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Under The Boardwalk, Out Of The Sun

Under The Boardwalk, We’ll Be Having Some Fun

(On the taxpayer’s credit card, of course!)

 

So now the story on the cost overrun change order is that we need to strengthen the support under the boardwalk because FEMA is slow to approve our sea wall so we need to make the boardwalk strong enough for the sea to go under it without ripping it away.  This seems like the lamest excuse yet in a lengthening list of lame excuses.

First we were told that they forgot that some parts of the boardwalk were wider than other parts.  Then they said, oh, no, it’s because of the beautiful new herringbone design.  Then they said, no, it’s not because the herringbone is beautiful, it’s because it’s stronger. Last night we were told that the herringbone basically has nothing to do with it and that because we won’t have a sea wall right away we have to make the underneath of the boardwalk stronger.

But we were told from the beginning that the boardwalk would be built strong enough for the ocean to hit it.  That was the whole point of the  presentation given last year with the picture of the surviving 19th Ave boardwalk as evidence that if we built it the way 19th Ave had been built that the whole project would survive another Sandy.  The sea wall had nothing to do with it.  Go check the tape.  That was to protect the town, not the boardwalk.  Like, if we were building a boardwalk that was protected by a wall, we could build it totally half-assed for like $500,000, right?  I might add that it took Jim Bean about ten minutes last night just to find out who actually authorized Epic to expand the work.  (It was Birdsall.  Hmm.  I don’t remember voting for them.)

Aside from the apparently faulty design of the original wheelchair ramps, I don’t believe I’ve been told the real reason for the rest of the change order.  This latest story makes the least sense of any of them.

As I tried to explain to the mayor last night, we don’t go to work every day so Belmar can have the greatest and first new boardwalk in the state.  Maybe the boardwalk is the most important thing in his life, but the most important thing in the lives of people like me is our families.  Here in the private sector real world we’re being hit with rising taxes and rising prices (fueled by monetary inflation.)  But far from getting raises every year, most of us who are still working are thankful just to have a job.  We’re struggling just to take care of ourselves, we don’t need a 200 year boardwalk.

You know the pyramids are an amazing sight to see (I suppose.)  The oldest and most spectacular tourist attraction in the world!  But the everyday Egyptians and Jews who were forced to spend their lives toiling to build them could have lived quite nicely without the stupid things, thank you very much.

4 Comments

  1. GUEST wrote:

    Well said Dave. I am glad that you have your hat in the ring again for council. You have my vote!

    Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 7:47 am | Permalink
  2. admin wrote:

    Thanks! And thanks for reading.

    Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 8:09 am | Permalink
  3. Tom Burke wrote:

    Good job last night Dave at Council, and Jim Too, I to am glad you are running, an honor to be with you on this.

    Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 3:22 pm | Permalink
  4. admin wrote:

    Thanks Tom. Looking forward to working with you. See you tonight.

    Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 3:40 pm | Permalink

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