ENGLISHTOWN – The Borough Council is appropriating $750,000 to be used for improvements at the Englishtown lake dam.
On July 28, council members introduced a bond ordinance that will, if adopted, appropriate $750,000 for the work and authorize the issuance of $712,500 in bonds or notes to help finance the costs. The remaining costs will be covered by a down payment of $37,500, according to the ordinance.
A public hearing on the bond ordinance is scheduled for Aug. 25. The governing body may adopt the bond ordinance that evening.
According to the ordinance, the work covered by the appropriation will include an assessment of and improvements to the dam and the dam spillway, plus an assessment of and improvements to associated bridges, roads, curbs, sidewalks and retaining walls.
In other business, council members appointed Cynthia Bucknel as a Class II special law enforcement officer with the Englishtown Police Department.
According to a resolution, Bucknel’s appointment became effective on June 23. The salary for the position is $15 per hour. Bucknel’s appointment is probationary for one year. She may be reappointed after that initial term.
And, council members accepted the resignation of Timothy Leitstein from the Englishtown Police Department. Leitstein worked in the borough from 2019 through July 22, 2021.
Finally, the council accepted $20,380 in funding from the state’s body-worn camera grant program. The funding will be awarded from 2021 through the end of 2025, according to a resolution.
The program is run by the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Office of the Attorney General.
The council’s action follows a state mandate 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.