Diamond Jim Brady’s

Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The stimulus spending, almost $800 billion, was to respond to the recession created by the financial crisis. This spending was on top of 100s of billions in bailouts for TARP under George Bush, to save companies like AIG. Republican critics of the new administration railed against big spending. Obama noted “I won.” and “Elections have consequences.”

Real Estate sat on the market. Loans became hard. Prices were down by 25% from their highs in New Jersey. Residents were unhappy.

Trash carts allow for back yard pickup of trash

Sea Girt residents love their garbage pickup. In the 1950s, bringing the trash into the town budget was a money saver, and they consistently rejected giving it up. By the late 2000’s municipal employee costs, mandated recycling, and the cherished back yard pickup had costs grown significantly higher than alternatives for hiring an outside hauler. Some residents countered that they did not want strangers in their yards.

A study showed that eliminating Public Works garbage pickup and outsourcing it would generate $300,000 in savings. The council unanimously rejected the idea.

The beach also became more expensive. Badges needed an increase, because the Borough wanted reimbursement for the assistance the DPW gave to grooming sand, and dune fencing was required to be taken from the Beach utility budget. A storm in May required a two-day cleanup as the boardwalk was buried up to the top of the trash cans, and Ocean Ave. had several inches of sand on the street. Public Works assisted in returning the clean sand to the beach.

Council had asked for permission from the DEP to build a second set of permanent dunes to the east of the boardwalk. The dunes would help keep sand out of the streets, particularly in the northern part of town and if planted would continue to grow and protect the boardwalk from major damage. The application sat unapproved for months, and some speculated that litigation over the destruction of a plover nest in 2007 was holding up the CAFRA approval.

The young permanent eastern dunes in the 2010s

Charles Judice of Trenton Blvd. wrote that the rejection of the cost savings for the trash was just one of many cost-saving ideas the Council had turned down. He noted the all-Republican borough council wanted the government to save money everywhere but in Sea Girt, calling them “Diamond Jim Brady’s”. He suggested, “Soon only Stock Traders, Fund Managers, and Wall Street Bankers could afford to live in town”.

Diamond Jim Brady, a millionaire salesman who loved to eat and flash diamonds in the 1910s

On a sad note, the Beach Patrol mourned the death of Lifeguard Supervisor Art Harmon, the father of two of our longest-serving guards: Lifeguard Chief Tim Harmon and his brother, Lifeguard Lt. Matt Harmon. Art was 63. With 45 years of experience, most of those as a captain or chief lifeguard in Avon, Belmar, Lavallette, and Manasquan, Art was a leader. He had been effective in training the SGPB rookies for his son Tim, and it made sense. A Rumson-Fair Haven physical education teacher, coach, Athletic Director, ski patroller, drivers-ed teacher, and referee, Art took special care and had a heartfelt passion in teaching proper technique. He emphasized how to paddle, the proper way to stroke or row, reading waves and currents. The small details made a huge difference in the lifesaving abilities of the staff.

Art Harmon spent his last years working with his sons (Sea Girt Beach Patrol website)

His legacy was clear; his sons have made a lifetime commitment to the safety of the town. He was and is still sorely missed to this day by the entire crew.