Drone Use Limited in Loch Arbour
By DON STINE The use of drones and similar devices in Loch Arbour will be limited and controlled under an ordinance adopted by the Board of Commissioners on Aug. 3 by a two-to-one vote. Deputy Mayor Al Cheswick cast the only dissenting vote against adopting the ordinance with Mayor Paul Fernicola and Commissioner Denis D’Angelo voting for it. “I don’t feel it’s a wise use of police resources. I have questions about enforcement and for the overall necessity for it. To me, it is not a problem in general,” Cheswick said. Cheswick also said other questions are raised with…
Loch Arbour Proposes Limiting Drones
The use of drones and similar devices in Loch Arbour will be limited and controlled under an ordinance introduced at the Board of Commissioner’s July 6 meeting. The ordinance, which will have a public hearing on Aug. 3, regulates the use of drones or other unmanned aircraft within the boundaries of the village. Deputy Mayor Al Cheswick said the ordinance is being considered after a resident suggested several months ago that the village be pro-active on the issue. “As far as I know we have not had problems or complaints with drones but we are trying to address any…
Village Officials Continue to Seek Solutions to Exorbitant School Taxes
By DON STINE Three incumbent candidates on the Loch Arbour Board of Commissioners are unchallenged in the upcoming nonpartisan May 10 election. Mayor Paul V. Fernicola, Deputy Mayor Alfred J. Cheswick and Commissioner Denis D’Angelo are seeking the three, four-terms on the governing body. All three candidates said they initially got on the governing body to try and deal with the village’s high school tax rate, adding that issue still remains a priority with them. “The high school tax rate is still an issue and I would still like to explore ways to address that,” Fernicola said. Fernicola, who…
Shore Beaches Yield Hidden Treasures
By DON STINE Sun bathers hitting the beaches from Deal to Loch Arbour this summer should not be surprised if they find an old bullet, button or other artifact in the sand. Sand for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers beach replenishment project from Loch Arbour to Deal is being taken off of Sandy Hook, host to the U.S. Army’s Civil War era Fort Hancock. Old bullets and musket balls, uniform buttons, coins and even old shark teeth have been found in the sand since it was placed on the beach in Deal. Clean Ocean Action Executive Director Cindy…
Main Street Bridge Over Deal Lake to Close
The Main Street bridge over Deal Lake connecting Loch Arbour and Interlaken will close to all traffic at 7 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 21 and remain closed until May 2016. “Monmouth County is replacing the bridge on Main Street that crosses over Deal Lake,” said Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Department of Public Works and Engineering. “Utility relocations were performed before Memorial Day 2015, but work was halted during the summer to limit impacts on summer tourism. With the passing of Labor Day, we are now ready to start the bridge reconstruction.” This week, the County’s Public…
Village Hires Law Firm to Examine Alternatives to High School Taxes
By DON STINE Loch Arbour officials have appropriated $40,000 to hire a private law firm to examine alternatives to solve the village’s high school tax rate problem. Mayor Paul Fernicola said that the appropriation is for payment of legal fees over potential litigation pertaining to Loch Arbour’s affiliation with the Ocean Township school district. Since the neighboring towns of Allenhurst and Interlaken have rejected offers to merge with the Loch Arbour, the village is pursuing other alternatives, Fernicola said. “We are trying to determine what options there are other than consolidating with another town. It’s an important enough issue…
Loch Arbour Hires Lawyer to Seek Options for High School Taxes
By DON STINE Loch Arbour continues to try to find a solution to its high school tax rate and village officials recently hired a law firm to see what options may be available. Loch Arbour has approached both Interlaken and Loch Arbour with a proposal to merge with the village but the idea was eventually rejected by both towns. “We are looking at alternatives to see if there are other ways to solve our school problem. The proposed mergers are not going through and we will investigate other means,” Mayor Paul Fernicola said earlier this week.“It’s another way to…
No Action on Loch Arbour’s Merger Proposal
By DON STINE Interlaken and Loch Abour residents will have to wait until after the first of the year to see if the Interlaken Borough Council will proceed to study a proposal to merge to two small communities together. The council last week split three-to-three on approving a request for proposals to be issued to hire an independent company to further study the merger issue after a larger, joint meeting was held on the matter earlier this month. Mayor Michael Nohilly, who could have broken the tie, abstained from voting so the matter. It will be carried on to…
Interlaken, Loch Arbour Residents Would Have Final Say in Any Merger
By DON STINE Merging neighboring Interlaken and Loch Arbour together was the sole topic during a joint meeting of the two small communities held on Wednesday, November 12. About 200 residents from both towns packed the Allenhurst fire house on Hume Street to hear the first public presentation about a merger plan for the two adjacent towns. Some residents, from both communities, said they either felt that the presentation was very thorough and professional while others said they thought it was a hard-sell that made them nervous. Loch Arbour is seeking the merger to reduce its school tax rate…
Interlaken and Loch Arbour Will Meet to Discuss Proposed Merger
By DON STINE Merging neighboring Interlaken and Loch Arbour together will be the sole topic of discussion during a special joint meeting of the two small communities to be held on Wed., Nov. 12. The meeting, which will begin at 7:30 p.m., is being held in the Allenhurst fire department, Hume Street, since neither other town has a large enough space to handle the expected crowd. Interlaken will hold its regular Borough Council meeting at 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 12 so the council can then get to the joint meeting. There will be no other council meeting in November…
