Under a gray sky, with sudden bursts of sun before darkening cloud coverage returned, the view of Ship Bottom beaches from the front seat of a borough public works truck offered a different perspective as the sandy shore stretched toward the Atlantic Ocean with only a smattering of people dotting the landscape.

“We have five guys (working) and could use more,” Ralph Barnett, superintendent of the borough’s public works department, said as he drove the length of beaches ahead of Memorial Day…