EATONTOWN — The Borough Council unanimously approved an ordinance to bond for $1.27 million for various improvements, including a new storage building in Wolcott Park.
“We are tearing down three old buildings in Wolcott Park and building a bigger storage building there, along with public bathrooms,” Borough Administrator George Jackson said.
“We have a Municipal Open Space grant [from Monmouth County] to help fund the project. We budgeted $180,000 for the building, and another $180,000 will be coming from the grant. The full cost of the project will be about $361,000.”
Jackson said the three buildings are rundown, with one completely out of use.
“They are just old, and we have had ongoing problems with the flow out of there with the current sewer line. So that is why we are replacing that,” he said.
“The new building will be handicappedaccessible with men’s and women’s bathrooms, recreation storage and Department of Public Works storage.
“This is something we have had on the back burner for a while, and now we have the funds to do it.”
Jackson said the total cost of various projects would be $1.34 million, with the bonding covering $1.27 million and the borough makinga5percentdownpaymenton the bonds of $66,876.
The funds, which would be available around July 15, will be applied to various road improvements, he said. These include replacing driveways, curbing and resurfacing of Willow Street from South Street to the Wolcott Park entrance, Copperfield Court from Grant Avenue to the end, and Taylor Place from Maxwell Road to the end. Repairs to the Wolcott Park parking lot and intersection realignment at Wall Street and Parker Road are also included. These projects will cost an estimated $490,000.
The bonding will also fund the acquisition of machinery and equipment, including a portable garage and grass-cutting and field maintenance equipment with an estimated cost of $130,500; and various improvements to public buildings, including the Wolcott building with an estimated cost of $288,520.
Also included is the acquisition of various vehicles and equipment, including vehicles for the police and fire chief, with a total estimated cost of $428,500.
In other news, Eatontown was awarded $22,000 in Clean Community grants by NJ Clean Communities.
“We use it for cleanup activities around the borough, a recycling program, and basically just for anti-littering and clean-education programs,” Jackson said.