Walled After two public meetings to be sure the residents were informed, and after putting the question on the ballot so all voters cold express their opinions, the Highlands Mayor and Council made it clear they do listen to the will of the people.
By formal resolution at its meeting last month, Mayor Carolyn Broullon and the Highlands Council told the Army Corps of Engineers thanks, but no thanks: the people of Highlands reject “the Coastal Storm Risk Management Project proposed by the United States Army Corps. of Engineers, as described in detail at the May 14, 2024 and October 7, 2024 public hearings, and declines to issue a Letter of Support.”
At the same time, and by the same resolution, the governing body left the door open for the Army Corps to come back with other ideas that may be more amenable to the people of Highlands.
In fact, the resolution reads, “the governing body encourages the Army Corps of Engineers to propose alternative solutions to reduce the impact of flooding in the Borough….”
The resolution even went further, including some possibilities the engineers could consider. The governing body added “such as the construction of a protection barrier from Sandy Hook to Popamora Point, similar to a project that was done in New Bedford, Massachusetts.”
The resolution passed unanimously by the three members present, with Councilwoman Karen Chelak offering the motion, approved by both Broullon and Council President Joann Olszewski and Councilman Leo Cervantes and Donald Melnyk absent.
Mayor Broullon also noted that in order to approve what the Corps offered and what was explained at the two public hearings, the borough would have had to indicate support of the specific project design and construction as well as enter into an agreement with the Department of Environmental Protection for a State Aid agreement in which the borough would have financed part of the construction, operation and maintenance of the entire project.
However, Broullon noted the governing body made the determination that it preferred to consider the sentiment and opinion expressed by voters in what the resolution terms “overwhelming rejection of the project.” The mayor had called for the question to be put on the ballot to ensure the governing body gave the voters every opportunity to express their opinion with the expectation their elected officials would follow their will.
