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5/4/06 BACK

Proposed groin changes may resolve Margate’s concerns


By SUZANNE MARINO
Staff Writer
DOWNBEACH – A meeting held last week in Ventnor brought all sides to the table to discuss the future of Ventnor’s groin project.
What had been a rub between the cities of Margate and Ventnor now appears to be on a track that will work on both sides.
Margate engineer Ed Walberg and City Commissioner Sigmund Rimm met with Ventnor Mayor Tim Kreischer, Ventnor engineer Dick Carter, and representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to address concerns registered by the city of Margate on the project, which was to construct a groin on the beach at Fredericksburg Avenue, the border of Margate and Ventnor, that would have extended more than 300 feet into the water and have an elevation of 8 feet.
Walberg briefed Margate city officials on the outcome of the meeting, which he described as positive, and said it addressed Margate’s concerns. The groin will now be constructed one block north at Martindale Avenue, making it completely in Ventnor and not on the border of the two beach communities.
“What they are saying is that it will be a lower profile than what was originally planned,” said Walberg.
Ventnor’s beaches were in jeopardy of being washed south in a big storm, and the groin construction would most likely alleviate that problem. Margate did not want to stymie its neighbor’s efforts to secure its beaches for the long term, but feared the groin would cause problems such as scalloping or erosion on the beaches just south of the groin.
To meet those concerns the DEP has agreed that any backfill needed will be replenished and tapered to the fishing pier, according to Walberg. This will alleviate a drop on the beach from one side of the groin to the other, initially a real concern. The lower profile will also permit easier drifting of sand over the groin, allowing for a natural flow of sand.
Rimm said after the meeting, “I have no problem with the groin now.” A design model is not yet available, and the start of construction could be as early as this fall, according to Walberg.
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