Congressman LoBiondo stated that Avalon was very fortunate about the status of the ongoing projects in the Borough. The key to having things happen is dependent not on a single person, but on a partnership with federal and state departments. Borough officials have made countless trips to Washington. The Congressman has not seen any other community react the way Avalon has in order to get things done. After spending about $23 million for the beach fill, the beach project is well on the way to Phase II, namely, reconstruction of the seawall in Townsend's Inlet - a $14 million project that will take one year to complete.

The Congressman stated he had walked the beach in early August and he was very impressed by the way the beach had turned out. The cost of the beach maintenance including beach renourishment will be $150 to $160 million over the next fifty years. The authorization saga started in 1996-1997. In order to keep things going, the beach renourishment and the inlet seawall projects were combined. Projects such as this one must be continued if the area is to remain viable. If there were no beaches in South Jersey there would be no vacationers, no small businesses and no taxes going to Trenton. Without a viable economy in South Jersey the financial situation in New Jersey would be much worse than it is at the moment. South Jersey is critical to the economic engine of the state.

The Congressman is happy to have been a part of the program. He feels that the Congressional District has done well from beach projects. He highlighted the recently approved project at Cape May Point where the ocean has breached into a fresh water lake. In answer to criticism from other states the Congressman stated that if other states have natural disasters, the coastal states are there to give help.