The Borough Council agreed to increase the amount of a bond resolution to $625,000 for two phases of the reconstruction.
By: Linda Seida
STOCKTON Moving ahead with a plan to repair two sections of flood-prone Mill Street, the Borough Council recently agreed to increase the amount of a bond resolution from $300,000 to $625,000.
The street suffered during last April’s flood, but even before that, it was prone to flooding. Complicating matters, the town’s fire company is located there.
Repairs are scheduled to be performed in three phases. Phase one encompasses 200 feet in front of the firehouse, Phase two is from the firehouse south to the end of the street, and phase three is from Bridge Street to the firehouse.
The resolution allows the borough to spend up to $625,000 for construction and construction oversight of phases one and three, which is expected to cost about $400,000, as well as design and engineering costs for all three phases, which are expected to total about $200,000.
A cushion of $25,000 was built in to the bond resolution.
"A bit extra, just in case," said council President Michael Hagerty.
If not used, the funds can be rolled over to continue the work on phase two.
Phase two still is awaiting state permits because some of the work requires the crossing of state land.
Much of the money will come from grants. The borough has received $300,000 from the state Department of Transportation, which covered the initial $300,000 bond resolution approved by the council last October.
The council intends to apply for another DOT grant and will ask for $180,000.
Also, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has awarded Stockton a $176,000 grant.
Estimates say repairs to the street could cost as much as $1 million.
A "worst case scenario" would require Stockton to come up with about $400,000 more to move ahead with phase two.
"The worst-case scenario would be a $400,000 long-term debt," Mr. Hagerty said. "We are hoping to be able to reduce that with grants."
Phases one and three will go to bid this spring. The council hopes to award a contract by June 1, Mr. Hagerty said.
"We will sometime this year, probably fall, bond for phase two," Mr. Hagerty said.
Other borough streets are waiting for similar repairs.
"We need to stay on top of our infrastructure," said Councilman Andrew Giannattasio. Problems "only get bigger if you don’t take care of them."
After Mill Street’s repairs are completed, officials will look at the needs of other streets.
"There are already other streets waiting for attention," Mr. Giannattasio said.
Officials have heard complaints from residents about the flooding on Mill Street for years. The council and the mayor have been working to find a solution for years, and sometimes it caused friction as officials searched for ways to finance the work and debated the best way to proceed.
"It’s a huge project," Mr. Giannattasio said. "I think it’s great. I think it’s been a long time coming. Everybody’s on board. Everybody’s going in the same direction. I’m just thrilled that it’s really going to happen after all the work we put in."