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A Year Later, Plans For Trader's Cover Still Murky
By Catherine Galioto
There could be another option in the debate on how to utilize the Trader's Cove Marina, purchased by the township in 2006. But it's too early to tell exactly what the aging marina will become.
The township council doesn't want to cut off an option for the site. That's why at its meeting this week the council unanimously authorized the planning board to determine whether Trader's Cove is in need of redevelopment. This step could allow commercial properties to redevelop the bay front area. Currently, the main option is to have a conservancy there.
Council Vice President Ruthanne Scaturro said in case the conservancy plan falls through, a redevelopment plan is something to fall back on. But such a project would have to go through several steps, one of which was taken this week when the council gave its blessing for the planning board to map out an area at the marina for redevelopment. The township would hold public hearings on the plan, and the township could create or hire a redevelopment authority to find commercial businesses or other uses appropriate for the site.
But residents at the township council meeting on Tuesday said they are weary of proposed Trader's Cove projects. It's been about a year with little progress or plans set forth, and promised money for the project has yet to come in, they said. Are these new proposals going to delay things further or add another layer on top of what's already going on, they asked?
The township council said officials were not dragging their feet on improving the Trader's Cove marina. Instead, the delays are a natural symptom of having to coordinate the county, Green Acres, state, municipal agencies, as well as a private conservancy and engineering firms.
"We are trying to pull this together and with a lot of energy," said Glenn Campbell of the township administration. "It's mind boggling the types of things you need to pull together."
Members of the council didn't want to forget the option of adding boat slips to the cove, or even a restaurant, said Councilman Michael Thulen.
But not everyone was so welcoming. At the meeting, residents spoke out on the resolution granting the planning board the power to map out redevelopment.
Resident George Scott said what the township is going through now with Traders Cove is comparable to what has unfolded over years with the abandoned Foodtown site, Route 70. That is another site the township bought several years ago to ward off commercial development.
Years later, the site sits vacant. The township may sell it to develop a hotel or other business that could make use of its location without impacting the environment or to already backed up traffic there.
Resident Melanie Briggs complained the Trader's Cover site isn't worth $8 million invested in the property.
"It's not worth $8," she quipped. The buildings are crumbling and the site is still signed as the Mantoloking Cove Marina, Briggs argued.
Thulen said all buildings at the site will be knocked down.
Township Planner Michael Fowler was asked how much has been spent so far and how much such a project would cost in total. Fowler said he did not know.
"We all want to move forward on this, we've been pushing very, very hard, and something must be changing in the winds to have this step" Thulen said, regarding that night's resolution. "We all want something there."
The site could become "a jewel on the Barnegat Bay," he said, but the township has to get through all steps on the redevelopment checklist.
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