Organization Meeting Message from Freeholder Director James F. Lacey


A Message From the 2010 Ocean County Freeholder Director James F. Lacey

Good afternoon,

I want to welcome all of you to the 2010 organization meeting of the Board of Freeholders.

I want to congratulate my colleagues, Freeholders John Bartlett and Gerry Little on being sworn to their new three-year terms on the Board and wish them and their families well in the New Year.

Every New Year comes with a new set of challenges and 2010 will be no different. Ocean County government will continue to provide you with quality programs and services this year.

However, it’s important to stress that especially in these difficult economic times our focus is on providing the core county services our taxpayers and residents have come to rely on. We cannot grow county government to meet new requests or pickup new costs for programs and services that are no longer funded by other governments or agencies.

Last year we were able to weather the economic storm because of solid financial planning and a conservative approach to the county budget. This year we plan on taking that same approach while assisting our residents and moving county government forward.

We are doing good things in Ocean County and will continue to do so.

For instance, in 2009, about 80,000 tons of recyclable materials were processed through the county’s regional recycling facility in Lakewood. By not dumping that material into the Ocean County Landfill, our towns saved almost $6 million. And, despite the rough economic conditions the County's share of the recycling revenue will still be around $1 million for 2009.

Single stream recycling is still on schedule and we expect to run the first material through in early April. This new process for recycling will help our municipalities save money on collection and will help to improve our recycling efforts throughout Ocean County.

Parks, recreation and open space continue to be a priority.

The Barnegat Branch Trail, a linear park that when completed will run 15.6 miles from Barnegat to Toms River, continues to move ahead. We expect to go out to bid for the third section of the trail by the end of this month with construction from Cedar Creek to Maryland Avenue in Berkeley Township to start when the weather breaks in the spring. We expect this part of the trail to be useable by summer.

In addition we will begin the design of the fourth section through Lacey Township soon after we begin this construction.

In 2009, we preserved 11 properties, totaling an impressive 1,977 acres under our Ocean County Natural Lands Program.

A total of more than 12,000 acres, including 45 farms have been preserved under this program since it was first implemented in 1998.

We will also continue to take care of our environment.

We will launch a fifth pumpout boat in the 2010 boating season. The latest boat will patrol the Manahawkin Bay area and will be operated by the Tuckerton Seaport under a lease agreement with the Board of Chosen Freeholders. In 2009, 4,760 recreational boats were serviced by our pumpout boat program and 95,000 gallons of wastewater were disposed of properly and not dumped into the bay.

We have implemented stormwater management programs including the opening of two truck wash facilities – one in Toms River and the other in Manahawkin. In 2009, we completed 6,639 washes and expect that number to increase about 10 percent in the New Year.

Municipalities have also been using our facilities under schedule C agreements.

The truck wash facilities help to reduce our environmental footprint by recycling water and reducing the amount of pollutants that enter our stormwater systems. In addition, it helps to protect our investment, and acts as preventative maintenance, which prolongs the life and performance of our vehicles.

Ocean County maintains one of the largest road systems in the state with 621 miles of county roads. Our roads continued to be maintained and upgraded. Last year the Ocean County Road Department milled more than 23,600 yards of county roadways and used about 40,000 tons of asphalt for paving projects.

Under agreements with some of our municipalities, the county Road Department milled and paved an additional 11 roads last year.

As we make our roads and bridges safer for the traveling public, other capital projects continue to advance.

Work should be completed late this year on the 140,000 square foot expansion of the Ocean County Jail. The project remains on schedule and on budget.

In addition, a new terminal is being constructed at the Ocean County Airpark. The new 2-story building will total 11,600 sq. ft. and will replace a series of aging trailers that have been used since the 1970's.

And more importantly than bricks and mortar projects, the people who receive services from us directly can continue to count on them.

Our seniors will receive help when they need it. In 2009, we added two home delivered meal routes - one in Berkeley and one in Manchester in order to address these large populations of residents aged 85 and over. We also moved a congregate site to the Jackson Township Multi-Purpose Senior Center, which is a huge success.

With the help of our Board of Social Services, our Department of Human Services and our Health Department, our most vulnerable residents will be provided a helping hand.

Our young residents will receive quality educations at Ocean County College and our Vo-Tech schools. Our libraries will continue to be a source of information and leisure activity.

As you can see, county government touches all of our lives.

And, in the New Year this Board of Freeholders will continue to diligently work to serve you – our residents and taxpayers. We will continue to look at shared efficiencies and purchasing opportunities that will help our municipalities.

And with a cautious and conservative financial approach, we will move forward doing what is absolutely necessary to keep Ocean County a desirable place to live, raise a family and retire.