Council Briefs: Council to Consider Dry Cleaning Costs

What follows is an account of actions taken on Jan. 19 by the Bridgewater Township Council, which, while not breaking news, are still of note.

Resolutions concerning police uniforms tabled

The township council unanimously opted to table two different resolutions concerning police uniforms, one for dry cleaning and the other for the purchase of them.

The first resolution was for the cleaning of police uniforms through G.O. Keller for a total of $39,627.85, but the council opted to see first if there are other contracts that would be better.

“This is one of the things we didn’t do last year,” said councilman Howard Norgalis, who noted that this is a new element of the police contracts. “It would be interesting to see whether there is an economy of scale, or maybe to contact the county or other police departments to see if we can get a better bang for the buck.”

The second contract is for $72,964.10 for the purchase of police uniforms, shoes and leather gear from Atlantic Tactical.

“The county has a co-op, and if we could piggyback on that, it would save us from doing all this and the rate might be better,” said council president Allen Kurdyla. “I think it’s worth a look.”

Township approves change order for Crim Road Park Expansion

The council unanimously approved a resolution for a decrease in price for DeSantis Construction Inc. toward the work for the Crim Road Park Expansion Improvement Project.

The cost has decreased from $248,667.95 to $245,522.95.

According to the resolution, the change is to account for the actual materials used in the project, as opposed to what was projected when the initial contract was awarded.

Change order approved for Harry Ally Memorial Park rehabilitation

The council unanimously approved a change order to increase the contract for work done on the rehabilitation of the tennis and basketball courts at .

According to the resolution, the cost has increased from $291,538.50 to $294,298.50.

According to the resolution, there are adjustments to the price based on additional materials required to finish the work.

Change order required for Eastbrook Road Drainage Improvement

The council unanimously approved a resolution to increase the contract for the Eastbrook Road Drainage Improvement Project, changing it from $317,000 to $380,304.92.

The contract is with Reivax Contracting Corporation, and the change order is required for supplemental materials needed.

“This is the second of a three-phase drainage project, and some of the increase was due to discussion with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection,” said township engineer Tom Forsythe. “There were some quantity adjustments.”

Contract awarded for environmental audit

The council unanimously approved a resolution to perform an audit on the property currently owned by resident , and soon to be purchased by the township through open space funds.

According to township attorney William Savo, the contract for the purchase was subject to a successful environmental audit.

“A consultant requested additional testing,” he said. “We reviewed that, and we thought that in order to have the testing, there are underground tanks and soil testing is required to get Green Acres grants in the future.”

Savo said the audit, which will cost $29,900 and be done by Birdsall Services Group Engineers & Consultants, will be paid through the township's Open Space Trust Fund.