Maurice River reviews BRIC outreach strategy, seeks stronger ties with NJDEP ahead of grant deadlines

Maurice River Township officials and regional partners met Jan. 22 to review a draft outreach strategy tied to FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) direct technical assistance program and to coordinate messaging for state and federal partners.

Mayor Ken Whildin opened the special meeting, saying the purpose was to discuss BRIC support and “messaging and talking points.” He and Deputy Mayor Bill Ashton, joined by Land Use Board Chair Ben Stowman, Municipal Clerk Denise Peterson and FEMA BRIC DTA facilitator Meghan Wren, reviewed the draft Maurice River and Commercial Township Outreach and Engagement Strategy and provided edits and next steps.

The strategy frames BRIC DTA as a three-year technical assistance program to help communities prepare stronger BRIC subapplications and to coordinate partnerships and permitting. Dana Kochmower, who reviewed the draft, told the group the document is a tool the municipality can use ‘‘to tell the story the Township wants to be told’’ and recommended tailoring messages by audience.

Participants spent much of the meeting focused on relationships with state agencies, particularly the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). Barney Hollinger of Commercial Township raised concerns that NJDEP "does not want to work with the Townships," and Ben Stowman said higher-level NJDEP staff were not seeing the local work the townships have completed. Meghan Wren (FEMA) said there are advocates inside NJDEP, particularly in the Coastal Engineering division, and urged documenting instances of nonresponse to help make the case to state decision-makers.

Officials also discussed permitting costs and uncertainty. Whildin said pre-application conversations with NJDEP would be helpful because permit applications can be costly and offer no guarantee of approval. The group agreed on a proactive message: emphasize the townships’ environmental stewardship and frame projects as beneficial to both conservation and local economies to create a “win–win” narrative for regulators.

Economic and acreage figures were flagged for revision. The draft strategy cites that the communities harvested 5.4 million oysters in 2023; Stowman said the broader fishing industry approaches $100 million, while Hollinger estimated the oyster industry at about $40–42 million. Stowman also said Maurice River Township contains roughly 30,000 acres owned by state entities; participants agreed municipal and county staff would supply verified acreage and industry values to replace placeholder figures in the draft.

Elena Gable of Cumberland County urged taking advantage of conference opportunities and said the June New Jersey Planning and Redevelopment Conference accepts prerecorded presentations; the group set a Feb. 7 deadline for materials tied to that conference. Dana Kochmower and Nicholas Li asked partners to send suggested edits to Li by Jan. 31 so a final strategy could be produced quickly.

The document presented at the meeting maps local messaging to state priorities, including alignment with NJDEP’s Climate Resilience Strategy and New Jersey’s Environmental Justice law. The draft emphasizes that protecting the Port Norris working waterfront and related Delaware Bayshore communities supports state resilience and equity goals while seeking to highlight the economic and cultural importance of the working waterfront.

There was no public comment. Mayor Whildin moved to adjourn; Deputy Mayor Bill Ashton seconded, and the meeting concluded.

Next steps: municipal and county staff will provide updated acreage and industry figures, partners will send edits to Nicholas Li by Jan. 31, and the team will prepare materials for the Feb. 7 prerecording for the June conference.