Shrewsbury municipal officials will use bonds to finance a portion of the costs for capital improvements that total more than $1.07 million.
During the May 21 meeting of the Borough Council, four members of the governing body – Kim Doran-Eulner, Peter Meyer, Jeff DeSalvo, and Deidre DerAsadourian – voted to adopt several ordinances for capital improvements and equipment expenses in 2018.
Council members Erik Anderson and Donald Eddy were not present at the meeting.
Shrewsbury is expected to issue $1.023 million in bonds, while officials will make a combined down payment of $86,300 toward the total cost of the improvements, according to borough officials. The down payments will come from Shrewsbury’s capital improvement fund.
The bulk of the expense, $890,000, will be used to improve borough roads. The improvements will include upgrades to the municipal building parking lot, Borough Administrator Thomas X. Seaman said.
“There are a lot of different factors that are still being determined” in regard to the total scope of the work to be performed, he said.
The acquisition of police equipment for the Shrewsbury Police Department totals $10,000; while the fire department will see an appropriation of $21,000. The police department will receive equipment and upgrades in its computer systems, Seaman said.
DeSalvo said borough firefighters are in need of updated rescue gear in order to effectively perform their civic duties as emergency responders.
The purchase of first aid equipment for the Shrewsbury First Aid Squad calls for the appropriation of $15,000. DeSalvo said the money will go toward the purchase of a hydraulic lift; a piece of equipment which lifts a patient on a stretcher into an ambulance.
The acquisition of equipment for the Shrewsbury municipal complex provides for an appropriation of $50,000 to be used toward the purchase of equipment for the municipal complex meeting room.
A total appropriation of $92,000 will provide for vehicles and equipment for the Department of Public Works ($62,000) and improvements to the DPW building ($30,000). Seaman said the building improvements will include the installation of new generators.
In other council business, Mayor Don Burden declared June 1 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day in Shrewsbury. Burden wore orange to support the 96 Americans he said are killed each day by gun violence. The color orange symbolizes the value of human life, he said.
Burden encourages members of the community to wear orange on June 1 to spread awareness of the dangers of the careless use of weapons.
Gabrielle Garofalo, a member of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America, brought forward the nationally recognized “Wear Orange” concept to Shrewsbury’s governing body.
“Our goal is to reduce the more than 36,000 deaths per year,” Garofalo said.
Garofalo said that as of May 21, officials in 26 Monmouth County municipalities had declared June 1 as National Gun Violence Awareness Day.