming at all levels of education, near and far.

The house and grounds will also be made available for hosting events and meetings.

For more information on the John F. Peto Studio Museum, please contact Joanne G. Moy via email at petomuseum@comcast.net or via phone at 732-288-0014.

by Erik Weber

ISLAND HEIGHTS – The Tuesday afternoon fire that damaged the Summit Avenue home of borough Fire Chief Andrew Parks was caused by the spontaneous combustion of a number of household chemicals left beside the home during a day that saw temperatures above 90 degrees, stated Ocean County Deputy Fire Marshal Robert G. Tapp.

The chemicals placed in plastic bags next to the home had been cleaned out of a backyard shed and included “an assortment of things – pesticides, solvents, paints, polyurethane,” he said.

Flames from the ignited chemicals quickly raced up the exterior of the house and into the soffits, spreading throughout much of the attic space.

“It was an accidental fire and a stubborn fire,” Mr. Tapp added, commending the fire companies that responded to and extinguished the blaze, which included the Island Heights Volunteer Fire Company, East Dover Fire Company No. 4, Manitou Park Fire Company, Seaside Park Fire Company and Toms River fire companies 1 and 2.

“They did an excellent job and knocked it down,” he said.

The heat, besides contributing to the cause of the fire, also resulted in the high turnover rate for firefighters battling the flames, said Captain K. C. Baney of the Island Heights Volunteer Fire Company.

Firefighters typically could only work on the structural fire between 15 and 20 minutes before requiring a break, he said, noting that the fire took about an hour to extinguish due to the difficulty in reaching “void spaces” among the ranch home’s attic, which were formed during older construction work that added onto the original structure over its lifespan.

The captain also commended the responding fire companies for their work.

“They did a real good job keeping it in the attic,” he said, but added that regrettably the home sustained heavy smoke, mortar and water damage as a result of the difficulty in reaching the pockets of fire.

“One hour is a long time,” Capt. Baney stated. “It was a substantial loss.”

“It’s a real shame and we don’t like to see it happen, but it’s real hard when it happens to one of your own,” he added.

The fire had been noticed at the home shortly before 2 pm with flames showing. Arriving at the scene before the borough fire company, Island Heights Police Officer Jill Dworzanski forced entry and rescued the Parks family’s chocolate-colored Labrador retriever.

Late Tuesday evening, the Island Heights Fire Company posted a request on its website to borough and area residents for donations to aid the Parks family. More recently, the fire company website stated that “Island Heights Fire Chief Andy Parks and family would like to extend their deepest gratitude for the outpouring of generosity from the community. At this time, it appears as though the Parks are content with the donations already received to get them back on their feet.”

“Should anyone still wish to make a donation, Chief Parks has requested one be made to the American Red Cross in the name of the Parks family, so as to benefit other victims of fire who may be less fortunate,” it continued. “Again, the selfless contributions are greatly appreciated and no amount of support has gone unnoticed.”
For more information, please visit the Island Heights Volunteer Fire Company’s website at http://www.ihvfc.com.

In this series, we invite local residents, past and present, to share their stories and memories of living in the area. Below is Ms. Eileen O. Fancher’s story of balmy summers spent growing up in Island Heights during the Great Depression.

Any resident interested in sharing their story with the Signal and its readers, please write riversidesignal@gmail.com

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To children growing up in Island Heights during the Great Depression, summers meant long, lazy, sun-filled days that seemed to stretch forever from early June to a distant Labor Day. How wonderful it was to spend our childhood along the banks of the Toms River. We were free to explore every inch of our small town, and we went home only long enough to make a brief stop for lunch and then out again for the rest of each day. We could play until the sky began to darken and the sudden glow of the street lights told us it was time to head for home. Looking back, our small town was so safe and remote that we needed few boundaries. Parents had no worries about giving their children the freedom to roam endlessly within the community.

Summer began in early June when, on the last day of the Island Heights Grammar School, the students walked to Uncle George McKaig’s grocery store to be weighed on the large scale in the back room. After our weights were recorded on our final report cards, we marched to Viereck’s store for delicious homemade ice cream that dripped down the sides of the cones as we made our slow return to our classroom.

As soon as the school doors closed for the year, we headed for the river, where it seemed as if we stayed for the rest of the summer. Swimming, boating, crabbing, and fishing filled our days. We had sandy beaches with swings and slides to play on, and in the early mornings we waded through the shallow water catching fat soft-shell crabs to sell for a quarter apiece to the summer folks. The rest of our spending money came from selling flowers, tending lemonade stands, delivering magazines and collecting the deposits from discarded bottles.

There were two wondrous events that we awaited anxiously each summer.

The first was the arrival of the Wanamaker Camp cadets. These young adults worked in the Wanamaker Department stores in Philadelphia and New York and were sent to our town for free summer vacations. The boys came for one period of time and the girls another. They lived in neat rows of tents that dotted the camp overlooking Barnegat Bay and they drilled with precision each evening at 6 pm wearing military uniforms.

What excitement there was in running down Van Sant Avenue to get to the parade ground in time to see the marching begin! The band music was loud and thrilling and we watched wide-eyed as the cadets displayed their skill with wooden gun exercises in the middle of the parade. There would be a special time when the Scottish Kiltie Band appeared, stepping down the field in time to the music of the bagpipes. Crowds gathered from over a wide area to watch the colorful presentation, and each evening the children of the town came running from all directions to see “The Wanamakers” and their marching.

The other event that children loved was the dance held each Saturday night on top of the pavilion.

Live music was provided by a five piece band and the dance floor would be crowded. The young people from surrounding towns joined in with local teens to fill the space as they jitter-bugged and glided over the floor doing the latest steps. It was a magical time for the children who were too young to dance. This was the one night they were allowed to stay out late and gather on the sidelines, where they formed an admiring audience. Songs like “Stardust” and “I’ll Never Smile Again” floated out over the dark water toward the twinkling lights that lined the river and formed a memory that has never faded.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR “STARDUST”

CLICK HERE TO HEAR “I’LL NEVER SMILE AGAIN”

Island Heights was a busy place back in those summers. Several small hotels attracted visitors who returned year after year. The streets were lined with parked cars and our beaches were open to everyone. In the evening, people dressed up and strolled the length of the boardwalk to watch the sunset and chat with friends. The men wore white flannels and the ladies wore high heels and chiffon dresses as they walked along in clouds of citronella, holding lighted sticks of punk to keep the mosquitoes away.

World War II ended those summer activities. The dances stopped, fuel rationing and wartime regulations eliminated the power boats, and the small hotels closed, never to return. The summers of the thirties seem far away to those of us who lived them, and the times seem greatly changed, but we know that the magic that colors childhood still remains, and it will provide the children living here today with new memories to cherish.

ISLAND HEIGHTS – Today we present to you a photo essay of Island Heights for the first half of July, 2010.

Enjoy!

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July 1st Reorganization Meeting

Scenes Along River Avenue

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Fourth of July Parade

Arborvitaes installed as hopeful end to long dispute

by Jim Blackburn

ISLAND HEIGHTS – When a stand of trees and growth located on the northern side of Summit Avenue overlooking the public works yard was removed by the borough in March, it set into motion a series of events that threw neighbors and borough officials into a four-month tug of war over the monetary allocation, selection and planting of replacements.

At the heart of the matter was what Mayor Jim Biggs has repeatedly referred to as the delay and deferral of following up on regular and prompt maintenance around the borough, which previously led to the emergency replacement of two 15-year-old furnaces in borough hall, in January, at a price of $8,550.

“The question really comes on follow through: we all agreed, voted, and gave money,” he said, speaking to the council members at the June 22nd borough council meeting. “The biggest problem we face is sometimes the lack of willingness to follow through.”

Joann Hammill, a Summit Avenue resident whose home sits directly across from where the trees were removed, has been the most ardent and outspoken on their replacement since the March 23rd meeting, when she and her neighbor, Cynthia L. Morrissey, appeared before the borough council for the first time to inform them of the issue and ask for a swift response in replacing the trees and growth, which for years shielded both of their homes from a view of the borough public works yard.

The following is an account of the process that has taken shape in replacing the trees under contention.

- At the March 23rd council meeting, Ms. Morrissey and Ms. Hammill first appeared to state that the natural “shrubbery and wisteria” that had lined the road across from their properties were cut down and removed by the borough public works’ department.

Ms. Hammill said that the initial installation of the trees an unspecified number of years ago were a stipulation she had made upon the borough prior to purchasing her home, which she currently has listed for sale.

“I would never have purchased the home without the trees,” she stated. “There are now garbage trucks I can see and dumpsters. It’s a horrible, horrible sight – intolerable.”

“Everyone who visits has said what happened devalued my home,” the Summit Avenue resident added.

“A green barrier should be placed there,” agreed Councilman Brian Taboada.

Following the Summit Avenue residents’ statements, the borough council moved that they would look into the matter in order to try and resolve it by planting season.

- At the April 27th council meeting, Councilman Jeffrey Silver stated that the borough was looking to plant the area with the Leyland cypress species of trees.

- At the May 13th meeting, a motion was made and approved to allocated a sum of $1,000 for the purchase of Leyland cypress trees for the Summit Avenue site, with the council agreeing to revisit the dollar amount if it appeared that more than $1,000 was required.

“I have been very patient,” said Ms. Hammill. “I am very upset the trees came down in the first place.”

The borough later decided to approach Del’s Farm Market in Toms River about the trees.

- At the May 25th meeting, Mr. Silver reported that 20 four-and-a-half foot trees had been received by the borough from Del’s Farm Market in Toms River, at a total cost of $1,400.

“The four-and-a-half foot tall measurement is from the top of the root ball to the top of the plant,” he said, adding that the plants should double in size by the end of the growing season.

“Our intention is to plant them on top of the hill and staggered,” said Adrian Fanning, the borough’s chief financial officer, adding that upon speaking with Ms.Hammill about it, “she was not 100 percent happy.”
He added that he was surprised Ms. Hammill was not present for the meeting and discussion about the plantings.

“We’re also building a water plant there, and there’s a distinct possibility there might be a retaining wall there,” added Mr. Taboada.

Ms. Hyle noted that the trees there prior to removal were not ten feet tall, but were weed shrubs grown up to approximately five or six feet.

Following the borough council’s meeting in executive session, Ms. Hammill arrived at borough hall carrying photographs of a different, taller fast-growing tree she requested be planted there instead of the shorter Leyland cypress.

During the renewed discussion on the matter, she appeared upset and threatened to hire an attorney to file a lawsuit against the borough if they did not install larger plants.

“Look at your faces, you’re all closed-minded,” she said to the borough council, who initially remained reserved during her comments.

The Summit Avenue resident demanded that the borough return the Leyland cypress and instead plant arborvitae, a tall, skinny, fast-growing evergreen of the cypress family.

“Arborvitaes stay pretty narrow during growth,” said Mr. Silver, adding that the Leyland cypress, which Ms. Hammill earlier agreed to, would grow broader than the arborvitae.

“A four-and-a-half foot tree is not comparable to what was removed,” responded Ms. Hammill, who then referred to the borough’s continued beautification projects at the waterfront. “It’s nice to have the waterfront look beautiful, but I look at this outside my door every day.”

“They might all come out again because of the water treatment plant being built there,” noted Mr. Silver, who further said that he did not feel there were trees there to begin with.

“Then I should be protesting the water treatment plant,” remarked Ms. Hammill.

She added that she would be “the most vocal” during public hearings regarding the construction of the new water treatment plant.

Mr. Silver later agreed to call the farm market and inquire whether it was possible to exchange the Leyland cypress for arborvitae.

“We’re just trying to get some foliage in there to cover up [the view],” he noted.

- At the June 10th council meeting, Mr. Taboada stated that he knew “we approved the $1,000 in plantings at the top of the hill, and we went out and purchased $1,400 worth of plants,” but that “upon looking at the top of the hill and the plants purchased, he had some issues.”

The councilman then showed photo blowups of the Summit Avenue curbing area where the plantings were to occur, and said that if Leyland cypress trees were planted there, it would grow out into the roadway, causing borough school students from the Island Heights Grade School to walk into the middle of the road, and grow up into the power lines, facilitating almost certain future remediation cuttings.

“I think for this location we should be buying the appropriate plants that will stay longer than four years,” he added, admitting that he had halted the planting of the Leyland cypress trees.

Mr. Taboada also argued that the trees which had originally been in place were outgrowing their location, causing multiple tree cuttings that eventually killed them and created a need to remove them.

Councilman John Bendel took issue with the fact that $1,400 had been spent on the trees, exceeding the $1,000 limit the borough had agreed upon, and pointed out that permission to spend more than that amount was supposed to be brought before council for approval.

“We talked about it, but we didn’t approve it,” he said, visibly annoyed.
Also discussed among council members was the possibility of installing a fence to block the view, but that was decided to be an unfavorable solution.

Ms. Hammill then appeared before the council and stated that she was growing increasingly agitated with the ongoing delays, and restated that she would not have purchased her home if the view to the public works yard were not blocked by trees and growth.

She added that she was “very bewildered’ when the trees were delivered but then prevented from planting, and that three were then left unplanted at the site during recent hot, dry weather. The Summit Avenue resident noted that she and her daughter watered the trees to prevent their drying out.

Ms. Hammill also reiterated her desire that arborvitae trees be planted in place of the Leyland cypress.

“I’m very good with Del’s, and I’ll go with you,” she offered in a plea to have the council exchange the trees. “This is the most ridiculous thing, I come to meeting after meeting.”

Mr. Taboada pointed out that Ms. Hammill initially agreed to the Leyland cypress, and that she was “absolutely rude to me and Betsy [Hyle], telling us we don’t give a damn after we reopened the meeting.”

“I agree something should be planted but I’m not going to spend $1,400 on something that will be thrown away in five years,” he continued. “Just plant the right trees, that’s all I’m asking for.”

Ms. Hammill again pushed for the borough to get arborvitae.

“I looked into that as well – I think the bottom line is that we jumped too quickly to try to do the right thing and we did not have enough information on the arborvitae or the Leyland cypress and how big and invasive they could be to the space,” said Ms. Hyle. “Jeff tried his best to do the right thing, but those are not the right trees, so now maybe we can talk about getting more of a hedge in there.”

Mr. Taboada said he checked with a local forester who recommended looking at installing forsythias at the site.

“They keep their leaves for the majority of the year and are pretty thick,” he noted.

Lake Drive resident Susan Slack, who was present at the meeting, disagreed.

“Forsythias will not grow 17 feet tall,” she said, referring to the approximate height the plant would need to grow in order to block the view of the public works yard.

“It loses its leaves and is ugly looking,” agreed Ms. Hammill.

Councilman-elect Joe Rogalski, also present at the meeting, said that “anything that grows will have to be maintained, which is a problem in this town.”

“You could, in reality, have those cypresses bought this year and prevent them from growing up,” he added.

“I think Ms. Hammill is right – let’s go to Del’s, say this is what we want and do it,” said Councilman Greg Heizler. “It’s been three months and we’re running out of planting time.”

- At the June 22nd meeting of the borough council, Councilman Al Gabriel said that he felt “embarrassed with the borough and myself with the tree expedition by the sewer plant.”

“I think it’s disgraceful, since the first plant was pulled out,” he continued. “What the hell is going on there?”

The councilman said the issue was “the talk of the town,” called it the “tree caper,” and pointed out that an abundance of stumps from the previous growth was now the reason for hindering the planting further.

“I think we ought to go down there and clean the site out, pull the stumps, and plant the trees properly,” he added. “This is embarrassing for the borough.”

Ms. Hammill then restated the events from March to present date, pointing out that the borough repeatedly made promises to plant trees that would again block her view of the public works yard.

“I’m pleased to see three council members share in the bewilderment,” she continued, before directly addressing Mayor Biggs. “The mayor seems to want to remain silent – you personally gave assurances. I would like to know where we are?”

“I did some investigating myself, I said I could help, and I looked at the arborvitae emerald trees that grow from 10 to 14 feet and would not invade the street,” the Summit Avenue resident stated. “Now I’m watching kids run down that hill – they never ran down that hill – and entering the public works yard, which is not safe. This does not make sense, it’s bewildering everybody, everyone voted unanimously and now it’s been stopped.”

“I would like answers on that tonight,” she added.

Mr. Taboada, who had previously halted the planting of the Leyland cypress trees, was not present at the meeting.

“We have a bad habit up here, where we make motions, second a vote, then carry on a discussion and we do not follow through,” admitted Mayor Biggs. “We defer and we delay.”

He then directly apologized to Ms. Hammill.

“[It] seems to be a habit, not only in regard to the trees but any number of activities we volunteer to follow through on and then sit back and defer and delay,” the mayor noted.

The borough council agreed to direct the public works department to remove all the stumps present at the site, and to plant arborvitaes along the perimeter.

A second motion was made to approve the added $400 spent on the purchase of the trees. All present members voted for the motion, with Mr. Bendel casting the lone dissenting vote.

Following the actions of the borough council during the June 22nd meeting, the borough public works department removed the stumps and planted the arborvitae, as directed.

What follows is a photo gallery entirely consisting of the Summit Avenue site and its newly planted arborvitae trees.

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