By Sherry conohan
Staff Writer
LITTLE SILVER — Commuters may soon get their train station back.
Borough Clerk Michael D. Biehl reported this week that the station, closed for nearly three years, may reopen in October.
The station was closed initially for renovations in November 1999, but almost immediately afterwards an oil spill occurred, necessitating an environmental cleanup.
Biehl said the oil spill was in a tank on the floor of the railroad station, but extended through the floor and the oil ran down into the ground below.
Biehl said the contractor, Theodore Nickles Inc., of Philadelphia, did the cleanup the Department of Environmental Protection had initially requested, but when DEP came to inspect the work, it asked for further remediation.
He said a new cleanup plan had to be submitted to DEP, which took time.
"The flooring is ripped up now," he said. "They took out dirt about 6 feet deep under the initial DEP plan. The contractor is back at work now."
"My understanding is the current completion date is October," he said. "It may take a little longer than this, but that’s what’s proposed."
The initial contract for the renovations was $639,200 before the remediation, he said.
Biehl said he took up his present office about 13 years ago and began working on the railroad station project the week that he arrived on the job. He said the first five or six years were devoted to getting the borough’s lease on the building revised so that it had control over maintenance of the building.
The borough leases the station from NJ Transit.
Biehl said the borough had to go out to bid several times on the renovations before going to contract because the bids came back higher than the funds the borough had available to pay for the work.
Biehl said the contract with the DEP on the cleanup has been handled by the engineer for the insurance company, the Environmental Joint Insurance Fund.
A trailer has been serving as a temporary station during construction.
‘Nutcracker’ auditions to be Sept. 14 and 15
The Monmouth Arts Council’s performing arts ensemble will hold free auditions for the Nutcracker Sept. 14 at 9 a.m. at the Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank; and Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. at the American Academy of Dance at the Galleria, Bridge Avenue, Red Bank.
Needed are children age 4 and older, ballet dancers, female pointe dancers, gymnasts, male actors (boys and men), and female choral singers.
For more information, call (732) 671-9655.