The utility work that was just completed on Grove Street came in under budget by almost $500,000, borough officials said. The original contract amount was $1.9 million, and after some changes, the total went down to $1.4 million. Haddonfield commissioners approved the change order during their Tuesday, Nov. 25 meeting.
“Due to some scope changes and not needing to put in some quantities that were added just in case, we ended up coming in almost exactly a half million dollars under budget,” Commissioner John Moscatelli said.
Moscatelli explained that some of the savings was due to concrete work, which was not done by the borough, and would have to be done by the county when it does its portion in the spring. However, that would be only $50,000 to $75,000 the borough would have to pay. Overall, though, Moscatelli said it was quite a savings.
One resident asked about a storm drain that was supposed to be put in, feeling the road was prone to flooding and very dangerous. Moscatelli explained that there was originally some storm drains in that location, but it was dropped from the final project. A large group of residents in the area was opposed to it, and they were able to create enough questions about it at the state level that the approvals weren’t available.
“There was some question at the state level if it would be approved in time, so in order to get the funding package through, they dropped that portion of the scope,” Moscatelli said. “It was a matter of do the project or not.”
When asked if the county could reinstate the storm drain, Moscatelli said it could not do it at this time.
In other news:
• Commissioners authorized two interlocal agreements, one for county ice and snow removal and the other with Gloucester City for the purchase of salt brine for $0.35 per gallon.
• A resident expressed his concern with dogs being kept on leashes as well as residents picking up after their dogs. He asked the commissioners to remind residents to do so. Commissioner Neal Rochford asked that a reminder be put on the Haddonfield Police Department Facebook page.
• The next commissioners meeting will be on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 6:30 p.m.
