Mayor & Council

Mayor

Honorable Jay Coffey
Mayor

Term Expires: 12/31/2019

Borough of Oceanport
315 E. Main Street
Oceanport, NJ 07757

Tel: 732.222.8221
Fax: 732.222.0904

EMAIL

Mayor's Message

Mayor's Message, Sept/Oct. 2019

We had a fabulous summer here in Oceanport and it was
closed out by another incredible Summer’s End event at
Blackberry Bay Park. Once again, Oceanport’s Parks &
Recreation Committee put together a perfect evening for all of
us to enjoy and the closing fireworks display was, as usual,
second to none. We owe a debt of gratitude to the paid staff and
volunteers who put this event together every year. It is a town
wide celebration of all that is wonderful about Oceanport.

One of the other wonderful things about Oceanport is our
commitment to helping others and the Kortney’s Challenge 2
Mile Fun Run/Walk at Monmouth Park on August 4th was
Oceanport at its finest. With over 650 people participating in the
race and hundreds more volunteering and participating in the
fund-raising portion of the event, this year’s Challenge met its
goal of raising $100,000.00 for research and education
related to the treatment of pediatric brain and central nervous
system tumors. Kudos to Oceanport, the Kortney Rose
Foundation, the Gillette family and everybody who volunteered
or participated in this event.

Looking ahead, as most of you are aware, the Borough of
Oceanport is relocating its Municipal Complex to a 13.25-acre
parcel of land on the old Fort Monmouth property located just
off Main Street by the Razor Drive entrance to the Fort.
Demolition work has begun on certain of the buildings there
and the renovation of the remaining buildings will begin shortly
thereafter. When the project is complete (we hope to be done by
the third quarter of 2020), our police station will be moved from
its current site at the old Fort Monmouth firehouse to the former
State Police building and next door to that will be our
Municipal Building. The new Municipal Building will house
Oceanport’s Municipal Court, our Department of Municipal
Works office and all the municipal services currently located
315 East Main Street. The Department of Public Works’
maintenance building and yard are already located at the site.
All in all, the new complex will allow for “one stop shopping”
for our citizens when completed.

Recreation soccer has started up again at Blackberry Bay
Park and that means we need to be reminded that the speed
limit on Port-Au-Peck by Blackberry Bay is 25 miles an hour,
not 150 miles an hour. In fact, the top speed limit on ALL but
three of the municipality’s streets is 25 miles an hour (Main
Street, Port-Au-Peck past Branchport and Crescent being the
three exceptions), so please slow down when you are driving
through Oceanport. I know that this is a constant theme in my
messages, but speeding is a constant problem in our town.

Longtime Oceanport Rick McKenna recently stepped
down as a member of the Shore Regional High School Board.
Rick has been one of the most dedicated volunteers this town
has ever known, and he has represented Oceanport well on
both the Shore Regional and Oceanport Boards of Education
over the past two decades. Oceanport is going to miss him,
and we need more people like him to step forward and volunteer
their time. Finally, I’d like to extend a belated Happy
Birthday to Oceanport Mayor Emeritus Clem Sommers, who
celebrated his 90th birthday with his family and friends in
August, but he still isn’t as old as Buddy Brocklebank.

Mayor's Message, July/August 2019

Mayor’s Message

July/August 2019

The kids are out of school, summer is barreling along, and our little borough of Oceanport is in full bloom. Monmouth Park Racetrack has had a prosperous meet so far (with a 7% increase in attendance and a 2% increase in its handle as of the end of last month) and the State of New Jersey had a greater sports betting handle than Nevada in the month of June! Of course, New Jersey biggest racing day – which includes The Haskell and the Oceanport Stakes -- takes place at Monmouth Park and will serve to make the 2019 meet an even bigger success.

But horseracing and sports betting aren’t the only reasons to visit Monmouth Park. On August 4^th, the 14^th Annual Kortney’s Challenge 2 Mile Fun Run/Walk will start behind the gates at the main entrance of the track and this very Oceanport event promises to be the biggest and best one to date. Registration and check-in start at 8:30 a.m. and the race starts at 10:00 a.m. sharp. The rest of the summer offerings at Monmouth Park include a Picnic Pig Roast, a Mardi Gras Festival, a BBQ & Craft Beer Festival, Trucktemberfest, Oktoberfest and Rockfest. The only thing missing is a Buddy Brocklebankfest!

The Borough is also making headway with both the new Borough Hall Complex at the Fort (bids are being taken this month) and the development of the old Borough Hall Complex. It is hoped that both will be under way before the end of 2019.

With Action Camp in full swing and with the kids out of school, I need to remind everyone to drive a little bit slower on the streets of Oceanport. This is a year ‘round issue for us, but it is especially important that we slow down and take our time when we drive during the summer months. Roll your windows drown, take your foot off the gas and enjoy the sights and sounds of Oceanport at a slower speed.

It has been an especially hot summer and, as many of you are aware, the Oceanport Pool at Blackberry Bay Park is not open for business for the first time in since it was built. Not many people know that the pool facility was financed and built mostly by members of the Oceanport Lions Club in the 1970s so that Oceanport could have its own little chlorinated oasis within Blackberry Bay Park. Beginning in the late 70s, the facility was operated and managed by the Oceanport Lions Swim Club (an entity unrelated to the Oceanport Lions Club) pursuant to a lease agreement with the Borough of Oceanport (the pool is on borough property). Much in the same way that the Borough’s youth rec sports programs are run by volunteers, the pool was run by volunteers.

Following the 2016 summer season, however, the volunteers who had overseen the operations of the pool on behalf of the Oceanport Lions Swim Club advised the Borough that it was no longer fiscally feasible for them to continue to maintain and operate the facility and that they were no longer going to do so. In a nutshell, a continuing decline in membership and a concurrent rise in operating costs meant that the pool club was no longer financially viable. For the next two years, the pool was operated and managed by the YMCA, the only entity that responded to the Borough’s RFP for the pool concession. This past winter, the YMCA advised the Borough that it would not be able to operate the pool for the 2019 summer season and, despite the Municipal Council’s best efforts, the Borough did not get any credible responses to our RFP for the pool concession this year.

The Oceanport Pool has been a part of the fabric of Oceanport for several generations, but we can’t keep the pool open at any cost. Like any other municipal program, the Municipal Council will have to weigh the costs and benefits in order to determine what the future holds for this amenity. In its absence, I hope we can all enjoy our backyard pools, beach clubs, and the Shrewsbury River to keep cool and have fun this summer. Enjoy every moment of it because Labor Day weekend is right around the corner!

Mayor's Message, May/June 2019

The first weekend in May was a very “Oceanport” weekend, indeed. Although the Oceanport Recreation Committee’s annual miniature golf outing at Bluegrass Mini Golf in Monmouth Park Racetrack was postponed due to the inclement weather on Friday night, our little slice of heaven was chock full of activity all weekend. Saturday morning opened with the Maple Place Middle School’s Annual Color Run at Blackberry Bay Park. I can tell you that the kids in Oceanport have no problem walking up to the town’s Mayor and dumping bags of colored flour on his head. No problem whatsoever. None. I know who they are, however, and you can rest assured they won’t be getting any calls while I am refereeing their basketball games next year. This fun run’s purpose is to raise money for the 8th grade’s class trip to Washington, D.C., but with its mix of kids, adults, music, exercise and dedicated volunteers, it’s actually an incredibly colorful, somewhat messy, 3.2 mile celebration of all that is wonderful about Oceanport.

Shortly after the Color Run ended, Monmouth Park Racetrack opened on its doors and 21,500 people walked through the gates. They were treated to a warm, sunny (thank you Buzzy Baldanza, Oceanport’s Weather Maker) opening day of great live racing, family picnics, hot dogs, hamburgers, horribly gaudy men’s sport jackets and mis-matching pants, women’s Derby hats ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime and the most bizarre, prolonged and confusing finish in Kentucky Derby history. While all of that was going on, the 2019 Monmouth Park Charity Fund’s Kentucky Derby Celebration was honoring Oceanport’s own Maureen Lloyd for her 20 years of service to the organization. The charity event was packed to the rafters, just like the rest of Monmouth Park. Afterwards, local restaurants were bursting at the seams with patrons as the day’s celebrations spilled over into the night. The last night of Triumphant Life Church’s week long Spring Carnival at Fort Monmouth closed out this very busy Oceanport Saturday and, although it was very successful, we hope that Buzzy Baldanza can arrange for better weather at next year’s carnival!

A special note of thanks goes out to Oceanport’s police department, DPW and First Aid Squad, all of which played an integral part of the success of these events. Each of these Oceanport celebrations went off without a hitch, and the support and assistance of these individuals made that possible.

On Sunday, moreover, I had the privilege and honor of participating in the Eagle Scout induction ceremony at the Oceanport Hook and Ladder building. Two fantastic young men, Christopher Schuff and Jack Donohoe, became Oceanport’s 109th and 110th Eagle Scouts. They join Gerald R. Ford, Neil Armstrong, Steven Spielberg, Michael Bloomberg and Oceanport Councilman Ricky Gallo as internationally known individuals who have earned the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts of America. This is no small accomplishment for these two boys and Oceanport is blessed to have such an inordinate amount of Eagle Scouts in a town so small. Fun Fact: Arthur Eldred was the first Eagle Scout and he was awarded this honor in 1912. There is no truth to the rumor, however, that he was Buddy Brocklebank’s classmate.

This past weekend is proof that Oceanport is alive, well and - as it says on our logo - “a great place to live.” Our volunteers are always energized, our professional and volunteer emergency services providers are knowledgeable, dedicated, and caring and, our community is filled with people who love to be involved and make a difference. The vibrancy of Monmouth Park Racetrack this weekend bodes well for the summer and our spring looks exciting, too. Oceanport will be hosting the Oceanport Lion’s Club’s Strawberry Festival from May 29th to June 2nd, the Memorial Day Weekend Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival at Monmouth Park, Oceanport’s Memorial Day Parade on the morning of Memorial Day and TWO car shows in June at Fort Monmouth (Sunday, June 9th at Wallington Avenue and Saturday, June 15th at Malterer Avenue).Â Please get out of your house, get involved and enjoy all that Oceanport has to offer!

Honorable Jay Coffey
Mayor, Oceanport Borough, NJ