Township Council Introduces $17 Million In Equipment, Park Upgrades

The Township Council on April 28 took several actions that will lead to spending nearly $17 million on equipment and capital improvement programs.

The Council voted to amend the 2019 Community Block Grant Action Plan by transferring $170,793.95 in unused grant money for unfinished or cancelled projects from before 2014 and $46,826.25 in unused money from 2015 to 2017 into a sidewalk project.

The plan is to install new sidewalks from Norma Avenue to Lewis Street. The project is expected to be finished by the end of August.

The Council also introduced on first reading four bonding ordinances allowing for a variety of projects. Public hearings on all the ordinances were set for the Council’s May 12 meeting.

The first allocates $5,765,000 for:

• $550,000 to buy and outfit eight marked SUVs for the police department.
• $275,000 to buy a pickup truck with a plow, a single-axle truck with a spreader and plow, and a dumping rack body with a plow for teh public works department.
• $1,315,000 for resurfacing of all or a portion of Jacques Lane, Shirley Avenue, Rutland Drive, Stockton Avenue, Alton Drive, Domino Road, Hexham Drive, Schoolhouse Road-Belmont Drive-Randolph Road, Debow Street, Den Herder Drive, Hunters Crossing Road, Margaret Drive, Railroad Avenue, Berger Street-JFK-Vanderbuil Avenue, Clinton Street, Oakland Avenue-Easton Avenue-Highland Avenue, Bedford Road, Fairfield Road, Oakland Avenue-Easton Avenue-Highland Avenue, New Brunswick Road-Davidson Avenue-Elizabeth Avenue, Schoolhouse Road-Randolph Road-West Canal Road, Pleasant Plains Road, Sycamore Place, Terhune Court, Denbigh Drive, Gloucester Drive, John E. Busch Avenue, Magnolia Road, Callaway Terrace, Darby Road, Grouser Road, Laird Terrace, Magnolia Road, Nina Court, Prescott Court, Academy Road and including any additional deteriorated roads, as necessary; stormwater infrastructure upgrades within the Township consisting of upgrades to water and sewer mains, pipes, catch basins and drainage improvements; streetscape infrastructure upgrades within the Township consisting of street resurfacing and sidewalk and curb improvements; and the Phase 7 installation of guiderails along Canal Road.
• $35,000 for repair and replacement of sidewalks at the Municipal Building.
• $325,000 for replacing the atrium at the Public Safety building.
• $280,000 for paving of the parking lot, replacement or repairs to the overhead door, replacement of street name sign, replacement of gutters, and purchase and installation of tire storage racks at the Public Works building.
• $2,955,000 for portable radios and mobile radios, replacement of end-of-life server and computer/video system for the entire police department, including all police vehicles and the police interview room, replacement of mobile police computers, upgrade of the police radio system, upgrade audio/video recording network for the police interview room and the Public Safety Building, purchase of fixed mount auto license plate readers, and outfitted AR-15 rifles for the Police Department.
• $30,000 to buy a towable disaster shelter trailer and equipment and emergency supplies.

Another ordinance allocates $7,720,000 for water utility improvements. The work includes:

• $785,000 to buy an SUV with a plow, a valve turner trailer, water pipes and connectors that connect water pipes from the road to an apartment complex, jumping jacks, automated meter readers and transmitters, and a vacuum trailer.
• $50,000 to buy a GIS Inspection System to find, troubleshoot and repair problem valves, pipes and meters.
• $3,885.000 for the annual water main replacement throughout the township, upgrades to the Pump Station, and construction of a water line extension to the Kingston section of the township.
• $3,000,000 to buy and replace water meters throughout the township.

The final two ordinances introduced at the meeting appropriate $3,267,500 from the township’s Open Space Trust Fund for improvements to various parks and fields.

The first allocates $1,560,000 to upgrade or replace of the tennis, pickleball, and basketball courts at Williams Park, construction of a new multi-generational park facility at Willow Park based on the Recreation Needs Assessment and the Action Plan Document of the Township, and the purchase and installation of lighting and the paving of the parking lot at the Little League Field.

The second ordinance allocates $1,707,500 for the final phase of the Catalpa Park construction project; the upgrade or replacement of playground equipment at Nassau Park, East Millstone Park, and Middlebush Park; the acquisition of 10 “Big Belly” trash stations, two Bobcat lawnmowers, a landscape trailer, and two vacuum leaf trailers; the provision of ADA access to various sites and the acquisition of park and open space security cameras.

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