By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN – A series of 2016 capital improvements will be completed in Manalapan following the adoption of a bonding ordinance by the Township Committee.
At their meeting on June 15, committee members voted 5-0 to appropriate $3.39 million for improvements and the acquisition of equipment.
Bonds or notes in the amount of $2.99 million will be issued and the remaining amount will be financed with a $250,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation and $157,177 from the township’s operating budget, according to municipal officials.
No one from the public commented on the bonding ordinance.
The ordinance provides for the following:
• The acquisition of equipment, including a tandem dump truck, a pickup truck, a line stripe machine, permanent soccer goals, courtroom chairs, two Ford Interceptor police SUVs and park maintenance utility vehicles.
• Improvements to buildings and grounds, including sports field lighting/upgrades, bathroom upgrades at the Manalapan Recreation Center, renovations to a hockey court at the recreation center, a well upgrade at the recreation center, field renovations and shelters for commuter lot parking machines.
• Road work and paving in the Yorktowne and Monmouth Heights developments, and on Taylors Mills Road, Union Hill Road, Pine Brook Road, Woodward Road and Symmes Drive.
• The acquisition of technology equipment, including computer work stations and a Nexus controller for the Manalapan municipal television studio.
Committee members voted 5-0 to authorize Township Engineer James Winckowski to file an application for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The grant is federally funded and the award of money, if any, will be used to make improvements to the Manalapan Senior Center, Route 522, Winckowski said.
The installation of automatic doors at the municipal building is another possible use for grant funding, he said.
The CDBG is not a matching grant and the township will not be obligated to put in any funds for the project. The scope of the work to be undertaken at the senior center would be determined after officials are informed how much money will be forthcoming, Winckowski added. The maximum grant is $200,000.
Committee members took action to place liens on properties on Crystal Court, Grayson Lane, Heather Drive, Old Cider Mill Road, Newport Drive, Smithburg Road, Tamarack Drive, Terence Drive and Thompson Grove Road for grass maintenance costs incurred by Manalapan public works employees to clean those properties. The liens will have to be paid before the affected properties can be sold.
Finally, Committeeman Jordan Maskowitz reminded residents that solicitors who go door to door in Manalapan must have a permit issued by the municipality.
He said residents who are approached should ask to see the solicitor’s permit and if the person does not have one, the police should be called. Maskowitz said there is “zero tolerance for solicitation without a permit” and said police officers have been instructed to follow the regulations.
