Taxes

A need for more asphalt in one road project and increases in the material’s cost in two others lead to a total $92,000 increase in the cost of those projects. The three projects total about $1.2 million. The Township Council approved change orders for the increases at its Sept. 24 meeting. The biggest increase came in the $431,394.62 Clyde Road …

A Somerville firm is the winner of a nearly $400,000 contract to repave part of Canal Road and Market Street. The Township Council at its Sept. 24 meeting awarded Top Line Construction the $380,334.37 contract to repave Canal Road from Blackwells Mills Road to Market Street, and also market Street. Township manager Bob Vornlocker said the project should get its …

Nearly $300,000 in purchases were approved at the Sept. 24 Township Council meeting. The big ticket on the agenda was for a dump truck with snow plow from Cambria Truck Center for $143,773. Also on the council’s shopping list were nine APX mobile radios from Motorola for $60,369.80; a set of FCS TriCorr Touch Correlator with all accessories – used …

Former Township Councilman and prolific fundraiser Bill Grippo was honored at the Sept. 24 Township Council meeting for his efforts in raising money for the annual 4th of July celebration. Councilman Carl R.A. Wright, D-Ward 1, presented the citation on behalf of the council. Wright noted that Grippo’s efforts resulted in the celebrations being held at no cost to taxpayers. …

UPDATE: A resolution urging state Legislators to override Gov. Chris Christie’s veto of a bill recognizing same-sex marriage died before the Sept. 24 meeting because the all-Democratic Township Council did not support it, its sponsor said. Councilman Theodore Chase, D-Ward 1, said he pulled the resolution because he knew it wasn’t going to get the five votes needed to pass …

The historic Wyckoff-Garretson Wagon and Barn House on South Middlebush Road will get a $53,000 fix-up, thanks to a grant recently received by the Meadows Foundation. The $53,380 grant is from the Somerset County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund. The Meadows Foundation’s grant was one of six totaling $895,000 awarded by the trust fund earlier this …

The farming lease for Gunther Farm will be put out to bid, now that the last lease has been rescinded by the Township Council. The council voted at its Sept. 10 meeting to rescind the lease that was held by GM Hay and Straw. The five-year lease on the 75-acre property was due to expire on March 31, 2014, according …

Outdated cost estimates for a water main interconnection with the New Brunswick water utility have boosted the project’s cost by about $430,000. The Township Council at its Sept. 10 meeting passed on second reading a bond ordinance for the additional amount. That brings the total for the project to about $1.2 million, according to the ordinance. Township Manager Bob Vornlocker …

An additional $7,800 for the new police department roof was approved at the Township Council’s Sept. 10 meeting. The additional appropriation brings the project’s total to $124,035. Township Manager Bob Vornlocker said the increase was needed because of an oversight. “Part of the construction was inadvertently left off the list when the (bond) ordinance was done,” he said. This is …

Navigating JFK Boulevard over the next couple of weeks will be dicey, as a good chunk of the road undergoes a rehab. Work has begun on the first phase of the resurfacing project. That first phase stretches from New Brunswick to Webster roads, said Township Manager Bob Vornlocker. The second phase will extend from Webster to Hughes roads, he said. …