1. STAFF REPORT
THE OCEAN STAR
JERSEY SHORE — Although residents
along the Jersey Shore may not have
given much thought to summer
rentals this year, droves of visitors
from near and far have had just that
on their minds as they snap up the
most desirable beachfront properties
to enjoy for a week, a month or the
whole season.
Local real estate professionals have
reported overall positive business so
far this year, with some booking
rental properties in the early winter
months and others anticipating an
uptick in traffic as the weather
warms.
BEACH ‘OFF TO A STRONG START’
For Point Pleasant Beach’s Barefoot
Real Estate, which represents roughly
100 homes in town, business was “off
to a strong start” in the beginning of
the year, slowed down and has subse-
quently picked up again, according to
Kim Surowicz, the co-owner of the
company.
Ms. Surowicz, who owns the real
estate company along with Mike Cor-
bally and Doug Bollinger, said the
business is roughly 50-percent booked
as of this week. “What we’re seeing is
that seasonals are down [and] week-
lies are up,” she said.
Ms. Surowicz also said business is
“about the same as last year.”
According to Ms. Surowicz, the is-
sue with fewer rental homes available
because of rebuilding post-Hurricane
Sandy has mostly resolved itself at
this point, at least with the clients
Barefoot Real Estate represents.
LAVALLETTE UP FROM LAST YEAR
According to Matthew Schlosser, of
Schlosser Real Estate in Lavallette, the
ELECTION 2015
Primary election previews inside this edition
BAY HEAD S LAVALLETTE S MANTOLOKING S POINT PLEASANT S POINT PLEASANT BEACH
75 CENTSFRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015
Summer rentals‘off to a
strong start’ this season
Barrella doesn’t file
to run in primary
Fresh
faces file
in PointSays it is ‘highly unlikely’ he will file to
run for mayor again as an Independent
SEE RENTALS PAGE 2
MORGAN CAMPBELL THE OCEAN STAR
A WEEKEND OF FUN & FUNDRAISING
Saturday was a busy day for locals. Molly McCourt [above, left] and Melissa Seakan, both
of Point Pleasant, enjoyed the Point Pleasant Beach Chamber of Commerce’s fundraising
event Beers on the Boards at Martell’s Tiki Bar. Earlier in the day, members of the Point
Pleasant Fire Department Station 75 Ladies Auxiliary held their annual Easter flower sale
to benefit the fire department. On hand to run the sale were Fern Truex [below, from left],
Betty Torode, Jane Hollomon, Gail Wells, Jeanine Currier and Renee McCarsky, all resi-
dents of Point Pleasant.
PRIMARY ELECTIONS 2015
BAY HEAD MAYOR
One open seat
William Curtis* [R]
BAY HEAD COUNCIL
Two open seats
Mary Glass* [R]
D’Arcy Rohan Green* [R]
LAVALLETTE COUNCIL
Two open seats
James Borowski* [R]
Joanne Filippone* [R]
MANTOLOKING COUNCIL
Two open seats
Steve Gillingham* [R]
Robert F. McIntyre* [R]
POINT PLEASANT BEACH MAYOR
One open seat
Stephen Reid [R]
POINT PLEASANT BEACH COUNCIL
Two open seats
Andy Cortes* [R]
Robert Santanello [R]
POINT PLEASANT COUNCIL
Two full-term seats
William Borowsky* [R]
Toni DePaola* [R]
Peter Hagemeyer [D]
Ed Wolff [D]
One one-year seat
Jack Butler [D]
Michael Thulen [R]
* denotes incumbent
STAFF REPORT
THE OCEAN STAR
TOMS RIVER — Monday was the deadline for candidates to
file to run in the Republican or Democratic primaries this
year, seeking their party’s support for November’s election.
Independents have until June 2, the date of the primaries,
to file to run for office.
For the full stories on each primary, see the town pages
inside this edition of The Ocean Star.
Primary elections on June 2
BY PAIGE TAYLOR
THE OCEAN STAR
POINT PLEASANT BEACH — Mayor
Vincent Barrella did not file to
run in either the Republican or
Democratic primary elections,
and this week said it is unlikely
he will file to run as an Inde-
pendent — potentially making
this his final year behind the
dais, here.
The mayor was elected as an
Independent in 2011. His four-
year term expires at the end of
SEE BARRELLA PAGE 13
“When your sense
of right and wrong
seems to be very
much different than
the people who have
been elected, it’s
probably time. I
get the impression
that nobody really
cares in Point
Pleasant Beach …”
VINCENTBARRELLA
Mayor,PointPleasantBeach
FILE PHOTO THE OCEAN STAR
Mayor Vincent Barrella, last elected as an Independent, did not file to
run in the Republican primary election. The mayor originally ran as a
Republican. He also said this week it is “highly unlikely” he will file to
run in the election as an Independent.
Incumbent GOPers
file; newcomers file in
Democratic primary
BY JESSICA FASANO
THE OCEAN STAR
POINT PLEASANT — Three seats
will be up for grabs on the
council, here, in the general
election, and three Democrats
and three Republicans have
filed in their parties’ primary
elections in the hopes of ap-
pearing under their column on
the November ballot.
The deadline to file for the
primary elections was Monday.
Incumbents have until the date
of the primaries, June 2, to file
to run in November’s election.
Incumbent council members
William Borowsky and Toni
DePaola, as well as Councilman
Michael Thulen — who was ap-
pointed to his seat in February
— filed to run in the Republi-
can primary. Newcomers Jack
Butler, Peter Hagemeyer and Ed
Wolff are hoping to gain the
support of the Democratic par-
ty in town.
SEE POINT PAGE 6
Real estate agents report
solid rental activity so far
RYAN MAYER THE OCEAN STAR
Jane White, an agent with Childers Sotheby’s International Realty, is representing the
home above for rent for the summer. Her office is seeing a solid amount of rental activ-
ity on the 20 or so properties it represents in Bay Head.

2. WWW.STARNEWSGROUP.COM FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015 THE OCEAN STAR PAGE 13POINT PLEASANT BEACH
this year.
“I didn’t file for the pri-
mary because it’s my current
intention not to run again,”
Mayor Barrella said. “That
could change, but it would
take something really dra-
matic.”
“It’s been eight years —
we’ve accomplished a lot and
solved a lot of problems,” the
mayor added. “We have a
well-staffed, fiscally sound
town at this point in time.”
The mayor said he will be
turning 63 in May, and “I
don’t necessarily think I want
to do another four years at
this point.”
“The last time I ran, I ran
as an Independent and that
option is still open if I choose
to run again, but at this point
in time I’d say it’s highly un-
likely,” he added.
Mayor Barrella said he en-
joys being involved in local
government, but “there’s
more to it than that.”
“When your sense of right
and wrong seems to be very
much different than the peo-
ple who have been elected,
it’s probably time,” he said. “I
get the impression that no-
body really cares in Point
Pleasant Beach, and it’s diffi-
cult to motivate yourself
[when such is the case].”
He also said, “My family is
not too enthusiastic about
me running again, as well.”
REID TO SEEK MAYORAL SEAT
According to Janet Mutter
of the Point Pleasant Beach
clerk’s office, the mayor’s
seat, as well as two council
seats — those of Council
President Andy Cortes and
Councilman Stephen Reid
— are up this year. The
mayor’s seat carries a four-
year term, while the council
seats each carry three-year
terms.
Council members Cortes
and Reid will seek their par-
ty’s nod in the June 2 Re-
publican primary to run in
the November general elec-
tion, as will newcomer
Robert Santanello.
Councilman Reid is hop-
ing to win his party’s sup-
port to run for the mayoral
seat, while Councilman
Cortes and Mr. Santanello
hope to run under their par-
ty’s banner for the two open
council seats.
All three candidates have
been backed by the Point
P l e a s a n t
Beach Re-
p u b l i c a n
Club.
No De-
mocrats filed
to run in
their party’s
primary.
Independ-
ents have un-
til June 2, the
day of the
primary, to file to run in No-
vember’s election.
The current governing
body consists of Councilman
Cortes, Councilman Reid,
Councilman Tom Vogel,
Councilman Tom Toohey,
Councilman William Mayer
and Councilman Tom Migut
— all Republicans — and
Mayor Barrella, an Inde-
pendent.
STEPHEN REID
Councilman Reid, 51, was
appointed to the borough
council in 2012, subsequently
elected and has been serving
on the dais for the past three
years.
He grew up in Point Pleas-
ant Beach and currently re-
sides on New Jersey Avenue
with his wife, Jacqui, and
daughter, Eve, 16.
Mr. Reid received his
bachelor’s degree from
Tarkio College, in Missouri.
He is a partner in the
Princeton-based firm Capi-
tal Public Affairs, Inc., where
clients hire him to “reach
common ground with oppo-
nents without having to re-
sort to legal action,” accord-
ing to Mr. Reid.
He has also represented
nonprofits in their fundrais-
ing efforts, such as The
FoodBank of Monmouth and
Ocean Counties.
Councilman Reid has
served as a wrestling coach
for the G. Harold Antrim El-
ementary School and a foot-
ball coach for Point Pleasant
Beach High School.
“Over the last three years,
I’ve worked with my fellow
council members and resi-
dents to keep improving our
already great schools, get
[Hurricane] Sandy victims
back into their homes, plus
support the community
businesses and our service-
based departments that keep
this town thriving and safe,”
Councilman Reid said. “I’m
seeking election this year to
ensure a bright future for
our town, while continuing
the traditions that have
made this town one which
so many cherish.”
ANDY CORTES
Mr. Cortes, 57, will be
running for his second
three-year term on council.
He has resided in Point
Pleasant Beach for 30 years.
He currently lives on Wash-
ington Avenue with his fi-
ance, Colleen Coogan, and
has three grown daughters:
Dorothy, Loren and Tiffany.
Ms. Coogan has a daughter,
Kelsey, and a son, Frank.
Mr. Cortes is semi-retired
after working for 35 years
with Comcast Cable in
Brick as a central area con-
struction supervisor, where
he was responsible for over-
seeing all construction
work in Ocean, Monmouth,
Middlesex and Mercer
counties and managed an
annual budget of $2 million.
He has served on the bor-
ough’s recreation commit-
tee since 2004 and has been
a member of the Point
Pleasant Beach High School
Boosters Club since 2002.
Mr. Cortes was the presi-
dent of the Point Pleasant
Soccer Club for 17 years, in-
termittently between 1981
and 2006. He also served
with the Point Pleasant
Beach Little League from
2001 to 2004 and has been a
Project Graduation chaper-
one since 2004.
Mr. Cortes said this year’s
election is an important
one.
“I’m confident that new
leadership will help move
this town in the right direc-
tion,” he said. “Now is the
time to elect people who
know this town and will
fight to preserve it, while
embracing the changes that
will occur post-Sandy.”
ROBERT SANTANELLO
Mr. Santanello, 53, resides
on Central Avenue with his
wife, Joan, and has three
children — Sean, 26, Dylan,
23, and Erin, 14 — all of
whom attended local
schools.
He has served as president
of the Point Pleasant Beach
Little League, administrator
of the Recreation Basketball
Program and as a Cub Scout
leader.
As a resident directly af-
fected by Hurricane Sandy,
and living in one of the
town’s most problematic
flood zones, Mr. Santanello
currently serves on the
Flood Plain Management
Committee.
Mr. Santanello said run-
ning for council is a “whole
new thing” for him, but the
reason he is running hits
home.
“The reason I’m running is
because we lost everything
in Hurricane Sandy,” he said.
Mr. Santanello rebuilt his
home in the borough and
raised his sons and daughter
here.
“When my home was de-
stroyed by Sandy, I wit-
nessed firsthand what it re-
ally meant to be part of a
community,” Mr. Santanello
said. “My family has re-
ceived a ton of support from
this community, and it’s now
my time to give back and
serve.”
Paige Taylor covers Point Pleasant
Beach for The Ocean Star. She can be
reached at ptaylor@theoceanstar.com
or 732-899-7606 Ext 14.
BARRELLA
FROM PAGE 1
Councilman seeks mayoral seat; Incumbent, newcomer file for council
THE OCEAN STAR
The Point Pleasant Bor-
ough First Aid Squad said
Point Pleasant Beach resi-
dents may have received a
donation request from Point
Boro First Aid’s annual fund
drive in recent days.
The Point Pleasant squad
said this was an “unfortunate
mistake” made by its mailing
company. Any donations that
were sent in by Point Pleas-
ant Beach residents will be
returned promptly.
The Point Pleasant Bor-
ough First Aid Squad apolo-
gized for any inconvenience
or confusion.
Mail mix-up
sends Boro
mailer to
Beach
THE OCEAN STAR
Miss Point High will be
held on Saturday, April 18 at 7
p.m. in the high school gym.
Admission is $6 for stu-
dents/seniors and $8 for
adults.
Congratulations to this
year’s Miss Point High 2015
candidates: Tess Abadrabo
escorted by Joe Wegrzyniak;
Julianna Bravo escorted by
Kent Napolielo; Shelby Cata-
la escorted by Antonio Gar-
cia; Victoria Clement escort-
ed by Chris Erbe; Joya Diaz
escorted by TJ Allgeier; and
Samantha Trabattoni escort-
ed by Cory Gross.
The candidates are all sen-
iors voted for by their class-
mates. They will all be per-
forming as will several
student acts that include
singing, dancing and skits.
There will also be a senior
slide show to commemorate
the class of 2015.
The chairpersons of the
show are juniors McKenzie
Knevy and Evangeline Reid.
Miss Point
High set
for school
Event kicks off at
7 p.m. in high school
gym on April 18
ANDY
CORTES
ROBERT
SANTANELLO
STEPHEN
REID
ELECTION 2015

3. BY PAIGE TAYLOR
THE OCEAN STAR
LAVALLETTE — At the last
council meeting on March
23, the governing body ad-
dressed public assistance ac-
counts as they apply to the
lifeguard headquarters and
new municipal building,
which were both destroyed
during Hurricane Sandy.
Borough administrator
Christopher Parlow said he
recently met with the Feder-
al Emergency Management
Agency [FEMA] regarding
the agency’s public assis-
tance accounts that could
apply to the borough.
“We did get notice, unoffi-
cial notice, that they did ap-
prove our project as an im-
proved project for the
reconstruction of our life-
guard headquarters, to
which they are going to fund
a 90-percent share at cost,”
Mr. Parlow said. “The life-
guard headquarters will be
funded through public assis-
tance.”
“Thank you, Chris,” Mayor
Walter LaCicero said.
However, the mayor con-
tinued, “The bad side of that
[is] they did not approve the
grant application for bor-
ough hall.”
According to the mayor,
FEMA “did not find substan-
tial damage” at borough hall.
“You’ve read the newspa-
per, there’s a lot of home-
owners complaining” of sim-
ilar matters across the state,
he said.
“We’re under the same cri-
teria regarding substantial
damage determination as
any other applicant,” Mr.
Parlow said.
He said FEMA deter-
mined, based on the report
that he received from the
agency, that it was projected
Lavallette saw less than
$115,000 worth of damage,
between the police depart-
ment and municipal build-
ing.
The crowd and council
members at the meeting
laughed at the number.
He said the municipal
building and police head-
quarters, which are substan-
tially larger buildings that
both accrued damage, only
received the said $115,000.
“Everyone have a good
chuckle,” the mayor said.
“There is an appeal process.
We will be taking up the ap-
peal.”
The mayor said the bor-
ough’s engineers estimated
over $700,000 combined in
damage for the municipal
building and police depart-
ment.
“In order for us to meet
that substantial damage de-
termination, we would have
to provide engineering esti-
mates … in order to meet the
50-percent threshold,” Mr.
Parlow said.
Following the meeting,
Mr. Parlow explained that
the 50-percent threshold is
based upon the assessed im-
provement value of the
buildings that were dam-
aged. For the municipal
building and police depart-
ment, the improvement val-
ue is around $702,800, he
said.
To meet the 50-percent
threshold, that signifies a
building’s damage, the bor-
ough must provide FEMA
with half of the total as-
sessed value of damage,
which is around $350,000,
according to Mr. Parlow.
“FEMA has, at this point,
reviewed our application for
the improvement project
and they have reduced those
amounts to amounts less
than the required 50 percent
[that the borough assessed]
— and that’s what we’re go-
ing to appeal,” he said.
The mayor said he hopes
Congressman Tom
MacArthur [R-3] and assem-
blymen Gregory McGuckin
[R-10] and David Wolfe [R-
10] get on board to help the
Borough of Lavallette win
the appeal.
“FEMA’s been known to
make mistakes before and
we’re going to prove to them
this time they’ve made a
mistake,” Mayor LaCicero
said.
He continued by stating
that there are quite a few
towns, such as Oceanport
and Keansburg, that got ap-
proved for the “same thing
we’re trying to do here, but
it’s my understanding they
all went through this rejec-
tion process.”
“I’m not completely con-
vinced we’re not going to get
that kind of money here,” he
said. “We’ve got some elect-
ed officials that are pushing
for us.”
The next council meeting
is on Monday, April 6, at 7
p.m.
Paige Taylor covers Lavallette for The
Ocean Star. She can be reached at
ptaylor@theoceanstar.com or 732-
899-7606 Ext 14.
FEMA to fund lifeguard
headquarters, not boro hall
Borough to enlist
help of elected officials,
undergo appeal process
WWW.STARNEWSGROUP.COM FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015 THE OCEAN STAR PAGE 11LAVALLETTE
COURTESY OF DONNA FAXTON
A LARGE-SCALE SCIENCE PROJECT
Lavallette Elementary School eighth-graders participated in the annual parachute egg drop for
Mrs. Jill Lorenz's science class. This is an annual science project with the help of the Lavallette
Fire Department.
Council discusses line striping on Route 35
BY PAIGE TAYLOR
THE OCEAN STAR
LAVALLETTE — Route 35 re-
construction has been at the
forefront of topics over the
last few years here; however,
parking plans on the major
roadway in the borough were
recently discussed.
At the council’s regular
meeting on March 23, the
governing body of Lavallette
discussed a new line striping
project on Route 35 that will
provide for a change in the
parking situation.
“The state has provided us
with a new pattern, new grid,
for parking spaces along the
new Route 35,” Mayor Walter
LaCicero said, adding that
there will be a net increase in
spaces.
Borough administrator
Christopher Parlow said, “I
was summoned to a meeting
with the Department of
Transportation [DOT] and
the RDA group, which is the
consulting firm that has de-
signed the Route 35 recon-
struction project, [because
they] wanted to meet and
discuss the parking plan for
Route 35 North.”
At the meeting with park-
ing officials, Mr. Parlow first
wanted to know how many
parking spaces currently ex-
isted versus how many there
will be given the proposed
plan.
“They gave me a very good
analysis on a street-by-street
basis of the existing parking
stalls, the proposed parking
stalls and the total for the en-
tire Route 35 North corridor
as it applies to Lavallette,” he
said.
Currently there are 447
standard parking stalls on
Route 35 North in Lavallette,
along with nine Americans
with Disabilities Act [ADA]-
compliant stalls, for a total of
456 parking spaces.
The standard parking
spaces will decrease by six,
totalling 441. However, ADA
compliant stalls will almost
triple in amount, totaling 29
spots.
“In ADA stalls there will be
29 after the project is done,
and once again, there are cur-
rently nine that exist,” Mr.
Parlow said. “Which I think
is a good thing.”
He continued, “Between
every set of streets, every
block, they are going to put
one handicap spot. That
handicap spot is going to be
located in the same location
on every block and that is the
southwest corner of every
intersection.”
Mr. Parlow said the reason
for this placement is so “that
way, based on the handicap
stall requirements, they will
not have to utilize more than
one spot because in that loca-
tion the door of the access-
way will open up into a no
parking area in that location.”
He continued, “It’ll proba-
bly be beneficial use in that
location too if there’s nobody
parking there, the sight trian-
gle opens up as well, which is
the most difficult spot to
enter into the intersection.”
“You have the plan,” Mr.
Parlow said to the council.
“They are looking for a con-
sent to that plan.”
Council president Anita
Zalom said, “It’s a nice
increase in parking spaces.”
Mark Speaker, resident and
vice president of the
Lavallette Business
Association, asked the coun-
cil if the ADA marked spots
will be 24 hours, as he was
concerned of people abusing
the spots.
The mayor replied that the
spots will be permanently
marked and that there is a net
increase of 14 spots total.
Overall, the total number
of parking spaces will
increase from 456 to 470.
On the west side of Route
35 North, the total number of
current spaces, 237, will
remain the same, with adjust-
ments made at the following
locations:
On New Jersey Avenue and
New York Avenue, there are
eight existing stalls, with the
proposal to decrease the
number to seven. On
Brooklyn and Washington
avenues, where there are 12
spaces, 11 are proposed to
exist.
On Magee and Vance
where there are 12 spaces, 13
are proposed. On President
and Guyer avenues, the num-
ber will increase from eight
to nine.
On Kerr and White
avenues, the parking will
increase from four to five. On
Ortley and Westmont
avenues, parking will
decrease from seven to five
spaces.
On Westmont and
Haddonfield avenues, park-
ing will increase from five to
six spaces.
According to the proposed
plan, the east side of Route 35
North will see a gain of park-
ing spaces from 219 to 233 in
various locations.
The council voted unani-
mously to approve the pro-
posed plan. Councilwoman
Joanne Filippone did not vote
because she was absent from
the meeting.
The next council meeting
is slated for Monday, April 6,
at 7 p.m.
Paige Taylor covers Lavallette for The
Ocean Star. She can be reached at
ptaylor@theoceanstar.com or 732-
899-7606 Ext 14.