Council opens up bids for temporary modules to house local government, police
HIGHTSTOWN — At its first meeting of 2013, two incumbent members started new three-year terms in office while the Borough Council opened up bids for temporary modules to house municipal employees.
Lawrence Quattrone and Gail Doran won their bids for re-election in November. The Democrats defeated Republican challengers Denny Hansen and George Serrano.
At the Jan. 7 reorganization meeting, Mr. Quattrone was re-elected council president.
Ms. Doran will be serving her first full term on the council, and will be the liaison to the Housing Authority, Historic Preservation Commission, and the Environmental Commission.
Also on the Environmental Commission, Keith LePrevost and Gary Grubb were both appointed to three-year terms, and the commission still has one vacant two-year term seat. And Carole Nelson, who was appointed to a five-year term on the Housing Authority, will assist Ms. Doran in her liaison role to the authority.
Also for the Historic Preservation Commission, Bob Von Regan and Jim Zito were appointed to four-year terms and John Hostetler was appointed to a two-year term.
Mr. Quattrone will be liaison to the First Aid Squad and Public Works, and will serve a one-year term as police commissioner.
Councilwoman Lynne Woods was appointed liaison to the Water and Sewer Departments, and borough-owned properties.
Councilman Robert Thibault was appointed liaison to Finance and Administration and the Board of Health.
Also on the Board of Health, Dr. John Laudenberger and Mary Ann Paglione were appointed to three-year terms.
Councilwoman Susan Bluth was appointed liaison to the Municipal Court and to a one-year term on the Planning Board.
Also for the Planning Board, Richard Harlan Platt was appointed to a four-year term and Bill Searing was appointed to a one-year term as a Class II member.
Councilwoman Selena Bibens was appointed liaison to the Parks and Recreation Commission, the Fire Department and Construction-Code Enforcement.
In other news, the council has decided to go out to bid for modules that will house temporary offices for borough administration and the Police Department.
The bids, ideally to be received by Jan. 29 and ready for the council to take action on at the Feb. 4 council meeting, will incorporate not just the cost of the modules but also site improvements, said Carmela Roberts, borough engineer.
Today, the Police Department rents space on Mercer Street for its operations while the municipal government operates out of the Public Works building, in cramped quarters. The local government has been displaced since Hurricane Irene rose up the Atlantic Coast at the end of August 2011, consequently severely flooding the downtown while damaging municipal infrastructure, including the Borough Hall.
Michael Theokas, borough administrator, said Thursday that Lexington Insurance’s most recent estimate came in at recently estimated $1.9 million to rebuild or refurbish the Borough Hall.
”This is just an estimate and all that work would go to bid,” he said.
Mr. Theokas said that the total reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and insurance company is approximately $850,000 for Hurricane Irene claims.
He added, “ Obviously, we still have open claims and are waiting reimbursement dollars.”
At Monday’s meeting, Mayor Steven Kirson asserted that placing the bids now is an important “interim step” to getting the administrative offices and Police Department into more adequate facilities.
”Lets get the bids in and after that we’ll be more educated,” Mayor Kirson said.
Dawson Bloom of Roberts Engineering, who may become the project manager, said the temporary offices will tentatively be located behind the Eli House, but that location is not official until the borough accepts the bids for the project.
At the end of the meeting, Mayor Kirson gave some year-opening comments. He said the years go by quickly, but even so in government things move slowly — such as with the whole ordeal of getting temporary offices for the borough’s government.
”If you ever get involved in government you realize how slowly things go,” he said, adding that over the past few years the council has had to make some big decisions due to challenges caused by hurricanes Irene and Sandy, and industries leaving town.
The Hightstown mayor also mentioned that the borough has lost about $500,000 in state aid over the past five years.
However, despite these setbacks, Hightstown managed to have success in some areas. For instance, Mayor Kirson reflected that Roberts Engineering Group recently received a first-place award from the New Jersey Society of Municipal Engineering for the post chlorination tank it designed at the water treatment plant for disinfection of the public water supply.

