HILLSBOROUGH: Big-ticket items prioritized

Hamilton Road work tops list of desired projects

By Andrew Corselli, Staff Writer
   The Township Committee will soon vote on which of the eight major public works projects, at a total cost of $1.2 million, will come to fruition by the end of the year.
   On Feb. 24, the Planning Board accepted the list of eight improvements, ranked by priority, from the Capital Planning Committee.
   ”” The first project entails paving a 1.5-mile stretch on Hamilton Road between Millstone River Road and the Conrail Railroad tracks. A state Department of Transportation grant will fund $200,000 of the $574,000 needed for the improvement.
   ”That one means not passing up state money,” said Frank Herbert, a member of the Capital Planning Committee. “That’s one of the main reasons we proposed it to be number one.”
   The second improvement involves the Claremont sewer area road overlay and would run about $250,000.
   ””“This amount of money needs to go in there because things were found by engineering, problems with the subgrade of the road that need to be addressed. It’s not an option,” said board member Steve Sireci.
   “”Police radio and equipment modifications totaling $80,000 were the third.
   ”By the end of 2012, there will be new technology, and if we don’t do it this year there’s a good chance we could end up paying about $50,000 more than the amount we are proposing this year,” said Mr. Herbert.
   Two defibrillators, totaling $4,600, and two radar units, costing $5,700, for the police department ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
   The next project was brought to the committee by the Hillsborough Rescue Squad. It involves a $90,000 addition to a project passed in December. Instead of paying $483,000 for one new ambulance, the township would pay $573,000 to re-chassis two current ambulances.
   ”Re-chassis really means that the whole underside of the ambulance, including the engine, is removed and a new one put in,” said Mr. Sireci. “’“You can reuse the box on top. The problem is the wear and tear on the chassis and the engine over time.”
   Replacing the police station’s computer-aided dispatch and records system at a cost of about $130,000 was the seventh item.
   ”It allows the dispatch to have records,” Mr. Sireci said. “It makes it easier for them to have clear, validated time stamps that are computer controlled.”
   “’’”The final item was a $286,000 truck for the Department of Public Works. Despite some reservation, the truck remained on the list.
   ”$286,000 in this economy for a truck… I wouldn’t put it on that list right now,” said board member Steve Cohen.