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Beach Haven council approves consent agenda, accepts drone donation and awards contracts
Summary
The council unanimously approved its consent agenda (resolutions 68–88, with 73 discussed separately), accepted a Friends of Beach Haven donation to fund two drones for emergency response, and authorized a non-fair-and-open contract for special counsel Padulla Law Group.
Beach Haven’s Borough Council voted Feb. 27 to approve its consent agenda, accept a donation to fund a municipal drone program and authorize several contract awards.
Council removed Resolution 73 for separate discussion before the consent vote. Councilors then moved, seconded and approved a block of resolutions (68–88, except 73) by roll call. The roll call recorded votes of Miss Anderson: yes; Mrs. B. Miller: yes; Mr. Mcaffrey: yes; Miss Snider: yes; Mayor Lambert: yes.
During the discussion of Resolution 73, Mayor Lambert and councilors reported that Friends of Beach Haven had provided funding for a drone purchase. According to the transcript, Friends of Beach Haven wrote a check "specifically for this purpose" in the amount stated in the transcript as $36,241.20. The council also referenced a separate community donation by "the Seashell" committee noted in the meeting (transcript states a $225,000 figure). The council approved the indemnification agreement (Resolution 73) to accept the donated equipment.
The borough’s police chief (unnamed in the transcript) described the planned drone program: two drones to start (one larger, one smaller), each outfitted with thermal cameras, spotlights and speakers, and one equipped with a flotation-device drop system for water rescues. The chief said the drones would be used by the police department, lifeguards and the fire company for search-and-rescue, event monitoring and emergency response. Training, FAA certification and on-site instruction are planned; the transcript states about $7,500 of the donation will be used for training and estimated delivery of hardware was four to six weeks.
Council later reconvened from an executive session and unanimously approved Resolution 86-2025, authorizing a non-fair-and-open professional-services contract in excess of $17,500 for special counsel Padulla Law Group. The roll call on Resolution 86 recorded unanimous yes votes from the five members present.
Votes at a glance
- Motion to approve consent resolutions 68–88 (except 73): approved; roll call: Anderson, B. Miller, Mcaffrey, Snider, Lambert — all yes. - Resolution 73 (indemnification agreement; acceptance of drone donation): moved, seconded and approved by roll call (all present voted yes). Amount noted in transcript: $36,241.20 (as stated in transcript). - Bill list approval: transcript shows the bill list amount as approximately $179,800; roll call unanimous. - Resolution 86-2025 (award to Padulla Law Group, professional services > $17,500): approved by unanimous roll call.
The council closed with final remarks thanking donors and the Resilient LBI team and then adjourned into executive session for contract negotiations and personnel matters before reconvening to approve Resolution 86.
