I have read and understand and agree to abide by the “Money Island Marina Operating Policies” posted online at www.moneyislandmarina.com and in the marina office. A printed copy is available on request.
I agree that I am assuming all risk of property damage and personal injury for myself and for the guests who travel with me to Money Island. I agree to hold Money Island Marina, Baysave, Nantuxent Corporation, and its owners, officers, employees, associates and volunteers harmless for any action that causes me or my family and guests property damage or personal injury while visiting Money Island.
Money Island, New Jersey, is the state’s second most productive seafood landing port and the hub of millions of dollars in environmental sustainability projects by more than a dozen universities and research organizations. Recently our tiny rural community was awarded substantial funding for improved infrastructure to support our $40 million annual impact oyster industry. But the attention has not been all positive. We’ve experienced a crime wave since March of 2020 at the beginning of the Covid shutdown. Year round residential population is down to about 5 of us. The daily work force averages about 30. As we continue to grow the local economy, we also need to improve safety and security.
We had no choice but to increase security. I expect some community pushback from the latest technology intended to deter crime and make our Money Island community safer. Some have asked if the upgraded security system is legal. It is.
We are physically far removed from law enforcement protection, we have no local police force, and state police are typically 40 minutes away. I’ve been physically attacked twice here in recent years. Suspects were identified, but not prosecuted. Thefts and looting (stripping buildings and machinery for copper and valuables) has caused us to be unable to reopen the marina business since the covid shutdown. Financial relief intended for Covid reopening never made it to rural communities like ours. Some people here are still desperate and they see crime as their only option.
We started by installing a network of solar powered telephoto cameras from one end of our community to the other. A drone helps occasionally supplement the stationary cameras as needed. The camera feed is shared electronically with an online network of community members who receive notices of people, movement or intrusions into secure areas. The crowdsourced network have proven more effective than a professional monitoring service. This system recently provided evidence in defense of a fake staged slip and fall complaint. Unfortunately, it also films unintended things like people peeing in front of a camera or pooping on the beach.
Next we installed multiple types of tracker devices hidden inside commercial equipment. The idea came from the oyster industry, where bay to consumer tracking of product is now possible. That system already resulted in the conviction of one criminal.
I’m not a big fan of arming civilian populations to deter crime, but I now carry self-defense weapons when working alone at the boatyard. Alarms and protection equipment are installed in each vessel and building.
The latest security improvement is a cloud-based service that builds a vehicle database and syncs with law enforcement networks in real time. It builds a profile of each vehicle that enters or leaves the business based on vehicle color, make, model, license plate, etc. These records cannot be lost, buried, or mishandled. Before the vehicle even gets close to the camera, the records are logged into the cloud. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, our local state police barracks has an embarrassing track record of losing or failing to file past police reports on criminal complaints in our neighborhood. It is a highly invasive technology but no more so that what we see in online services today.
We hoped that our local township would adopt the security system but they are restricted by budget. All of these security measures are paid by our local neighborhood association.
Technology is proving effective in deterring crime here. Besides, it may be our only practical option. As we continue to invest millions in the years ahead, making Money Island a model for environmental resilience, we also must make it a safe place to live, work and visit.
Money Island is the focus of new infrastructure spending for coastal sustainability.
Over the past few months, the federal government reactivated the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation (FICOR), that will work to create more safe, affordable, and equitable opportunities for Americans to get outdoors. This council is made up of federal government leaders from the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense.
The federal program originally launched under the Obama administration but was suspended under the Trump administration. recently the Biden administration announced bipartisan support for funding in several priorities that could affect us here at Money Island: – Resilient infrastructure like breakwater to slow erosion, stronger boat ramps and sustainable docks – Rural electric vehicle charging stations for road vehicles and boats – Bolstering education of the public and career opportunities – Cooperation with local governments
Here in New Jersey the state’s new NJDEP commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette promoted similar priorities earlier this year in connection with Earth Day activities.
The difficulty we anticipate here in Money Island is that government has not actually delivered here on its promises of tangible support for boating infrastructure in the past. Some suspect that federal and state officials see the rural communities as out-of-sync with larger priorities. Tony Novak, leader of recreational program outreach here at Money Island, reports that this is a common belief among many people in government, consultants and lobbyists. “We are just too small and too red for them” is how he phrases the challenge. Novak points out that none of the local community’s strategic planning or economic redevelopment plans over the past several decades have been adapted by state or federal government. As a direct result, we see that with the daily political rhetoric in social media is often hostile to federal and state government programs like this. Until recently we had local elected officials who even denied that climate change impact was out top economic challenge for the future. Even now, residents of other South Jersey shore towns continue to fight the conversion to renewable energy underway by state and federal government agencies. That translates to denial of funding for us here in South Jersey commercial and recreational fishing and other outdoor industries.
Money Island is called the “diamond in the rough” of South Jersey. Private investors and businesses are eager to revitalize a recreational activities if the government support the necessary infrastructure improvements including a breakwater, boat launch extension, docks, and facilities for larger transient boats.
Baysave, a 501(c)(3) that runs Money Island Marina investment programs and most current operational programs is committed to serving all stakeholders and plays a balancing role between the often competing interests.
We are aware that there is more than one “Money Island” in New Jersey and more than one “Money Island Marina” in the U.S.
“Money Island Marina Inc.” was previously used by two now defunct New Jersey business organizations not related to us.
“Money Island Marina LLC” was used by the immediate past management but is not authorized for continuity action after 2018. We anticipate that the entity will be extinguished by the state for non-payment of annual LLC fees.
Identify yourself in a text message to Tony at 856-237-9199 (just one time)
Text “I agree to the terms of the guest policy” (just one time)
Let us know what/when/who you will be doing each time before you come. Give us advance notice when possible. (Example: “I’m coming with my kids tomorrow morning and we would like to use crab traps
Green head flies are a significant problem at the bay shore from late June until the middle of August. Around July 15 harmless dragon flies appear in large numbers and they reportedly eat the green head flies.
Rutgers University conducted research on green head flies and tested various types of traps to reduce their numbers. The study concludes that it is possible to reduce the local population of flies and they published the design of the trap that seemed to work best.
, toughened it up, used materials designed for long life at the bay shore and even added tie downs to make them hurricane proof. (We haven’t actually had a hurricane but the traps have sustained 70+ mph windstorms).
Our traps are made of plywood and treated 2x4s, with galvanized steel corner brackets, “lifetime” deck screws, and two coats of Sherwin Williams Super Deck stain. We think they will last a decade even in extreme weather conditions. Screen life varies from one product to the next so we are unable to forecast the screen life.
The glass bowls that collect the dead flies are heavy enough to withstand most weather and inexpensive to replace if necessary.
Almost immediately after setup they begin catching flies.
We are asking for a $200 tax deductible donation to Baysave and will be happy to deliver a trap as a thank you. See https://www.baysave.org/donate for online payment.
The Money Island Marina water well was drilled by Vance Skinner in 1948.
In a 1971 report by the NJDEP in cooperation with the US Department of the Interior Geological Survey the well is listed as a “semi-public system” operated by the Pollino family that ran the marina at that time. The well was 374 feet at that time and it was drilled to 400 feet more recently. It taps into the Cohansey-Kirkwood aquifer.
When I first arrived at Money Island that well served all of the houses from the Bayview Bridge to the cabins on Nantuxent and the commercial docks. Each home paid $100 each year to tap into the system. The lines for that system remain in the ground but are not used.
Over the years additional wells were installed but most are (or will be) eliminated through the Blue Acres buyouts.
After Superstorm Sandy we made major improvements to modernize the well, replace the pump, bladder and elevate the pump house. That work was performed by John Roesly of Cedarville. A new line was installed under the road to my cabin. The well was placed on a separate property deed.
In the past decade the Cumberland County Health Department began harassing the Money Island users of the semi-public system. That was likely a consideration of some property owners who elected to sell their homes to the state.
We briefly considered licensing the water system as a public utility but realized this was impractical in such a small community. Our inspection costs would be the same as a larger city system with many more users. I made some legal changes to bring the marina properties and my properties into compliance but didn’t have the resources to challenge the government on their claim the island’s water system was not grandfathered as legal.
The Delaware Bay remains empty. The State of New Jersey is hard hit by the coronavirus with the second highest number of cases of all states in the nation. Here in South Jersey, the rate of spread, measured in the number of infections and deaths, has not yet peaked. Our fishing and related industries are especially hard hit. With restaurants closed, the commercial markets for fish are closed. Marinas lost most of their 2020 rentals. Recreational fishing and party boats have been shut down. Here at Money Island, the effect is amplified. Money Island is the state’s second most productive seafood landing port and the bay’s primary oyster landing port. Yet in 2020, landings are minuscule compared to other years. Most of our commercial boats are not operating. The crab shedding operation is closed. Some local businesses have already announced publicly that they are unable to reopen this season. Others are suffering silently.
Idle crab traps
The CARES Act allocated $300 million for the commercial fisheries industry. Some of my clients hope to recoup partial losses from this money. Yet more than a month after the law was passed
, no funds have been distributed. The proposal that NOAA offered is unfair to New Jersey in that it is based solely on dollar value of the fishing industry last year and does not consider the impact of the virus had on the industry’s losses. Losses are clearly worse in New Jersey than in other seaboard states.
A number of industry groups and all New Jersey’s federal legislators are lobbying for us. A representative from Jeff Van Drew’s office called me Sunday. Yet I fell like I’ve been down this path before: seven years ago after super storm Sandy. After many months and years of intense work
, no financial assistance was provided for recovery. Again this year, just like in the past, it is not the natural event but government’s reaction that is causing the financial pain.
The Money Island Marina is still in significant debt from Sandy losses. We missed a final scheduled tax debt repayment on April 1 because of the industry shut down. The prospects of reopening and sustaining any of the businesses here seems remote at this point.
We must keep trying, but there are no solutions on the immediate horizon.
