JACKSON – Township Council members unanimously approved two ordinances on final reading this week, one concerned the appropriation of $6,060,442.50 and borrowing of $3 million for general improvements while the other involved prohibiting parking, stopping and standing on certain township streets.
Ordinance 26-24 is a bond ordinance for general improvements and includes a contribution from the township’s capital improvement fund, a capital surplus allocation and a grant from the State Department of Transportation and authorizes the issuance of $3 million in bonds or notes to finance part of the cost of the work to be done. An allocation is when a governing body sets aside money for a particular project but the bill hasn’t been made yet.
According to the ordinance, those improvements include facilities work at the police department, the public works department and the purchase of various vehicles and equipment and certain facility enhancements.
The NJDOT grant of $370,645 will make improvements to Bethel Church Road and involves the township’s contribution of $1,466,473.81 from its capital improvement fund and a $1 million capital surplus allocation. Section 20 costs were listed at $675,112.50 with the project having a life span for 13.50 years.
Resident Elenor Hannum asked during the public comment period why more details were not included into this ordinance about which streets would be getting enhancements, aprons and other improvements. “In a town of 100 square miles, which neighborhood is benefitting from this?”
“I’ll have the engineer e-mail you. I’ll get back to you on that,” Council President Jennifer Kuhn responded.
“We had an independent review of all the roadways in town and we essentially go down the list,” Business Administrator Terence Wall said, noting the list was based on a map and scoring of the quality of the streets.
Ordinance 27-24 entitled “parking, stopping and standing prohibited at all times” restricts parking, stopping or standing at any time on the western side of North Cooks Bridge Road from the intersection of North County Line Road to 350 feet south of the southernmost entrance of Brookfield Drive.
Field House Project Update
Kuhn provided an update on several additional donations provided by local residents, officials and organizations for the Field House project. This is a renovation effort for a Jackson Memorial High School sports facility. She reported that the total is now up to approximately $22,000 and said previously that project costs would total at $30,000.
“We have a couple more checks and we will stop collecting this Friday (Aug. 30),” she said. Plumbing and interior work were performed by local firms. She added that there were preliminary plans for an artist to paint some murals on the walls of the structure.
Kuhn noted leftover money from the project would be provided to the school district’s athletic department for the purchase of uniforms for teams of the two township high schools.
“I’ve heard the track and field team has had the same uniforms for the last 12 years. Because we had so many volunteers who actually brought in their own material (for the project) we were actually able to save a lot of money and move forward,” the council president said.
Traffic Safety Meeting
Kuhn also noted that a traffic safety meeting took place recently that involved a review of traffic related ordinances. Kuhn read a letter by Police Traffic Safety Sgt. Jeff Henba concerning the details of that August 21 meeting.
That meeting included Administrator Wall, Kuhn, Councilman Mordechai Burnstein, Public Safety Director Joseph Candido, Department of Public Works Supervisor Shawn Bolinsky, Township Engineers T&M Associates, Avraham Krawiec of the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority (LSTA), School District Superintendent Nicole Pormilli, Board of Education Business Administrator Dan Baginski and Henba. The meeting focused on the 2024-2025 school year bus routes.
Henba reported the Traffic Safety Unit had been reviewing all bus stops in the community to ensure “they were located in safe areas and adjusting accordingly. Our primary goal is to ensure the safety of students and residents of Jackson.”
During that meeting, the Board of Education and LSTA agreed that if Jackson schools are closed or have a delayed opening due to inclement weather, the busing schedule will be adjusted accordingly.
“We want Jackson residents to know that everyone involved are working together to develop the best possible busing routes to minimize traffic delays,” Henba stated in the letter.
Henba added, “we ask that residents be patient during the first three weeks of the school year as we work out any initial challenges.”
Also noted were regulations of enforcement by the Jackson Police Department that will increase. “We are implementing the ‘Three E’s:’ Education, Enforcement and Engineering,” Henba’s letter stated.
Questions regarding violations or parking restrictions should be directed to the Traffic Safety Bureau/Sgt. Henba at 732-928-1111, ext. 3028.
During September traffic safety officers will be assigned to active enforcement details, primarily within developments to enforce any ordinance violations.
Kuhn said Pormilli had provided the bus route information to all private school and public school parents so “that they are well aware of where they cannot park within any of the county roads or municipal roads where the busses will be going.
Council Vice President Scott Sargent noted that “when I was on the school board oftentimes the administration would claim that they didn’t have the money to pay bus drivers to make dry runs before the school season would start or they would say that the bus drivers weren’t interested in doing the dry runs because they were still on vacation.”
Sargent said he felt that getting the drivers to do dry runs would be worth the effort to arrange “more than once so that we have a much smoother opening for the school district.”
