Bridgewater Sells Parcel of Land on Route 22

A tract of land at the intersection of Milltown Road and Route 22 East will be sold by the township.

Council President Allen Kurdyla reported at Monday night's meeting a commercial entity approached officials to see if the township would consider selling the 1.39-acre property, which had been deeded to Bridgewater about 13 years ago.

The undersized lot was offered to adjacent property owners, with no interest indicated. The minimum price established by the assessor for the property is $850,000, Kurdyla said; that price could go higher if there are competitive bids.

“We also feel it would be a nice commercial ratable on the highway,” he added.

The ordinance stipulates that the zoned use of the property will not change, although future property owners would have to go through the normal review process if any other zoning changes were requested.

JCP&L Reports Operational Upgrades

JCP&L representative John Anderson appeared before the Monday night to provide an update on what is new with the company.

Several major upgrades have been completed, he said, including a new website FirstEnergyCorp.com (then click on JCP&L). The site features “updated outage information in real time,” Anderson said, including the number of customers affected. It is also user-friendly on Smartphones.

The company also has a Twitter account that will offer storm activity updates and a new email system that “provides more detailed information,” he added. The phone system which Anderson said was “not adequate” during Hurricane Irene or last year’s snowstorm, has been transformed to a mini call center.

Kurdyla asked what the company is doing to minimize future outages. Anderson responded, “We are doing system reinforcement work all the time.”

He cited an ongoing tree-trimming program (fallen trees account for 40 percent of outages). “Every tree is inspected, pruned or removed every four years. All these things together give us reliability,” he said.

Resolution would support Youth Services Newcomers Club

Council members approved a resolution adding a $5,000 expenditure to the 2011 budget. The funds would support the activities of the Youth Services Newcomers Club, a mentoring club for new students at the high school.

Township Administrator James Naples said that last year the club worked with more than 100 students in the school’s 3,000-member student body, helping them to adjust both academically and socially. “It’s been very successful,” he said.

The funds would pay the stipend for two high school teachers to advise the group.

Council member Howard Norgalis asked why, since this is school-related, the request for funds is coming to the township. Naples explained that the club is run through the township’s Youth Services group.

Ordinance would allow multiple tenants on Sanofi-Aventis property

With the pending departure of Sanofi-Aventis from its current research and development site in the township, the company has requested a change that would allow multiple tenants on the site.

The site is currently limited to a single tenant. The ordinance would change the single-tenant requirement and allow multiple tenants to lease the property.

Township awards contract for 2 GMC vehicles

The township will be purchasing two Chevy vehicles from Flemington Chevy GMC Cadillac—a 2013 GMC Sierra 2500 HD four-wheel-drive pickup truck with plow for $43,970 and a 2013 GMC Sierra HD four-wheel-drive utility truck with plow for $40,676.74.

Naples pointed out that, in the past, the township had purchased Ford vehicles. “Ford is no longer on the state contract,” he told the council. “We are purchasing the equivalent.