mayor & council
 | Honorable Michael J. Mahon Tel: 732.222.8221 |
A Message from Our Mayor
June / July
Is it Summer already? What happened to Spring? The last seven months have just been a blur for me and many residents as we have faced the challenges on the home front and together as a community to recover from the October storm. There is certainly a lot going on in Oceanport.
Oceanport did an exceptional job as a host community of the NJ Marathon. We can be proud of the volunteers staffing the fluid stops and aid stations along the route. Congratulations to all the Oceanport runners in the half or full marathon. As promised, the revised route reduced the number of frozen zones in Port Au Peck and improved our ability to respond to emergencies. This was especially helpful in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing as the Oceanport Police participated in a successful multi-jurisdictional security plan aimed at preventing acts of terrorism.
Monmouth Park started the 2013 season with a bang. Together with the "Stronger Than The Storm" ribbon cutting celebrating the reopening of the Jersey Shore and poor beach weather, traffic returned to levels only seen on Haskell Day. This is good news for our largest taxpayer and employer. The term "track traffic" is being used to describe the gridlock on Route 36. But with racing only 3 days each week, other destinations must be considered as primary causes. Traffic delays on Eatontown Boulevard have become an everyday occurrence as the Branchport Bridge closing, repaving of Monmouth Road (Route 71) and volume on Route 36 force many travelers to seek alternate routes. Our engineers and traffic safety are working in conjunction with Monmouth County and NJDOT to ease the congestion. Hopefully, small changes will include improve left turns and allow more cars to flow each cycle.
This month marks the end of an era and begins another. Our Borough Clerk and Business Administrator Kim Jungfer accepted an opportunity in a neighboring community advancing her career in public service, and capitalizing on lessons learned here in Oceanport. Despite unique challenges like Monmouth Park, Fort Monmouth, Affordable Housing, Super Storm Sandy, and family; Kim has always put Oceanport first. Congratulations to Kim, and best wishes in her new position managing the Borough of Little Silver. With the retirement of Chief Harold Sutton in February, the governing body sought merger possibilities with neighboring police departments before proceeding with the appointment of a new Chief of Police. We appreciate the support of our police force and PBA in this process as periods of uncertainty are difficult. To their credit, the force showed leadership, remaining focused and united. Congratulations to our new Chief of Police Dan Barcus.
The Summer Season is quickly approaching as the school year draws to a close. Congratulations to all our graduates from kindergarten to high school and beyond. Enjoy the pre-prom photographs and backyard celebrations as the school year draws to a close and we look forward to summer vacations, a day at the races, and time at the beach or on the water. Boats and water crafts on trailers make the weekend trip to the boat ramp and the loud speakers blare can be heard in the neighborhoods surrounding Monmouth Park. My favorite season is here and Oceanport is a great place to live!
Honorable Michael J. Mahon
Mayor, Oceanport Borough, NJ