By John Tredrea, Special Writer
STOCKTON — A $450,000 bond ordinance that will pay for work on Wilson Drive was adopted by the Stockton Borough Council during its Dec. 10 meeting, borough Clerk Michele Hovan said.
Improvements to drainage along Wilson Drive and to the road itself will be paid for by the measure.
Ms. Hovan said that, under the measure, a $165,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation (DOT) would pay for part of the Wilson Drive project, with the borough paying for the balance.
She said the plan for the Wilson Drive project is “to design it over the winter, put it out to bid in the spring and do the actual work in the summer.”
Council has decided to purchase an emergency generator for borough hall, which lost power for days due to Hurricane Sandy. This forced the borough to have its Election Day polling station at the town’s firehouse. An emergency generator borrowed from the county Board of Elections made that possible, she said, adding that the council already has begun the process of purchasing the generator for Borough Hall.
”It would be better if, in the event of an emergency that causes loss of electric power in town, residents could see that the lights were still on in Borough Hall and that their local government is up and running,” she said.
Power was restored to Stockton, which is serviced by Jersey Central Power and Light, on Nov. 8, two days after the general election.
She noted that the borough had prepared an emergency evacuation order before Sandy hit town. It wasn’t necessary to implement the order, because all indications as the storm approached were that there would be no serious flooding due to the storm, and in fact there was not.
”Council also is looking into better ways to communicate with people during a serious storm that causes power outages and other serious problems,” she added.
Stockton Borough Council will meet to reorganize for 2013 at 7 p.m. on Jan. 2.

