Township Committee approves $1.2 million for library, $1.5 million for road improvements.
By: Emily Craighead
PLAINSBORO The Township Committee approved a $4 million bond ordinance Wednesday to finance projects slated for this year, including designing the new public library.
In addition to the $1.2 million set aside for the library, the ordinance includes about $1.5 million for road improvements and $530,000 for the Plainsboro Road bike path.
New Jersey Department of Transportation grants amounting to about $800,000 will pay part of the Scotts Corner Road improvement and the bike path.
In other business Wednesday, the committee voted to extend a 10-year conservation management agreement with Middlesex County for the Plainsboro Preserve.
The agreement with the county, which owns a 400-acre parcel of the preserve, allows the township to, in turn, appoint the New Jersey Audubon Society to manage the preserve’s environmental education programs and learning center.
"The Audubon Society makes sure the land gets its proper stewardship," Township Administrator Robert Sheehan said.
Mayor Peter Cantu said he is confident the county will approve extending the agreement to 2019.
After approving a bond ordinance appropriating $203,587 for sewer construction and improvements for 40 properties on Edgemere Avenue, Plainsboro Road and Dey Road, the committee also appointed a three-member commission to assess costs to homeowners for the Village Area sewer program.
The appointees are Zoning Board of Adjustment member Werner Schmid, former East Windsor Township Manager and current Princeton Landing property manager Marjorie Behrens, and Housing Advisory Committee member Dolores Corona.
An agreement between the township and Sharbell Development Corp. will allow homeowners to tie into the sewer system for about $5,000 far less than the $18,000 to $25,000 the project could cost otherwise, Mayor Cantu said.