Margate Homeowners Question City Expenses, Waterpark & Flood Plans

A top priority for the Margate Homeowners Association (MHA) is to keep a close eye on local leadership. The MHA has shared a few items of note:

Margate Commissioners, Becker, Amodeo & Blumberg, will soon approve items for payment, at the next Margate Commissioners meeting, coming up this Thursday.

How is Margate spending taxpayers dollars?

A few expenses really jumped out. Many are confusing & cryptic. Are Margate taxpayers fully aware of how their money is being spent?

• Defender bills totaling $1,500.00. Why? Who’s being defended? And for what?
• Bagels $1,450.00. That’s a whole bunch of bagels!
• Margate Acting Administrator: $9,702.00 WHO? and WHY?
• What’s a hero’s helmet? The cost is $1,201.87. JUST asking.

Margate NJ Flooding Plans

Many MHA members expressed concern regarding Margate flooding. The MHA sent a request to Margate Commissioner, John Amodeo. Information was requested regarding a grant for pumps, and Margate’s plan to mitigate flooding.

Here’s how Margate Commissioner John Amodeo responded:  (lightly edited)

Margate and Ventnor did receive a grant to set up a shared service pump system. It will be on the north end of town. Funded partly by both municipalities (Margate & Ventnor) and Atlantic County.

It doesn’t eliminate flooding. It’s designed to pump down the flooded areas quicker. Margate’s priority is to eliminate as much flooding as possible, being we’re on a barrier island.

With FEMA’s recommendation, we changed our ordinance for bulkhead elevations to elevation 8 to help with flooding.

Amherest Ave. bulkheads added outfalls to the bay. Thru our city engineer, we’re in preliminary discussions to design a pump station in the Adams Ave area. It will not stop flooding, but will assist in moving water quickly after a hard rainstorm and high tide.

Margate is the only town in Atlantic County to have a Community Flood Rating (CFR) of 4. This translates to a 25% savings on flood insurance.

John Amodeo: The (proposed) water park has nothing to do with the city. It’s water side of the bulkhead and is under DEP permitting.

Margate NJ School District

NOTE: The Margate School Board meetings are still not being recorded and posted for on-demand listening. School Board agenda items and meeting minutes need higher levels of awareness.

Margate residents still waiting for explanation regarding: Swapping of school principals. Relative of Mayor Becker, Audrey Becker, was transferred from Tighe to Ross. Does this move provide a clue as to which of the 2 Margate schools will survive an impending consolidation? Listen to school discussion at recent commissioners meeting:

The post Margate Homeowners Question City Expenses, Waterpark & Flood Plans appeared first on Downbeach BUZZ.