Tuesday, May 15, 2012
And the township pairs with the county for recycling.
What follows is an account of actions taken on May 7 by the Bridgewater Township Council, which, while not breaking news, are still of note. Bond ordinance approved for road improvements The council unanimously approved a resolution to appropriate money through a bond ordinance to pay for road improvements around Bridgewater. The bond ordinance is for $2,805,000. According to the ordinance, there will be road improvements at Gilbride Road, Somerville Road, Van Holten Road, Leeham Road and others; road overlay at Van Nest Drive, Prim Rose Lane and Baltusrol Way; sidewalk improvements; and drainage improvements at Chambers Brook, Cuckholds Brook and Crim Road. “During the campaign, one of the main things we heard from residents was [the need…
Monday, May 14, 2012
Moench votes against paying for hazardous busing.
The council approved a resolution May 7 to provide the funds for hazardous busing for students in the district in the 2011-2012 school year—despite concerns from councilman Matthew Moench that the costs should be paid by the district instead. “We can’t wash our hands of it, and punt it to the school board?” he asked. “How is this the township’s responsibility?” The resolution authorizes the township to pay $275,751 for hazardous busing needed this school year to take students safely to schools in the district in the cases when it is too dangerous for students to walk. The cost for the 2010-2011 school year was about $279,000, and the cost in the 2011-2012 school year was about $272,000. Hazardous busing stems off of courtesy busing …
Friday, May 11, 2012
The office will be in the Bridgewater Plaza.
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Friday, May 11
Bridgewater's 23rd District legislator Assemblyman John DiMaio is hosting an open house to celebrate the opening of his office on Route 22 in Bridgewater. According to an article on nj.com, DiMaio will hold the opening on Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the office in the Bridgewater Plaza at 245 Route 22, Suite 208. At the opening, the article said, items will be collected to be packaged and sent to troops overseas. Personal care items, snacks, dry drink items and entertainment items are suggested for donation. DiMaio announced the office would be opening when he visited the Bridgewater Township Council April 19, with his co-Assemblyman Erik Peterson, and Sen. Michael Doherty. For more information, call the assemblyman’s office at 908-722…
40.59533
-74.669189
245 Us Highway 22, Bridgewater, NJ
/articles/assemblyman-opening-office-in-bridgewater
/locations/6992704
Commercial development with 50,000 square feet would replace state maintenance yard across from The Hills community.
The contract owner of the state Department of Transportation’s maintenance yard on Route 202/206 in Bedminster presented his plan Thursday, which includes a supermarket and a hotel, for redeveloping the site across from that township's entrance to The Hills Community. The plan that was outlined before the township’s Land Use Board meeting has a long way before becoming a reality. Carl Freedman, of FC Development which is partnering with ARC Properties on the Bedminster Village plan, presented plans for a 50,000-square-foot supermarket, a 120-room, four-story hotel, two restaurants a drug store, a bank and other retail businesses in separate structures on the approximately 10-acre site along the highway across from Hills Drive. The …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Hayes says anything lower would have negatively affected residents.
Although he understands the struggles in the current economy, Bridgewater Township Mayor Dan Hayes said he is pleased that the council is moving forward with a budget that is not at the lowest end discussed in terms of a tax rate increase. After initially voting to lower the administration-proposed 6.5 percent tax rate increase to 1.9 percent, the council voted Monday to introduce a budget that includes some cuts and lowers the tax rate to only a 3.03 percent increase. “I am very pleased that the council has put a budget in, moved it forward and agreed upon it,” Hayes said. “I am pleased that it’s a budget that I think will help us reach our goals.” For Hayes, the goal of the budget is to support the overall vision of Bridgewater as a …
Chief Borden reflects on change to ordinance, eliminating three vacant positions.
After having the total number of police officers reduced from 78 to 77 in 2008, the Bridgewater Township Police Department has become accustomed to making due with fewer personnel. And now, after making cuts to the municipal budget to bring the tax rate increase down to 3 percent from 6.5 percent, the council has opted to introduce an ordinance that eliminates another three police positions that are currently vacant. “The positions have not been filled since the initiation of the ordinance, so we have adjusted our schedule to working without the three officers,” Bridgewater Township Police Chief Richard Borden said. According to Borden, the council originally approved an ordinance in September 2008 that allowed for the funding of three …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
New Jersey Arts Education Census Project surveys nearly all schools to compare arts education offerings.
A statewide survey of arts education programs in New Jersey schools to be released Thursday finds a correlation between schools with more arts education programs and greater proficiency scores on the language sections of the state's High School Proficiency Assessment. The report is a follow-up to one conducted in 2007, and is a joint project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the state Department of Education, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, New Jersey Arts Education Partnership, ArtPride New Jersey Foundation, and Quadrant Arts Education Research. According to Robert Morrison, project coordinator of the report and founder of Quadrant Arts Education Research, the report compiled survey responses from about 99 percent of the …
President Obama made his historic pronouncement during an interview with ABC News.
President Barack Obama has publicly come out in support of gay marriage, the first time in history that a sitting U.S. President has ever done so. Obama gave the news to ABC News' Robin Roberts in an interview that will air on ABCs “Good Morning America" on Thursday. "I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don't Ask Don't Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit …
About half approve of job president is doing
Our Republican governor gets good marks from the Garden State, but so does our Democratic president, according to the latest poll from Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind. Barack Obama also has a solid lead over Mitt Romney in New Jersey, according to the poll — especially among women. Read the full statement from FDU below, then take our own poll to let us know what you think? According the latest poll by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s PublicMind™, 50 percent of New Jersey voters say they approve of the way the president is handling his job, while 42 percent disapprove. These numbers mirror the support expressed by New Jerseyans for their Republican governor, Chris Christie, as reported yesterday: 56 percent approve of the job …
The piece of the road spans between Bridgewater and Bedminster.
BwaterDad
4:14 pm on Monday, May 14, 2012
“We can’t wash our hands of it, and punt it to the school board?” he [Moench] asked. So this has nothing to do with saving the taxpayers any money. If Moench were to succeed, the taxpayers would just be taking the same money out of their right pocket instead of their left. Doesn't the council have anything better to do? more ›