Taxes

More than $130,000 in Community Development Block Grant sub-grants to area social service organizations helping township residents were approved at the Oct. 8 Township Council meeting. The money is targeted primarily to groups and organizations serving the township’s minority and low- and moderate-income residents.

Purchases worth nearly $380,000 were approved at the Oct. 8 Township Council meeting. The items the council voted to buy are two utility body trucks for $106,000 and two pickup trucks with snow plows for $78,500 from Beyer Brothers of Fairview, and a backhoe for $106,405 and an articulated wheel loader for $66,680 from Jesco of South Plainfield.

A pond dredging project at Colonial Park ended up costing about $300,000 less than anticipated. The Somerset County Freeholders at their Oct. 8 meeting are expected to authorize the final payment to Netcong-based Salmon Brothers for dredging and dam repair at Duck and Mettler’s ponds.

The Hampton Chase Homeowners Association is putting itself out of business, but helping the Franklin Township Food Bank along the way. The association’s three-member board on Oct. 5 will donate more than $11,000 – in the form of liens on homes in the single-family development – to the Franklin Township Food Bank.

Worries about the effect of a low insurance rating for the township’s code inspectors, the Township Council has decided to partially reverse a ban on taking township-owned cars home. The township’s chief multi-purpose inspector will be allowed to take his official car home, the council decided at its Sept. 24 meeting. This is so any overnight inspections can be completed.

The Bound Brook branch of the Somerset County Library will host a free program for young job seekers at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 at the library, 402 E. High St. The program will be given by Nancy Anderson of Blackbird Training Associates.

The county’s First Saturday drop-off of clean textiles, tires and usual curbside items is set for 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 5 at the Somerset County Recycling Center, 40 Polhemus Lane, Bridgewater. County residents can drop off up to eight tires – with or without rims – scrap metal, used motor oil, oil filters, antifreeze and usual curbside materials, …

The school district is preparing to embark on an $8.4 million project predicted to save about 30 percent of the district’s energy costs. An “Energy Savings Improvement Program” was approved by the board at its Sept. 26 meeting.

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.

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.