Ocean County commissioners slam JCP&L over pace of Lakewood infrastructure project

TOMS RIVER - The Ocean County Board of Commissioners have publicly scolded a representative of Jersey Central Power & Light for its role in the slow progress of a major road widening project planned in Lakewood.

“I’m gonna get right to the chase, JCP&L absolutely cares about the people of Ocean County and all the areas that we serve,” said Robert Brice, whose job is to liaison with the county government on behalf of the electric company.

Brice was speaking during the public comment portion of Wednesday’s regular session of the Board of Commissioners, after Commissioner Frank Sadeghi had complained earlier in the meeting about the lack of progress on the widening of Cross Street in Lakewood that must be done in conjunction with JCP&L. The project is intended to help relieve traffic congestion in the county’s biggest municipality.

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“For the last four or five months, they’re at a standstill because they’re waiting for JCP&L to remove and relocate those (utility) poles,” Sadeghi said.

The commissioner said JCP&L has informed the county government that there have been supply chain issues with new utility poles that will replace the old ones, which have resulted in no movement on the project in at least a year.

Sadeghi, who is a civil engineer and operates his own engineering firm, said the delays were unacceptable and that it was apparent that JCP&L regarded Ocean County as a “stepchild.”

“I’ve noticed that once again, JCP&L has demonstrated that they don’t care about the needs of the people of Ocean County,” Sadeghi said.

Later, Brice said every commissioner on the dais had his cell phone number and that of the three “line shops” the company maintains in Ocean County, two were the busiest line shops in the company’s service area.

“Ocean County is — no surprise to anyone — is experiencing great growth and development on a monthly basis,” Brice said, who explained that the company liaisons with the county government on 15 to 20 projects each month.

“We’ve put a lot of money and investments into Ocean County in the form of transition improvements, substation improvements, additional distribution improvements and smart meter improvements that are going on as we speak,” he said.

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Commissioner Jack Kelly told Brice that its road improvements were being held up because JCP&L has informed the county that there is a lack of new utility poles in its inventory.

“Is that true?” Kelly asked.

Brice acknowledged that was a factor. On Cross Street, 38 utility poles have to be replaced, he said.

“They’re transmission level poles,” Brice explained. “It’s not the regular poles that you see in your neighborhood. They’re thicker, they’re taller. They raise anywhere from 65 to 75 feet and they have to be hurricane rated. In addition, they have to be breakaway at the bottom. So it’s not as simple as going out, chopping down a nice tree and you know, putting it on the back of a truck and bringing—”

Kelly cut Brice off. The company man’s response had triggered a flash of anger from the commissioner.

“But that’s what you do,” the commissioner said, his voice rising. “That’s your job. I don’t care how big they are. It’s your job to get those poles there.”

Kelly said the county Engineering Department had been coordinating with JCP&L for more than three years on the Cross Street project.

“That’s too long,” Kelly continued. “I don’t care how high they go in the air. That’s too long. We give you all the notice in the world of what we’re doing and we’re still not able to get what we need. And then I hear from the (Lakewood) mayor and from the community that the county is too slow: ‘You’re not doing your job.’ I can’t do my job until you help me.

“Buy some wood, build new ones,” Kelly suggested.

Brice replied that with a road widening project as with Cross Street, JCP&L does not order new utility poles until their own people see the design plans and specifications. Otherwise, the company would not know what specific type of poles to order.

“And that’s what happened here on Cross Street,” Brice said.

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“Yeah, that doesn't make sense to me,” Sadeghi replied. “You’re not dealing with a developer who buys a piece of property, wants to put in a new road, needs poles, and you’re at the mercy of whether that developer — depending upon what the market is — is going to proceed with that project or not. You’re dealing with the government of Ocean County, they’re telling you: ‘We’re going to do this work.’ So, the responsibility is on you.”

In any business, needs must be forecast and planned accordingly, Sadeghi said. JCP&L’s answer for the project delay on Cross Street is therefore “inexcusable,” he said.

“You don’t want to hear excuses, but I know you’ve encountered the same supply chain issues that we’ve encountered,” Brice said. “You’ve had trouble getting trucks, you’ve had trouble getting other equipment.”

“It never took me three years to get a truck,” Kelly shot back.

“Yeah,” Brice replied.

“Let me just say this to you,” Kelly said. “I don’t want to stand here and try to embarrass you in front of the whole audience. I would like to meet with you in my office, with the county engineer, and talk about this. And, not talk about what happened yesterday, let’s talk about what can happen tomorrow, because that’s what I'm really concerned about.”

Brice agreed to the meeting.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ocean County NJ commissioners slam JCP&L over pace of Lakewood project