By PETE WALTON
The Bradley Beach Borough Council has rejected bids for demolition of the former First United Methodist Church and will advertise for new bids.
When the council met earlier this week, it voted 4-0 to seek new bids which include the post-demolition grading of the borough-owned property at 319 LaReine Ave.
Five years ago, Bradley Beach acquired the land and the two buildings on it from the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association for $1.3 million. Area real estate professionals estimate that the land could be worth more than $4 million after the church and adjacent parsonage are demolished and the property is divided into four lots for the construction of single-family homes.
Late last year, the borough sought a subdivision from its Land Use Board for the project. The subdivision was approved but neighboring residents were concerned because the application filed by the administration of former mayor Larry Fox did not address the grading of the land.
Borough Attorney Greg Cannon says grading will be put into the specifications when new demolition bids are sought.
Councilman Paul Nowicki said other issues such as air quality during demolition will also be included in the new specifications.
Council President Jane DeNoble addressed the disposition of artifacts which are inside the church and belong to the borough.
She said state law requires that borough property not needed for public purposes be auctioned off. DeNoble said that the Bradley Beach Historical Society would be allowed to remove some of the artifacts. Those items which would not have to be auctioned off since they would be designated for public use.
Mayor Al Gubitosi noted that provisions of a borough ordinance recently came into effect requiring that residential developers contribute to a fair housing trust fund.
“While we’ve had this ordinance in place, we have not yet been collecting funds,” the mayor said. “Effective Feb. 1, those development fees will be collected, put in a trust, and utilized for fair share housing investments in the future. This is somewhat simultaneous with the borough being able to develop four new properties to add to our tax rolls.”
“That’s a win for our taxpayers and for fair share housing,” Gubitosi said.
Also at the meeting, the council gave final approval to an ordinance imposing a three percent occupancy tax on short-term rentals which are booked through online services such as Airbnb and Vrbo. The three percent fee will not apply to short-term rentals arranged by a real estate agency or directly rented by a property owner.
The council unanimously approved a contract with Cannon’s law firm, Cannon and McGuinn, to serve as borough attorney for 2025.
