BY KAREN F. RILEY
Correspondent
PLUMSTED — Mayor Ronald S. Dancer has announced the receipt of a grant that will enable Plumsted to build a senior citizens meeting room in the municipal building. The Commun-ity Development Block Grant, totaling $165,000, will allow the room to be built in the basement and will also provide for elevator access as mandated by state law.
The municipal building contains 10,000 square feet on its first floor and another 10,000 square feet in the basement.
“Before this building was designed there was a lot of research to see if it made sense to build a two-story building or a one-story building with a basement,” Committeeman Ken Francis explained at a recent Township Commit-tee meeting. “We wanted to plan long-range and found out that it was about $1.5 million to $2 million less to go down instead of up.”
The basement is currently vacant, but there are plans to construct other offices and meeting rooms in the future.
“When we planned this building we wanted to do something that helped most folks in the community. We wanted to have an area that was available to our seniors, who served in our wars, pay taxes to the municipality, helped put their kids through school and in some cases, are still helping today, and we felt it was important to recognize that,” Francis said.
A contract was awarded to MJJ Construction for $195,000 for the project. MJJ Construction was the lowest bidder that met the construction requirements for the project. The difference between the construction costs and the recently received grant will be offset by other grants and funding received by the municipality from federal, state and county funds, according to township officials.
The entire municipal building was constructed from money saved from the budget over a period of years and appropriate grants and funding. No bonds or debt were incurred in the construction and therefore, taxes were unaffected, officials noted.
A resolution was also passed at the meeting to establish Plumsted’s first Senior Citizen Advisory Committee. The committee will provide an opportunity for seniors to voice and address issues to the Township Committee regarding ways to improve the quality of life for all seniors in Plumsted.
Committeewoman Ada Roberts will serve as the governing body’s liaison to the advisory committee. People age 55 and over who reside in Plumsted are asked to submit a letter of interest for consideration of appointment to the committee, to Township Committee, 121 Evergreen Road, New Egypt 08533.
Dancer has also asked that those seniors with Internet access may express their interest in an e-mail directly to him at [email protected].
The next Township Committee meeting will be held on Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. in the municipal building. It will be the last meeting of the committee for the year and is being designated as police recognition meeting. All police officers serving Plumsted will be thanked for their dedication and service to the community; the public is encouraged to attend and speak with the officers personally after the meeting.