The Middletown Township Committee passed a resolution authorizing an award of a contract to reconstruct the Stevenson Park bridge over Jumping Brook one.
The township issued requests for proposals for the replacement of the Stevenson Park Bridge over Jumping Brook, which failed a number of years ago. The bridge has been impassible, and therefore, prevented public access to Stevenson Park and to portions of Shadow Lake, according to the committee agenda.
On Sept. 18, the committee approved the resolution during its semi-monthly meeting at the municipal building.
According to Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante, the bridge has been impassible since January 2015.
“The old bridge was one of the only ways residents could get in and out of the park..The bridge has been through a lot of wear and tear over the years and recently due to the bad winter in 2015, we had to close it down. It is a wooden bridge and it’s a single lane bridge so it took most of the traffic that came in and out of the park,” Mercantante said.
Six bids were received with Lucas Construction Group determined to be the lowest responsive bidder at a total bid price of $1,194,194, according to the committee agenda.
While the low bid came in slightly above the engineer’s estimate, funds are available to complete the project at this price, according to the committee agenda.
Construction to fix the bridge will began in October. The bridge is expected to be fixed in approximately five to six months, according Mercantante.
In other news, the committee approved a resolution to amend a previously passed resolution in order to include additional properties in the preliminary investigation that is going to be undertaken by the planning board to determine if properties near Sears, Mountain Hill, and SGM satisfy the criteria for designation as an area in need of redevelopment.
The Sears is at Route 35 and Harmony Road. The Mountain Hill and SGM are bounded by Route 35, Kings Highway East and Kanes Lane, according to Mercantante.
The Local Redevelopment and Housing Law sets forth the criteria for a determination of whether a delineated area may be designated as an area in need of redevelopment, according to the committee agenda.
“We just determined that there were some additional lots near the Mountain Hill Area that it made sense to include,” Mercantante said.
The township previously adopted a resolution on July 17 authorizing a preliminary investigation in order to determine if the areas meet the criteria established by law as an Area in Need of Redevelopment, according to the committee agenda.
Authorizing this study shall not allow for the use of eminent domain and the area shall be a Non-Condemnation Redevelopment Area, according to the committee agenda.
“Generally the state law allows that if an area is established as an ‘Area in Need of Redevelopment’ the municipality also has the right to use eminent domain or condemnation to acquire property. However, if a town has no intention of doing so it can choose to specify going in, saying in essence it will not use that power in the case of this redevelopment area,” Mercantante said.
Currently the township is getting proposals from consultants for the preliminary investigation on the areas. The investigation will start as soon as the consultant is selected, which is likely within the next two weeks, according to Mercantante.
On behalf of the township, Mayor Gerald Scharfenberger presented police K-9 Tupac with a certificate recognizing his retirement from the police force.
Officer Frank Mazza accepted Tupac’s retirement certificate. Mazza is also Tupac’s handler, according to Public Information Officer Tara Benson.
Police Chief Craig Weber, Deputy Chief Stephen Dollinger, and Mazza also presented Tupac with a dog cake, according to Benson.
Tupac was with the Police Department for 8 years and retired in July, according to Benson.
“We hope that his retirement is filled with treats, leisurely walks, and naps,” Benson said.
For more information visit www.middletownnj.org/AgendaCenter.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharrisnewspapermediagroup.com.
