By MICHAEL NUNES
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK – The East Brunswick Township Council voted to hold a public hearing on more than $1 million in capital improvements.
Members of the dais voted during the March 14 council meeting to schedule a public hearing on March 28 for the issuing of $1.6 million in improvements, which includes the rebuilding of six of the township’s tennis courts and the acquisition of a firetruck for Fire District 3.
The ordinance allocates $917,250 to repair the township’s tennis courts at Bicentennial Park and Community Park, which have been cited by township officials for having significant cement cracking.
“Basically they’re going to be completely reconstructed, new lighting and new surface,” said Greg Potkulski, director of the townships planning and engineering department, noting that the four at Bicentennial Park would be completely reconstructed and the two courts at Community Park would be resurfaced.
The move came under criticism by Councilman James Wendell who cited the “astronomical” cost as a prime reason not to go through with the project.
“I do not support spending $917,000 to renovate six tennis courts, two of those tennis courts being what is currently our skate park,” he said during the council meeting, also stating that he believes that the work could be done for around $200,000. “I do not think we have enough information to make this decision.”
The timeframe is also concerning, according to Wendell, who worried that the project might not be completed until the end of the summer.
“Doing this now is going to have these courts torn up all summer and no one is going to use them. You’re not going to get this thing done until the end of the summer. If we did an overlay, we could have this thing done in a matter of weeks,” he said.
According to Potkulski, the township could see designs by July or August with a construction date for the fall.
“My target was go for later fall. Go for September when kids are back in school,” he said.
The ordinance also calls for the purchasing of a firetruck for Fire District 3 which is slated to cost the township $644,137 and the acquisition and installation of a digital computerized attendance and payroll system for the township’s Human Resources Department priced at $121,613.
Wendell was the only member of the council to vote against moving the ordinance forward.
Contact Michael Nunes at mnunes@gmnews.com.
