Barnegat Police Chief Addresses Location Change For Pirates Day

BARNEGAT, NJ — Many longtime Barnegat residents were disappointed when they learned that Barnegat's annual Pirates Day would be moved from the center of town to Russell O. Brackman Middle School this year.

Barnegat Township Police Chief Keith A. Germain has said that the location of the annual event was changed due to public safety and traffic concerns that have developed as Barnegat’s population has grown over the years.

At the middle school on Saturday, Pirates Day featured three bands, outdoor vendors, children's inflatables and food trucks.

Germain released a statement Sunday on Facebook to address misinformation circulating on social media and clarify why he recommended a new location for the event.

“The notion that I recommended moving Pirates Day because it was 'easier' for the police department is wrong. The assertion that I recommended it solely because it was 'cheaper' is wrong,” Germain said. “The primary reason that I made the recommendation when asked is because the event had simply grown too large to be held safely in the center of a town that has limited parking, intersects with a busy state highway, requires the closing of multiple public roads for nearly 12 hours, and has limited room for the event to take place.”

He continued, “The thought that we could have the event at a safer location — and it might be cheaper to run at that safer location — was just an added bonus.”

Germain also noted that his recommendation was only that, and that the township committee ultimately makes this decision.

“If the committee decided to hold it downtown, then we would do everything we could to provide for the safest, securest event possible. I would think it was a bad decision. I would try my best to convince them not to do that. But once the decision is made, I work for you — not the other way around,” he said.

Germain's statement comes after the launch of a petition requesting that Barnegat move Pirates Day back to the downtown area in 2022 and going forward.

In its opening paragraph, the petition says, "Barnegat's Pirates Day is a decades-old tradition held each year in Historical Downtown Barnegat. Unfortunately, this year it was moved to the Brackman Middle School – where it will lose all of its historical and cultural significance and cost our community and small businesses thousands in potential profit."

Earlier this summer, Barnegat's Fourth of July fireworks were also moved from its usual location at the dock to Barnegat High School due to the same concerns over public safety and traffic.

The new location also provided more space for long concession lines, children playing games and families to spread out on blankets in the grass or watch from the bleachers, according to Germain.

Following the event, Germain said both the high school and Donahue lots were filled, which can hold nearly 800 cars. Germain this was triple the number of cars the township ever had for the fireworks at the dock.

Despite the spike in attendance, the Donahue School lot was empty after 15 minutes and the Barnegat High School lot was cleared in 24 minutes. Germain said the least amount of time it took for all cars to exit in past years was 45 minutes, adding that's with a third of the cars that attended.

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