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Herald Newspapers JulV 16 2008 ww New Tide Gate, Culvert Pitched, for COXHall Creek Jeweled Treas Licensed • Bonded • Trusted • Antiques & Collectibles' Jewelry BUYING & Sterling Silver &Jewelryl l)u~a Pieceof ye5terda~to 1 Looking for Jade, We Buy Out Com~ Also BUM COMPETITIVE PRICES PAID Broken Gold said he wanted to see the document, guaranteeing a new well or public Water connection. O'Connor said a pump from the pumping station was being stored in the township's Public Works garage in a state of disre- pair. Residentjoan McGin- nis asked why the pump was not repaired and re- installed. Kocsik said replacement of the current pump house with a tide gate would exceed $1 million. Resident Stephanie Gar- ret, who said she lives within 25 to 50 feet of the creek, asked if bulk- heads would be built to protect homes. Lomax said the state would not allow berms to be built in the wetlands Ed Butler,vice president of the Taxpayers Associa- tion of Lower Township, said at a recent Lower MUA meeting, commi~- sioners said they were not aware of the proposed proje Jack Fichter ' Jack Fichter Engineer Joseph Lomax County GIS Specialist Brian O'Connor Kocsik said Clubhouse Road would not need to be raised more than half a foot. A resident asked. what would happen if her well turned salty from the infu· sion Qfsalt water into the creek. O'Connor said Lower Township would bore a new well or connect her home to municipal water. at their expense. Audience members grumbled that there were no township or MUA officialspresent at the meeting. Resident Al Sherwood of Environmental Protec- tion and the county. Kocsik said about 2,330 acres of Cox Hall Creek drain into the pump sta- tion site. A water model to predict tide heights and storm water runoff was created. He said the existing cul- . vert under Clubhouse Road is 48 inches wide and should be replaced with six to eight, four-foot wide pipes. He said preliminary plans for the culvert would be prepared for the county, which then can be submit- ted, to DEP,he said. Kocsik said bay water would need to stay in the creek about two hours on the high tide reaching an elevation of about two feet to begin killing Phrag- mites. The next step is to com- plete preliminary concep- tual design of the project, collaborateon development ofawater management and emergency management plan, Wlalizecivilengineer- ing drawings and prepare supporting documents for submission to regulatory ageneies. Cape Arts Groups Win Dodge Grants CAPEMAY- Two local Cape May Stage will arts organizations will be receive $25,000 and CCA receiving grants from one $15,000 with both grants of the state's most philan- going towards general thropic foundations. operating support. Grant Cape May Stage and the amounts ranged from Center for Community Arts $5,000 to $175,000 with (CCA) were on the list of an average of $45,000. recipients in the 2008 Ger- "The Dodge Founda- aldine R.DodgeFoundation tion's Trustees were deeply Arts Grant Program. This impressed by the myriad year, the Dodge Founda- ways in which arts orga· tion1>rovidedgrants to arts nizations are making a organizations in nineteen difference in their commu- of the state's twenty-one nities," stated David Grant, counties including these . the Foundation's President two in Cape May County. and CEO. According to a press The Geraldine R. Dodge release from the founda- Foundation was established tion, 92 grants totaling in 1974 through the fore- $4,130,000 were awarded sight and generosity of Ger- to nonprofit museums and aldine Rockefeller Dodge. g'alleries, community arts . The Foundation's primary organizations, and perform- areas of giving are the Arts, ing arts organizations in Education, Environment, the disciplines of theater, with special initiatives in dance, opera, and music, its hometown of Morris- throughout the state of town, New Jersey. New Jersey. Dennis Rec Sets Soccer, Football Registrations DENNISVILLE- Den· nis Townshin Recreation HunlerDouglas der Clubhouse Road is much too small to allow adequate flow from the bay to the creek, he added. . Aproposed projectwould install a new outfall pipe from the bay, build a larger culvert under Clubhouse Road with a self-regulating tidal gate, redesign and re- place the pump station and reconstruct the channel between the pump station ,and Clubhouse Road, said Lomax. He said berms would be built to keep saltwater from entering Mickel's Run and upland areas of the marsh where the federally pro- tected Swamp Pink grows. It is important that the public comment favorably on the proposed project during the permitting pro- cess, said Lomax. "This project may be done in phases over many years, » said Engineer Peter Kocsik,ofHatch Mott Mac- Donald. "It's an expensive project and getting funding come in pieces and dribs and drabs." With a preliminary de- sign and permits, he said, it would be· viewed as a valid project and be eligible for funding. He said the project would require six or seven state permits. Lomax said the Pond Creek Basin, near Higbee's Beach, has engineering plans completed and per- mits but no money to move forward on a project that would also introduce bay water to kill Phragmites. County Planning Board expert BrianO'Connor said partners in the Cox Hall Creek project include U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, state Division of Fish and Wildlife, state Department c:J~~~1l WANT THE FACTS? WANT THE TRUTH? Youcan'tgetanybetteradvicethanadvicefromthefactory and Serviceneeds,Theonlyfactoryauthoriz~dSales& Service Centerinthearea, FeaturingPanasonic,PhillipsandMagnavox Theguyswhoserviceare theguyswho know!Don'tmakea Call DLF Electronics • 886-4040 Robbins Nest Plaza, Rio Grande, in front .of Kmart FREE HDMI Cable with HDTV purchase ($8995 value) By JACK FICHTER NORTHCAPEMRf- A hydrology study to deter- mine how to kill Phrag- mites reeds in Cox Hall Creek by letting in saltwa- fer from the 'bay is about half completed. An informational meet- ing was held July 12 by the Cox Hall Creek Fo- .cus Group at the Property Owners ofCapeMay Beach Clubhouse before a stand- ing room only crowd. Engineer Joseph Lomax, . of the Lomax Engineer- ing Group, said allowing "a controlled amount of saltwater into the marsh would reduce the risk of fire by killing Phragmites, which present a burn haz· ard in the fall when the plants die back. He said removing stagnant water would lessen the mosquito population plus the incom- ing tide would allow fish to enter the creek to eat mosquito larvae. In addition to allowing a controlled amount of tidal water in, the creek could also be drained into the bay when too much rainfall occurs due to a Nor'easter or similar storm, said Lomax. He noted 14 storm drains from the surround- ing neighborhood flow into Cox Hall Creek. The natural ebb. and flow action of the daily tides would unblock chan- nels that run through the marsh over a period of three years, he said. A pump house installed along the bayside at the end of the creek by Lower Township Municipal Utili- ties Authority (MUA) has not functioned for years, said Lomax. A culvert un-