FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – A water main replacement project has been deemed completed by Freehold Township officials, who also authorized a decrease in the cost of the work.
During a meeting on Aug. 17, Township Committee members passed a resolution which authorizes a $24,965 decrease in the $309,033 contract that was previously awarded to Crest Construction Group, LLC, for the Lafayette Court water main replacement. The contract now totals $284,067.
Lafayette Court is off of Robertsville Road in the vicinity of Lake Topanemus Park.
According to the resolution, the change order was made due to a decrease in the total built quantities for the project.
Committee members awarded the contract to Crest Construction Group in 2020. According to the resolution, all work on the project has been completed and $284,067 will be the final payment to the company.
In other business, the committee authorized a $30,701 decrease in a contract that had been awarded to A.C. Shultes Inc. for the rehabilitation of Well No. 13.
The contract with A.C. Shultes was awarded in 2020 and originally totaled $105,960. Following the change order, the contract now totals $75,259.
According to the resolution, the decrease in the contract was made because the contractor was able to use the existing well column pipe and because the piping repair costs came in under the contract allowance amount.
All work on the project has been completed and $75,259 will be the final payment awarded to A.C. Shultes.
And, committee members rejected a bid for the furnishing and delivery of three new 25-cubic-yard, trailer mounted, self-contained vacuum leaf collectors.
According to a resolution, only H.A. DeHart & Son, of Thorofare, submitted a bid for the project in the amount of $242,955.
The bid was rejected on the recommendation of Scott Higgins, the superintendent of public works, due to insufficient budget funding. Municipal officials are expected to eventually rebid the project.
Finally, committee members amended the 2021 municipal budget to insert a $161,002 grant which was received through the Body-Worn Camera Grant Program, which is run by the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Office of the Attorney General.
A resolution authorizes participation in the program and the acceptance of the $161,002.
As noted in the resolution, the Body-Worn Camera Grant Program is a joint effort between the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, the Office of the Attorney General and the Freehold Township Police Department for the purchase of body-worn cameras and equipment needed to operate the cameras, including the cost of storing the camera footage.
The Township Committee’s action follows a state law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in November 2020 that requires all police officers in New Jersey to wear a body camera. Police departments were required to comply with the mandate by June.