January AHLOA News

Date: January 2, 2025 | Issue: 146

President's Message

On behalf of the AHLOA board, let me wish you and your family a happy and healthy New Year. We hope you had a great holiday season.

I am actively involved with the planning committee to prepare the 2nd annual Spring Into Summer calendar of events that will take place throughout the month of June. Last year’s inaugural program was a big success, and we are building a 2025 schedule that will breathe more life into the historically quiet month of June. The committee’s goal is to offer plenty of reasons for both property owners and tourists alike to visit Avalon throughout the month.

The 2025 schedule will include some repeats of anchor events from last year, and many new items on the calendar in response to suggestions that were received last summer.

AHLOA will be co-sponsoring three different events during June 2025, teaming up with the Avalon Library and the Lion’s Club to offer outdoor music at Surfside Park, a combination Lion’s pancake breakfast and AHLOA Community Connections, and a Saturday evening social in Community Hall with adult beverages, dancing and music. Details on these three AHLOA co-sponsored events and the entire Spring Into Summer schedule for June will be available in our upcoming monthly newsletters.

We recently launched a totally redesigned AHLOA website focused on providing just the content that has been the most helpful to our members. We made these changes based on feedback from members and historical page visits. We have added filters for important News categories like Borough Council, Planning and Zoning, AHLOA newsletters and more.

Please take a few minutes to browse around and get acquainted with how to find the information that is most important to you.

Bookmark specific pages of interest in your web browser. If you have questions concerning the website, or suggestions for further improvements we can make, please use the Contact page to provide specifics.

January is time once again for AHLOA annual membership renewals. If your membership dues expired as of December 31, 2024, you will be receiving a personalized renewal letter in the mail along with a return envelope.

You will notice that we had to increase the membership costs in 2025 – our first price increase since 2018. We manage the annual AHLOA budget very effectively, but we simply could no longer offer our array of services without a modest price increase to offset six years of cost increases in our operating expenses which we have been able to absorb over that period. Please see the article below for more details and instructions on how to renew.

Once again, all the best in 2025!

Sincerely,

Tony Newshel

AHLOA President

Membership Renewal Instructions

We sincerely appreciate your membership in AHLOA and hope that those of you whose membership expired last month will renew for calendar year 2025 (and beyond). We need maximum participation from Avalon property owners to best serve your interests, to remain your strong voice to the Borough, and to fulfill our mission as Your Community Connection.

To offset the continual increases in our operating expenses over the last 6+ years, we are introducing a $5 per year increase. Membership dues are $25 for 1 year, $45 for 2 years, or $65 for 3 years. Renewing for more than one year saves you money and reduces the administrative overhead and operating costs to AHLOA.

If your dues are paid-up through 2025 or beyond as part of a multi-year enrollment, you will not receive any renewal form in the mail until your current membership term expires.

If your membership dues expired as of December 31, 2024, your personalized renewal letter and a return envelope has been mailed to your permanent residence address as you listed it on your last AHLOA renewal. Please review your current membership details on the personalized renewal form and make any necessary corrections below the pre-printed personal data you are changing. You do not need to totally fill out the renewal form; only provide the changes and corrections in the boxes shown.

If you want to renew by mail, please include your check made payable to “AHLOA”, and mail back both your check and the renewal form (even if you are not changing any of your information). A return envelope has been included for your convenience.

If you want to renew on-line, you can pay by credit or debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Link.

If you need to make any changes to your data shown on the enclosed personalized renewal form, you can enter only the changed fields in the online renewal form; please also enter your AHLOA Member ID shown at the top of your personalized printed form to help us apply your other changes.
If you do not need to make any changes, you can proceed directly to the Pay By Card page.

Please help us with administrative expenses and our volunteers’ time by renewing as early as possible in 2025. By renewing in the first quarter, you will help us further reduce operating expenses so we do not have to mail you a reminder letter in the spring.

Winning Design for 2025 Beach Tag

Avalon School 7th grader Sonia Avetsisiants won the art competition to design the Borough’s official beach tag for 2025. Her design features a heron standing in the dunes as the sun rises in the East and includes Avalon’s motto Cooler by a Mile.

Avalon Mayor John McCorristin presented Sonia with tag #000001. Later this month, Borough Council will set 2025 prices for weekly and seasonal beach tags.

Books and Much More at the Free Library

The Avalon Free Public Library has a full schedule of events this month, including tech workshops targeting those who received a new iPhone or computer for the holidays. Also, there are events for knitting, Scrabble, and film.

As a special weekend event, please come to An Afternoon of Jazz with guitarist Brian Betz on Saturday, January 18, at 2 PM. His performance will include a variety of familiar American standards as well as original compositions. Betz is a professor at the College of Performing Arts at Rowan University.

For the complete schedule, visit the Library website.

Plans for 8th Street Sports Complex

The Borough is set to file an application to the New Jersey FY 2025 Local Recreation Grant Improvement program for a fitness trail and enhancements to the 8th Street Sports Complex and Grace O’Brien Park.

The Borough plans to complete the sidewalk west of the 8th Street ball fields that connects the playing fields, and to add outdoor ADA-compliant fitness equipment that can be used by people of varying ages and abilities.

By May-June, the Borough expects to receive notification on this grant application. It is anticipated to be valued at $100,000.

Previously, Avalon was successful in receiving a grant through this program for the pickleball and tennis facilities at the same recreation complex.

Quick Hits

The boat ramp at Avalon’s Bay Park Marina, which is in the midst of renovation, is closed at least until spring. The contractor has placed barriers at the boat ramp in the interest of safety until the new ramp is opened.

In Avalon Free Public Library news, its most borrowed book of 2024 was “The Women,” the best-selling novel about Vietnam-era military nurses by Kristin Hannah. Also, AFPL trustee Jim Thatcher has decided to step down after many years of service and will be replaced by Jim Craft, who retired last year as Borough CFO.

Visit us on the Web at AHLOA.com or call 609.796.2491

The Avalon Home & Land Owners Association

Tony Newshel, President Mary Flannery, Newsletter Editor