UPPER TOWNSHIP — A public hearing and final vote on bond ordinance appropriating $3.7 million is set for the Monday meeting of Township Committee, including $1.35 million for public works equipment.
The bond also includes funding for HVAC repairs at Township Hall and at the Upper Township Senior Center, which has been shut down in the summer heat because of problems with the air conditioner.
The meeting starts 6:30 p.m. Monday at Township Hall, 2100 Tuckahoe Road.
At the most recent meeting, committee members introduced the bond in a unanimous vote.
One of the biggest expenses included in the bond is $430,000 for a new ambulance, along with an additional $220,000 for power load stretchers, used to help get people into ambulances.
Mayor Jay Newman, who is also the chief of the Marmora Volunteer Fire Department, acknowledged that the equipment was expensive, but said the power load stretchers mean fewer injuries to emergency responders.
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“Remember, if we don’t have the equipment to pick your trash today, we may get (to) it tomorrow — but if we don’t have the equipment to pick you up in an emergency — you can’t wait until tomorrow,” Newman said in a statement released after the first vote.
He also expressed an intention of replacing the ambulances and fire vehicles on a schedule. The bond includes $55,000 for new radios for emergency responders. The existing radios are nearing the end of their usefulness, he said.
After a lengthy and frustrating effort to fix the HVAC system at the Upper Township Senior Center at 1369 Old Stagecoach Road, the center has been closed until emergency repairs can be completed. Programs, including the regular meal service at the center, have been relocated to the Upper Township Community Center on Route 50.
Some of the purchases will help with collections. The ordinance included $425,000 for an automated trash truck. Other vehicles included in the ordinance are an automated leaf truck for collections at $315,000, $135,000 for a backhoe and $285,000 for dump truck.
Committee member Kim Hayes said the township spending will match grants, and address recreation areas, parks, roads and sidewalks throughout the township.
At the most recent meeting, Committee member Curtis Corson pointed out that further committee action will be needed.
“To spend the money, it still has to come back to committee,” he said. Each purchase and contract will require a resolution from committee.
The bond ordinance includes close to half a million dollars for work on municipal buildings, including $155,000 to replace the roof of the township’s former train station, $55,000 for HVAC work in Township Hall and $80,000 more for HVAC replacement in the township senior center.
The system was on borrowed time, according to township administrator Gary DeMarzo, who said the facility could be back open next week. Senior programing, run through Cape May County in the township-owned building, had been relocated to the township Community Center.
“The safety and welfare of our vulnerable senior population was the mission,” DeMarzo said. A Local Recreation Improvement grant from the state Department of Community Affairs will cover more than $60,000 for that project.
The bond ordinance as proposed also includes $120,000 for improvements to the township’s Department of Public Works building.
The Strathmere Improvement Association helped to organize a native plant installation event along Strathmere's dunes to beautify and preserve the ecosystem.
Another significant portion is $380,000 for drainage improvements in the Strathmere section of the township, including $80,000 for engineering costs. An additional $450 is earmarked for Amanda’s Field and Caldwell Park for work on athletic areas.
Another $175,000 will match another grant, through the Open Space fund, for improvements to the skate park at Amanda’s Field.
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