FREEHOLD – The Borough Council in Freehold Borough has entered into a shared services agreement with Monmouth County for software that will provide aerial images of the municipality.
During a meeting on Sept. 7, council members passed a resolution to enter into the shared services agreement.
The software is designed by Nearmap, which provides high-quality aerial imagery of all of Monmouth County three times a year. Nearmap also uses a web-based interface that allows users to view prior flyovers and recent images, according to the resolution.
According to the resolution, Monmouth County obtained a limited license and subscription service from Nearmap. Under the terms of the license, the county may operate a Nearmap web-based interface for itself and may also sublicense the system’s use to other contracting units in Monmouth County under a subscription service.
The service provides participating municipalities accessibility to information at no cost, according to the resolution.
Through the software, Freehold Borough will receive access to aerial imagery to support in-house programming and functions, including measuring the size and footprint of buildings; determining property boundaries, setbacks and buffers; evaluating environmental conditionals and potential development impacts; estimating capital investments and inventory; property inspection and compliance; tax assessments; building conditions; post-disaster damage assessment; hazard-mitigation assessments; and search and rescue.
As stated in the resolution, borough officials believe it is beneficial to residents and in the municipality’s best interests to approve and authorize entry into the shared services agreement with Monmouth County.
In other business, the council members authorized a contract with EF Johnson/AR Communications for the purchase of radio communications equipment for the Freehold Borough Police Department and the Freehold Fire Department.
The contract is in an amount not to exceed $250,000, according to a resolution.
Finally, council members appointed Business Administrator Stephen Gallo as the temporary qualified purchasing agent (QPA) from Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2021.
According to a resolution, the QPA position was vacated with the 2020 retirement of Joseph Bellina, Gallo’s predecessor as business administrator.
Gallo was subsequently appointed as the temporary purchasing agent from Jan. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2020, to complete the necessary courses and sit for the QPA examination.
Since being appointed as the temporary purchasing agent in 2020, Galo has completed three of the four courses to qualify for the QPA examination; the fourth course was delayed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. After Gallo completes the fourth course, he will sit for the QPA exam.