Point Beach moves toward $1M acquisition of former Coast Guard station – Star News Group

POINT PLEASANT BEACH — A $1,050,000 bond issue that would fund the borough’s purchase of the former Coast Guard station in Point Beach was introduced in a unanimous vote by the borough council Tuesday night. 

The council’s consent agenda also included its approval of the acquisition from the federal government, subject to attorney review.

Mayor Paul Kanitra described the planned purchase as a “seismic win” because it would ensure that the former Coast Guard facility “doesn’t fall into someone else’s hands.” 

The mayor said the station could become the location for “a historical museum.”

He acknowledged, however, that the project awaits approval by the planning board which, according to board member Anne Lightburn, has raised some issues with the idea. 

“The planning board had two objections, the cost which doesn’t stop there,” Ms. Lightburn said during the meeting. “There will be significant renovation. It has to be turned into handicapped and ADA compliant. There is also zero parking with the building … Without parking no one will get there in the summer.“

The project was praised by Kristin Hennessy, who said her father, former Point Beach mayor Daniel Hennessy, “had a vision” of the borough’s eventual purchase of the station. 

“I commend council and I think this is the most reasonable purchase we could make,” Ms. Hennessy said.

For more on this story, read the next edition of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.

Subscribe today! If you’re not already an annual subscriber to The Ocean Star, get your subscription today! For just $38 per year, you will receive local mail delivery weekly, with pages and pages of local news and online access to our e-edition on Starnewsgroup.com.

Check out our other Point Pleasant Beach stories, updated daily. And remember to pick up a copy of The Ocean Star—on newsstands Friday or online in our e-Edition.