By Mark Rosman
Staff Writer
ALLENTOWN – The borough’s engineer has been authorized to proceed with work that will advance a project to repair storm drain infrastructure in Allentown.
During a Borough Council meeting on Nov. 29, council members voted to permit the Roberts Engineering Group, Hamilton Township, to undertake the work that is required in developing, inspecting and coordinating storm water repairs with the Department of Public Works and Monmouth County.
The resolution authorizing the firm to proceed states that the cost of the work to be performed by Roberts Engineering will not exceed $3,000.
In recent months, municipal officials have discussed situations around town in which storm drains have collapsed or appear to be failing. The deterioration is leading to hazardous conditions on certain streets, officials said.
Allentown is considering entering into a shared service agreement with the county for the storm water repairs. In order to move the potential shared service forward, Allentown must develop a list of storm water drains that are in need of repair, according to the resolution.
Roberts Engineering will handle that task and report back to the governing body.
In other business, council members passed a resolution and presented a plaque to Susan Babitt recognizing her decades of service to the borough.
Babitt was hired as Allentown’s part-time recycling coordinator in 1988 and she was hired as the borough’s part-time planning and zoning board secretary in 1994. After 29 years of service, she is retiring from both positions, according to the resolution.
Officials commended Babitt for her longstanding service to the community and wished her well in her retirement.
