ALLENTOWN – Long-awaited improvements to Pondview Drive will be completed following the awarding of a contract to a Monmouth County firm by the Allentown Borough Council.
During a meeting on Oct. 13, council members awarded a construction contract for the Pondview Drive improvement project to the Earle Asphalt Company, Wall Township.
According to a resolution, the borough engineer received four bids for the project on Sept. 18. The low bid was submitted by the Earle Asphalt Company in an amount not to exceed $226,513, which is approximately $50,391 or 18% below the engineer’s estimate.
The project is being funded by a New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) Municipal Aid grant in the amount of $225,000, according to the resolution.
Municipal officials said the borough engineer “has reviewed the bid submitted, all conditions set forth in the bid proposal have been satisfied, the contractor is not on the current list of debarred contractors, the contractor has worked with the borough in the past, and their work was found to be responsive, efficient and experienced.”
Council President Rob Strovinsky previously told the Examiner the improvements on Pondview Drive will include the replacement of damaged curbs and sidewalks, the replacement of inlet castings and repaving the entire road. He said only the damaged sections of curbs and sidewalks will be replaced.
The contract was awarded to the Earle Asphalt Company subject to a review by the borough attorney and approval of the DOT.
In other business, council members said work on improvements to Allentown’s waste water treatment plan remains on schedule as they authorized payment No. 7 to Pact Two, LLC, the firm that is undertaking the work at the facility on Breza Road.
The company’s latest invoice covers work completed through Oct. 2 for electrical demolition and installation at the control building, electrical work and materials for the I-FAS tank, electrical work at the sludge tank, electrical work at the filter building and
demolition and concrete castings at the clarifier screens, according to a resolution.
Payment No. 7 was authorized in an amount not to exceed $244,240.
Finally, the council members passed a resolution which renews Allentown’s municipal court shared service agreement with Upper Freehold Township for 2021.
According to a resolution, officials in Allentown and Upper Freehold Township executed a shared service agreement in 2017 for municipal court shared service expenses. That agreement will expire on Dec. 31.
Mayor Thomas Fritts said the shared service agreement has worked well for Allentown since it was initiated four years ago. He asked the council members to reauthorize the agreement for 2021, which they subsequently voted to do.
The municipal court sessions are conducted in Upper Freehold.