By jennifer domHouse will be taken down
so boro offices can go upe
SOUTH RIVER — Following the recent purchase of property at Obert and Washington streets, Mayor Robert Szegeti announced last week that plans to build a human services building are under way.
The borough paid NWR Limited Inc. $245,000 for the site of a former boarding house that will soon be demolished. Borough Business Administrator Brian Valentino said Friday that he has already made arrangements to have the building exterminated, which must be done before it can be razed.
The proposed human services building that will be built on the site will be the new home to the Office on Aging and Recreation and the Parks Department, which are currently located in rented space on Obert Street, Szegeti said.
"For many years the borough has rented space to house many agencies of our local government," the mayor said. "This new plan will centrally locate these agencies, improve the efficiency of their operations and save taxpayer money."
Other suggestions for the human services building include a library book drop, a food bank and a multipurpose room that would accommodate up to 100 people, Szegeti said.
"The new building will be user-friendly in every way," he said.
The bids for the demolition work will be received in January and the borough expects to hire an architect at the start of the new year.
The funds needed to purchase the site of the former boarding-room house and to build the human services building — a project whose cost has not yet been determined — will come from money collected through the sale of municipal properties, Szegeti said.
The Borough Council passed a resolution accepting a bid of $1 million for 4 acres of land located at the north part of Capital Court at its meeting on Dec. 27, 2001. The council sold the property to Anthony and Lucille DiPasquale of Monroe, who planned to build a maximum of 11 homes in a cul-de-sac.
The balance of $1.2 million needed for the new building was raised through the sale of property north of Willett Manor, located off Whitehead Avenue, to National Church Residences, Szegeti said.
Szegeti referred to the idea of a new human services building as a "win-win" situation for the borough, which is also planning another construction project for the municipal offices on Gordon Street.
Once the renovations to police headquarters, located on Main Street, is complete, work is scheduled to begin at the Gordon Street municipal offices.
The Gordon Street project was delayed until the police headquarters renovations were completed since municipal employees will be housed in the trailers the police department is currently using. The trailers are located at the old Lincoln School on William Street.
The borough has allocated $900,000 toward the renovation of the Gordon Street complex, which will be expanded by a small amount in order to incorporate a lobby for the borough’s residents, Councilman Tele Koukourdelis said.
That lobby area will house the borough clerk’s office, a public rest room, an ATM and windows for payments, Koukourdelis said.
The remaining space will be used for municipal offices and will be secured for municipal employees only. Employees will "buzz" residents into the secured area when they need to meet with the business administrator, mayor or other borough official, Koukourdelis said.
The outside of the building will also be improved, he said, adding that officials hope to add more landscaping, benches and possibly a flag pole.