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The Asbury Park council failed to approve a resolution to support Ocean Grove’s request for FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] funds to repair its boardwalk at last night’s council meeting.

Council members John M. Loffredo and Susan Henderson voted in favor of the resolution while James Bruno voted no and Kevin Sanders abstained. Mayor Ed Johnson was absent. The resolution needed three votes to pass.

Prior to the vote, Bruno asked if Ocean Grove, which is located just south of the city across Wesley Lake, still locks the gates on foot bridges connecting the two towns every night. Audience members said yes, which led Bruno to vote no on the resolution.

The gates are locked daily from midnight to 5 a.m., Police Chief Mark Kinmon confirmed after the meeting. The Neptune Police Department, which patrols Ocean Grove, locks the gates each night.

Sanders abstained because he felt he was not familiar enough with the resolution, he said.

Before voting yes, Loffredo spoke about the Camp Meeting Association, the organization that owns and operates the boardwalk. He referred to a case in 2007 when the CMA denied the use of the boardwalk pavilion for a same-sex civil union ceremony for two Ocean Grove residents, Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster.

The Asbury Park council has three openly gay members, including Loffredo.

“My problem here is not just the gates,” Loffredo said. “The CMA has made it very clear how they feel about certain individuals using their boardwalk, concerning marriages. I totally disagree with them and their stance, but I do think this boardwalk should be repaired. They would just do well to remember who lives in Asbury Park and who is on this council.”

Loffredo voted yes, but the motion did not pass.

“It’s a shame because that’s the way people get to our boardwalk,” Henderson said after the resolution was rejected. “It’s going to hurt our businesses.”

Ocean Grove’s boardwalk was largely destroyed during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. FEMA denied the CMA’s request for $1 million in aid because the organization is considered to be a private nonprofit.

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[Council members pictured above, from right, at a previous meeting: Bruno, Loffredo, Johnson, Sanders and Henderson.]

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