By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
The Princeton Township Committee has voted to award a $282,790 contract to fund the repair of a dam in Barbara Smoyer Memorial Park.
Somerville’s Top Line Construction Corp. will undertake the reconstruction of the earthen dam that has fallen into disrepair at the park, which offers visitors sports fields, picnic areas, trails and other opportunities on 38 acres of land off Snowden Lane.
As a result of the dam’s problems, water levels in the park’s 1.25-acre pond have fallen by a few feet and compromised some of the pond’s aquatic life, according to Township Engineer Robert Kiser.
Top Line Construction Corp. will not move forward with the repairs until fish in the pond are relocated and the body of water is drained.
Once those tasks are completed, the dam work should last until some time in July when park patrons and the fish will be treated to a rehabilitated pond and dam.
”The fish will be much happier,” Mr. Kiser said.
Repairing the 300-foot-long dam will involve the use of 65 truckloads of earthen materials, used to not only restore the pond, but also to bring the dam up to state Department of Environmental Protection standards.
Besides being happy to move forward with the project, officials said they were pleased with the cost of the project.
Of 13 bids, Top Line Construction Corp.’s was the lowest.
The company’s $282,790 bid came in at approximately 6 percent less than what Princeton Township’s engineering office had estimated during the project’s planning phase.
The highest bid came in at more than double that of Top Line, at $664,000.

