Defibrillators
will be placed
around town,
in police cars
By larry ramer
Staff Writer
MARLBORO — Safety was on the minds of municipal officials at a recent meeting of the Township Council.
The municipality will purchase defibrillators for its police cars and several public facilities. The town will also obtain security cameras for the municipal complex.
At a council meeting held July 17, members of the governing body voted to purchase 20 defibrillators for $41,000.
Marlboro police Capt. Danny Schick said at least $25,000 of the purchase price will be funded by a 2001 grant, and an additional $12,000 of grant funds may be applied toward the acquisition of the defibrillators.
The township used the same grant for its reverse 911 system and the winning bid came in $12,000 lower than expected.
The township has received preliminary approval from the state to apply the excess $12,000 toward the defibrillator purchase, Schick said.
Defibrillators are medical devices that use electrical shocks to restore the regular heart rhythm of someone who is experiencing cardiac arrest.
Portable defibrillators will be deployed in the administration building, the Marlboro Recreation Community Center, the senior center in Morganville, the Marlboro Library, the Department of Public Works building, police headquarters, the Marlboro Swim Club and the traffic safety office, Schick said.
The remaining 12 portable defibrillators will be placed in police cars.
By the end of the year, Schick said, he expects to purchase five more defibrillators for $1,900 each, enabling all marked police cars to be equipped with the equipment. Police officers will train individuals in the use of the instruments in the buildings where the defibrillators will be deployed.
The council also authorized the purchase of a closed-circuit security camera system for the municipal complex, Wyncrest Road.
All of the funds for the system, which costs $73,000, were obtained through a federal grant facilitated by Lt. Nicholas Barbella of the Marlboro Police Department and Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ), according to Susan Levine of the Public Information Office.
Barbella writes grant proposals for the police department.
The cameras will help prevent criminal activity — ranging from vandalism to terrorist attacks — from occurring, Township Administrator Chris Marion told the council.
The law requires the township to deploy some of the cameras, Marion added.
The old security system no longer functions properly, Levine said. The new system will be monitored by police at all times and will protect township employees as well as the municipal complex itself, she added.
The deployment of the system will begin early next month and will be completed as soon as possible, Levine reported.