FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Two new Class III special law enforcement officers have been hired by the Township Committee to provide protection to students and staff members in Freehold Township’s schools.
During a recent meeting, committee members appointed Joseph Lynch and William Rodriguez as Class III officers on the recommendation of Police Chief Ernest Schriefer. The appointments run through Dec. 31.
According to a resolution, the Class III officers are authorized to exercise full powers and duties similar to those of full-time police officers while providing security at Freehold Township schools during the hours the schools are normally in session or when they are occupied by students or teachers.
While on duty in their jurisdiction, a Class III officer may respond to offenses or emergencies off school grounds if they occur in the officer’s presence while traveling to a school, but an officer may not otherwise be dispatched or dedicated to any assignment off a school property owned by the township.
Freehold Township has nine public schools: the Early Childhood Learning Center, C. Richard Applegate Elementary School, Joseph J. Catena Elementary School, Laura Donovan Elementary School, Marshall W. Errickson Elementary School, West Freehold Elementary School, Clifton T. Barkalow Middle School, and Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School, which comprise the Freehold Township K-8 School District, and Freehold Township High School, which is part of the Freehold Regional High School District.
In other business, committee members awarded a $158,694 contract to Hunter Jersey Peterbilt, Millstone Township, for the furnishing and delivery of one new single-axle dump truck. Hunter Jersey Peterbilt submitted the only bid of $190,694 for the contract and the purchase was reduced by a $32,000 trade-in, according to the resolution.
Committee members also passed a resolution extending a contract that was awarded to Automated Building Controls Inc. in 2017 for heating, ventilation and air conditioning maintenance in the township for another year. The estimated amount of the contract extension, according to the resolution, is $72,000.
Additionally, committee members authorized the award of four contracts for the emergency repair and cleanup of the Freehold Township Senior Center, Jackson Mills Road, as the result of flooding from a burst water line pipe in the utility closet, which flooded the entire building.
According to the resolution, $25,944 was awarded to Albitron LLC; $11,381 was awarded to Service Master of the Shore Area; $8,525 was awarded to Automated Building Controls Inc.; and $410 was awarded to A-General Plumbing & Sewer Service Inc.; for a total cost of $46,260.