Long Beach Township Holdouts Identified Online [AUDIO]

Signed easements for a massive federal beach replenishment project are starting to trickle in once again after Long Beach Township posted the names of 63 holdout oceanfront property owners on its municipal website.

Mayor Joe Mancini says they received three signed easements Monday morning and are expecting a few more to come in.

Mancini says by placing the names online for all to see, he's hoping the overwhelming majority of residents who have signed easements, puts pressure on those who haven't.

He says it worked in one community where all the holdouts signed easements.

"In Holgate we had 28 holdouts. The taxpayers in Holgate got together and they were going to start a lawsuit against those holdouts when their sand ended up in their living rooms."

Mancini says he believes most of these residents haven't signed because they're hoping for some type of compensation from eminent domain proceedings based on a court settlement some years ago, but he says he refuses.

"I will not do that.  I mean, how do we reward less than 20 percent of the people who are holding out and jeopardizing the project when 80 percent have signed?"

When it comes to the summer tourism season, Mancini says by the Memorial Day weekend, LBI will be 95 percent open as far as businesses, as well as all 54 of Long Beach Township's guarded beaches.

He says they were not hit as hard by Superstorm Sandy like the Northern Barrier Island and they have no boardwalks. However, he says they're suffering from the impact of perception.

The easements are needed to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers access for a massive beach replenishment project. Work is expected to begin soon in Harvey Cedars, Surf City and Brant Beach to repair beach replenishment work that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

Toms River Township Officials recently announced that they have the signed easements needed to put a storm protection system in place that devastated Ortley Beach. Mantoloking officials recently announced that they've begun the eminent domain process against its holdouts.

Outstanding Easements

source: LongBeachTownship.com

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