Structure to be built behind Borough Hall
By: Jake Uitti
ROCKY HILL The Borough Council awarded a contract Monday for the construction of a pavilion to be built behind Borough Hall.
It will be used for community gatherings, as a shelter for recreational use, and for people who use the playground.
The winning bidder was Hahr Construction, Mayor George Morren said.
Construction of the pavilion will cost approximately $35,500.
The borough plans to pay for the shelter by using the $9,000 left over from a 2004 Somerset County sports and athletic grant; $15,000 from a 2005 county sports and athletic grant; $1,700 from a county recycling rebate; and $10,000 that was transferred into the borough’s recreation services budget on Monday from other budget line items, Rocky Hill Borough Clerk Toby Whitlock said.
Construction on the pavilion will begin in late February or early March, when the ground has thawed, and the winter temperatures have subsided, making it more suitable for pouring and mixing concrete, Councilman Ed Zimmerman said.
It will be in place for the July 4 holiday celebration, Mr. Zimmerman added.
The pavilion will be hexagon-shaped with a cupola on the top, similar to the cupola on top of Borough Hall. There will be picnic tables underneath.
Plans for the pavilion at first incorporated designs for sidewalks to and from the pavilion, but the cost began to rise too high for the borough’s budget, council members said. One way the council said it may consider raising money for the structure is by selling bricks with people’s names etched on them to line the proposed walkways.
Bricks may be sold for as much as a few hundred dollars each.
"The idea is on the table," Mr. Zimmerman said. It will be the Rocky Hill Community Group’s decision as to whether this idea will be further examined, he said.

