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Politics & Government

Boat Ramp Woes on Mill Creek Road

Resident wants a long-term solution to problems at the end of her street

It’s not about public access. Diane “Dover” Cole is all for public access.

Cole, of 7 Mill Creek Road, lives adjacent to what some call a boat ramp leading to the Toms River.

“It’s literally the end of the road,” she said.

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Cole’s beef is that shoaling from continued use of the ramp has affected her property so much so that water levels have dropped in front of her waterfront home.

“My property is shoaling in," Cole said. "I pay a very high tax rate. I’m willing to pay. But there’s three-to-four feet of water when there used to be four-to-six feet.”

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The township needs to define exactly what the so-called ramp is, Cole said.

"Is it a public access? Or a boat ramp? If it’s a boat ramp, we need an engineer so it doesn’t do any more damage,” she said. “We need to find a long-term solution.  I’m just looking for maintenance, not dredging."

Township Engineer Chris Theodos is aware of Cole's request.

“The problem now is finer material in the road that’s washing out,” Theodos told Berkeley Patch.

 “I will be meeting with public works, on site, to determine what can be done,” he added. "We’re pretty much looking at it to see what can be done, depending on what permit would be needed. Some are quite complicated. But we need to do something.  Our intent is to stabilize the ramp so it will not contribute to any shoaling in the waterway,”

Cole brought the matter to a recent Township Council meeting.

“There was nothing that said it was a boat ramp…until last year,” she told council members.

Cole, who has lived on Mill Creek Road for 21 years, said she has had boats as big as 32 feet trying to turn around in her driveway in order to navigate the ramp. The space has become rutted from all the heavy boat traffic, she said.

“People come here from all over," Cole said. "I’ve seen Pennsylvania license plates.”

 “A decision has to be made," she said. "A 32-foot boat isn’t the same as a jet ski.”

Mayor Jason J. Varano told Cole that the township has been looking into the matter.

“I asked the township engineer to investigate," Varano said. "We have to make a decision [as to] what type of boat ramp it is. The DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection) said a permit is not necessary for the tip of the boat ramp and maintenance of the road. Cement slabs, however, would need a permit.”

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